With his appointment by fellow council members as mayor for the
next year, Victor Gomez has an opportunity to advance the movement
for establishing the position as an at-large role elected by the
entire city.
With his appointment by fellow council members as mayor for the next year, Victor Gomez has an opportunity to advance the movement for establishing the position as an at-large role elected by the entire city.
In the current system, council members each year appoint a new mayor. They traditionally rotate so that each council member gets a chance to be mayor.
That system must end as soon as possible, which likely would be 2011 once next year’s census figures are made official because it requires a realignment of districts. Changing districts before then could leave the area’s Hispanic population under-represented, prompting city officials to put off the discussions until the census is done.
Eventually, though, Hollister needs a singular voice, a representative, a face, to lead it forward. The current way of doing things is cordial, to say the least, but it doesn’t provide for full representation from a position that acts, in name, as a citywide leader. Having an at-large, dedicated mayor would offer advantages such as providing a deciding voice on contentious issues, strengthening the line of accountability in house and offering outside interests a single point of contact who can put his or her name behind the talk.
As mayor for this next year, one of Gomez’s goals should be to promote the benefits of moving to an at-large system. Citizens, in the end, will decide whether it’s the right direction. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt the cause to have the mayor behind it.
