"The next mayor is sure to be less experienced, in governing and in life, than Hardberger. Whoever wins will have to learn on the job, and the last thing San Antonio needs right now is an inexperienced mayor leading an inexperienced City Council through some of the most challenging times any of us has experienced." San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger served as a Peace Corps Staff member in the 1960's.
Robert Rivard writes: We've had nearly four years now with a strong, effective mayor in Phil Hardberger, Unfortunately, the most restrictive term limits among major cities in the nation mean this successful partnership is coming to a close
Amid U.S. turmoil, S.A. is at a turning point
Robert Rivard - Robert Rivard
Returning from a week's vacation, there were plenty of headlines to hold my attention: The daily ups and downs of the financial markets, learning to calculate emergency government spending in trillions rather than mere billions and the closing weeks of the presidential race.
But it was local news that mattered most: The City of San Antonio becoming only the second major city to win a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor's Rating Services.
That is not to say that municipal bonds are more important than the global credit crises or who will become our nation's next president, but these dramatic narratives seem to be playing out beyond our reach.
The news that city government had received the highest possible rating for its fiscal policies is very much something everyone in the city can appreciate and work together to preserve.
In essence, our city leaders just received a major vote of confidence from outside the city, an affirmation that will save taxpayers many millions of dollars, make the city a much more attractive investment for investors and perhaps most importantly in the competitive global economy, differentiate San Antonio from other big cities.
The question now is whether voters will express the same confidence and support city leadership at the polls in the coming weeks by redefining term limits.
If they do, the upgraded bond rating coupled with voter confidence will rank at or near the top of progressive change initiatives in the city's modern era.
To resort to cliché, San Antonio is at a crossroads.
We've had nearly four years now with a strong, effective mayor in Phil Hardberger, whose single greatest achievement may prove to be the recruitment of Sheryl Sculley as city manager.
Unfortunately, the most restrictive term limits among major cities in the nation mean this successful partnership is coming to a close.
The next mayor is sure to be less experienced, in governing and in life, than Hardberger. Whoever wins will have to learn on the job, and the last thing San Antonio needs right now is an inexperienced mayor leading an inexperienced City Council through some of the most challenging times any of us has experienced.
Sculley, meanwhile, has built upon her success as the deputy city manger in Phoenix — the only other Top 10 city to enjoy a AAA rating — and her three years as city manager here, and she soon will begin appearing on every other city's short list of desired candidates in their hunt for new leadership.
If she is allowed to build on her success here, Sculley will stay. If she is frustrated by inexperienced, immature leadership that surrenders the momentum and goodwill painstakingly built during the Hardberger administration, she will reluctantly go.
I say reluctantly because I believe the Sculleys — Sheryl and her husband Mike — have bonded to San Antonio just as so many of us who came here from other places have done over the years. But loving a city can be hard if you can't find satisfaction in your professional life.
I, for one, am tired of San Antonio having among the worst restrictions in the country, just as I am tired of finishing high on the list of fattest cities, unhealthiest cities, least educated cities, hardest to recreate in cities.
Most people I speak with in my daily life as newspaper editor are just as tired of those performance measures and have come to believe San Antonio is on the road to realizing its enormous potential, of leveraging its many assets as it becomes a healthier, better educated, more prosperous and livable city.
Most of us prefer headlines about job growth in the medical and health care sector, public school teachers who are making a difference, universities that are growing and offering new degree programs, new public parks taking shape, groups working together to make our city greener and more energy efficient.
A well-governed city is essential to achieving all these possibilities, and that requires seasoned leaders operating in a stable environment with the confidence of taxpayers.
Standard and Poor's, the most important bond rating service in the nation, surprised San Antonio last week with some unexpected news of what others think of the course our leaders have charted.
The next few weeks will tell whether we share that confidence and are willing to take the next big step forward.
Robert Rivard is editor of the
Express-News. E-mail him at
rrivard@express-news.net.
