The “Cool Mayor” – Ithaca, New York
This just in – mayor’s can be cool too. Such is the case with Ithaca mayor Carolyn Peterson. An avid environmentalist, with a yin for good blank" >target="_blank" >glossary/governance/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="7997a8bf9ff2be52ee2f53169224675d" target="_blank" >governance, Peterson is just the sort of official communities throughout the US need.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18784978#inf-font-awesome-cssexcludeGlossaryBRD=1395&PAG=461&dept_id=216620&rfi=6
Madame Mayor’s Muscular Mandate
By: M. Tye Wolfe
09/05/2007
Looking at the array of portraits that line the walls of Common Council Chambers can be a jarring experience to the close observer. They include all of Ithaca’s mayors, past and present. Let’s start at the beginning: hmmmm, WASPy white man, white man, another white man, still another white man … and dozens more. Wait, a Jew! That must have been a landmark. But they are all still men. (Don’t make accusations of misandry at this German-Irish guy; I am just stating the facts.)But the most recent portrait is quite distinct. It features the first woman ever elected as mayor of the City of Ithaca: Carolyn Peterson. Whether gender should have anything to do with politics is open to debate: Most believe the most qualified person should be elected. And apparently, Ithacans believed Peterson fit the bill – and will again for at least the next four years.Mayor Peterson, a Democrat, has never lost an election, whether running for Common Council twice in the early 1980s, and again in 2001. (She represented both the fifth and fourth wards.) In the eyes of many environmentalists, she scored a victory in the 1990s when, while serving on the Planning Board, she was among those asking WalMart for design changes in its plans for a store near Buttermilk Falls. WalMart challenged these requests, but city/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="1bb14b1aa6022028057269551c15df6d" target="_blank" >the city’s criteria were upheld.Now she will win again. With the unanimous endorsement of the Democratic committee (which was divided during her last mayoral run) and no challengers, no one has risen to debate her performance over the last four years. Therefore, this is a duty that, some might say, is left to the Fourth Estate. The Times sought out potential critics, including Republicans and centrist Democrats, but few wished to go on the record, leaving only scuttlebutt and insinuation in place of specific criticism. Therefore, the validity of their complains is subject to scrutiny.
A Change in Style
When I enter City Hall, it’s embarrassing, since I have no physical disability, to take the elevator to the Mayor’s fourth floor bead/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="578cb1a0f618c79c0949cc78c076b63f" target="_blank" >corner office, so I slug up the stairs. Peterson, a Chicago native, has worked as an aerobics instructor; an aura of wellness seems to permeate the building. For example, while waiting to meet with her (she is held up at a meeting), I have a chance to examine a board/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="5114a79e39306a308f665b66eb156a0a" target="_blank" >bulletin board near her office. It’s filled with stress-management tips, including ways to incorporate exercise and healthy eating into life. You know, the things you resolve to do but don’t.”Did Carolyn put that up?” I ask her secretary, Annie Sherman. Sherman replies that it is the bailiwick of human resources, but I have little doubt that it comes with the approbation of the mayor. Including Peterson, I have met five of Ithaca’s former mayors. My easiest point/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="2c84a53dd8c59761ee5a7b39c64c9aee" target="_blank" >reference point, at least when it comes to governing style, is Alan Cohen, the controversial, independent predecessor to Peterson, who did not seek reelection in 2003. He was the first mayor to run, successfully, for two four-year terms. (The mayoral term was changed from two years in 1995.)Changes to the mayoral office since the arrival of Peterson are modest, but noticeable. She hugs Sherman as they part ways for the day. Sherman’s loyalty to her boss is unaffected (“I hope you will write nice things about her,” she once says to me when Peterson is not there. “Oh, Carolyn and I get along,” I respond.) One new item in the office is a bust of the head of Odysseus, the ancient king of the original Ithaca, that was a gift from that historic Grecian city. Then there are the pictures of her with prominent Democrats: including Bill Clinton and Al Franken. After I comment on them, she says, beaming, “I have one with Robert Redford, but I haven’t put that up.”I had my own complaints about Peterson before my first private meeting with her more than a month ago. For one thing, setting up a meeting seemed hard. Her schedule is constantly booked. I had to wait a week; that can be an affront to a self-important journo. Even when I need information, I know better than to call her at home, like I could when she was an alderperson, because the grapevine told me that her private life was to be that – private. The answering machine message, assuming it has not changed, is unique. “Leave a message of peace and