[Letter by Jerry Adams, City of Snoqualmie resident. Views expressed are those of the author, not the Living Snoqualmie website. You may submit letters to [email protected].]
I voted for Jim Mayhew. After Katherine Ross’s tenure, plenty of us were ready for steadier leadership, and Jim’s background suggested we’d get it. Nine months in, I’m sorry to say the rumors about his management style have held up.
The mayor micromanages. He inserts himself into the day-to-day work of departments that have capable directors and experienced staff. Time that should go toward roads, utilities, parks and permits instead goes toward responding to “improvements” imported wholesale from the corporate world, as though a city of 14,000 runs like a tech company. Good leadership in a small city isn’t complicated: train us, trust us, and pay us. Hire subject-matter experts, then let them do the jobs we hired them for. Morale in city hall is low — which is saying something, given how hard the last few years have been for public employees at every level of government.
Then there’s the departure of Parks and Public Works Director Jeff Hamlin. Like any of us, Jeff wasn’t perfect. He also served Snoqualmie well for nearly a decade, from city engineer up through director. Rather than build and stand behind a performance record, the mayor reportedly made clear the dismissal wasn’t performance-based — and the city has now paid a substantial settlement to resolve Mr. Hamlin’s claim. That’s money out of the same budget we’re being asked to shore up with a property tax levy.
If that pattern sounds familiar, it should. Mayor Ross parted ways with a police chief for similar reasons, and the aftermath helped unravel a 14-year policing partnership with North Bend that Snoqualmie taxpayers are still paying for. Two mayors, two personnel decisions handled badly, and residents covering the cost both times.
We voted for change and we got it. It isn’t the change we thought we signed up for. Mayor Mayhew still has more than three years left. He can spend them trusting his staff and delivering the fundamentals — or he can step aside for someone who will.
