I read a story in The Dallas Morning News today about the strong mayor issue in Dallas. If I drive to, take the train to or drive through Dallas, I doubt whether the city is governed daily by a mayor or a city manager is going to have a huge impact on me. I can see both sides of the argument although I’m sure it would be fun to see what happens if Laura Miller becomes that strong mayor. Well, it might not be so much of a blast for city workers. Or citizens of Dallas. Okay, it would be a complete bummer. I would lock myself up in a closet somewhere. If I lived or worked in Dallas. Which I don’t.
Rather than a power grab from competing interests, being a strong mayor should really be about feats of strength. Kind of like in the made-up holiday Festivus from the Seinfeld episode. The mayor should have the ability to carry large fire hoses up six flights of stairs within three minutes, balance the city budget, rappel down the side of the building wearing a full firefighter’s turnout suit, balance the city budget, and pick up and empty forty full trash barrels into the back of a city garbage truck. And just for fun, balance the city budget.