Columbus City Council — Ward/District System VS At-Large System

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Columbus City Council — Ward/District System VS At-Large System

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Started 6 months ago by News
Latest reply from OSUPhantom

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News
Columbus Underground
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Petition Launched to Change At Large Columbus City Council to District System
By: Walker

A new political organization announced this morning that they would be filing a petition to change the way that Columbus City Council operates. The Columbus Coalition for Responsive Government (CCRG) is proposing an ordinance that will change Council from a seven-member at-large system system to an 11-member council where four serve in at-large capacities with an additional seven council members serving within specific districts. The districts would be established by an appointment board of non-elected Columbus citizens.

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/petition-launched-to-change-at-large-columbus-city-council-to-district-system

Posted 6 months ago #
Static-X
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They are planning on boosting the number of council members from seven blind Dems. to a total of eleven blind Dems., to run city council? Why? To frivolously pay four more people for a job that seven people were already doing? AMAZING!!

Posted 6 months ago #
peter
Arena District
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Static-X said:
They are planning on boosting the number of council members from seven blind Dems. to a total of eleven blind Dems., to run city council? Why? To frivolously pay four more people for a job that seven people were already doing? AMAZING!!

Do you have anything of substance to add to this conversation?

The current system is pretty clearly broken.

Posted 6 months ago #
Static-X
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peter said:
Do you have anything of substance to add to this conversation?

The current system is pretty clearly broken.

I think I added it, Pete. Do you have anything, Peter?

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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Static-X said:
They are planning on boosting the number of council members from seven blind Dems. to a total of eleven blind Dems., to run city council? Why? To frivolously pay four more people for a job that seven people were already doing? AMAZING!!

I'm not sure if "frivolous" is the term I'd use to describe the the $42k per year that Columbus City Council members make. People certainly aren't getting into that gig for the money.

While Columbus at large is a democratic city, I have to imagine that if broken down into wards/districts there could be a pretty good chance for elected representation from other parties that have a stronger following in specific neighborhoods. Someone like Daryl Hennessey (R) on the west side would probably have much stronger traction if he were running specifically to represent the west side of Columbus, rather than the entire city at-large.

That being said, I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of a ward/district system. There are many examples of inefficiencies in other communities that have systems like that. It can lead to pitting neighborhoods against each other, and representatives start making decisions based on pet projects for their own neighborhoods rather than what is good for the city as a whole.

Either way, this should be an interested political discussion over the course of the next year...

Posted 6 months ago #
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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peter said:
The current system is pretty clearly broken.

What do you mean? Because of the single party control? Or the appointment/reelection process that dominates control?

That might be an example of system abuse, but I'm not sure it's "broken" per se. Columbus isn't a terrible place to live, and generally speaking, things have been improving in my opinion over the past 10 years. That doesn't sound like a broken system to me.

Posted 6 months ago #
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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This is a recipe for failure and decline. When you have people only representing wards, they aren't interested in the well-being of the city as a whole. All they care about is "bringing home the bacon" in the form of projects for their area, whether or not the project is actually money well spent.

Posted 6 months ago #
Static-X
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Walker said:
I'm not sure if "frivolous" is the term I'd use to describe the the $42k per year that Columbus City Council members make. People certainly aren't getting into that gig for the money.

While Columbus at large is a democratic city, I have to imagine that if broken down into wards/districts there could be a pretty good chance for elected representation from other parties that have a stronger following in specific neighborhoods. Someone like Daryl Hennessey (R) on the west side would probably have much stronger traction if he were running specifically to represent the west side of Columbus, rather than the entire city at-large.

That being said, I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of a ward/district system. There are many examples of inefficiencies in other communities that have systems like that. It can lead to pitting neighborhoods against each other, and representatives start making decisions based on pet projects for their own neighborhoods rather than what is good for the city as a whole.

Either way, this should be an interested political discussion over the course of the next year...

True, 42k a year isn't going to break the bank. But if it's not broke why fix it(7 council members). It's funny how mayor Coleman scares the community into passing his .5% tax increase, by saying that he will layoff 200 CPD and 200 CFD if it doesn't pass. When it does pass, he starts spending it like it's going out of style. My point being, lets hold off on hiring 4 more poeple to council and put that money into the "Rainy Day Fund." Remember that fund?

Posted 6 months ago #
leftovers

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Analogue Kid said:
This is a recipe for failure and decline. When you have people only representing wards, they aren't interested in the well-being of the city as a whole. All they care about is "bringing home the bacon" in the form of projects for their area, whether or not the project is actually money well spent.

+1

Posted 6 months ago #
jackoh
The Village
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Just an historical note(if anyone cares). Ward representation used to be the norm in city government (even Columbus). The impetus for change was driven by the Progressive movement in the early years of the 20th century. And their argument for change was the one cited above for city-wide election for legislative representatives- the interests of the city as a whole as opposed to the narrow and parochial concerns of individual neighborhoods. The real reason for the change was the attempt to dilute or even eliminate the influence of immigrant and black neighborhoods and their populations on public policy.

