Since nobody filed to oppose him in the upcoming election, Houston Mayor Don Tottingham will begin his second two-year term in April.
What are the primary duties of Houston’s mayor?
“Mostly signing checks,” Tottingham said. “But really, I think the mayor is kind of a figure head for the city and represents the city in lots of different functions. Other than that, if you have a really good administrative staff in your city, you don’t really do too much because you don’t want to interfere with them, and it’s best to let them do the jobs they’re paid for.
“Sometimes you see things that might work better, and you might make suggestions to them, and that can help them. But it’s a learning thing; when you start out you don’t necessarily have a clue what you’re doing.”
Tottingham is a Texas County native who graduated from Cabool High School in 1964. After working at a couple of jobs for a short time, he joined the Navy and spent 22 years in service before retiring and returning to his home turf.
For much of his life, Tottingham had a notion that he would enjoy being involved in community service or politics, but his military status didn’t allow for it.
“In the military, I never got the opportunity to live in a town for long,” he said. “You might get involved in a church or some organization, but you never could get involved in government where you felt like you could make any difference, because you were just a temporary resident. So when I got back here, I really wanted to settle in and try to get involved in things where I could help.
“And if you’re willing to help, people in this community will certainly let you let you get involved. That’s a nice thing about a small community like this – you can do things to feel like you’re making a difference, or least helping.”
Along his post-military path, Tottingham got involved with Citizens for Education (an organization that acted as a liaison between the school, school board, and community), and served as its president for six years. He was also instrumental in several community projects, including expansion of Houston High School’s “Big Red Building” and construction of several concession stands.
Then Tottingham successfully ran for a seat on the Houston School Board and spent a total of nine years on the board, including stints of three and six years separated by a five-year hiatus. He was school board president during his final year.
A few years ago, Tottingham had his sights set on becoming a member of Houston’s City Council. But fate took him into the mayor’s office.
“A couple of council members had said to me that if one of them retired, I should run,” Tottingham said. “When I was getting ready to do that, Steve Hutchinson decided not to run, so I was asked if I would consider that. I did, and here I am.”
Jumping straight into the mayor’s chair without prior city council experience added to the challenges of the early stages of Tottinham’s first term.
“I think if you were on the city council for a few years, you’d probably understand a little more and it would be easier to go into it,” he said. “But Houston has a very good council, and it’s very nice to work with. They’ve trained me pretty well.”
Like most Missouri towns, Houston is a Class 4 city (population between 500 and 2,999). In turn, the mayor doesn’t regularly have a vote in matters brought before the council, except when necessary to break a tie.
“And wouldn’t you know it, in my second meeting I had to do that,” Tottingham said. “That’s very unusual.”
Despite not regularly voting, Tottingham and his predecessors do oversee procedural aspects of council meetings.
“You try to make them work well, and stay within the requirements of Sunshine Laws and things like that,” he said. “Of course, the attorney sometimes has to tell you that something’s not right.”
Tottingham said the most enjoyable aspects of being mayor are exactly why he does it.
“Being involved with the city and making decisions with the council to improve the city and make it a better place for us all to live makes me feel good,” he said. “And people show you a good deal of respect – not because of yourself, but because of the position you hold. I think most people would probably enjoy that a bit.”
The hardest part of the job?
“When you have personnel conflicts or it comes down to having to discipline someone,” Tottingham said. “That’s hard because in a small town like this, you’re friends with everybody. Whenever I can, I try to direct them back to the correct direction to go by the chain of command. I think that’s very important. Of course, being trained in the military, that was something that was drilled into you all the time.
“I just feel like going through proper channels is very important.”
Tottingham believes the citizens of Houston are in large part backers of municipal leadership.
“They’re very supportive of one another and very supportive of leadership as well,” he said. “But I think it’s very important for leaders to ask questions and talk to people and get both sides before you make a decision. That lets them know you’re representing all of them, regardless of what side you’re on. I think if leaders do that, a standard is set for not having much conflict.”
As far as staying on beyond 2015, Tottingham figures he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ll see what’s on the horizon at that point. But I feel like Houston is a great place to live, and I think the large majority of the people here are here for the right reasons. It’s a town where if you ever have any problems, everyone’s going to scramble to help you get through them. I really appreciate living here, and I appreciate the support everybody gives. Hopefully, citizens will feel free to come to us if they see something that would make Houston better, and we’ll try to work around the funds and other considerations to get it done.
“We always have room for improvement.”
For a detailed look at mayoral duties in Missouri Class 4 cities, log onto http://extension.missouri.edu/p/DM4003-5#Mayor.
…Houston has a very good council, and it’s very nice to work with. They’ve trained me pretty well.”