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Council Gripes Over Power

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By ELLEN GEDALIUS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 6, 2007

Updated: 11/06/2007 12:56 am

TAMPA - A power struggle has erupted between the city council and Mayor Pam Iorio's administration over who calls the shots.

Tired of feeling like a rubber stamp, several council members interviewed Monday said they would support changing the charter to allow them to hire their own independent attorney.

The arguments are not about policy matters such as mass transit or downtown redevelopment. Instead, they tend to focus on questions such as: Who speaks for the city? What is the role of the city attorney? What is the role of the city council attorney? And why does the administration request council members discuss their concerns with department heads and top administrators rather than lower staff members?

"In all my years here, through three administrations, I have never seen this kind of bickering over power," said Councilman Charlie Miranda, who has served on the council off and on since the 1970s.

The situation has soured so much so that Councilman Tom Scott called a special meeting for Thursday to hash out the problems.

In recent months:

•After the council unanimously supported changing the makeup of the Environmental Protection Commission, Iorio sent a letter to state legislators to tell them the city does not support the move.

•Councilman John Dingfelder criticized Darrell Smith, the mayor's chief of staff, at a council meeting. Dingfelder argued Smith's policies regarding who council needs to talk to about constituent concerns are unfair, and the administration is uncooperative. Smith said at the time he was trying to cooperate and communicate with the council. In an interview Monday, Smith said the policies are in place in an effort to create a more efficient government.

•Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena wrote a letter questioning a policy that precludes city staff members from meeting with council members unless a majority of council members is present. Smith, again, said he is trying to make the best use of staff time.

•Scott blasted City Attorney David Smith for comments he made to a newspaper reporter regarding the mayor and council roles under the charter.

Annoying Issues

"I don't know if the administration has changed," Dingfelder said. "But these issues are annoying Tom Scott, they're annoying Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, and they've been annoying to Linda and me for a couple of years. So now we have more council members expressing displeasure."

The city administration and the city council have generally enjoyed a fairly good relationship.

Sticky moments come up from time to time, and harsh words are exchanged, but usually both sides have gotten along.

Cracks In Relationship

Cracks in that relationship accelerated two weeks ago, when Iorio wrote a letter to the legislative delegation, saying the city of Tampa does not support changing the composition of the Environmental Protection Commission. She wrote the letter despite a vote the council took in favor of a change.

Smith, the city attorney, said Iorio's letter was in her purview. He points to sections of the city charter that he says indicate the mayor has authority to speak for the city.

He also told a St. Petersburg Times reporter the mayor speaks for the city and if council members "want to be mayor, they should run for mayor."

Smith acknowledged Monday his comments were "imprudent."

Scott took offense to Smith's remarks, and wondered how Smith can fairly represent both the concerns of the mayor and the concerns of the council.

As a county commissioner, Scott was behind the effort to put the county attorney under the control of the board of commissioners. Previously, the county attorney reported to the county administrator.

Voters approved the change, and now Scott says a similar effort is needed at the city.

"You need to have a council attorney that represents council," Scott said.

Mulhern, too, was offended by Smith's remarks. "We don't have legal representation that is able to represent us," Mulhern said. "Even though David Smith says he's our attorney, he's clearly given evidence that he does not represent us. He said, basically, we don't have a voice."

A few years ago, the city council decided it wanted an attorney. The council interviewed candidates and selected Marty Shelby. Smith hired Shelby, and the council appointed Shelby its legal aide.

However, according to the charter, the legal aide serves only in an advisory capacity to the council. "No action or opinion of said assistant city attorney shall be construed to be the official legal position of the city," the charter states.

Smith says he sometimes gives the mayor legal opinions she doesn't want to hear, just as he gives the city council advice it might not like. But he doesn't see a conflict.

"The only arena where a conflict could arise is in the political arena, which is not our arena. We provide them independent advice," he said.

Miranda says the city attorney's office does a fine job.

"When you're an attorney, no matter who you represent, you have to be ethical," Miranda said. "You can't have two opinions. What are you going to do? Hire a third to see who's right and who's wrong?"

A charter change is no simple process. The council first needs to pass an ordinance, requesting the issue be put on the ballot. The mayor then either signs the ordinance or vetoes it. If she vetoes it, the council can override it with five votes. If an election is held, a majority of voters must approve the change for it to be incorporated into the charter.

Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at (813) 259-7679 or egedalius@tampatrib.com.

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