Some are starting to wonder if the ‘council curse’ when it comes to mayoral elections really does exist.
I had a brief conversation with a city director before the Wednesday council meeting, we talked about the election. They brought up the ‘council curse’ and how it knocked out a lot of great candidates like Greg, Kenny and Jim and others over the years including Vernon Brown, Darrin Smith, Kermit Staggers, Pat Costello, etc.
One of the reasons I felt Stehly wouldn’t win a mayoral race is because of the ‘council curse’.
So why does this keep happening? One reason is because many people want ‘new beginnings’ with a new mayor, and not a lot of people from the old guard. I also think voters like people who are NOT from government. I get this a little, but I would like a mayor to have ‘some kind’ of government experience. Both Paul and Jo do have some experience. Probably Jo more than Paul. While Paul has helped with many successful campaigns in the past, it doesn’t hurt to be on the winning team to begin with (Republicans). Besides pushing for Jolene’s Law, Jo has also been involved with school district issues.
There has also been a ‘turnover’ of voters since the last mayoral election. Some longtime reliable voters have dropped off, and with our massive population growth, there was probably at least 4,000 new voters. The drawback of the new voters is that they tend to NOT have any historical background of city business.
A great example of this is when people talk about transparency, as if it just reared it’s head a year ago. This has been going on since Munson was mayor, and Huether perfected it. Huether even made it a campaign issue during his first term run in 2010, he vowed to be the ‘most transparent mayor ever’. Yeah, we jest now.
So who do I blame for voters getting caught up with emotion instead of policy when they vote? The candidates are somewhat to blame, but our local news media is not very good at covering the ‘controversies’. Before Lalley’s show, there was virtually no local radio station really talking about the real issues with city government. Belfrage throws softballs at the mayor, and when he talks about the meetings, it is pretty obvious he didn’t watch them himself. Our TV stations try to steer away from controversy especially when it may involve their major sponsors. While our local newspaper does a good job going a little more in depth, their readership is not so great.
We also have to share a little blame with the city for not promoting the election that well, and that blame should also lie with our local service organizations like Rotary, Chamber, etc.
Maybe the runoff will all surprise us. But either way, the next mayor won’t be a former city councilor . . . not that there is anything wrong with that.