The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-04-10
CityNeedsNewC Charter SayC.G.G. Association
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 an impossible task for any voter tc keep track of who's who over g period of two years, and be able te go to the polls and vote intelligently on any officer, except perhaps the mayor, when they come up for re- election. You can't possibly know the records of all these people, SC as to be able to approve or disap- prove. Furthermore, with more thar hundred candidates in the field contesting for 49 places among 14 single offices and boards, how in the world can anyone determine fairly just who is qualified, and for whatl How in the world can the voter even be expected to know the re- quirements, and the duties of four teen different single offices and boards?
 In the second place, the system of nominating the candidates is such that very few people are en- couraged to participate, and those who do participate can only vote for district delegates to 8 city wide convention-the voter has practical ly no voice in the selection of can didates at all. This means that the general election is only means whereby the voter may reject one o1 sixteen candidates for the board ot aldermen, and may select between one of two hand-picked candidates for the office of mayor, etc., with out having any opportunity to vote for his real choices in the election al all. When three tickets are in the field, the result is apt to be that the successful candidates are elected by a minority of the voters.
 Getting Nowhere
 In the third place, these elective offices are more or less circum. scribed in their activities by reason of being independent of one anoth- CT, and by reason of no responsible superior to whom they are all sub- ject for supervision and coordina- tion of their activities. The Mayor is the nominal head of all depart ments, but so long as each elected official stays strictly within the law, the mayor has no means of com- polling cooperation, or of effectively promulgating his policies, and see- ing that they are properly executed. And speaking of the mayors policies raises the point that the board of aldermen, as the city's legislative body, is more properly the policy prescribing body; the mayor should be an executive officer only, but he is not. This often brings about disputes between the mayor and al- dermen, and the city gets nowhere at all.
 And in the fourth place, even if we were to assume that every elec- ted official always worked in com- plete harmony with every other of ficial, and that the mayor always had complete cooperation, it is an impossible task for any elected mayor-regardless of his ability and integrity-to effectively supervise such a multitude of officials, de- partments and bureaus, and still have time to devote to his own electioneering, to say nothing of such things as greeting visiting fire men. The City of Waterbury is a highly complex organization, which exists to furnish its citizens with the services mentioned heretofore No group of officials, elected under a political system, can be expected to furnish the skill and ability to successfully manage such con- cern.
 No Fixed Responsibility
 In conclusion, it may be said that the situation today is not unlike the situation which existed in 1930, at which time the Waterbury Charter Commission said "If the present or ganization in Waterbury had been developed with the deliberate in- tention of going contrary to the fundamental principles of good or- ganiZation, as far as was humanly possible, 1t could hardly have been more successful in accomplishine that result. Then, and today, there was no definite and fixed authority and responsibility; no few officials which can be blamed or credited by the voters; and no means for focus. ing the attention of the voters or the activities of the numerous of- ficials who are supposed to repre- sent" them. The result is far toe many incompetents in public of. flee, far too much waste and ex. travagance. inadequate public ser. vices, and greatly excessive costs tt the taxpayers and rent payers. The next article in this series will deal with how the city manager plan fixes authority and responsi. bility, and brings order and economy out of confusion and extraYagance.