Posted 6 months ago #
johnwirtz
Evanston, IL
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Walker said:
That being said, I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of a ward/district system. There are many examples of inefficiencies in other communities that have systems like that. It can lead to pitting neighborhoods against each other, and representatives start making decisions based on pet projects for their own neighborhoods rather than what is good for the city as a whole.

This is a real problem in Chicago.

Posted 6 months ago #
cheap
Westgate
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more politicians=more corruption

Posted 6 months ago #
ehill27
Short North
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I see merit in representatives that live in the area they serve.

Right now, every council member could potentially live in just one or two neighborhoods. Let's say GV and VV for the sake of argument. I don't think that would bode well for the east, west, north or south sides.

I don't know where all the council members live now, but I'm guessing there are plenty of areas that are truly unrepresented. This is a large city, does someone living in GV truly understand the concerns of west side residents?

Posted 6 months ago #
Analogue Kid
5th by West-Northwest
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jackoh said:
Just an historical note(if anyone cares). Ward representation used to be the norm in city government (even Columbus). The impetus for change was driven by the Progressive movement in the early years of the 20th century. And their argument for change was the one cited above for city-wide election for legislative representatives- the interests of the city as a whole as opposed to the narrow and parochial concerns of individual neighborhoods. The real reason for the change was the attempt to dilute or even eliminate the influence of immigrant and black neighborhoods and their populations on public policy.

Interesting information. I would say though that we have pretty diverse interests represented with council today, unless you're a republican. *rimshot*

Posted 6 months ago #
NEOBuckeye
Ohio At-Large
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In a word: don't. An all at-large council system is far from perfect, but one of its huge benefits is that it all but eliminates the parochialism in politics that is so rampant elsewhere where ward systems do exist, even in a split arrangement with three or more at-large reps.

I hate to say this and invoke yet another Cols vs. Cle comparison, but along with Chicago, Cleveland comes to mind as another prime example as to why wards don't work. The last thing an already deeply divided city needs is a bunch of elected representatives fighting petty turf wars in city council and getting nowhere fast while doing so. Cleveland would benefit tremendously from an all at-large system similar to what Columbus has now, if for no other reason than the fact that it would force that city's leadership to think and act on a regional-scale level with the entire city in mind. You don't get that when you have 10 or so Ward representatives fighting over whose streets and sidewalks get what funding. Ward politics are divisive and confrontational.

Columbus doesn't seem nearly so divided as Cleveland on the surface, but you would never know thanks to the current all at-large council arrangement. I guarantee, however, that switching to wards would open a can of worms and change the political dynamic in Columbus. Probably not for the better if you like seeing progress being made on a quasi-regional scale or from a similar perspective.

Posted 6 months ago #
hugh59
Aboard the ultimate power in Olde Towne East
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A big problem with the at-large system we have now, when combined with one party rule and the appointment system the council has been using to fill vacancies is that you end up with group think. The council members all see issues virtually the same way. Now they can even decide all issues in executive session without any public involvement. If the collective does not care about an issue, it is dead. If your neighborhood gets poor services, chances are that the council will not care. Unless one of them lives in your neighborhood, there is going to be no one on the council who is accountable to your neighborhood.

Posted 6 months ago #
leftovers

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You are going to have marginalized issues, areas, and politicians in both systems. The way things seem to get fixed in Columbus is through citizen squeaky wheels and the media's infotainment issue of the week.

Posted 6 months ago #
murfmurphy
Westgate
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I think either system is pretty inefficient. A ward system does mean that each councilman would look to get pet projects funded for their district. A city wide system means that they only look at the city as a whole, and areas like the west side, (which hasn't had representation in council for over 20 years) can fall to the wayside and end up a virtual wasteland. There's a lot to be said for having to answer to a specific constituency. I think a ward system could also break the one party, do what they mayor says or lose your support government we currently have in place. It does create a lot more in-fighting though, which causes more stalemates and feet dragging.

As a west side resident who truly desires to see my part of the city improve it upsets me that I don't have a specific person to address my concerns to, or to hold responsible if I feel that my area isn't being represented properly.

Posted 6 months ago #
OSUPhantom
The Ohio State University
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I would like the ward system much better. It allows other neighborhoods not usually represented to have a voice on the city council. Also this proposal seems to keep the at-large seats in high value which could eliminate the totally valid point of lack of collective focus. I was upset to see Hennessey lose since I really liked him so I'm probably biased.

More importantly I'd like to see a possible map with numbers to see if this would break the one party monopoly.

Posted 6 months ago #
JSmith

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Successful systems merge both concepts. A ward/district/precinct system combined with at-large representatives is logical, and is a great example of true local governance. Neighborhoods need representation; it's the whole point of having a city council. At-large members, especially part-time, can't see all the issues. To expect them to is unrealistic.

Our most neglected neighborhoods are proof of what happens when we don't have this - ask the residents on the West side, or in Linden, or the Near East and South sides how they feel about this.

Posted 6 months ago #