At-Large: Paul Farrell

Your Top Three Priorities

1.Change the office of mayor to an elected one
2.Structure waterfront laws for sustainable growth and preservation
3.Reorganize the School Committee to work more effectively with city government

Please list prior applicable experience:

I have extensive experience working effectively as part of a team. My work as a kitchen manager, organizer, field coordinator for 5 State Senate races, and site manager for the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount, brought forth my skills to effectively manage and lead within team and group structures. Keeping an open mind, listening to ideas and working effectively with people of varying opinions have become useful tools in meeting goals and objectives.

What do you hope to accomplish as part of the commission?

Foremost, I want to see Portland’s mayor become an elected official. I want to establish guidelines within the charter that will anticipate the city’s needs before we reach crisis stage and create a sensible foundation for attracting businesses other than tourism. I hope to develop a successful approach to a sustainable working waterfront and to restructure the school committee so it can work effectively and efficiently with city government. I would like to lay the foundations for improving public transportation and sustainable urban development policies.

What do you see as issues within the current structure of city government?

The city manager is not an elected representative of the people and holds too much power for an appointed official. We have a dysfunctional system that leaves us weak when negotiating opportunities and vulnerable to aggressive, narrow development interests.  Our current school committee structure makes progress and reform difficult, ultimately leading to higher costs and a less efficient system.

What are you thoughts on the 1986 charter report? What prior issues would be the most helpful for the current Commission to consider?

It seems that much of what the previous Charter Commission’s work focused on was clarifying technical details and eliminating outdated language, in essence tidying up the document. While there were some changes, many of what I would now consider to be big issues, were not addressed.  I found the minority opinions compelling in their conviction and their strength of argument. They offer glimpses of the commission’s inner workings and insights on the focus of the body’s work.

What other city charters have you examined? How would it inform your approach to analyzing our city’s charter?

I examined the charters of the following Maine cities: Westbrook, Bath, Brunswick, Waterville, Saco, and Biddeford as well as Portland. Four of these have elected mayors, three have city managers. Most of them clearly define the distinctions between legislative and administrative roles and establish definitions of the relationships between branches of government, some offering clear boundaries and responsibilities for each branch. While some are more thorough in detail than others, all offer ideas and differences that will be useful for comparison when examining Portland’s charter.

Would you support an elected mayor? If no, why not?

I do support having an elected mayor. It is one of the main reasons I decided to get involved with the commission.

What parts of the current city charter do you feel are antiquated?

Most of what I consider to be antiquated exists within Article VI. An alarming amount of power and trust is put into the hands of someone twice removed from the voting public, and who is not required to have spent any time at all as a Portland, or Maine resident before taking office.
-- Sect. 1 of Art. VI, requires only a simple majority vote of five, to approve a city manager, leaving no recourse for a minority opinion or opposition. The entirety of section 1, and much of Article VI as a whole, literally hands power and responsibility of the city to an unelected official and dilutes the power of the council.

--  Sect. 14 discusses custody of city monies and bank deposits. With the modern phenomena of larger banks absorbing smaller banks, I would like to see a requirement that city money be deposited in a Portland bank or credit union when possible, or a Maine bank or credit union if a Portland one isn’t available.

Would you consider re-districting the City of Portland? Why and how?

If there is good cause to re-district the city of Portland I can support it. I don’t think redistricting is an answer in and of itself to any of the real issues facing Portland. Having an elected mayor could affect the council structure and possibly the number of councilors. A new or revised system may require redistricting.

Would you modify the current relationship between the school committee and city council?

Yes. Restructuring the charter so our mayor is an elected official necessitates modifying the school committee in order for it to work effectively with the rest of city government. Regardless of the commission’s recommendations on that issue, there remains the need for a more open and cooperative relationship between the two bodies.

What role do you think the charter commission should play to educate the public on changes made to the city charter?

It is important to regularly update the public on our progress and to engage their ideas in the process overall. Inviting the public to comment and testify should be a top priority. The public’s confidence in our results will be strongest knowing that they have been encouraged to participate and kept informed of our progress. A strong, open relationship with the media will be helpful.

What role is the charter commission for public engagement during the process of re-examining the charter?

I think it is of paramount importance that the commission remain open and accessible to the public. It is the obligation of the commission to be available to the public regularly. It is the responsibility of the commission to make information available to the public through emails and updated postings on the city’s website. Accessibility will be instrumental in getting public support for commission recommendations.

What else would you like to add?

The system of government we have now is inefficient.  At best committed public servants are bogged down in an inefficient system that leaves them to fend for themselves and reinvent the wheel on a regular basis. At worst, Portland is vulnerable to a power grab by focused interests who have no interest in serving the voters of our city.