Foster's Daily Democrat
Feb 26, 2007
Getting an 'A' for Rochester: former mayor wins with research report
By ADAM D. KRAUSS
Democrat Staff Writer
akrauss@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — Instead of the gavel, he wielded a 52-page research project he received an "A" for as part of earning his master's of business administration degree. And instead of listening to the information, he was presenting it.

Meet David Walker the student — not the mayor — 13 months after leaving office and two months after graduating from Daniel Webster College. The beard he sported in his final days of office is gone, but his "love for the city" appears intact, unfazed by the ward-wide whomping he received in the last election.

He was before the City Council earlier this month at the approval of the city manager to present the findings of his "Capstone Research Project," a yearlong study of city government that he started when he led the council. It was a task he balanced with his full-time job and family, including three kids.

Soon after he lost re-election to Mayor John Larochelle, Walker could be seen around City Hall on nights of council meetings, usually carrying a stack of surveys on his way to gathering departments heads' opinions on the way things work.

He would share few details — revealing little of what some councilors are calling a good, hard look at local economic development, training needs and space utilization.

"I think the city is in a position where if they implement some of those changes that I suggested it will become more efficient and reduce costs through efficiency," Walker, 43, said Sunday night. He said he chose the city for the report because it is an example of a "company" he is most familiar with.

The report concludes things can be better, and he pitches making the Riverwalk the cornerstone for downtown development — a plan already set in motion with him as chair of a special committee — and a plan for redeveloping the old police station.

Walker pitched building an addition to the vacant station so the structure is even with City Hall. "Customer-focused departments" would move to the first floor of City Hall while inter-related departments would be grouped together in the expanded station.

He told councilors "strategic alignment is not optimal among many departments that need to interact and communicate on a daily basis."

Other highlights include:

— Training is "minimal in some functional areas in supervisory roles"

— "Minimal" cross-training has been done to allow each department more flexibility

— Operational alignment needs improvement and "friction points and inefficiencies exist between departments"

The report is rich in historical perspective and heavy on data, supplying one hypothesis after another, like in the chapter on city manager's leadership styles.

The former heavy-handed mayor hypothesized, and concluded, that "respondents will say that the Authoritative Style is the preferred Leadership Style."

He concluded: "The survey results show the lack of leadership in some departments and the low score in some components of emotional intelligence that is needed to run the organization efficiently."

City Manager John Scruton said Walker's report is valuable, especially on the need to improve software technology for certain departments and make space available to implement changes. Scruton said "we are working on a software program and common database" that will be brought before the Finance Committee next month.

As for Walker's timing of his Feb. 20 presentation to councilors, it appears more in line with affecting the upcoming budget debate than advancing his political goals.

In an interview, he noted "budget season is about to begin" and when asked if the report's release could be viewed as a way for him to reintroduce himself as a more studious mayor, he said: "If I was planning on using that to further my career I would have done that in June or July," a couple of months before the filing period opens.

Walker won't answer yes or no on whether he intends to seek the council's top seat again. He just says he hasn't "made any decision on anything in the future."

Some councilors are taking note of the report.

Ward 2 Councilor Sandra Keans said the council should consider the former's mayors ideas. "It sounds like he might have a couple of kernels of stuff in there that's pretty valuable for us to look at," she said.

Deputy Mayor Elaine Lauterborn said she read the entire report. "I thought it had a lot of good ideas," especially on the old police station. She stopped short of endorsing Walker's plan, but said "I think his ideas should be taken into account with the others."

Larochelle said Walker's work on space utilization was "similar" to a study presented to the council by a University of New Hampshire professor — but the professor's work worked under the premise of abandoning City Hall.

Asked if anything caught his attention about the Riverwalk or improving efficiency, Larochelle said, flatly, "No."