Running for mayor is a big deal
Over at Athens Politics, we're having an interesting discussion concerning Athens-Clarke County mayoral candidate Andy Rusk's guest post. Pretty much, the short of it is this - Andy made his post, called a few things 'bullshit' and didn't expand on them. Adrian from Athens World said it probably wasn't the best course of action, politically, to use the word 'bullshit' so much, to which I said 'that's about right.'
Next thing I know, Adrian and I are lambasted by a chorus of folks for using what we thought amounted to common sense. Now these are folks who I like and respect, so a little disagreement is healthy. But they bring up larger issues - which I went into some over at the comments portion of the post - that I think are very important with regard to the 2006 mayoral race.
I, for one, don't really care what kind of language Rusk uses in his campaign. First of all, it's his campaign and he can run it how he sees fit. Second of all, I'm not offended by that kind of language, and it's just an extension of his knack for straight-talk, so I say more power to him. Plus it is a tad silly, I'll admit, to base your entire vote on whether or not someone curses in the public arena.
The questions I raised, with regard to being 'the no-bullshit candidate for mayor,' is along the lines of what Adrian asked - and that's how helpful is it? Granted it's not going to turn off anyone who was planning on voting for Rusk, but it does hold the potential to put off some folks who were considering voting for him. And because I feel fairly safe in saying he doesn't have a base of 51 percent of the likely voters in Athens, thus giving him the greenlight to say whatever he wants, it's not hard to imagine that Rusk is going to have to persuade some voters to back him in 2006 ... and that sometimes means creating some odd alliances who share a common vision.
So the political reality is that Rusk is going to have to reach out if he wants to become mayor. Now, he could be running to raise awareness to some issues, and that's fine. But I'll assume he actually wants to win, so that's my two cents.
Regardless, my bigger concern stemmed not from whether Rusk had a PG mouth or an R one. My concern is similar to the ones I hold for the other candidates in the race, and that's what does he really want to do?
It's fine and dandy to say 'the eastside needs more mixed-use development,' but it's another thing to go into detail and explain how you want to achieve that. It's swell to say that we waste money on some projects and decry the fact that the Athens Area Homeless Shelter is facing a massive shortfall, but it's also important to understand the Athens-Clarke County Commission holds no power in affecting that shortfall and it can only be made up by good fiscal management from the shelter, the generosity of the community and successful securement of grants.
While I do like Rusk, his candor and his willingness to participate in the discussions and debates in the fledging Athenian blogosphere, I have serious questions and, at this stage, doubts about his ability to serve as mayor. The more I read and the more I hear, the more I come away thinking he thought of this whole running-for-mayor-thing while knocking back a few beers with his buddies late one night.
I could be wholly wrong on this - and I hope I am - but accepting the responsibility of serving the public through elected office is a mighty big deal, and it requires individuals who are responsive to the entire populations of their communities, possess a deep understanding of the problems facing their communities, and know how to best address those issues.
From what I can gather from Rusk's AP post - as well as from his site - I am not yet convinced he's the man for the job. So while I agree with him over the silliness of the smoking ban, as well as the rental registration requirement, I'm not sold on things like only developing the hospitality industry at the expense of the 'heavy industry,' primarily for the reasons Adrian mentioned in the comments.
Likewise, while his backing of teaching students 'art/music/PE/ etc.' is a good thing to support, it's troubling to me that Rusk doesn't realize the budgets for the Clarke County School District and Athens-Clarke County Commission are different. Ditto for the emotional tug he offered for the homeless shelter. Everyone can agree the shelter needs help, and I hope we all do our part to save it, but it's a non-profit organization that relies on state and federal money, as well as private charitable giving. It's perfectly fine, in my view, for Athens-Clarke County to award whatever grants it can to the shelter, but it isn't as if we're not spending money on the shelter because we're working on Baxter Street.
And the same goes for the minimum wage hike he favors. The only direct salaries the commission can affect are local government jobs, and this commission already pays its employees what the National Low Income Housing Coaltion considers to be a 'living wage.'
Now I'll concede it's still just 2005 and the election is a long way away, so Rusk may very well have plenty of ideas of how to take care of the things he mentioned at AP.
And, to be fair, it's not simply Rusk who I'm underwhelmed by. Keith Johnson, a man who is running with a focus on issues like poverty and affordable housing, is possibly one of the least qualified individuals to hold the office. I have been at several forums where I've heard him speak, and I've come away thinking how little this man actually knows about said issues (including one of the most baffling diatribes from him during an affordable housing seminar I was at this past summer in which Johnson repeatedly asked 'what is the price of affordable housing' and the different representatives on the panel from places like Habitat for Humanity and the Athens Housing Authority tried to explain it varied for each family, but this is the ratio/formula you use ... and Johnson twice said 'why can't I get a straight answer ... is it $200? $300?).
Likewise, I've heard negative reviews of Charlie Mattox in the early going, and Tom Chasteen is so desperate not to offend anyone no one knows what he really believes in. Then you've got the current mayor in Heidi Davison who can't decide whether or not she wants to stick her foot back in the mayoral pool or not.
If I'm overly critical of Rusk (and the others), it's because I expect much out of my elected officials. In the past five years, I've seen unimpressive individuals assume the presidency, the governorship and a variety of leadership posts in both parties at the local, state and federal levels, and I don't want to see that happen in my hometown's race for mayor.
Next thing I know, Adrian and I are lambasted by a chorus of folks for using what we thought amounted to common sense. Now these are folks who I like and respect, so a little disagreement is healthy. But they bring up larger issues - which I went into some over at the comments portion of the post - that I think are very important with regard to the 2006 mayoral race.
