Second in a series

Re “Meet the ‘Leader,’ the Captain of the City Council”

A formerly prominent political observer at City Hall paused, exhaled and said that “this must be a frustrating time” for City Council members.

“I am tempted to say there is a lack of leadership on the Council,” she said. “But that isn’t quite accurate or fair because there is Meghan (Sahli-Wells).

“She can be impressive, but the trouble is, her leadership is all about her agenda.

“She is the one who sets the tone, who sets the agenda for most items before the Council. That is the definition of a leader.”

The person said that when she has served on committees, “there always has been somebody who would not necessarily go toe-to-toe but who would push back.”

Both former civic leaders who spoke anonymously for this series agreed that Ms. Sahli-Wells is fine leadership material but that her to-do list is too slender to fit the traditional definition of a leader.

“When I was more active than I am now,” the gentleman said, “there always was somebody who was able to push back, to either reach a consensus or make enough changes to be able to move things in a slightly different direction.

“That,” he said, “does not seem to exist with the present City Council.”

(To be continued)