LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

The Burdens of the Office

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted January 13, 2009)

I know only too well that along with the responsibilities of power, comes the scrutiny, second-guessing and punditry. As a politician you accept these realities as part of the territory. Yesterday, two such analyses played themselves out in front of our eyes, one far-away in the American Oval Office, the other closer to home involving our first citizen, the Mayor of the City of Hamilton.

Mr. Bush held his last press conference as President of the U.S. and was judged by the world for his troubling record over the last 8 years in power. Mr. Eisenberger was written about in our local paper on his last two years at the city’s helm. Both leaders were found to be wanting. Mr. Bush can’t do anything about it anymore; Mayor Fred still has two years to redeem himself, although, one columnist feels it isn’t in him to do better.

According to The Spectator’s Andrew Dreschel, my successor in the mayor’s chair, Fred Eisenberger, is more like a 16th Councillor than he is leader of the city. In a related piece, Nicole MacIntyre, the municipal affairs reporter, gave Mayor Fred a 30% score on his ability to deliver on crucial votes at Council when assessing the top ten issues of the last two years. What is Mayor Fred’s reaction to these assessments? On the one hand he is dismissive “I don’t want to drive an agenda…” while on the other he is resigned, “I don’t think there is a base for me on council, to be honest…”

According to the piece, Fred is also surprised by council’s criticism of his inability to build consensus. He lamented the time constraints of his job. I can attest to how busy the job is; however, Dreschel also points out that Fred prides himself in not being a 24-7 Mayor. One might draw some disturbing conclusions when juxtaposing these two facts. If one needs more time to be an effective team-builder, and if one isn’t putting in enough time, well….the reader can finish the rest!

However, are Fred’s excuses sufficient explanations to why he hasn’t been successful in accomplishing his goals? Let me weigh in on this analysis, because I have held the job and because Fred, perhaps unintentionally takes a swipe at my record while doing that job. Of course, I am not a dispassionate observer, but I think the Mayor betrays the real reason for his inability to engage when he makes the following statement, “The lament last time was that there was a mayor who consulted, then did what he wanted to do anyway because he had the votes lined up and drove it home and that offended a lot of people.” Fred was obviously talking about me, in an unflattering way suggesting that I didn’t listen to my colleagues. That I dispute his conclusion isn’t important, what is telling, however, is that we now have an explanation to the problem, and it is in his understanding of consultation and consensus. Fred’s idea of both, which he admitted he doesn’t find the time to do properly in the first place, is that it isn’t good consultation unless everybody agrees with you. Without unanimity, you may as well not consult, one supposes.

On March 17, 2008, I wrote a piece called “How Elusive is Council Consensus?” which talked about this seeming tragic flaw in some leaders. I made these observations, now prophetic, in that article:

“What intrigued me was the split on Council. I wondered whether other significant votes also created a split in ideology or other political lines. In fact, one of the speakers at this meeting was Councillor Brian McHattie who chastised my winner-take-all approach to major issues. He lamented that I tallied votes to get majority support when what I should have been doing was working towards consensus.

He had it wrong, of course. I always strove for consensus, but also knew that it was difficult to achieve. Searching for consensus can be a paralyzing experience because all it takes is one naysayer to block an agenda. And my Council had more than one naysayer along with Mr. McHattie. So, I went for consensus and settled for majority. I never lost a major vote as the result of this strategy. It took resolve and negotiations to bring people on side; but that is the role of a Mayor, to lead. Although, I was willing to compromise on issues to make the best decisions, I wasn’t willing to back down or capitulate on the best outcome for the city thereby earning me the ire of some of my colleagues. “

What Mayor Fred has wrong also is that if I was able to get majority votes on Council, I did so not because I did what I wanted, but because I did what the majority wanted; or put another way, I was able to persuade the majority of votes on Council to support an agenda I thought would benefit the community. As I say in the paragraph above, “It took resolve and negotiations to bring people on side, but that is the role of a Mayor, to lead.” Jack MacDonald and Marvin Ryder agree with my view. Leading Council is “..the job” says Jack, and Marvin adds that Fred ‘fails to inspire’ others to follow him. This misunderstanding of the role on one hand, and a lack of skills on the other must make the job ultimately un-doable.

Marvin Ryder also makes an unflattering comparison between our Mayor and President-elect Obama. He says, “Fred is not Barack Obama.” Ouch! In Fred’s defence, however, one must quickly acknowledge that other than Mr. Obama, no one is Barack Obama. He is uniquely gifted, as we have seen. However , the mayor can take a lesson from the President-elect. When asked about the ‘strong team of rivals’ Mr. Obama has assembled as his cabinet, he indicated that he likes people with strong opinions and forceful personalities around him. (Much like our Council.) Then he looked the reporter in the eye and said, “But make no mistake about it; I set the agenda for this administration.” A leader has to set the agenda, and ‘drive’ the agenda, and must persuade those around him that it is the best agenda, and ultimately the leader must see the agenda implemented. If a leader interrupts this cadence, he or she will be doomed with a 30% success assessment by knowledgeable observers. I wish Fred better luck in 2009.

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