I am not a resident of Cedar Rapids, but I attended the League of Women Voters Mayors Forum earlier this week. I left the forum wondering who I would vote for if I could vote for mayor in the Cedar Rapids election. I asked Cedar Rapids City Manager Jeff Pomeranz who he is going to vote for. He just laughed.
So that got me to wondering. Several Linn County cities have city managers and city administrators, but in the majority of our cities the city clerks and/or mayors run the day-to-day operations of the cities. What qualifications are needed by a candidate elected to be the mayor of a city which has a city manager or city administrator?
Which cities have managers or administrators? I could not recall so I looked it up here and listed them below:
Alburnett – Mayor/city clerk
Bertram – Mayor / city clerk
Cedar Rapids – City Manager
Center Point – City Administrator
Central City – City Administrator
Coggon – Mayor / city clerk
Ely – City Administrator/city clerk
Fairfax – Mayor / city clerk
Hiawatha – City Administrator
Lisbon – City Administrator / city clerk
Marion – City Manager
Mount Vernon – City Administrator
Palo – Mayor / city clerk
Prairieburg – Mayor / city clerk
Robins – Mayor / city clerk
Springville – Mayor / city clerk
Walford – Mayor / city clerk
Walker – Mayor / city clerk
I am not saying the cities with managers or administrators do not have mayors, councils, or city clerks. I am saying that several cities have professional managers or professional administrators in addition to mayors, councils, and city clerks.
If a city has a professional manager or professional administrator, what qualifications does the mayor need to possess? I asked one of my doctors that question and he said, “He/she needs to be able to go to coffee with people, preside over council meetings, and have good customer service skills”. Maybe it is that simple? I would add leadership, vision, and the confidence to represent the city. But do they need a PhD and 20 years of management experience when a professional manager/administrator is in place? That is something for you to decide. Please figure it out by election day. –Joel D. Miller – Linn County Auditor
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