Who Might Be The NEXT Mayor Of Fort Wayne?



This is a question we should be asking ourselves in the Summit City...and deservedly so.The next year will be a study in perspicacity and potential leadership.

Looks like Allen County Commish NELSON PETERS has already hit the ground running, as well as MATT KELTY. This should provide a decent run-off for the Republican candidacy. The debating will be worth watching, that's for certain.

As for the recently "victorious" Democratic party...well, all I'm hearing is crickets from THEIR side of the street...Tom Hayhurst...not interested. Ditto for Tim Pape (thank the maker...I don't think much of his stint as the 5th distruct councilman thusfar....I much preferred Dede Hall...at least she had more "spunk"). Geoff Paddock is also not interested (financially-speaking)...and who can blame him? We're talking about a cool MILLION BUCKS to run a campaign for mayor here. One person I would really like to see run would be TOM HENRY...damn good councilman, businessman, has a decent head on his shoulders and asks the hard questions.

This could leave the door to the mayor's office ajar for the Libertarian party to slide their foot in...(if the other 2 parties don't SLAM IT SHUT first)... What I would be most interested in would be to hear exactly what their platform is. I want to know how they would want to see Fort Wayne in the next 5-10 years. Can they actually do MORE for the city with LESS? That alone would be a major "selling" point for MY vote.

But of any and all candidates from whatever party they align themselves with...what do WE...the voting public expect or want from our NEXT mayor?

Personally, I'd like to see the next person take the best ideas from the past administration (if any) and run with them. I'd like to see someone with the PROACTIVITY needed for infrastructure maintenance and improvements. I want someone with some plain old COMMON SENSE and a few ounces of FORESIGHT thrown in for good measure.
I want a mayor that will take the time needed to bring up the "blighted" areas of Fort Wayne to the same standards the OTHER parts of town maintain, and NOT keep moving the city further away from annexations out the wazoo.

I'd like to see a person with the fortitude to take a tough stance on public safety...screw partisanship, race, or even socio-economic class...make the city SAFER FOR EVERYONE, period...no matter what it takes. THAT will get developers lining up at your door in a hurry. And THEN you WILL have downtown revitalization the like of which would be the envy of much larger cities ( without some ludicrous baseball stadium we don't really need).

Find me a mayor that is cut from the same cloth as Rudy Giuliani...does what is NEEDED for the betterment of ALL the citizens... He dropped crime by over 25 PERCENT with his hard stance on public safety. Programs as simple as the "Stop & Frisk" which targeted "hotspots" in NYC did wonders to reduce crime overall, removing a lot of the illegal guns being toted about by thugs. Hey, now THERE is something we could do HERE with a mayor that tells all these special interest groups that this is not "how it is", but rather "how it will be from now on". You have to admire someone like that.

And I'd love to see a mayor that has the values, business savvy, and concern for every man, woman and child within the city limits, and not for monetary or political gain, but because being honest and up front is just the type of person he or she is.

I do say he OR she...as I don't give a hoot or holler in hell what gender the next mayor might be. Nor do I care about whether they're Black, White, Asian, Hispanic or whatever...(although being PLAID might be a tad ostentaious...lol). Just be a person for ALL the people, and not just for those lining your pockets. And don't be afraid to appoint people whose opinions might differ from yours...that's where fresh thinking and ideas well up from.

That's about it...it's not a laundry list of "wishes", but rather some things I would look for in ANY political candidate...and as I have said...I always vote the person AND their issues...screw the party lines and the "charisma" factor...((Hitler had charisma, and look where THAT went, eh?))...we don't need a "politically correct" mayor...or a handsome/cute mayor...we just need a GOOD mayor.

Although finding someone like this might not be impossible...it will, in all likelihood be very improbable. But then again...isn't ANY election kind of like shooting craps in Atlantic City?

You "could" win BIG...but usually you just break even, or mostly lose.

Isn't that a bit cynical?

Nah...just practical, with a hint of realist mixed in.