Rusk is for real
As Publius so duly noted at Athens Politics, there was a good crowd for Andy Rusk's mayoral kickoff event last night. It was a good time. Publius and DiDDY from Athens Politics, Adrian from Athens World and I got the chance to chat with Rusk for probably 20 minutes or so over a couple of beers and came away very impressed.
He knows his stuff quite frankly. In the words of great Jerry Orbach from Dirty Dancing - 'when I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong' - and I was wrong about Rusk. He is well-versed in local politics, knows the issues pretty much front and back, is quick on his feet and comes across as quite a personable fella. He spoke for about 15 minutes prior to the musical performances and laid out the opening argument in his case to become mayor of Athens-Clarke County.
What was very impressive to me was the criticism he leveled on current mayor Heidi Davison, who was sitting front and center to hear him speak. Now, I didn't exactly agree with all of Rusk's criticism, but he had enough gumption to tell her, and the 50-plus people in the crowd, what he thought was not right with our community. Like Publius, I wished he would have offered a little more criticism about Tom Chasteen, but I'm sure there's plenty of time for that in the future.
What I also liked about Rusk was his eagerness to try and get the student population involved in the political process. He and I chatted about the success former Republican candidate for Athens-Clarke County Commission had in getting UGA students to register in town and then get out to the polls.
I've also got to say I was impressed Davison was there. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Heidi, primarily because of the interest she took in the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens and also because of her eagerness to enter into dialogue with the community (she has replied to every single message I've ever sent her and each response has been personal, professional and thorough). I was leaning toward backing her re-election bid until about half a year or so ago, when I decided to shop around a bit.
And we've got plenty of time before Election Day. Davison may just run, and I may just cast a ballot for her.
But I know this - right now, I'm strongly leaning toward Rusk's camp, seriously considering helping him out some, and I'd encourage you to check him out too. He's honest, passionate and, most important of all, credible.
He knows his stuff quite frankly. In the words of great Jerry Orbach from Dirty Dancing - 'when I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong' - and I was wrong about Rusk. He is well-versed in local politics, knows the issues pretty much front and back, is quick on his feet and comes across as quite a personable fella. He spoke for about 15 minutes prior to the musical performances and laid out the opening argument in his case to become mayor of Athens-Clarke County.
What was very impressive to me was the criticism he leveled on current mayor Heidi Davison, who was sitting front and center to hear him speak. Now, I didn't exactly agree with all of Rusk's criticism, but he had enough gumption to tell her, and the 50-plus people in the crowd, what he thought was not right with our community. Like Publius, I wished he would have offered a little more criticism about Tom Chasteen, but I'm sure there's plenty of time for that in the future.
What I also liked about Rusk was his eagerness to try and get the student population involved in the political process. He and I chatted about the success former Republican candidate for Athens-Clarke County Commission had in getting UGA students to register in town and then get out to the polls.
I've also got to say I was impressed Davison was there. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Heidi, primarily because of the interest she took in the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens and also because of her eagerness to enter into dialogue with the community (she has replied to every single message I've ever sent her and each response has been personal, professional and thorough). I was leaning toward backing her re-election bid until about half a year or so ago, when I decided to shop around a bit.
And we've got plenty of time before Election Day. Davison may just run, and I may just cast a ballot for her.
But I know this - right now, I'm strongly leaning toward Rusk's camp, seriously considering helping him out some, and I'd encourage you to check him out too. He's honest, passionate and, most important of all, credible.
posted by Jmac at 4:40 PM
1 Comments:
Careful, if he's got the bloggers on his side, then you know it's only a matter of time before...
"And we're going to Cedar Creek, and Boulevard, and Forest Heights, and Green Acres, and we're going to Normaltown and Boulevard, and then we're going to City Hall!!! Yeeeee-ahhh!"
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