Oshkosh readers, former mayors oppose current mayor's proposal to remove mayor title

OSHKOSH ― Mayor Matt Mugerauer may want to rethink his proposal after Oshkosh readers, including two of his predecessors, staunchly opposed a resolution to move from an elected mayor to a council-voted president.

The pushback initially came as part of the Northwestern’s reader call-out on the proposal before former mayors Kathy Propp and Lori Palmeri, Mugerauer’s most immediate predecessor, also chimed in.

“I think this is unnecessarily rocking the boat as the people have been happy electing a mayor for several years now and it works well for us, so there’s really no reason to move from that,” said Propp, who sat on council for 16 years while serving two terms as mayor from 1984 to 1986.

“I was a council-appointed mayor during my time, and I am OK going back to council president, but frankly, I don’t see the need to make a change here and calling our leader, 'mayor' gives the position some prestige.”

Mugerauer put forward the resolution at city council’s last meeting, suggesting the title of mayor should be changed to council president to “accurately” reflect the post’s lack of executive powers.

Oshkosh hires a fulltime paid city manager under the council-manager form of government.

Oshkosh currently employs a council-manager form of government, where the city employs a fulltime paid city manager to serve as an administrator and run its day-to-day operations.

And Mugerauer believes removing the title of mayor would eliminate any confusion over the responsibilities of the city manager and a “council president.”

But Palmeri, who left office last year after being elected to State Assembly, said there’s a lot more importance to the position of mayor than simply chairing council meetings.

“There are times the highest elected official is required to sign documents and perform other functions for checks and balances between the council and the city manager,” said Palmeri, who was elected mayor in 2019 and 2021.

“There are also different nuances to a council president, but I believe if the current mayor thinks the title is confusing to people, then maybe there should be a discussion as to why that is.

“And remember when you’re running for mayor, you’re running for one seat and that’s what the electorate is voting for, while the current mayor’s suggestion would have that council president running for one of three open seats at any one election, which isn’t exactly the same thing,” she added.

Council member Karl Buelow also made a similar point following Mugerauer’s resolution, suggesting it would be simpler to educate the voting public rather than to change the position’s “vernacular.”

But the proposal's biggest opposition seems centered on Mugerauer’s suggestion the change be made at the council level instead of putting it to a referendum.

The first objection came during Mugerauer’s resolution, as council member Paul Esslinger said, “I don’t want seven people to decide what the form of government is for 70,000 people.”

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Oshkosh held a referendum in 2004 to move from an appointed mayor to an elected one.

Esslinger referenced the 2004 referendum that led to Oshkosh shifting from an appointed mayor to an elected one.

And Palmeri believes the electorate should be the ones to make that decision again.

“I think it was something like 51% of the people preferred an elected mayor and, obviously, that could’ve changed since 2004, but that should be determined by the voters of Oshkosh,” said Palmeri.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for council to make that decision and it just seems very interesting that the current mayor would not want to take it to the people of Oshkosh for referendum.”

Mugerauer’s proposal didn’t appear to be met with much council opposition before he tabled the resolution to be debated at a future council meeting.

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What readers had to say about the proposal

The Northwestern asked readers to give their thoughts on the resolution. Here's what they had to say.

Northwestern reader Devin Heinz supported the proposal, echoing Mugerauer’s sentiments that the title of mayor could be misleading for Oshkosh residents.

“The average voter does not have the time to keep up with the mechanizations of municipal governance, but when you see the title of mayor — the common expectation is that that person has the most control over city policy, rather than a hired city manager,” Heinz wrote to the Northwestern.

“As Mayor Mugerauer states, the position of mayor does not have executive powers outside of the legislative powers they share with other members of the common council — their title should reflect that.

“Rather than seeking to radically change Oshkosh's system of governance, Mayor Mugerauer's proposal better represents Oshkosh's council-manager form of government and makes compromise the first step members take upon taking office,” Heinz added.

William Schettle, another reader, wrote: "I think it is a bad idea for the seven elected council members to vote for mayor and not the voting public. The public should have the final say on the matter. It would be like if we voted for 102 senators every four years and they decided who should be president and vice president. What is the underlying motive for the change?"

Mary Kay Vacheresse said: "Changing the title would increase the already in-bred power the current City Council feeds on. The public’s right to elect city council members is based on who puts their name in to run for the council. That leaves the door open for inside manipulation.

"On the other hand, if there is a separate committee that searches for qualified candidates who really want the mayor job, there is a wider, less 'in-bred' pool that is considered," Vacheresse added.

"While I do not live in the city (we live in the town of Oshkosh), I would encourage the taxpaying citizens of the City of Oshkosh to take a much closer look at the Planning Commission and City Council meetings to see how they are making decisions that affect your daily lives," Vacheresse said.

Reader Tony Palmeri wrote to the Northwestern: "This issue was taken to referendum in 2004 and the voters said they want to elect their mayor so if 20 years later one member of council wants to overturn a decision of the voters, I think that’s wrong. Take it back to the voters. It became almost impossible for some members to ever get that appointment."

Have a story tip or public interest concern? Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@gannett.com.