The record-union., 1892-03-21
THE APPOINTING POWER OF THE
MAYOR

BY the new charter the Mayor is to ap-
point all officers of the city whose election
or appointment is not provided for other
wise. But in every case the Board of
Trustees have the right of rejection. If
that body refuses to confirm, then new
nomination must be made and so on
until agreement is reached.
The officers to be elected by the people
are the nine Trustees, the Auditor and
ex officio Assessor, the Treasurer, Col
lector, City Attorney, Justice of the
Peace and School Directors. All others
are appointed by the Mayor with consent
of the Trustees, except that the Board of
Education is to elect the Superintendent
of Schools; the Board of Health is to elect
the City Physician, ex officio Health
Officer, and the Sanitary and Building
Inspector; the Board of Library Directors
is to appoint the Librarian, and the Board
of Trustees is to elect the City Clerk and
name all election officers.
To this appointing power given to the
Mayor some objection is raised because
of the exaggerated idea that it confers too
much power upon one man. Those who
advance the objection will abandon it
when they reflect that the vast majority
of the ills of municipal government are
due directly to the division of authority
and the independence of heads of depart
ments. As a matter of fact the Mayors is
not to be a one-man power. The nine
Trustees must, as a board, be consulted
and confirm or disapprove his appoint
ments. So far from this being radical it
is not sufficiently strong; other cities find
it greatly TO their advantage to give the
Mayor the sole and absolute appointing
power.
Ex-Mayor Seth Low of Brooklyn has
exhaustively treated this subject, and the
experience of Brooklyn justifies all his
claims. He would give the Mayor sole
power of appointment and absolute
power of removal. Mr.. Lows argument,
in brief, is that responsibility must go
with power; that for executive work one
man is better than many, because he can
be held entirely responsible, while as to a
larger number responsibility cannot be
fixed.
Everywhere the effort to govern cities
through representative bodies, to which
were given great powers with the Mayor
made mere fgure-head, has resulted
badly. Along the whole line the invest.
ing of the Mayor with power. and MAX
ing him responsible to the people, giving
him no excuse for shifting blame, is be-
coming the rule, and is working adj
mirably.
There is objection by Mr.. Low to giving
the council joint power with the Mayor
in appointments, because it develops
deadlocks, and one authority sometimes
obstructs another. But our Freeholders
adopted the system because they found
that our people are not prepared for SC
radical a change, and that to propose il
now might defeat the instrument.
OF course, the men who make politics q
business, who buy and sell nominations
votes places and contracts; the bosses
who fatten upon city politics and official
patronage may be expected to oppose
even the mild proposition to give to the
Mayor and the Trustees joint appointing
power. But this should be one of the
very best of reasons for adopting the pro-
position.
Where all the Offices and appointments
are matters of politics the people feel the
presence of a dominant power behind the
curtain, and to that power the officials are
subservient, with the result that duty to
the people is a secondary consideration.
But where the people elect Mayor and q
Board of Trustees with full knowledge
that they are to name the city employees
and that they are responsible to the peo.
pie directly for the exercise of that power
communities secure better men in these
trusts and performance of duty runs
upon infinitely higher levels.
The Mayor, under the charter, will be-
within direct reach of the people; they
can hold him Immediately responsible
this knowledge will tend to insure an
administration by him that will do him.
self and the city credit. He cannot shake
off his responsibility; he cannot say SCI
is not my fault.n He names the officials
the Trustees confirm them; the Mayor is
required to supervise all such officials: tc
constantly see TO it that they do their full
duty: to examine their books and meth.
DDS, correct and direct the methods il
Office; check waste and improvidence an6
to suspend those that do not conserve
economic and honest government. II