Leading Question

A referendum in front of fort Myers voters April 5 will provide an answer on strong-mayor government there. But looking around the region, the city manager-council form of government dominates. And nationally, the system that makes the mayor the boss has slightly declined in recent years.

After the turn of the 20th century, municipalities steadily converted to city management. The movement was driven by citizens who wanted to banish political machines associated with big cities. Staunton, Va., became the first community to adopt a city manager system in 1908.

The city manager is supposed to possess a well-rounded knowledge of government, from overseeing all operations to interpreting zoning issues to operating multimillion-dollar budgets. This person acts at the pleasure of the elected council and is considered non-partisan.

Supporters of this system believe it ensures the municipality is run profession-ally-like a business.

The strong mayor, on the other hand, is more of a CEO and typically puts a face on the city. Think of the late Richard J. and Richard M. Daley of Chicago, or Rudy Giuliani of New York. Their clout has helped generate funding from state and federal governments, and they're famous for getting their way, presumably for the benefit of their constituencies. Critics disparage the patronage and political powers strong mayors can possess. And sometimes a strong mayor will take office with nary a clue how to run things.

In 2004, 48.7 percent of 7,091 municipalities with populations of 2,500 or more were led by city managers, 43.6 percent were run by mayors, and the rest were administered by town meetings, commissions or other group methods. By comparison, in 1998, 48 percent of 6,720 city governments were led by city managers, and 44 percent were run by mayors. These statistics were compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau and the International City County Management Association (ICCMA), a Washington, D.C., organization that supports city management government.

In some places, strong mayors are here to stay. New York City, Chicago and Boston are among them.

Over the past few years, some large cities have reverted to the strong-mayor approach-San Diego and Oakland, Calif., are but a few. "The cities larger than 500,000 are seeing a lot of that movement," says ICCMA spokeswoman Michele Frisby.

Citizens for a Better Fort Myers collected the 2,000 signatures needed to place a referendum on the ballot to convert the city from a mayoral to a city manager system.

If it passes, Southwest Florida will become completely devoid of a strong mayor, says Marsa Detscher of Citizens for a Better Fort Myers.

-Phil Borchmann