YAKIMA, Wash. -- Before his stint as mayor of Yakima ended in January, City Councilman Dave Edler brought a higher profile to the post than most before him or since.

Under the city's council-manager form of government, council members select one of their own to hold the largely ceremonial two-year mayoral post that mostly involves running the council's twice-monthly meetings and representing the city at various public functions.

But that didn't stop Edler from using the mayor's post as something of a bully pulpit, speaking out on scantily clad baristas and upsetting council conservatives with his outspoken support for a regional aquatic center and a fire department paramedic program. His comments attacted attention, but the mayoral post didn't provide any meaningful political power.

That could change.

Next year's departure of longtime City Manager Dick Zais has renewed discussions about changing to a strong-mayor form of government. Under that arrangement, the city is run directly by a political leader elected by voters. Depending on the way the charter is crafted, such a mayor could have veto power over the council.

Larger cities, such as Yakima, that use this form of government typically hire an administrator to assist the mayor. Out of the state's 281 incorporated cities and towns, 229 operate under a strong mayor. Most are small towns that can't afford a professional manager, but some big cities, including Seattle and Spokane, also have it.

Support for a strong-mayor system has made for some odd bedfellows. Councilmen Rick Ensey and Edler, seldom known for sharing philosophies, support the idea and have been talking with one another about moving the process forward.

Edler, the most vocal supporters of strong-mayor, sat down last week to chat about the idea.

Q: Why a strong-mayor instead of council-manager?

A: I'm in my seventh year of the council-manager form of government and it's my strong belief that this form of government is producing a well-managed city, but not a well-led city. There's no real leadership that comes from a board-driven organization. You just don't see strong, accountable leadership. We're being pressed by citizens to reform government and you can't do that very well without strong leadership.

Q: Why the emphasis on leadership?

A: A leader in a strong-mayor form of government would have to campaign real directly with regards to their vision and how they would accomplish it, and they would be held accountable to whatever they've convinced citizens that they're going to do. That's what leaders do, they set course, they set vision, they declare to a community: 'This is where we're going.'

Q: Are you interested in the job?

A: Not at this point.

Q: The talk has been that whoever succeeds City Manager Dick Zais is going to have a hard time.

A: Whoever follows is going to have more issues internally than externally. There's a system created by the manager, a culture there, and whoever comes in is going to change that culture. That's going to be the biggest issue with the next person. An elected mayor, a strong mayor, is going to have a force of will that everybody will understand.

Q: So you're saying the time is right for a switch?

A: I think it is absolutely right. I think it should come out of the council, which is why I'm advocating for that and working toward that end -- describing it so people have a real understanding what we're thinking.

Q: Are you seriously saying you're not interested in the job?

A: Not in the short term. I've got things I really want to do in the next season of my life which is coming upon me.

I am pursuing leadership foundations. There are foundations being developed all over the world dealing with the ills of communities. I'm starting to try to discern whether we can realize that kind of a foundation here -- helping start a program that will take inner city kids and pay four years of college and mentor them all the way through it, inspire them as leaders to come back into the community and make a difference.

Q: Any examples of such foundations?

A: The Northwest Lead-
ership Foundation in Tacoma has had significant impacts on the Hilltop neighborhood, the very difficult part of Tacoma, the Bloods and Crips and all that. These foundations are focused on those particular parts of communities.

Being on the City Council you really do see the broken parts of the community and I don't think government is the answer to that particular problem. These leadership foundations -- faith-based organizations and foundations -- are doing very, very good things.

Q: What would you do if you were elected strong mayor?

A: I don't now get involved in the aquatics park conversation and the ballpark conversation because it's a political football. You've got seven people fighting around the table, and nobody really declaring, 'You elect me, I'm gonna see us realize our answers to aquatics, and to quality of life, gangs, etc.'

What are we going to do about our aging infrastructure, which includes pools and streets, traffic lights, and areas of our community that don't have sewer service? What are we going to do about those kinds of things? I want somebody who's going to take the bull by the horns and lead us toward solutions. That's what people want, I think.

People will get excited about following a strong leader as they direct our city forward. Again, I don't believe our system creates that.

Q: What about veto power over the council?

A: Under the system I will stand behind, the mayor would have veto power and the council would have override. Not a significant one -- majority plus one is what we're thinking right now.

I'm having this conversation with Rick Ensey, primarily. Interesting allies, but both of us feel pretty strongly about this. My experience tells me what's keeping the community from being led well is the system that we're under.

Q: What good is the hearing on Thursday going to do?

A: I don't know what the council is going to do. I'm more interested in what the community does. Will there be people that really do strongly advocate for a change, or will there be people that really want to defend the current form of government?

We know those folks, because they've already spoken and I would assume that they will be back. But part of our experience from past public hearings is that you really don't have a lot of people show up to talk about these things. But when you got a Walmart issue, a Toscana issue, a strip club, you can fill the room with unhappy people.

Q: Obviously you would like the council to put something on the ballot.

A: My hope would be that the majority of the council will at least want to give the community an opportunity to truly weigh in. That means we allow them to vote. I don't want to see this process driven by somebody else.

Q: You got in trouble with the council when you were mayor for being too outspoken.

A: I have a strong personality, I know that. I do feel like I have a sense of where I'm going and a willingness to lay it all out there and let people understand that. And I did that.

It cost me some flesh, but I don't regret it. People knew where I stood. I was trying to drive the community forward.

I don't know what chair I sit in anymore (City Council), but I'm still trying to drive this conversation and the city forward. I'm creating a conversation by moving us forward. I really do think that we should have this conversation.

Public meeting

n What: A chance to be heard on the idea of switching to a strong-mayor form of government in Yakima

n WhERE: Yakima City Hall, 129 N. Second St.

n WhEN: 7 p.m. Thursday