Mayor as Moneymaker: Just What Is Your Honor Worth?

Think of someone to whom you’d pay $100 or more, just for the privilege of spending an hour with them. . . .

No, no, not that kind of person.

Be serious. I’ve asked the question of several people, and not one has said, “The mayor of my city.”

And yet, New Zealanders must know something that we Americans don’t. Resting on my desk is an article from the Auckland Star-Times, bearing the headline: “Mayors Are New Tourist Attraction . . . If the Price Is Right.”

The article begins: “Tea, scones and a cheesy photograph with the mayor is a budding tourist industry, with some Asian tour groups now paying for the privilege.”

The article says that the city of Christchurch, for example, has put a $100-an-hour price tag on its mayor, Vicki Buck. Not to be outdone, Manukau City told the newspaper that its mayor, Sir Barry Curtis, is worth three times that amount because of his experience and knighthood.

The article notes that deputy mayor, councillors and council executives cost the same hourly rate. However, “Morning tea (around $5 a head) and lunch ($10) are extras,” the paper reports.

The article raised a number of questions in my mind, one of which was: Would people really hang around to meet Mickey Mouse at Disneyland if they knew they could meet Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly instead?

I was reading the article over the phone to former Dana Point mayor/councilman Mike Eggers and got about halfway through the second sentence about dollars for mayors when he burst into boisterous laughter.

“It beats the heck out of getting nailed at the produce counter at the supermarket. And it would sure make filing the FPPC report interesting,” Eggers said. “That’s amazing, absolutely amazing.”

I know the article secretly confirms what every mayor already thinks: They’re very interesting people with a lot to offer but why, oh why, are they so underappreciated by the public?

Will it be a coincidence if the next convention of the Orange County chapter of the California League of Cities takes place in Auckland?

Mary-Anne Crawford, the communications manager for North Shore, New Zealand, told the newspaper that Asians seem particularly fond of meeting with mayors. That’s why the city includes the bonus of being photographed with the mayor, she said. “They are highly regarded and a photo with the mayor is good for brownie points,” Crawford said.

Sandra L. Genis, Costa Mesa’s mayor for the last two years, has the spirit. But not wanting to take money for nothing, she said she’d give the tourists their money’s worth. She said she’d probably start them out with some bagels from a 17th Street shop or perhaps some coffee from Diedrich’s. Bagels and coffee in tow, she’d direct them to Canyon Park and visit the horse stables, then head back and perhaps stop at El Toro Bravo for tacos or, if it’s a Friday, at Taco Mesa because, she said, “That’s tamale day.” Maybe a little sightseeing and a conversation with some Eastsiders who have lived in Costa Mesa for 60 years, she said.

Lake Forest Mayor Marcia Rudolph also was intrigued by the marquee value of mayors. After I mentioned that the knighted Mr. Curtis was deemed worth three times more than the woman mayor of Christchurch, Rudolph asked, “Does that make (Irvine mayor) Mike Ward more valuable than me?” She also questioned if outgoing Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young may be making a mistake by leaving office this year.

She pointed out that Lake Forest has hosted a visiting head of a British town, and, as best she recalls, City Hall served tea and cookies. “We always have cookies,” she said. “I suppose we could put out a donations jar.”

Aside from amusement at mayors being paid to entertain, Eggers seemed especially amused by the desire for the visiting delegations to be photographed with them. “Why not?” he said, laughing. “It would tie in. Most people think mayors and politicians are bought off anyway. Now they’ve got the photo to prove it.”

Rudolph seemed to put the most thought into following the New Zealanders’ strategy. Off the top of her head, she began envisioning a hierarchy of mayors on which to base a sliding pay scale. She suggested that white male mayors might charge the least, followed by minority-group males and then by women mayors. Her reasoning, which made perfect sense to me, was that the most common commodity should charge the least, while the least available commodity should command the most.

From there, she surmised, the scale could take into account a city’s size or physical beauty.

“Then it raises a whole new question,” she said, “What is a supervisor worth? Are they worth anything?”

I couldn’t tell whether she was asking a question or supplying her own punch line, but perhaps we should leave things there for now.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by writing to him at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7821.