Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza. MWC file photo.
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – If you live in Stevens Point and you think mayor Mike Wiza is doing a good job, vote for him next election day. If you think he’s a lousy mayor, vote for someone else.
I state the obvious because the mayor is accountable to the voters. That’s exactly as it should be.
Stevens Point has had a long-running debate about whether to hire a city administrator. If they go down that road, the mayor would become a part-time, mostly ceremonial position. The Administrator would run the city day-to-day. And an administrator is not accountable to the voters. That person, supposedly, would be hired by the city council. And so long as the administrator has the support of a majority of the council, they’re involnerable.
This would be a huge shift in the way the city is governed. First, power would be shifted from an elected official to an appointed official. And second, the city council would become more powerful than the mayor. Voters who want change within the city could only affect it indirectly, since you only vote for the council member who serves your neighborhood.
So why has the Administrator idea been so persistent? The only true controversy that current mayor Mike Wiza has been ensnared in has been the redesign of Business 51. Some business owners think the project will make it more difficult for customers to access their parking lots. If you think the mayor is making a horrible mistake, that’s fine… vote him out of office on election day. And in many cities there are council members who think that things would be different if they could have the Administrator’s friendly ear. To those people: run for mayor yourself if you think you could do it better.
The bottom line is this: switching to a city administrator form of government takes power away from the voters. That usually isn’t a good idea.
Chris Conley
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