Ridenour redefines the job of mayor

By ADAM ASHTON Modesto Bee

Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour didn't have the power he wanted to lead City Hall. He had a vote on the City Council. He could ask city employees for information. He could influence decisions as the city's elected leader. But the real power rested in the city manager's office, which held the authority to check Ridenour's access to staff and to make every decision that didn't require a council vote. In February, Ridenour asked voters for more influence in City Hall. They gave it to him, passing a measure that made it easier for him to interact with public employees and required the city manager to seek the mayor's guidance when writing Modesto's budget. Ridenour is stepping into his new responsibilities and defining what voters will expect from the city's next mayor.

Voters could see a difference in the mayor two months ago, when he offered a city budget proposal and described it in an opinion piece in The Bee. In the past, the city manager would present a budget to the council, which would debate the plan and make revisions. City employees would adjust it and bring the document back to the council. This time, Ridenour provided the council a slate of his recommended budget cuts and another list of optional reductions. He said that put more authority in the hands of council members. "Before, it wasn't our job. We'd say, 'We're not going to cut parks,' and we'd leave," said Ridenour, who was re-elected to a second and final term in November. The ballot measure "puts it on the mayor and the council that if you don't want to eliminate something, you have to take it from someplace else."
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Don Quixote Note: Modesto is Vernon's Sister City.