The Bend City Council wants to consider switching to a ward system for electing city councilors. The possibility certainly makes for an interesting discussion, but it’s far from clear that this “solution” responds to any genuine problems.

Councilors are elected at-large under the city’s current charter. Voters in the city cast votes for every city councilor up for election. The new councilors then select a mayor from among themselves.

A ward system could be set up many different ways. Bend might have some or all councilors elected by geographic wards. Bend might have an elected mayor, two councilors elected at-large and four councilors elected by ward.

The city of Bend faces many challenges. But which ones become easier if Bend switches to a ward system?

Bend has a backlog of road repairs. If the city could spend $91 million on road repairs over the course of five years, it would eliminate its backlog. Does the search for that kind of money become easier under a ward system? No.

Many people in Bend have difficulty finding affordable housing. Does that become easier to solve under a ward system? No.

The Bend City Council has to balance meeting needs for roads, affordable housing, public safety, clean water, sewer and many other issues, such as noise in neighborhoods, short-term rentals and parking. Does any of that become easier under a ward system? No.

Some people believe that Bend’s east side doesn’t get adequate representation on the council. Two councilors out of seven — Barb Campbell and Justin Livingston — live east of Third Street. Of course, that does not mean the concerns of east side residents are underserved. But one possible advantage of a ward system is that people who live in an area of Bend would have a representative that they know is dedicated to serving the needs of their ward.

A second advantage of a ward system is that it might be less expensive for someone running for a ward seat to run for council, because they do not have to get their message out across the whole town.

But the most important question is: Does a ward system lead to better governance? It could lead to a situation in which councilors pursue their wards’ interests with little regard for the rest of the city. Surely, that’s not an improvement.

The only thing a ward system guarantees is that governance in Bend will be different, not better.