More light at City Light

The Seattle City Council's recent confirmation of the City Light superintendent seemed interminable at times, but in the end, a unanimous vote puts a solid check mark on the performance of Jorge Carrasco.

More than that, the four-month process forced the re-engagement of the full City Council in the complicated and sophisticated utility. That is no small thing; previous councils' sometimes thoughtless oversight of City Light helped to open the utility to vulnerability during the Western energy crisis of eight years ago that pushed rates up 60 percent.

Councilmember Bruce Harrell, a lawyer new to the council but not a stranger to performance evaluation, spearheaded the effort as chair of the council's energy committee. He created a new process when he couldn't find a precedent with which he was satisfied.

Harrell opened all the windows and invited employees to join a facilitator group that polled 100 of the utility's employees. A series of meetings provided a forum for employees and community and political leaders. His goal was twofold: create a record of what Carrasco had accomplished in his term but also for the council to give the utility a once-over and set policy goals for the next four years.

Council members praised Carrasco's efforts to manage the agency out of serious debt troubles, while providing room to lower rates and continuing to encourage conservation. But in Carrasco's next four years, the council wants him to improve employee morale and communication between upper management and the rank and file.

This process is in marked contrast to the highly politicized reconfirmation process in 2003 that prompted the former superintendent to resign. At the time, the utility's financial crisis ignited reports, studies and a lot of finger-pointing between the executive and legislative branches.

That relationship has matured, and City Light is on much stronger footing, thanks to the leadership not only of Carrasco and the mayor, but also a council that has not shrunk from its responsibility to the utility or its ratepayers.