Right up front I will state how strongly I am opposed to the concept of the city of Black Diamond eliminating the position of an elected mayor.

I have taken time to give this matter serious thought, ensuring that I did take a look at the concept of no mayor. In the end, I simply feel it is very dangerous for Black Diamond to go down this path.

Inevitably, a city council by itself has and will continue to experience change in power based on those who are elected. Over the years we have seen the results of that, particularly when individuals who came to the council had a specific agenda. The result has been turbulence at best, leaving scars that take time to heal. Likewise, at times, it has been the position of the mayor that causes concerns.

The one key factor in maintaining the stability has been having both entities to ensure the best for the city is what is maintained as the focus.

If issues arise between the parties, the right thing to do is to resolve them like adults; listen to each other, do fact-finding, engage a mediator if needed, but you just don’t throw one or the other out.

If you study the nature of group decision making you will definitely come to see that “group think” is a prominent, common feature, again based on those who are the most persuasive, argumentative or personally powerful. That type of unbalanced power is dangerous and weakens the senses of trust. This is my great area of concern. Nations and organizations that have been led by a single group have not fared well and met ultimate demise because of issues related to unfairness, ethics and trust from those they intended to serve.

If you study organizational leadership, you quickly learn that successful companies and other organizations are not run by only a board of directors, but hand-in-hand with strong leadership at the top to execute the everyday functions of the organization.

The balance between power and authority that flows between a board of directors and the leadership is important.

The by-laws of the organization should dictate who does what, but problems clearly arise if the board has all the power or the executive staff has all the power.

The Council, or Board of Directors, has one set of distinctive roles while the leader, or Mayor, has another. Again, it takes these two to create the balance and carry out the important functions of the organization.

The elected mayor has a direct mandate to work with the council, where the mayor alone cannot make decisions and neither can the council. This is a fundamental structure of our nation itself. We have a Congress who works with the President, not a Congress that can go completely unchecked. If this does not make sense to you, then let’s vote to abolish the council and just let an elected mayor run the city.

Gomer Evans,

Black Diamond