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Coffee Conversation |
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Conversation with
Soon after Gary Lelito was elected city commissioner, he and I agreed that in a year or two, after he had worked through the unavoidable learning curve and had “something to say”, we would have a VersagiVoice conversation. When he reached out recently to schedule the conversation, I assumed he was reacting to my several weeks of sharp criticism of CITCOM. “No,” he said in a phone chat, “It’s been two years and I have something to say. I have a list.”
Lelito, 44, is the Information Technology Manager at Comerica Bank, where he manages a staff of ten. A Royal Oak resident for 16 years. He has been with his partner, Chris, for 15 years. He is very involved with family. He has 9 nieces and 6 nephews. Gary grew up in Shelby Township and attended St. Lawrence Catholic Grade School, graduated from Utica High School in his early years. Gary graduated from Walsh College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a Major in Information Systems. He currently serves on a Diversity round table at Comerica Bank. He is also the president of an Employee Resource Group for GLTB colleagues. In his spare time Gary enjoys movies and is an avid critic. Some of his favorite movies of all time include: “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “Sound of Music”, and “Saving Private Ryan”.
Soon after we sat down at Jimi’s Restaurant, I recognized that Gary’s written list, which he placed on the table, was really an outline around which he intended to propound his philosophy re the role of government, especially local government. List or no list, Lelito and I had a typical rambling conversation during which we agreed or disagreed about issues.
Gary began with liquor licenses, about which he maintains Royal Oak is “myopic” when compared to other cities and states. Alcohol is not a social evil. It is “not a drain on the Police Force when done right, which describes the present Royal Oak situation.” He contends that members of the Restaurant Association, together with its political allies, “its lobby,” seek to protect themselves against competition and “are operating as a monopoly.”
We cited gas stations and drug stores as examples of competitors who deliberately build near each other, and Gary said, “Existing restaurants may have to reinvent themselves to be competitive against newcomers.”
In Lellito’s mind, the anti-liquor license mindset is erroneously brought into any discussion about parking. At the same time as he agrees that City Hall and the DDA properly think in terms of long-term needs, Gary maintains that currently “There is no real parking problem in Royal Oak,” unless you unrealistically expect never to have to walk more than four car-lengths to your destination. “In urban areas, people walk.” A frequent visitor to downtown, he says neither he nor his friends have experienced other than minor parking irritations.
Expanding on the issue, the commissioner’s philosophy is 1) About liquor licenses and parking: “This is a business decision. No smart business owner will locate an alcohol-serving establishment where he thinks parking problems will negatively impact the business.” 2) About current parking: “Our parking structures are never full. Explore ways to encourage their use.” 3) About retail vs. bars: “The business models are different. The peak hours are different. Those few retailers who expect to draw the dining/drinking crowd are open at 11 p.m.” During the day, restaurants and bars “aren’t serious parking competitors for retailers.”
Finally about parking: “Seventh Street. Open it!”
About the need or not for Internet filters in the Library, Gary and I agree there’s no need for them on adult computers and that there is nothing which will protect against email attachments. Even though he, more than I, has heard charges that he must be pro-porn, he suspects “imaginary” calls and emails are being cited by some of his CITCOM colleagues, because he has not received numerous communications about the issue.
Nor has he received “500 calls” about Sandwich Signs, and he contends “It shouldn’t be a big deal” to find some way to accommodate the needs of retailers, without having to wait for an amendment to the Sign Ordinance. “I’m beginning to think I’m the most business-friendly guy on CITCOM,” he said, and I teased that he – a well-known Democrat – should switch to Republican.
During all this conversation about issues, Lelito and I touched on my recent criticism/concern about the seemingly sour mood at the Commission Table. He added a dimension to the concern: “Staff is frightened. They don’t know what to expect. There is this never-ending demand for detailed research and reports from an Administration which is already ‘doing more with less.’”
Comfortable that, unless something changes, he will stick with to his intention to serve only one term, Gary commented on what I call “posturing” and he calls “seeking face time, watching yourself on the TV monitor.” I compared his relative silence at The Table to that of former commissioner Marie Donigan. He countered with, “I am outspoken when the need arises, when what I have to say adds value to the discussion.”
Back to issues.
No smoking. Lelito good-naturedly recalls my dubbing his proposal for a local smoking ban “stupid” (not him, the ban), and he supports Lansing’s effort to go with a statewide ban. He considers the commission’s decision to keep the issue off the agenda because serious budget problems were being addressed as “a political decision,” and he was disappointed. When I suggested it was inconsistent for him to posit freedom of choice re surfing the Internet but demand governmental action re smoking, he acknowledged the inconsistency but defended his no smoking stance as a “public health” issue and reminded me that 30 states have gone no smoking.
Addressing lot splits is a “waste of time” because Staff has already determined that the request meets code and that the owner or purchaser of the property is following all the rules or has reached a compromise with the city, so there is no reason “except seeking face time” to discuss a lot split at a CITCOM meeting.
About outsourcing the city’s IT work: “In an organization as large and complex as city government, an IT culture develops. Departments are accustomed to having someone immediately available if a PC crashes. Incompatible hardware and software must be accommodated, frequently tweaked. The cost of getting the same level of service from a vendor is likely to be too high to justify outsourcing – “unless we simultaneously fund a complete overhaul of our systems and equipment.”
That 696 property: About this, Gary sounds frustrated. He acknowledged, without commenting on, my skepticism about any city’s attempt to manage property, any property, and he had no specific recommendation, but he’d like to see a large-scale development – including a hotel -- perhaps implemented by a private/public entity somewhere in Royal Oak.
Somewhere in all this conversation, Gary brought up “Slowing traffic on Main Street.” Actually, he brought up the concept and said that the idea is generally opposed by Engineering departments “which tend to think in terms of getting traffic quickly in and out." For Royal Oak, he’d like to see one-way traffic with angle parking on Main and on Washington. Main Street would go Northbound into the downtown and Washington would go Southbound to exit the downtown.
Back to the philosophy of governing.
Not long after Lelito was elected, he reversed his vote between the First and Second Reading of a resolution about re-establishing an Ice Arena Committee. Street talk had it that he had been forced to reverse himself in support of fellow-Democrat Ellison by Marie Donigan and Dave Woodward. Neither irritated nor angry, but chuckling, Gary said neither politician talked to him about the Ice Arena matter. “”Others did talk to me and provided enough new information to cause me to change my first vote.”
Which led to several Lelito observations about public office.
“We often hear that government can learn from the private sector. That’s true, but it works in reverse, too. Serving as an elected official has provided me with experience and skills which serve me well in the business world.” -- May 2008
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