Lear returns as mayor, advocates longer term
Published 8:05 am Wednesday, January 14, 2015
- Rob Ruth/Chieftain Enterprise city councilors, from left, Laura Miller, Jenni Word, and Dave Elliott are sworn into office Tuesday night, Jan. 13, during the monthly regular meeting of city government. Elliott is the Enterprise council's only new member.
ENTERPRISE – Steve Lear, who was sworn in as Enterprise’s mayor for a second time, floated a few ideas for making major changes to the structure of city government as a new governing group was assembled Tuesday night in the Enterprise City Council chambers.
At the outset of the monthly regular meeting of the Enterprise City Council, Michele Young, city administrator, administered the mayoral oath of office to Lear, and then the councilor’s oath to three council members, Laura Miller, Jenni Word, and Dave Elliott, who were sworn in as a group. Among the trio, only Elliott is new to Enterprise government.
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Lear, who was previously mayor from 2011 to 2013, and before that served four years as a councilor, spent the past two years outside of government after being defeated for re-election in 2012.
Tuesday night, Lear spoke for several minutes about his vision for city government, mentioning certain concerns he said he periodically heard from residents “on the street,” but also extolling Enterprise as “a wonderful city” that compares favorably “to anyone in the state.”
Additionally, Lear talked about the possibility changing the form of city government, suggesting that city officials should explore the merits of “a city manager or a strong mayor system.”
While Lear’s comments about the structure of government included no recommendations, he was more definite about another change he’d like the city to consider: lengthening the term of mayor from two years to four. He told the council that implementing the proposal would be “an arduous process” necessitating a change to the city’s charter, “but I would like you to have that in the back of your mind,” the mayor said.
In advocating a longer term, Lear argued that two years was too short a period for any mayor “to get things evolved.”