Change to Strong Mayor in Stockton’s Future?

Stockton Mayor Anthony Silva is dropping hints, but he may make a push for a strong mayor before his term is up. As it is, Stockton’s City Manager Bob Deis is responsible for the City’s staff, but many people often turn to the Mayor to seek resolutions for problems in the City. Switching to a strong mayor system would allow greater authority to the Mayor.

If Mayor Silva pursues the strong mayor reform, it would follow the recent attempt in Sacramento to expand the role of the mayor. There, the effort failed. But in the last 17 years, three cities have changed to a strong mayor system, including Fresno, Oakland, and San Diego.

Arguments against the plan were explained by two former Stockton mayors, one of whom sees the City as un-ready for the change, the other who sees value in having professional city administrators handle complicated tasks such as setting budgets and handling politically charged labor issues. However, proponents of the Strong Mayor system say that the Public is better represented by an elected official handling those issues.

Read the full story at the Stockton Record.