An entirely non-partisan question for Beaverton residents to think about. Would you prefer the point person for dealing with Coronavirus in Beaverton to be the mayor, or some future city manager?

Soon the citizens of Beaverton, Oregon will make the decision to change the city government to one in which many duties of the mayor become the responsibility of a city manager, under Ballot Measure 34-298 : Proposed Beaverton Charter of 2021. The current city charter is here.  According the the Beaverton City Website, the changes under the new draft are:

The proposed city charter outlines specifications to the city’s form of government, term limits and languages preferences, such as:

• The mayor would no longer be the city’s administrative head. Instead, the city council would appoint a full-time city manager to oversee the city’s day-to-day operations.
• The council would expand from five members to seven members: six part-time city councilors and one full-time mayor with voting privileges. The council would serve as the city’s governing body and be responsible for the city’s legislative functions. In addition to serving on the council, the mayor would serve as the city’s chief elected official.
• All council positions would remain nonpartisan and elected at-large by Beaverton voters. The councilors and the mayor would be limited to three consecutive four-year terms in office for their respective positions.
• The new charter would no longer use gender-exclusive references as are found in the city’s current charter.

In the case of Beaverton, it would mean a significant change from our current 'strong mayor' model. You can download and read a copy of the new draft charter.

Does it matter? Feel free to share your thoughts on one of these venues:

Beaverton Neighbors on Facebook |  City of Beaverton on Nextdoor | Generalized Question on Quora