AN ANALYSIS

It has been an interesting year for the Astoria City Council.

The dynamic has shifted, the chemistry is altered.

The lock step system that Councilman Drew Herzig ran on a platform of changing a year ago, has indeed changed. So where will the council go from here? And, perhaps more importantly, what have the councilors learned?

In 2013, I learned how very lonely it can be as a sole dissenting voice on the City Council, Herzig said Tuesday. I wouldnt have made it through the year without the support and encouragement of my partner Charles, and the inspiration I continue to draw from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s words, Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Herzig has been on the Astoria City Council for one year; Councilwoman Karen Mellin is finishing her third year. Councilman Russ Warr is in his ninth year of what he has said will be his last term.

Councilwoman Arline LaMear has served since 2008.

And then there is Mayor Willis Van Dusen, entering his 30th year on the Astoria City Council, his 24th as mayor. The mayors position is on the ballot this fall. If history is a guide, Van Dusen will declare his candidacy for another term in 2014.

Within that long span, there are two distinct periods for Van Dusen which might be called pre-Betty Ford and post-Betty Ford. More than seven years ago, Van Dusens acknowledgment of alcoholism served as a watershed moment in his public career and personal life.

Teamwork

Van Dusen often will congratulate members of the city staff as team captains for the projects they lead  Engineer Cindy Moore is recognized as the captain of the combined sewer overflow project; Community Development Director Brett Estes was honored as captain of the Riverfront Visioning Plan upon its adoption. When it comes to the council, Van Dusen himself seems to stand in those shoes.

That picture of a team may be at odds with how many citizens expect a city council to function. They expect a certain amount of debate and some disagreement about proposals. But Van Dusens assertion reflects his desire to run meetings where citizens are heard, and that capacity to handle public testimony is one of his great abilities. His political instincts are acute.

Van Dusen may not declare himself a team captain, but he has been the prime mover on a number of big initiatives, including the relocation of the John Warren football field, achieving cooperation between Park Medical Center and Columbia Memorial Hospital, and funding and execution of the Garden of Surging Waves.

There are three major areas that come to mind about what Ive learned since Ive been on the Astoria City Council, Van Dusen said. Astorians are very intelligent and very mature and its important to do all public business in public. Im not a fan of executive sessions. Theyre important for labor negotiations and property sales, but all business should be done in public and in the open.

Ive learned that Astorians care. It can be looked at sometimes as criticism, but its not. They just love this town, they love the Riverwalk, the Column, the quality of life. And when you make a decision that affects something they care about, they are going to tell you. And the third thing is personal. The friendships I have made. Many of my closest personal friends I met because I serve on the Astoria City Council and I wouldnt have met them without it. Thats extremely rewarding.

Other mavericks

During the more than quarter-century that Van Dusen has served on the City Council, there have been few who never aspired to be on the mayors team. Doug Thompson, Jan Fletcher and Bob Heilman were three such outliers. Twenty-five years ago, Thompson was a distinct personality on the Astoria City Council. He championed what was then called the Astoria Downtown Association and historic preservation. Thompson was ahead of his time, and both of those causes are now top-tier in Astoria.

After unseating Don Morden, Jan Fletcher was outspoken on the Astoria bypass. She left office after one year to move to another city. In contrast, Bob Heilman was generally counter to the mainstream of discussion, but offered no alternative agenda. In that way, Heilman marginalized himself.

Herzig came to the City Council as an activist, billing himself as a change agent to break what he perceives as the Councils lockstep. He has often voted no on project he says he feels are acceptable but lack public process. He often asks if everyone in the audience understands an issue and if they feel they have been heard before he votes. He credits his career as a dance instructor for asking those questions and keeping everyone on the same page.

It remains to be seen whether Herzig will find an issue, as Thompson and Fletcher did or whether he will be marginalized as Heilman was. 

We have, in my opinion, a really good team, Councilman Warr said when he ran unopposed in last years election. He often votes with the majority and when he has personal feelings about an issue, he generally holds back, voting as a representative of his ward that hes elected to serve instead. If a caricaturist were depicting the City Council as birds on a branch, Warr would be a wise owl.

I have learned that there is not, nor has there ever been, a good ol boy network in the city of Astoria, at least not to my knowledge in the last 20 years or so, Warr said. I have learned that the City Council acts professionally, and works to find consensus which is much more effective than a loggerhead mentality. Ive learned that the citys staff at this point and time is wonderful and capable. They work very hard as a team and they work well.

Warr has been a huge supporter of the 17th Street Dock project, the Maritime Memorial Park and other military-related efforts. He is also a proponent of keeping the driving under the influence of intoxicants cases in Municipal Court.

Things change

But when Councilwoman Mellin ran for a seat in 2010, her platform was in complete opposition to Warr. Now, the two are seated side by side on the council, and are both opposed to moving those DUII cases to Circuit Court. 

Elected and serving for three years now, she was recruited by District Attorney Josh Marquis, vowing to be the voice of change in discussing the DUII topic. She ran for now-City Attorney Blair Henningsgaards seat when he was hired to replace Hal Snow. Mellin has adopted a different point of view, and now is one of the biggest supporters of fighting Marquis lawsuit against the city.

Mellin has shown she is passionate about historic issues. She led the charge on the Ghadar Indian Political Party Centennial celebration in October. Mellin has also shown interest in the topics of the arts.

Ive really learned how complex the workings of the city are and Im still learning how to comprehend how many people work for the city. We have a lot of employees, she said. I feel like this is a four-year education and Im just finishing my junior year.

By the time I finish my senior year, I will have a more wide view of how everything works.

She said Public Works is the department she finds most interesting.

Cooperation touted

Councilwoman LaMear is the key supporter of the Astoria Library renovations that are in the planning process. Serving more than two decades as a school librarian, LaMear is now a part-time librarian at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. She advocates for libraries, and has been seemingly free from controversy during her time on the council.

Ive learned how much cooperation and cooperative efforts are critical to making the city move ahead, LaMear said. And I am thinking specifically about the cooperative efforts we had between the city, the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Coast Guard on the 17th street dock, the city, Columbia Memorial Hospital and the school district for the athletic center and hospital expansion, the city, the Columbia River Maritime Museum and Craft3 on the Armory.

And also, the voluntarism is so critical in this town. I am amazed at the number of commissions and committees we have and how many people are involved. Its just a ton of people and they are all working very hard for one goal and thats the city of Astoria.

LaMear also commended the Parks Department and its new director Angela Cosby, as well as the wonderfully competent staff in other city departments who are always available to answer a councilors questions.

She said before her time on the council, she didnt know why things she wanted to happen werent happening faster. It wasnt until after she joined the council that she realized why things move slower and thats because the council takes the time to listen to the public and take in their comments before making decisions.

I came on council saying I was going to clean up the Flavel properties, she said. I had no idea how long that would take. Were still working on that.

She has also made a large contribution to the council through ideas. LaMear is consistent in bringing back ideas from her trips to other towns, such as the canning label trash cans and most recently the volunteer parks department program Chip In.

The next year will be revealing of how the members of the council play their roles, whether working together … or apart.

Editor and Publisher Steve Forrester contributed to this story.