appointment of Mayors and other administrative officers by the Governor. Others have argued for a system of home rule, wherein the city is permitted to frame its own charter.
The Des Moines or Commission Plan of City Government.One of the newer types of municipal governmentis the so-called "commission plan" of city government. This is a scheme of city government which attracted considerable attention because of what it accomplished for Galveston, Texas. The plan was carefully studied and heartily indorsed by certain citizens of Des Moines, Iowa, who believed that the welfare of Des Moines would be materially promoted by the adoption of a similar plan of government. They persuaded the Thirty-second General Assembly to pass an act authorizing cities of 25,000 or over to organize under the commission plan of government; since then the benefits of the act have been extended to any city of over 2000 population. There are at present (1920) nine cities organized under the commission plan, namely: Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Keokuk, Marshalltown, Mason City, Ottumwa, and Sioux City.
Outline of the Plan.In brief the plan is as follows: a non-partisan primary election is held for the selection of candidates for the positions of Mayor and Councilmen or Commissioners. Any qualified voter may become a candidate, all names appearing on the same ballot without any designation of party affiliation. Of all the candidates for Mayor, the voter is entitled to vote for one only; and
