White leads with contractor scorecard

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       From a Council member's perspective, the tone of the 2004 inaugural celebration differed in one important respect from my first inauguration in 1998. When Council members walked out on the stage with their spouses - in my case, life partner - we were introduced as "Council members" without being named individually. All the focus was on the mayor.
      
New Perspective at the Council Table

      The mood was extremely cordial during the first full-length Council meeting the following week. This was also my first meeting as controller. The controller is invited to attend the first Council meeting of the month to present the state of the city's finances. The current budget gap is down to about $8 million because of spending cuts by the Brown administration. If sales taxes continue to inch up, this is easily manageable.
      The mayor's calm, thoughtful style set the tone for the meeting. He talked softly and offered to share the big stick with Council, often going out of his way to acknowledge the important role of Council and ask for input.
      When he spoke, he made it count. At one point, the mayor was asked a logistical question he didn't know. He just paused for 20-30 seconds, without embarrassment, to think.
      Important initiatives were announced:

      At the end of the meeting, Agenda Director Marty Stein, who sits next to the mayor, summed up my feelings when she told the mayor "Excellent job."
     2004 is off to a great start.