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Saginaw History is an August Focus
in More Ways Than One:
Celebrating Saginaw's 150th
Birthday
by Mike Thompson
Saginaw city residents will make history during the first full week of August. Then they will celebrate history.
A widespread proposal to overhaul
Saginaw's form of government, with an elected executive mayor and other
City Charter changes, goes to voters on August 7th. The impact,
one way or another, will resonate for years to come.
A celebration of the city's 150th
Anniversary, known as the Sesquicentennial, follows on
August 11th.
The Sesquicentennial, with a midday
parade as the highlight, is being organized by a civic coalition that
has put together an ambitious $89,000 budget.
August 11th is the big day, but events
such as tours and seminars will continue for months afterward.
Events focus on many aspects of history:
Native American heritage. Settlement by pioneers. East and West side
relations. Lumbering. The automobile. Music.
Architecture. Even 19th century baseball. A schedule of highlights is at the close of this article.
Politics and government also are included
in the longer-term Sesquicentennial activities, especially through
interviews with former mayors such as Henry Marsh and Paul
Wendler that eventually will air on the City's cable TV access
channel.
Still, the history of Saginaw's form of
government from the 1850s through the 1880s is difficult to trace. Even
our leading local historians have a hard time putting an exact finger on
precisely how government worked, other than noting that the county
played a stronger role than nowadays.
To form a link between the August 7th
City Charter revision vote and the August 11th
Sesquicentennial, the best starting point moves forward to 1889.
This is when the state Legislature ordered Saginaw City (West Side)
to merge with East Saginaw. Since then, we have had three eras in
the form of local government.
1890 to 1913 * Geographic
rivalries were strong in the forced merger. Almost everyone feared that
someone else, from some place else, would get an upper hand. The result
was creation of 21 wards, with two City Council members
elected from each ward. A mayor was elected citywide, but had
limited powers.
First change, 1913 * Needless to
say, a 43-member council had trouble functioning. If 43 were too
many, how about five? Reformers won voter approval to really shake
things up.
1913 to 1935 * The five elected
commissioners each ran a specific operation. Departments were public
works; finance; parks and cemeteries; health and safety; water and
sewer. But the commission form of government also drew fire.
Commissioners were accused of forming corrupt 'kingdoms' - awarding jobs
and contracts to relatives and friends. (In one example that seems
ironically humorous today, the public works commissioner was assailed
for paying a wasteful 15 cents per gallon of gasoline, compared to less
than 10 cents in Flint and Bay City.)
Second change, 1935 * Reformers
decided Saginaw needed less 'politics' and more of a businesslike
approach. Therefore it was business leaders, in cooperation with The
Saginaw News, who gained voter consent for another sweeping change
that is known as the council-manager form of government.
1936 to present * Using business
metaphors, (1) The nine-member council is like a volunteer board of
directors that oversees general policy, (2) The mayor is similar to the
chairman of the board, with limited powers other than conducting
meetings, (3) The city manager is like the CEO, the full-time pro
assigned to carry out council policy.
Proposal on August 7th * Electing
an Executive Mayor will result in less power for the appointed City
Manager. Election of two council members apiece from four district wards
that would all cross the Saginaw River. For cost savings, fewer
mid-level department heads. Combined police and fire public safety
functions. Consolidation of other city departments. An ombudsman to
fight wasteful spending. Guaranteed funds for recreation.
Back In The '30s
Reformers during the 1930s followed a
national council-manager model with strict rules that continue today.
Neither the mayor nor the council is permitted to 'interfere' with how
the professional manager handles day-to-day affairs or employee
discipline. This provision is in theory, of course, and often a gray
area has existed.
Furthermore, 'politics' was such a dirty
word that the charter set elections in odd-numbered years, in order to
avoid sharing ballots for U.S. president or Michigan governor. Saginaw
council candidates do not label themselves as Republicans or Democrats.
Voting is citywide to prevent the perceived evil of ward politics. The mayor (chairperson) is appointed by the council (board) rather than elected by the public (stockholders).
Attorney Greg Schmid, main author
of the proposed new charter in the August 7th election, says the 1930s
reformers were not as pure of politics as they proclaimed. The nine men
on the Charter Review Commission got their document approved and then
ran for the new nine-man City Council, and all nine of them won.
Schmid describes this as self-serving. In
contrast, if voters pass the new charter, Schmid and other 2007
reformers have pledged that they will not pursue council seats for the
next three years.
Business interests controlled Saginaw
politics from the 1930s deep into the 1970s, through a group known first
as the Committee of 50 and then as United Saginaw Citizens.
A watershed election took place in
1977. With Sister Ardeth Platte winning from the left wing
and Dr. Walter Averill from the right wing, independents gained a
majority of seats for the first time. United Saginaw Citizens never
fought back, because by then many of the business and professional
people were starting to move out of the city. Saginaw during the past 30
years has had various mixtures on the council.
Greg Schmid and other advocates
of a 'yes' vote on August 7th say the time to adopt a strong,
elected executive mayor is long overdue. When no single faction controls
the council, the power of the unelected manager is strengthened.
All nine council members have said they
oppose the new charter, with varying degrees of intensity.
Backers of a 'no' vote say the existing
system ensures selection of a city manager with professional credentials
that an elected mayor possibly would lack.
Those on the 'yes' side answer that
regardless, the mayor should be the peoples' choice and accountable
directly to the people.
Sesquicentennial Schedule
In the end, voters will make history one
way or another on August 7th. Later in the week, the
Sesquicentennial arrives.
Proceedings get a head start on August
10th with a downtown fireworks display at dusk. The sky show will
follow Friday Night Live, Children's Night Out, at Morley
Plaza next to the Temple Theatre.
Here is the schedule of events for
Saturday, August 11th:
9:30 a.m. * Demonstration of 19th
century baseball, Hoyt Park.
11 a.m. * Parade begins downtown,
crosses the Genesee Bridge, turns along North Michigan and proceeds to
the Courthouse.
12:30 p.m. * Concert of modern
music, with historic themes, on the Courthouse lawn and/or at the
adjacent Borchard Park Gazebo.
8:15 p.m. * Saginaw Bay
Symphony Orchestra concert at Ojibway Island followed by fireworks.
In the parade and at other sites,
participants will see all sorts of antique cars and various displays
that will bring history to life. Follow-up activities heading into fall
will include tours of historic buildings. The Saginaw Humanities
Lecture Series will follow a 150th anniversary theme. Public
Libraries of Saginaw has prepared coloring books that depict such
items at fire tugboats that roamed the river to battle blazes during the
lumber era.
The group's website is
saginaw150.com. Anyone who
wants to take part in the parade may call Jeanne Conger at
PRIDE In Saginaw, 793-5168, or e-mail her at
info@prideinsaginaw.org
for an application.
Anyone who wishes to contribute may send
a check to the City of Saginaw Sesquicentennial Committee in care
of the Saginaw Community Foundation,
100 South Jefferson, Suite 201,
Saginaw, MI 48607.
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