hope,” or something like that.Cohen, an avid user of the cell phone, could be reached day or night, or meet me for breakfast at 6:30am, even after a Common Council meeting that went well into the witching hour. And I would be ushered into his office at any time. “Why doesn’t she hang out with the guys at like, Simeon’s?” one of my superiors asked me to ask her. Peterson ran on a frame/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="a264fd4a462aa2af526b8cf3f279e443" target="_blank" >platform of open government, I had thought to myself. She hasn’t been as accessible as Cohen. So I ask her what gives.She sighs and says, “Well, I’m a grandmother.” Off the record, she enumerates the concerns her family has faced. As someone who believes that pols should have private lives, her answer makes sense. Cohen is a bachelor. As for “hanging out with the guys” (a politically incorrect term that I imagine includes women) she seems confused. “I don’t drink,” she says. “I’m not sure what you mean.” Again, good enough for me. She is a health enthusiast, which is why she looks much younger than someone in her mid-fifties. So, while she may not be as ubiquitous as the former mayor, she is hardly hidden from the world.
Grading the “Cool Mayor” (Sans Report Card)
A good reference for tracking Peterson’s performance is to peruse her 2003 campaign catalogue. Before I have a chance to ask, she points immediately to the promise she failed to deliver: a semi-annual report card for the city. “I will publish a semi-annual ‘City Report Card’ to track the city’s progress toward these goals, thereby creating a structure of accountability with measurable results,” it says.Before I can slam down my fist on her desk and demand an answer for this betrayal, Peterson says that, as an administrator, she found out only later how much mayoral activity is invisible to the public, and difficult to grade. Only the politics of being mayor, and the projects and votes that she and the council consider, are well-publicized. Less obvious she says, are the personnel issues, interdepartmental workings, managing budgetary vicissitudes and other mundane concerns she must work into her jammed schedule. Creating the criteria for evaluation was too difficult, though she claims she will try and get the report-card initiative going next term. It does not seem that people have been up in arms.The mayor, who earns over $50,000 a year, works 40-60 hours a week by her estimate, which is not hard to believe, because she is always in a meeting or conducting some other municipal activity whenever I try to reach her. “This is my full-time job,” she says. Swimming with the Big FishAs a Democrat in a small but well-known progressive city, she has also brought Ithaca even more onto the national stage. She has been recognized as a “cool mayor” and was one of several dozen to be invited by environmental activist/actor/director Robert Redford to a conference at his large residence near Park City, Utah to discuss environmental issues.”A Cool Mayor is about climate and leadership,” explains the Cool Mayor Web site (www.coolmayors.com). Including Peterson, it lists 416 such city leaders, including Richard Daley of Peterson’s hometown. “A Cool Mayor is about a can-do attitude and a solutions-oriented approach. A Cool Mayor is prepared to take on a difficult issue piece by piece and bring the community along. A Cool Mayor acts – to promote energy-efficiency/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="e48e3ca4e233fb726045f0de418f2d89" target="_blank" >energy efficiency, pioneer renewable energy, recycle waste, plant trees, plan smart growth, reduce traffic congestion – whatever it takes to bring about climate protection, piece by piece, solution by solution.”I ask the mayor if she believes she has inherited any problems created by her predecessor, environmental or otherwise, considering the extent of the development he ushered in throughout the city. Many of his detractors say he was not environmentally friendly. Does she consider herself his clean-up woman?”When I ran for Common Council (in 2001), some people thought I was going to stop WalMart again,” she says, referring to her planning board efforts in the 1990s. But, she adds, a lot of Cohen’s efforts were a fait accompli. She does not criticize Cohen, even given an opportunity, but does say that the Cayuga Green project, started under his administration, is one project that has needed vigilance (finding tenants for its office space for example) and she says traffic has been a concern with the advent of the big boxes.I also ask her if, as Cohen projected, sales tax revenues from the much-despised (but also well-attended) stores and other projects have been a boon to the city’s coffers.”Well, you have to consider all the infrastructure that was needed to support that, and the cost of it,” she says. ” I was really against the widening of Spencer Street [which included the demolition of a house].” But, when pressed, she does acknowledge that, even those expenses included, the revenues have outweighed the costs. However, she adds that, after speaking with the comptroller, she anticipates 2008 will be “a tough year,” as the city adjusts worker salaries to accommodate the cost of living and other expenditures. Translation: taxes will likely go up.
