What is happening?
What is supposed to be happening?
These questions are one of the first engineering lessons I was taught by Malina Downey, whom I worked for at UPS.
“Try doing what you’re supposed to do before you change something” she told me.
I call it the Downey Rule. It’s not flashy, but it works. As a leader, it forces you to understand problems without judgement by being curious and listening. I use it daily in my work as the mayor of Springfield.
Our communities in Lane County are facing real, numerous challenges. They include affordability, housing, economic development, job creation and dealing with low trust in government. We notice when local government elected boards like city councils and county commissions struggle. By applying the Downey Rule, it’s possible to understand the reasons why. It is a combination of misaligned roles, broken relationships and the complexity of problems that they face. It is not just about shared values. It is also about execution. And when execution fails, families and businesses wait for everything from a permit to their road being fixed.
When local boards struggle, it’s rarely because the people elected to them don’t care. It almost always starts with the relationship between the elected officials, their executives and the staff. In Lane County, all local governments (city councils, county commissions, school boards and utility boards) hire an executive officer like a city manager or superintendent to run the organization and supervise the staff. The staff, executives and elected officials must maintain a trusting, respectful and professional relationship. Effective local government keeps elected officials focused on policy.
Local governments are policy boards, not legislative bodies like Congress. Everyone is entitled to the same information because there aren’t majority and minority sides. They should act as one entity. One common trait among boards that struggle is an “us versus them” dynamic developing between decision-makers. Local elected officials don’t have to agree with each other on every issue, but they must act collectively for local governments to be successful.
Take the Springfield City Council, which meets for approximately 150 hours each year. In that time, it must pass a budget, listen to the public, evaluate their executives, manage crises and generally keep the government running. When local leaders don’t trust each other or have bad relationships, it consumes valuable time.
Serving as an elected official is a test of your character. You must believe that we are all equal citizens, and you are temporarily trusted to hold a role of importance in your community. Loudly partisan elected officials are rarely successful in local government. Serving doesn’t mean you can’t have opinions. But you must channel your opinion into solving the problem, not winning the argument. Your most important responsibility is to serve the public. The best elected officials I’ve known have always chosen solutions over partisanship. The ability to do that is the key to building trust in public institutions.
Collaboration among local governments is one of the keys to success. Team Springfield is a regionally recognized model for community problem-solving. It brings together the city of Springfield, the Springfield Utility Board, Springfield Public Schools and Willamalane Park and Recreation District. It is a shared commitment to partnership, building trust and maintaining Springfield’s legacy of effective government. From staff to elected officials, Springfield works together as one team.
An example of that partnership was the response to last year’s ice storm. During the storm, we all shared resources to respond effectively. Schools served meals and acted as warming centers. City Hall was the hub for community resources. The Bob Keefer Center was used for staging electrical equipment. Afterward, that same partnership became the foundation for recovery: grant applications, technology upgrades, improved reporting, work on a radio station for the city and expanded training. The focus stayed on the problems, not politics or personalities. That’s what effective local government looks like.
When political leaders try to work outside of the system instead of understanding local government, they feel frustrated and angry. In our current political environment, elected officials can mistake anger for strength.
Politics and division feel like they are ripping our communities apart. In the last 25 years, our country has gone through 9/11, the 2008 Financial Crisis, a global pandemic and a rising tide of economic and cultural uncertainty. It is easy and understandable to be angry. But anger isn’t strength. Tearing people down isn’t leadership. Strength is acceptance that every citizen in Lane County is entitled to a future in Lane County regardless of their political leanings. In Lane County, I believe decency still matters. Service still matters. Kindness still matters. In our time of division, public service is a radical act of leadership. Quietly. Consistently. Together.
EDITORIAL
Originally Published In
Lookout Eugene-Springfield
Community Voices ・ October 29, 2025
This is how local government should work