Saturday, November 9, 2013

Allen Johnson; The Hartzman Factor

"[September 17, 2013's] League of Women Voters mayoral forum drew an overflow audience, the biggest I’ve seen at one of these affairs.

WXII (Channel 12) streamed the event live.

Other current and former elected officials crammed into the big room, including several council members.

That speaks well of the interest in city politics, and the value of a compelling and competitive mayoral race.

The perceived frontrunners, Mayor Robbie Perkins and Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan, are evenly matched and well-experienced.

But dark horse/wild card/long shot challenger George Hartzman also adds to the appeal of these sessions in an odd and interesting way.

You never know what Hartzman will say or do.

He mentioned his kids, his wife and each of his household pets in his introduction.

Sure, he can be reckless with his charges of corruption and cronyism.

But he also can be funny and charming.

And sometimes he touches a nerve or says something that needs saying – for instance, by reminding us of the power and influence of real estate interests in city politics.

Or by questioning city spending.

So he’s more than comic relief.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one reason that crowd was so big was because Hartzman was there."

http://www.news-record.com/blogs/thinking_out_loud/article_e9b51fce-1ffa-11e3-a700-0019bb30f31a.html

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