Can Shammas Malik overcome leadership, experience concerns in Akron mayor's race?

Shammas Malik presents an audaciously bold proposition in his candidacy for Akron mayor. The Ward 8 City Council member has put together an impressive collection of policy prescriptions. He talks about getting “big things done.” Yet something is missing — a substantial record, or the experience, of delivering well.

That doesn’t mean he is incapable of succeeding as mayor. He has attracted the support of many who know what it takes to lead the city and see his considerable pluses outweighing any lack of experience. Many see the moment as ripe for tapping the next generation of city leaders, with other cities having done so, notably Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Don Plusquellic landed in the mayor’s office with limited management experience as an attorney, though he had served a dozen years on the City Council, including as president.

Malik is nearing the end of his first term, his election coming after a short time in the city law department. He is a quick study, as evident during his time on the council. That sharp mind is apparent on his campaign website, where he outlines his plans for “an Akron that works for all of us.”

Those plans fall into four categories, “Safer Together, “Working Together,” “Living Together” and “Learning Together.” Worthy ambition marks each part. The first covers law enforcement. It includes an embrace of community policing, looking to build trust between officers and the community. Malik wants to enhance officer training and add support in the form of mental health and social workers joining in response to situations matching their skills.

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Malik pledges to implement better the youth violence prevention program. He sees “a deep need for policy and culture change.”

“Working Together” goes to strengthening the city’s economy, from doubling down on the Elevate Greater Akron plan to streamlining the permitting and contracting processes. He wants the city’s public schools to be open in the evening for adult training and related programs.

“Living Together” addresses housing. It echoes his call for those who face eviction gaining a right to counsel. He proposes modernizing how the city enforces its housing code, plus tailoring the current tax abatement program to specific neighborhood needs. He wants an emphasis on sustainability, such as adding green building standards.

The fourth element, “Learning Together,” proposes setting the city on a path to universal pre-kindergarten. Getting there would be marvelous, as would achieving “strong collaboration” between the city and Akron Public Schools, something hard to imagine with the current school board.

This brief sketch offers a hint of the many ideas Malik packs into his plans. He talks about “political will” and touts the virtue of an inclusive process in building consensus.

And, by the way, where would the city get additional resources?

Actually, Mayor Dan Horrigan began eight years ago with a dose of inclusion, tapping the energy of the many who struggled to be heard during the Plusquellic years. Then, the mayor and the city collided with the management thing. How does a mayor mobilize, sustain and implement an agenda?

The highly demanding mayor’s job, if done right, is about engaged management, more than anything. Part of such effective leadership involves drawing on experience to ask the right questions, ensure accountability and know what goes into tough decisions.

Listening and inclusion help, but they go just so far when you hear conflicting views from interested parties. Good management means somehow bridging those differences, or disappointing one side in pursuit of what serves the city as a whole.

Lobbyists and public affairs types make a good impression when they confront squarely the strongest argument of the opposition. For Shammas Malik, that argument takes shape in Marco Sommerville, the other leading contender in the mayor’s race, the outcome essentially to be decided in the May 2 Democratic primary. Sommerville, while having his own challenges as a candidate, brings decades of experience, as a business owner, former City Council president, city planning director and now a deputy mayor.

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The mayor’s office isn’t a place for on-the-job training, Sommerville jabbed in a recent debate among the seven candidates seeking to succeed Horrigan.

How might Malik confront this line of argument? He could start by identifying clearly among the many priorities those that rate highest, sharing how he would like his first year to proceed. In that way, he begins to build a mandate, or a narrative, that connects with residents.

He avoids the pitfalls of an “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” administration. If he’s viewed as a risk, he might offer a hedge, say, through signals about those expected to fill top positions on his city team.

There are reasonable doubts about his management chops. His candidacy, and the city, would benefit if he addressed them.

Douglas was the Beacon Journal editorial page editor from 1999 to 2019. He can be reached at mddouglasmm@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Shammas Malik must address experience concerns to win Akron mayor race