Lonely is the fight

Tom Hoover may be the only one in town fighting for Plan E

by Joe O'Brien

The St. Patrick's Day Breakfast is getting underway in the Sullivan Jr. High School cafeteria, and a literal who's who of Worcester politicians are working the room. It's one of those events where leaders' stock is judged by how many people say hello, shake their hands, and sit at their side. And today, City Manager Tom Hoover isn't doing very well.

Normally people would be jockeying for his attention, but this time Hoover and his wife, Diane, eat alone. The strong-mayor movement is the hot subject of the annual roast, and almost all the political speakers are making Hoover their whipping boy.

For Hoover, it must be like living through a nightmare -- a second time. Just five years ago, he lost his city-manager job in Toledo, Ohio, when that community voted to adopt a strong-mayor form of government. Now a group of power brokers, who call themselves the People for Strong Mayor (PSM), are leading a revolution to do the same in Worcester. Though many political insiders have already written his professional obituary, Hoover is not going to allow "Plan E," and his job, to go down without a fight. This low-key administrator has recently displayed a public feistiness, hidden during his five years here, as he preaches the Plan E gospel to anyone who will listen.

Several days after the campaign was announced, at a downtown businessmen's breakfast, Hoover went public, defending the very form of government that keeps him employed. Then at PSM's first press conference, Hoover stunned the political community when he sat in the back and took notes. He has taken to the WTAG airwaves as the host of a weekly call-in show where he fields questions on city government. He now fires back at the normally humdrum Tuesday city-council meetings, and he speaks more candidly with the press.

During a recent interview, the usually confident city manager, known for his ability to speak off the cuff, appears uncomfortable playing politician. Sitting behind the mammoth desk that belonged to legendary former City Manager Francis McGrath, Hoover, it seems, could desperately use some of his predecessor's political astuteness, which had allowed McGrath to rule for 38 years. The 52-year-old Hoover speaks hesitantly about his life and why Worcester citizens should not vote for change. He refers often to a pile of notes, from which he makes his case, first by apologizing for having to read from these handwritten statements.

His manner is cautious, a sign that Hoover has a long way to go if he is to survive this fight.

IF THE UPCOMING election were based on who was most qualified to run a city, Hoover would be the winner. He is the consummate city manager, a person who has spent his adult life working as an administrator in municipal government.

Before coming to Worcester in 1994, he honed his skills in his 28 years working for the city of Toledo, where he was born, raised, and educated. Hoover attended the local university of Toledo where he studied civil engineering and then received a master's in public administration. After graduation, he went to work as a city highway engineer, but soon after, was called up to serve in the Vietnam War, during which he was assigned to a base in West Germany.

Upon his return, Hoover rejoined the ranks of city government, earning his first administrative post in 1978 when he was appointed the director of the department of highways and harbors, overseeing the operations of the city's streets and the large inland shipping port on Lake Erie.

Over the next 12 years Hoover continued to be promoted: first assigned to oversee the city's public-works department, then to the role of assistant city manager for operations, and in 1988 he was appointed director of public safety. Finally, in 1990, Hoover reached the pinnacle of his career in Toledo when he was appointed city manager. Unfortunately, it was short lived. For in November 1992 Toledo's voters decided to end the city-manager form of government. After spending his life working his way to the top, Hoover found himself out of a job.

It was a hard time for Hoover, who besides losing his job, had recently divorced after a failed second marriage. Single and looking for a change, he launched an exhaustive job search, ultimately being chosen as Worcester's third city manager in 50 years.

Still reeling from his hard luck in Toledo, Hoover must have felt secure knowing that Worcester's voters had rejected a charter change for a strong mayor in 1992.

WHILE MANY ARE QUICK to criticize the form of government, it is hard to find someone (besides Mayor Ray Mariano) who will say that Hoover has not done a good job. Worcester is light years ahead of where it was five years ago. Megaprojects are underway or completed like the convention center, Medical Center, Union Station and the Rt. 146-Massachusetts Turnpike connector. When Hoover is asked about his accomplishments, he acknowledges his role in the large projects but points to others -- the less-visible ones. He cites his work with retiring school superintendent Jim Garvey; together they have overseen the largest school construction efforts in recent city history.

Hoover notes his first project, the city's first-ever strategic plan (which identifies the city's priorities across the different departments). Merit pay plans for municipal employees and Operation Clean City are two other changes he enacted. These efforts haven't grabbed headlines, he indicates, but they demonstrate he has helped improve the performance of city services and city government.

Though he easily talks about his record, Hoover nervously shuffles his notes when quizzed about the proposed charter change. First, he is emphatic that he will not lead a "political" effort to save Plan E. Instead, he says, he will "be out educating people about the merits of this form of government."

