Really, Mayor Whipple? Your latest proposal has some problems

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple chose a heck of a time to lobby for a new deputy.

As our community grapples with the coronavirus pandemic — an unprecedented public health crisis combined with a devastating economic downturn — Wichita furloughed nearly 300 workers and instituted a hiring freeze.

The city faces a $10 million budget shortfall. It’s unclear if or when we’ll return to business as usual, whatever that may be.

But Whipple, a mayor who campaigned on ending favoritism and back-door deals with well-connected insiders, says he needs a full-time assistant as soon as possible and hinted that the person could come from his campaign staff.

“For the last 12 years, everyone who had this position or the equivalent actually worked for the mayor before the mayor was (elected) and could actually be found in their campaign structure,” Whipple said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, which was livestreamed on YouTube.

He went on say that an executive assistant be “someone who the mayor can trust.” He wants the person to research policy issues, coordinate community outreach and report directly to the mayor, similar to a president’s chief of staff.

Whipple deserves kudos for making his case in public, at least — though a bizarre read-aloud of YouTube comments distracted from the discussion. Previous mayors found jobs for campaign supporters by filling vacancies without a debate or even a mention at the council table.

But it seems Whipple wants to have his cronyism and rebuke it, too.

City Council member Bryan Frye justifiably noted that the city employee Whipple wants already exists — communications and event planner Megan Lovely, who joined the staff under former mayor Jeff Longwell.

Council member Becky Tuttle further added that the city shouldn’t be adding positions anywhere, much less within the council office, while workers are furloughed and vacancies go unfilled.

That’s a solid, timely argument.

And so is the historical one: Wichita has a council-manager form of government, with council members elected from six city districts and a mayor elected at large. All have equal votes, and all place significant authority in the hands of their only true employee — the city manager.

When Whipple points to similar-sized cities as evidence that mayors need chiefs of staff, he neglects to mention that many of those cities — Tulsa, Colorado Springs, Boise and Omaha, among others — have a strong mayor form of government. Under that structure the mayor serves as the city’s chief executive, and city employees report up through their departments to the elected leader, often via a chief of staff.

There are pros and cons to both forms of governance, but that’s another, much larger debate. We could launch that discussion — previous mayors certainly tried — but again, timing is key.

If Wichita’s newly elected mayor doesn’t trust the city manager or staff to provide crucial information, that’s a problem. If that’s the case, other council members should be concerned and pledge to rectify the communication breakdown.

But adding another taxpayer-funded city staffer to the mix isn’t the right solution. And certainly not right now.