Editorial: When partisanship goes too far Editorial: When partisanship goes too far (February 01, 2006)

The brouhaha over Menlo Park City Council member Mickie Winkler's pressing the city clerk to hurriedly draft a document about the mayoral succession policy may have some residents upset, and many others wondering what the fuss is all about.

As it turned out, the document contained some erroneous information, which Ms. Winkler and her council colleague Lee Duboc cited when they joined Nicholas Jellins on December 6 to elect him mayor for the third time in six years.

The document noted, incorrectly, that a policy adopted in 1993 to set eligibility criteria for mayoral succession was ignored at least twice, possibly three times, by two previous councils. In fact, only the current council majority has ignored the policy; that was in 2002, when it elected Mr. Jellins instead of Chuck Kinney.

City Attorney Bill McClure and City Clerk Silvia Vonderlinden, who drafted the document at Ms. Winkler's behest, acknowledge the error; Ms. Winkler still maintains that an earlier council ignored the policy.

To clear the air, the council should act soon to implement a policy that makes sure no member -- from any council faction -- can exert pressure on a city staff member to produce a document that was not vetted for accuracy by the city attorney and other staff members. By doing so, the council can avoid such mistakes.

At the same time, we believe all factions of the council should endorse the mayoral succession policy, which is designed to rotate the ceremonial post among all council members who have not held the office. All factions should agree not to use the position for partisan purposes.

In the meantime, the council has a tremendous amount of critical business on its plate. Consider:

** Nearly $3 million needs to be cut from the 2006-07 budget, which will involve making painful decisions that could mean employee layoffs and the loss of popular and critical programs.

** The council will decide whether to move forward with a controversial plan to develop a golf course at Bayfront Park, and is poised to sign a long-term contract with a Southern California company. The city could receive several playing fields as part of the deal, but so far no acceptable site has been identified.

** Following an unusually high number of resignations from the police force, Chief Chris Boyd recently left the department to lead a brand new department in Citrus Heights, a Sacramento suburb. A new chief must be hired in Menlo Park.

** With the closure of three auto dealers in the last two years, a plan must be found to restore the lost sales tax revenue that has led to cuts in staffing and services.

In the face of such a critical agenda, it would make sense for council members to put their political agendas behind them and focus on finding sound, community-endorsed solutions to some of the toughest problems the city has seen in years. The spat over who should hold the mayor's post is not a hopeful sign that the members will choose such a course. But it is worth reminding them that there is another way.

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