Mayor’s Anonymous Detractors
A prominent Republican reached by the Times had surprisingly few negative things to say about Peterson, only criticizing her for letting non-binding condemnations of the president onto the city agenda. More detailed criticisms come from my colleagues in the press, those who have been or are involved in government, and a few residents. I have never heard Peterson raise her voice in anger, but some say she is too thin-skinned, and cannot deal with criticism. (However, this paper was strongly critical of the Ithaca Journal’s editorials condemning Peterson for not publicizing information on judicial applicants, when she was not obliged to.) Could her fear of controversy prevent her from taking a firm stand on any issue, lest she be on one end of a bitter controversy? “She does not like surprises,” says one political observer, offering a possible reason for her vigilant attendance of meetings. A second, ironic accusation from the same person is that she gives department heads too much free reign. (Reached for comment; several department heads declined to confirm or deny this, wisely not wanting to be involved in politics.) Other detractors point to the way the city treated the development proposal for a hotel on Inlet Island as evidence of a lack of firm leadership, arguing that Steve Flash, who competed with two other developers for preferred status, was let down by city inertia. Having invested time, money and patience, he waited to work with the city to make his idea successful, only to see it abruptly voted down. Now the future of that valuable piece of real-estate/" class="glossaryLink" data-cmtooltip="b6238c43ec80c8b00c93e4eb154da3e0" target="_blank" >real estate is in indefinite limbo. As Council member Joel Zumoff, who supported Flash’s proposal, said, nobody came forth with other ideas for the land, such as a park. Another example used to substantiate accusations of inertia concern the effort to rename State Street after Martin Luther King, Jr., a symbolic – but very important – initiative put forth years ago by community activist Gino Bush. This process has barely begun.
Other Accomplishments
To be fair, I do not give Peterson a chance to address these charges point by point. She says that, after being elected, she had to hit the ground running, and cites many accomplishments that counter the accusation of inertia. She says inter-municipal relationships have been strengthened through the Tompkins County Council of Governments, on which she serves, allowing the city to work more closely with the town to avoid duplication of services and save money. She also cites her work to repair city infrastructure, including bridges, water and sewer lines, and gradual improvements to city streets to make them more friendly to bikers and pedestrians.Though she declines to take credit for the idea, she has worked hard to make the southwest more than just a retail destination, by helping shepherd a housing project that would include residences for people of all incomes. Other accomplishments she cites include the commercial drivers license training program, skilled trade stipends, immigrant support services, and work to diversify city employees. Efforts to remediate polluted areas such as Gun Hill, and Emerson, and mitigate train idling that leads to traffic congestion in the West End, are also on her resumé.It’s too late to file petitions, and the lack of a challenger or specific criticism sought for this article, leads to one conclusion. The vast majority of Ithacans either like Peterson or are too apathetic to care. In any case, she will not only be the first female mayor, but the first to win two terms. Again, she will make history.