We have a mayoral election coming up in less than a year, and it’s not too early to start thinking about whom and what we want. There’s probably going to be a lot of candidates. Three from the City Council already have announced, and there could be more. Plenty of others have thrown their hats in the ring. So we’ll have some choices to make.
For myself, a large part of the decision will naturally be based on the issues. What are they? The top issues, it seems to me, are homelessness and encampments (which are related, but different), and public safety, including police budgeting. I’ve heard other people mention dumping, which is complicated. So, in general, those are the Big Four. (Gentrification and development are frequently cited as top issues, but I consider them part of the overall problem of homelessness.) I’ll be looking for a candidate who agrees with me, or with whom I can agree, on these issues.
But there’s something else, less tangible, less measurable that I’m looking for in a mayor: I want someone who inspires me. I want a mayor with energy, who knows how to give a great speech, who is exciting and daring. We’ve had some very bland, boring, do-nothing mayors over the years, and their achievements (if such they can be called) have similarly been thin. Don’t get me started on Libby Schaaf. Forget about Jean Quan. Ron Dellums? They didn’t call him “Sleepy Ron” for nothing. Elihu Harris, Lionel Wilson—meh. Jerry Brown blew them all away; he was an exciting mayor, and in his two terms, he got lots of great things done.
I’m tired of bland, vanilla mayors who do nothing but govern by the polls and give focus-group speeches that sound like they’re composed of random words in a dictionary. I’m tired of robots who play it safe, who have nothing to say to the people, because they don’t stand for anything, they don’t believe in anything except the lowest-common denominator of public opinion. I want someone who can unfurl a banner and hold it high and tell us, “Come! Come with me to the promised land!” Yes, I want Dr. King, JFK, I want a Barack Obama, I want someone who lights my mind on fire and inspires my heart. I want a mayor I can believe in. I want a leader.
So when I consider all the candidates some time next Spring, that’s what I’ll be paying attention to. Not just their position on the issues, but someone who’s real, someone who’s not afraid, someone I can relate to. Imagine having a mayor we actually loved! Wouldn’t that be something.
Steve Heimoff