Clearwater Resoundingly Rejects Strong Mayor Government

CLEARWATER, FL -- Tampa and St. Petersburg both have strong mayor systems of government. Why not Clearwater?

That was the question Clearwater voters faced when they headed to the polls Nov. 6.

Among the referendums on the ballot was one to change the city's governmental structure from one run by a professional city manager to one run by an elected mayor.

When the votes were tallied Tuesday night, 58.51 percent (42,053 voters) had rejected the proposal with 41.49 percent voting in favor.

It's a question that's finally been put to rest in the city after decades of debate.

It was the Clearwater Downtown Partnership that finally proposed putting the question to the voters.

Under the proposal, the city with a population of 110,000 would have gotten rid of its city manager and given authority for running the city to an elected mayor.

Supporters argued that an executive mayor form of government would give Clearwater more clout when it comes to attracting new business as well as state and federal dollars.

More importantly, they said, a strong mayor would be able to balance the influence of the Church of Scientology, which has made Clearwater its international spiritual headquarters.

Crediting Tampa's strong mayor system of government for spurring the economic growth that's occurred in recent years, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said a strong mayor is especially vital when negotiating trade deals and corporate relocation negotiations.

Calling it the "most important vote (in Clearwater) in 100 years," resident Beth Rawlins countered those arguments by organizing the No Boss Mayor Clearwater Committee. Volunteers quickly took to the streets, waving signs and knocking on doors to defeat the referendum.

Their message was simple: a strong mayor would be less accountable to the people and would be vulnerable to special interests.

Despite TV ads and slick mailers produced by the the Clearwater Downtown Partnership, the No Boss Mayor grassroots group's message had its intended effect.

Clearwater City Council member Hoyt Hamilton said, at the end of the day, the voters of Clearwater prefer to see the city run like a business.

"Everyone says government should work like a business and Clearwater does," he said. "The voters are the shareholders, who elect the mayor and council, like a board of directors. The council hires a qualified city manager to run the day-to-day operations and keep us legal and efficient, like a CEO. If the CEO doesn’t do their job, they can be fired immediately. That makes a lot more sense than a mayor who doesn’t have any required skills for the job and can’t be fired for four years."

"Just because a person is elected mayor does not mean that this person has the ability to be an administrator of the city," concurred former Clearwater Mayor Rita Garvey.

Although disappointed, Clearwater Downtown Partnership member Matt Becker said they bow to the will of the voters.

"While we believe an executive mayor form of government is a better option for the city, the voters have spoken," he said.

"I think it was a healthy exercise to be talking about change," said city council member David Allbritton. "People have spoken. They like what we have and we'll move forward."

Image via No Boss Mayor

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