I, for one, don't really care what kind of language Rusk uses in his campaign. First of all, it's his campaign and he can run it how he sees fit. Second of all, I'm not offended by that kind of language, and it's just an extension of his knack for straight-talk, so I say more power to him. Plus it is a tad silly, I'll admit, to base your entire vote on whether or not someone curses in the public arena.
The questions I raised, with regard to being 'the no-bullshit candidate for mayor,' is along the lines of what Adrian asked - and that's how helpful is it? Granted it's not going to turn off anyone who was planning on voting for Rusk, but it does hold the potential to put off some folks who were considering voting for him. And because I feel fairly safe in saying he doesn't have a base of 51 percent of the likely voters in Athens, thus giving him the greenlight to say whatever he wants, it's not hard to imagine that Rusk is going to have to persuade some voters to back him in 2006 ... and that sometimes means creating some odd alliances who share a common vision.
So the political reality is that Rusk is going to have to reach out if he wants to become mayor. Now, he could be running to raise awareness to some issues, and that's fine. But I'll assume he actually wants to win, so that's my two cents.
Regardless, my bigger concern stemmed not from whether Rusk had a PG mouth or an R one. My concern is similar to the ones I hold for the other candidates in the race, and that's what does he really want to do?
It's fine and dandy to say 'the eastside needs more mixed-use development,' but it's another thing to go into detail and explain how you want to achieve that. It's swell to say that we waste money on some projects and decry the fact that the Athens Area Homeless Shelter is facing a massive shortfall, but it's also important to understand the Athens-Clarke County Commission holds no power in affecting that shortfall and it can only be made up by good fiscal management from the shelter, the generosity of the community and successful securement of grants.
While I do like Rusk, his candor and his willingness to participate in the discussions and debates in the fledging Athenian blogosphere, I have serious questions and, at this stage, doubts about his ability to serve as mayor. The more I read and the more I hear, the more I come away thinking he thought of this whole running-for-mayor-thing while knocking back a few beers with his buddies late one night.
I could be wholly wrong on this - and I hope I am - but accepting the responsibility of serving the public through elected office is a mighty big deal, and it requires individuals who are responsive to the entire populations of their communities, possess a deep understanding of the problems facing their communities, and know how to best address those issues.
From what I can gather from Rusk's AP post - as well as from his site - I am not yet convinced he's the man for the job. So while I agree with him over the silliness of the smoking ban, as well as the rental registration requirement, I'm not sold on things like only developing the hospitality industry at the expense of the 'heavy industry,' primarily for the reasons Adrian mentioned in the comments.
Likewise, while his backing of teaching students 'art/music/PE/ etc.' is a good thing to support, it's troubling to me that Rusk doesn't realize the budgets for the Clarke County School District and Athens-Clarke County Commission are different. Ditto for the emotional tug he offered for the homeless shelter. Everyone can agree the shelter needs help, and I hope we all do our part to save it, but it's a non-profit organization that relies on state and federal money, as well as private charitable giving. It's perfectly fine, in my view, for Athens-Clarke County to award whatever grants it can to the shelter, but it isn't as if we're not spending money on the shelter because we're working on Baxter Street.
And the same goes for the minimum wage hike he favors. The only direct salaries the commission can affect are local government jobs, and this commission already pays its employees what the National Low Income Housing Coaltion considers to be a 'living wage.'
Now I'll concede it's still just 2005 and the election is a long way away, so Rusk may very well have plenty of ideas of how to take care of the things he mentioned at AP.
And, to be fair, it's not simply Rusk who I'm underwhelmed by. Keith Johnson, a man who is running with a focus on issues like poverty and affordable housing, is possibly one of the least qualified individuals to hold the office. I have been at several forums where I've heard him speak, and I've come away thinking how little this man actually knows about said issues (including one of the most baffling diatribes from him during an affordable housing seminar I was at this past summer in which Johnson repeatedly asked 'what is the price of affordable housing' and the different representatives on the panel from places like Habitat for Humanity and the Athens Housing Authority tried to explain it varied for each family, but this is the ratio/formula you use ... and Johnson twice said 'why can't I get a straight answer ... is it $200? $300?).
Likewise, I've heard negative reviews of Charlie Mattox in the early going, and Tom Chasteen is so desperate not to offend anyone no one knows what he really believes in. Then you've got the current mayor in Heidi Davison who can't decide whether or not she wants to stick her foot back in the mayoral pool or not.
If I'm overly critical of Rusk (and the others), it's because I expect much out of my elected officials. In the past five years, I've seen unimpressive individuals assume the presidency, the governorship and a variety of leadership posts in both parties at the local, state and federal levels, and I don't want to see that happen in my hometown's race for mayor.
posted by Jmac at 3:06 PM
5 Comments:
Except that it matters considerably less wrt your hometown's mayor the way things are set up, governmentally speaking. It would be one thing if the mayor had a lot of power in Athens, but the position is important for tie-breaking, meeting-running, and agenda-setting, right?
Well, true to an extent. But agenda-setting is important, and - love her or hate her - Heidi has put forth an agenda and assembled a coalition of folks she can depend on on the commission. So the mayor would need a vision and the ability to build a coalition to achieve said vision.
But you're right ... on many things, the mayor's hands are tied. I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing that change.
Yes. Agenda-setting is important. But I don't see how Andy couldn't do it. You don't need a degree in political science. It's also hard to say who's going to be on the commission by the time we have our new mayor. Andy could have the best coalition ever. We don't know.
Sidebar: Have you watched Veronica Mars yet? You know you need to.
Thanks for posting Andy. I was probably a tad too hard on you, but I was on roll typing. Thanks for your expanded answers both here and at AP. It's very refreshing to see how engaged you've been with us throughout this process.
I've been meaning to write up something giving you the credit for answering my meager challenge. Kudos. You may just win my vote yet.
i love andy rusk.
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