By Jim Sack

It was a fresh start last night, all smiles, laughter, joking. City council had not been in session for three weeks and members greeted each other as old friends, almost like a class reunion.

The affable Sandy Kennedy, our city clerk, gaveled down the meeting which was held primarily to elect a new president and vice president. The results were obviously choreographed well before last night. Outgoing president Smith nominated Marty Bender, it was quickly seconded by a gaggle of voices, Glynn Hines closed nominations and Sandy called the vote. Unanimous. Same thing for the vice presidential chair. Mitch Harper was nominated, seconded, and elected in about seven seconds. Whoosh. No bickering, no finger pointing, no debates meandering into ancillary territory. Just a back room deal cut and dried well in advance of the meeting. That’s the way it has most often worked. There is more debate and discussion on citizen appointees to obscure boards and commissions.

Among the other highlights of the meeting were the singing of the national anthem by Tom Didier, who is renowned for his interpretation at Komet games, an occasional Tin Caps match and other public events around the town. His voice filled the room and then some. At times I bemused that he might blow President Washington off the wall. He was loud.

The mayor also showed up in his annual visit to council. Deputy mayor Greg Purcell, Controller Pat Roller and a couple more from the administration were there. The mayor spoke for less than three minutes and said nothing important. In summation: last year was tough, this year will be tough, we can work together, I have an open door policy. There was nothing uplifting about the message. It was somber. The mayor had the floor, had cameras on him, had the eyes of city council, reporters, etc, and what he said could have been delivered by almost anyone in his administration with about the same effect. It was an opportunity lost.

It seems the Republicans firmly believe this coming mayoral election is theirs to win. They have good reason to so believe. The raw D vs R numbers in Fort Wayne favor Republicans. Split the independent vote and the Republicans win going away. So, Republican money people are searching for a candidate. County Council member Paula Hughes has already expressed her intentions to be mayor. She has not, apparently, excited many Republicans beyond her own circle. John McGauley has run a very effective Recorders’ office and is rumored to be interested. He is every bit as affable as Sandy Kennedy, who beat him handily last election, and has management experience. He is also a conservative-moderate-liberal who appeals to a wide range of people because he is approachable and not an ideologue. Mitch Harper is another potential candidate. He is now the vice president of council and is probably going to be council president next year during the municipal election year. He is seen as smart, experienced, very thoughtful, no push over (by any means) and
grounded with conservative-libertarian values that hold him in great stead in generally conservative Fort Wayne. With his experience in the state legislature and his consummate campaigning skills he has to be considered the early favorite. Tom Smith’s name also comes up frequently. He has been, for the last couple of years, the voice of the Republican Party in Fort Wayne. He often gave plain spoken rebuttal to Mayor Henry’s proposals. He, Harper and councilman John Shoaff often voted together against a variety of projects they deemed fiscally irresponsible. The were often defeated by six to three votes, including Marty Bender, who runs as a Republican but frequently voted with the Democrats and in line with the proposals of his mayor and boss. Smith should also be given consideration.

But, the election is over a year away. In the coming year Mayor Henry could save the city in another flood, bring a major new employer to town, rise above some turbulent situation to be seen as a great leader. He has not done so to date, but he could…really. On the other side, one of more of the Republicans could be embarrassed by one event or another. The Appalachian Trail is not that far away.

So, council was all sweetness and light last night, Mr. Bender got through his first meeting as president without a great faux pas, and the next week seating and committee assignments will be offered. Watch to see who gets finance.

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Tags: Fort Wayne City Council, John McGauley, John Shoaff, Karen Goldner, Liz Brown, Marty Bender, Mitch Harper, Tim Pape, Tom Didier, Tom Henry, Tom Smith

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 9:57 am and is filed under City & County Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.