ELAINE HARRIS SPEARMAN: What will mayoral candidates offer the city?

All across this country, in cities, small towns and hamlets, citizens are gearing up to elect their top local representative — the mayor.

For what appears to be a thankless job, there rarely is a shortage of candidates. Being a mayor means something to the people who are governed by the top city official. His/her words and actions matter. Some mayors are short term, some are long term, and there are those who never should have been there in the first place.

There are those who run time and time again. Sometimes they eventually get there, sometimes they don’t. There’s that old saying about doing things the same way over and over, expecting a different result.

Just because someone actually believes he or she should run the city does not make it so. Many people have bemoaned the fact that mayor, like president of the United States, has few job requirements and standards. The qualifications to run for the office are de minimis and often are outlined by the candidates own perceived qualifications.

Mayoral candidates are slowly eking out. Announcements are being made in various and sundry places and times. There are more to come.

The position of mayor varies from city to city. In some cities, the mayor is essentially a ceremonial figure, while in others he or she is a major executive official. The mayor generally is popularly elected. In some places where there is a commission plan, he or she is selected from within the administrative council to serve as a presiding officer and ceremonial figure.

The mayor of Gadsden will be popularly elected. The registered voters of the city will elect its leader. It is my hope that rancor and general ugliness will not rear its ugly head during next year’s mayoral campaign.

Oh yes, mayors run campaigns. Sometimes they are able to afford paid staff. Much of the work is performed by volunteers. So much is done by people who are unpaid. Volunteers have a reason, generally speaking, why they give their time and money to further the career of another.

Those reasons are not always altruistic. Some want and need a job, as do some of the candidates. Some live their own lives vicariously through the candidate. They are without the will or the ability to run for office. Some have bartered their labor, in return for access to what they hope will be the victor. Other campaign volunteers are promised positions within the new administration, or coveted appointments to boards and commissions.

Whatever the rationale for campaign work, volunteers should be careful to whom they hitch their wagons. There are few things worse than discovering the candidate is not who, or what, you thought they were. It is an ugly sight to see a turncoat after they face their own personal disappointment.

The candidate should, likewise, carefully choose those who run the campaigns and serve as surrogates. Some volunteers become delusional and actually believe they are a better choice than the candidate. I have witnessed such workers in a campaign to be the first African American mayor of the City of St. Louis.

The mayoral candidate and I graduated from law school together; he ran his campaign to be the first African American circuit clerk and ultimately made the run for mayor. A lot of “Frankensteins” were created, which we freely acknowledged.

It does not matter who the candidates are. What matters is having a platform. What are you going to do to improve the lives of residents of Gadsden? How will you improve the quality of life within the city and thereby make Gadsden a better place to live and be employed in, and ultimately attract businesses and people?

Gadsden does not need a two-issue mayor. Those who run on derailing the pet food rendering plant and promises to rid Gadsden of the occupational tax should be sidelined. The city deserves more and better. There is a need for inclusion in city government, and things that matter. There is a need to clean house, ridding the taxpayers of underperforming and non-performing employees.

Nepotism, wherever it exists within government, should be rooted out.

Clearing the city of derelict housing and roadside trash and litter should be a priority. Residents need to be made to rid their property of junk and derelict automobiles.

There are other hardcore issues that need to be dealt with by the mayor. Because you and your friends think the position should be yours is no reason to campaign for it. What do you offer to the citizens of Gadsden?

When the rubber meets the road and there is a mayoral debate, the place should be filled to capacity with people coming face to face with the person who would lead this city.

This is the time to listen up!

Elaine Harris Spearman, Esq., a Gadsden native, is the retired legal advisor to the comptroller of the City of St. Louis.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Elaine Harris Spearman looks at the upcoming mayor's race