Second in a series
Re “Why (Mayor) Weissman Is One of the Rarest Kind”
One of the rich ironies of this electoral season is that retiring City Councilman Gary Silbiger, sidelined by term limits, will be honored in a 6 o’clock tribute on Monday evening in front of City Hall.
[img]833|left|||no_popup[/img]
An hour later, when the Council meeting is convened inside — by Mayor Andy Weissman — Mr. Weissman will step down from the rotated mayoralty position after a year in office.
Simultaneously, Mr. Silbiger will bid farewell to his Council colleagues after eight years on the dais. Mr. Weissman, by contrast, is only stepping down slightly, to return to his regular Council seat since his first term still has two years to run.
An irony is that, one year ago, the disappointed Mr. Silbiger — who savored a promotion — expected to nicely round out his public service by being elected to serve as Mayor in his sayonara year.
Unsurprisingly, his colleagues disagreed.
Part of the reason was that Mr. Silbiger, who seemed to relish isolation, never was one of the boys. Not for a moment. A majority of members judged that Mr. Weissman, after one scant year on the Council, was more eminently qualified.
In a second irony, Mr. Weissman will be succeeded on Monday by Vice Mayor Chris Armenta, whom some regard as a protégé of Mr., Silbiger.
And so, the drama that sometimes accompanied selection of a new Mayor, even if the job is ceremonial, has receded into history, temporarily.
Paternally speaking, the memorable flap that night a year ago was responsible for a new Council policy that calls for a tight order of succession for the rotated position of Mayor. No longer will a so-called junior member be allowed to leapfrog past a technically more deserving senior colleague.
In this second installment of an interview with Mayor Weissman, he was asked how the policy evolved.
“The City Manager and the City Attorney put together the wording of a policy, and a desire, that was articulated by the City Council last June or July. In large measure, the policy emerged from meetings that Chris (Armenta) and I had immediately after last year’s transition.
“We wanted to make sure, on a go-forward basis, we had something in place to make the transition come with certainty so that it would be more of a celebration than anything else.
“That is the policy this Council adopted unanimously. It will be the policy until it is changed.
“Essentially, the policy says that everybody is Mayor once before anybody becomes Mayor a second time. There may be a circumstance where that will not happen, such as when three Councilmen are running for re-election and only one survives. That may throw off the rotation schedule.
“The policy is a combination of seniority, when you were Mayor last, and where you finished on the ballot.”
Is there an option for Council members?
“There always is an option. The option is that three members of a Council can adopt a different policy.”
Even with this policy in place, if four members of the Council don’t like a colleague who is next in the rotation, can they vote for someone else?
“Yes. That is because this is a policy. It is always the policy until it isn’t the policy.”
(To be continued)
