Derided by establishment critics, former Councilman wins his case in
the end
COLUMBIA, 7/22/11 (Beat Byte) -- "An unneeded
distraction." "A silly proposition." "A tempest in a teapot."
That's how Columbia Daily Tribune publisher Hank Waters described
former Third Ward Columbia City Councilman Karl Skala's request
that the Columbia city manager move from his long-occupied center
seat at the Council table and join other staff members at the side.
But with new Columbia city manager Mike Matthes sitting to the
side at the Council meeting table, Mayor Bob McDavid, M.D. in the
center seat, and other Council members seated according to seniority, Skala (left) has
been vindicated over the controversial suggestion, which partly cost him the
2010 election because opponents painted it as an inappropriate power grab.
"Prior to his election, Bob McDavid agreed with my suggestion that the City
Council ought to be centered on the dais, and that the city manager ought to be
seated to the side," Skala -- who suggested the changes for both symbolic and
practical reasons -- told the Heart Beat.
In an editorial
entitled Seat Shuffle, Waters wrote that "Skala and what appears to
be a tiny little cadre of like-minded critics contend the
manager’s position on the dais indicates an equal position of power with the
council. Current City Manager Bill Watkins says he doesn’t care where he sits;
he has more important things to worry about."
Yet despite a Council vote that would have quelled the controversy had he
moved over a couple of seats, Watkins stayed center stage.
"For his part, Skala repeats an interesting and worrisome tactic," Waters
opined. "Regarding the merit of his suggestions, let us allow for thoughtful
motive while putting down these ideas as misbegotten efforts to
change properly working arrangements that have stood the test of
time."
But like the Columbia Board of Education, the old arrangement
flunked the test of time. A similar seating shuffle at Columbia Public
Schools occurred shortly after Chris Belcher, Ph.D. assumed the role of
superintendent and sat
to the side of Board members, not at the center,
a position previous superintendents had long occupied.
That seating move's most vocal advocate, book store owner Ken
Green, also took heat for his position. But like Skala, Green ended
the controversy in the cat bird seat.
No comments:
Post a Comment