City Politics Fever! Catch it!

Being a mayor is like racing a go-cart. You have to know your limitations.

One would think a relocation from a small town (for the lack of a better term) to a large metropolitan area, changes would be abound. In the big city, people do things differently than the small towns. It's a complete paradigm shift from closed-minded focus on a few menial facts to a large swath of complicated issues. With that thought ringing some truth, and the complexity of pleasing "approximately 1.2 million people" and 507,000 registered voters, the one-and-done bickering of the cosmetic issues do not raze my political curiosity anymore.

In the big city, my love/loathe/aggravation of local politics has been restored. Bless their crooked hearts, no matter what city you land in, the players try so hard to be relevant yet all of the other government constructs (state and federal) just make it a trickle-down action or a springboard to advance political stature. But they try. And sometimes they succeed. Cory Booker has made a second job out of finding common-sense improvements while every year upping the stakes for bigger, faster and stronger actions. Then again, I don't see either of the runoff candidates rolling out a night patrol in South Dallas.

It's down to two as David Kunkle and Mike Rawlings race to facilitate the wacky looking building that was used in Robocop. Lest we remember, it's Texas politics. And even though Dallas is 193 miles from the fracas--nay, fustercluck--of Austin, it is still Texas politics. The fun part about Texas politics is that you have to peel off the initial, shrink-wrapped layer to find out what the angle is. And yes, there is ALWAYS an angle.

Mike Rawlings had a $1.47 million layer to comb through...that's a lot of shrink-wrap. Along with being on the board of the Dallas Parks and Recreation department and Ace Cash Express and as a former CEO of Pizza Hut, it looks like his angle in to lure a Fortune 100 company to downtown, claim it as "business growth" and leave to serve as the that company's CEO or chairman. Or I could be wrong. He could be the agent of change that relocates the Rangers to South Dallas and boost their economy urging other neighborhoods to reconnect with South Dallas. At that point, he will vie for VP of player personnel. I'm sorry, I have my doubts with a guy that is a tad bit on the Kingfish side of politics.

David Kunkle is the former police chief during a down slope in crime within Dallas. Name recognition was his game as about 2/3 of the men in the city only really know of him through a poorly-planned interview on the Little Ticket. His name alone got him second place in the first mayoral election as he spent little to nothing on advertising. Seriously, his campaign banner looked like something out of a Microsoft Office template. But, the singular message of great neighborhoods equal a great city could push him over the top or push him to the wayside. His angle is that he is so bored that maintaining a city and 14 different egos every other Wednesday sounds more exciting that collecting a police pension. I'm sorry but I have my doubts about how one man can unify neighborhoods as distinctive as their citizens.

To continue the Debbie-Downerism, the city is broke. Just like the state is broke. Just like the US has raised the debt ceiling because they are in the red. How can you push pie-in-the-sky dreams when you can't afford the ready-made pie crust? Until a city representative (other than the City Manager) can come to grips with that reality, the rest of the talk is cheap. On the neighborhood front: you can't build great neighborhoods without fixing the street lights and paving the roads. On the business front: you can't lure a huge company to take over an empty skyscraper with the temptation of tax breaks. It's a chicken v. egg argument that I don't think either of these guys have come to grip.

And don't get me started on the "education" angle. Part of the $1.47 million within the Rawlings camp was devoted to television. It's a great message but when you see it next door to this commercial, it makes you cringe that some promises might be broken. At least Kunkle didn't burn money he didn't have to blow smoke up a lovely woman's skirt.

So, here we are again. I am stressing out about local politics with the writing on the walls. It's like I'm in Corpus again. But comparing Dr. Seuss with Homer is just not fair. Whomever the 13% (or less) of the registered voters select, I will be along for the ride...as I always am. And I wish the best for the victor. It's a monumental challenge. If my cynicism is killed by the new mayor's resolve and (more importantly) fulfillment of goals, then I will be the same citizen thankful that I had the right to vote. There's nothing wrong with the capability of being proven wrong.

Lessons Learned, my three things.
1) Priorities, people...
2) I mean, c'mon! Priorities, people!
3) Every time I think about work and the job I do, I always have this movie in my head..."Good for you, it's a growth industry."

The one cool thing about Dallas right now is that it is getting an awesome economic shot in the arm from the Mavs' deep dive into the playoffs. I have never been a Mavs fan, but the more money we can snake from those casino-loving sod dwellers north of the Red River, the happier I am. Mavs in seven! Talk later.