And from there, he launches a comprehensive if not rehearsed response to his opponents' criticisms of Plan E. While opponents have said that the main reason to change courses is the current system's lack of accountability, Hoover points out that Plan E is more accountable. City council, he says, can fire him at any time. Unlike a mayor, who only has to worry about re-election every few years, Hoover says, a city manager has to prove his worth every Tuesday night.

And in a move that could scare up support of current city councilors -- at the very least give them pause -- Hoover points out that under a strong mayor the power of the city council is diminished significantly. The council will lose its ability to hire and fire department heads and its control over city policy.

If these arguments fail, Hoover may be banking on what he perceives as a lack of "a big groundswell of support for this issue.

"People don't like what they see on Tuesday nights," he says referring to the often contentious council meetings. Revising the charter won't change these dynamics, he poses.

"Charter changes would move to change an executive structure that is not broken, while leaving in place a legislative structure that is," he argues.

WHILE HOOVER IS READY to fight, he seems reluctant to hammer the people who are going after his job. It is no secret that Mayor Ray Mariano has been making Hoover's life miserable yet Hoover declines to discuss it. But he allows, Mariano is an "intense guy" who is an "astute political leader."

Still City Hall insiders acknowledge that Hoover's relationship with his one-time ally is at an all-time low. At first, Mariano and Hoover worked as a team and were criticized for being too close. Now it seems a Tuesday-night council meeting doesn't go by without Mariano and Hoover trading blows. But Hoover hints that they never really got along in the first place when he says, "Our honeymoon was overplayed and later our divorce was overplayed."

On the other hand, Hoover is clearly annoyed by the group of business leaders fueling the fight to take his job. He becomes tense and his words are more carefully chosen, when asked to comment on what has always been depicted as a cozy arrangement between Hoover and the business leaders.

"I was disappointed by some of the people that have gotten on board," Hoover allows. "And they know that I know who they are."

When asked to respond to remarks made by Jordan Levy (a strong-mayor supporter) that this effort was not personal, Hoover retorts that Levy's comments "are hypocritical. . . . You can't try and remove the city manager and say its not personal, of course it is!"

Though many political observers believe that Hoover's days are numbered, Hoover remains optimistic. He contends that most people believe that Worcester is moving forward and that his job-approval ratings are high.

He says many neighborhood activist and business leaders will come forward to fight for Plan E and his job.

BUT SO FAR THOSE purported business leaders have remained quiet. Those that do speak out are in favor of change; though they always point out that their preference for a strong mayor is not a reflection on Hoover's performance but a perceived breakdown of the local government process. Jordan Levy, who was on the council when Hoover was hired, says that Hoover is "the victim of a bad charter," adding that the city-manager's position was doomed even before Hoover arrived. Levy cites the 1987 charter change that allowed for the direct voter election of a mayor, though maintaining a city manager. This revision of the original Plan E charter has caused confusion because it created two heads of city government and decreased accountability, Levy maintains.

For example, there have been a number of occasions where leadership has foundered. Take the Medical Center tax increment financing (TIF) arrangement. Hoover and his staff had negotiated a tax break only to be publicly undercut by the council. It was an embarrassing moment where no one could be held accountable for a deal that almost fell through.

Yet Hoover is not totally a victim of circumstance, and many political observers say that he should have seen the revolution coming a long time ago, especially from the city council. His relationship with the council has always been rocky, despite any public appearances to the contrary. Hoover has developed a reputation of hogging the limelight, not giving the council credit for the city's current success. He has also been viewed as an outsider in this city, where politics is always local and personal. Perhaps most telling: Hoover has barely survived several evaluations and by some accounts almost lost his job three years ago. Therefore it came as no surprise that there is still not a single councilor who has taken up his cause.

It seems that the key players in the business and political community have already decided that he is finished. Although a recent article in the Telegram & Gazette tried to make the case that Hoover has a base of support with neighborhood activists, most activists say it simply isn't true. Hoover has catered to a few select neighborhood groups, but he has often locked horns with others. He has also engaged in several high profile fights with Worcester Interfaith, a coalition of neighborhood and church groups. To many neighborhood leaders, Hoover has seemed out of touch and is viewed as a pawn of the business community. If Hoover is waiting for the neighborhood leaders to rise up to save him, most agree he will be disappointed.

Alas, Hoover is facing an almost insurmountable challenge. First he will have to defeat a well-financed effort by business and political leaders to make the charter change. And the only way for him to do that will be to take credit for all the good things that are happening in the city. Just this past week he told WTAG listeners that he is the one who is going to cut taxes and increase city services. It's a risky approach, for sure, because Worcester city councilors have long felt eclipsed by Hoover's presence.

So if he survives the charter change, he will probably be fired. And if the Saint Patrick's Day breakfast is any indication, Tom Hoover's next few months are going to be very lonely.

Turn to Dave Forsberg