John Crawford for City Council, er Mayor, er….?
Posted by Jim Sack in City & County GovernmentBy Jim Sack
Well, John Crawford. He offered his support to me when I fought the changes to Calhoun Street, so our last contact was as allies. I also was a strong supporter of a downtown ballpark, so he voted as I probably would have, and I loath smoking, so I have only a few qualms about his effort to force health on us. Additionally, the chats I had with him during his tenure on council informed me that he was very astute, well educated, deeply caring about Fort Wayne and tough.
So, after council the other night I heard that he had formed an exploratory committee for the purpose of raising funds. There was no indication whether the campaign would be for the nomination for mayor or a run at council seat. John Crawford lives northeast, in Tom Smith’s district, if I am correct. That is a non-starter. Smith has no baggage and is no push-over. Mr. Smith has not done anything untoward a la Matt Kelty that would sully his reputation and leave good, honest voters distrustful or open to change. I just doubt he would take on an incumbent fellow Republican in the primary.
Would Mr. Crawford run at-large again? Tough. If he runs at large he has to get through the Republican primary, which he could do, then appear on the fall ballot as the third Republican. Then, he would have to knock off one of the incumbents, John Shoaff, Liz Brown or Marty Bender, to regain his old seat. Tough, but John is a spectacularly good fund raiser. Mrs. Brown is probably the most vulnerable. Her personality is caustic, not especially good trait for the glad-handing expected at each front porch on the campaign trail. He could win, but does he want to be one of nine?
That leaves mayor. Like a scad more Republicans he sees Tom Henry as vulnerable, but that is not highest hurdle, that is the primary. Can he defeat Paula Hughes? Probably. Can he defeat Nelson Peters or John McGauley. Probably. Can he defeat Mitch Harper. Very tough. Mitch is a very strong campaigner, well known, well respected and acceptable to the widest range of the Republican Party for a number of reasons: his friendly personality, his long service to the party, his genuine willingness to listen to all, and his ability to win. The ratio of Republicans to Democrats in Fort Wayne, thanks to Paul Helmke, favors the Republicans. Mayor Henry won because Matt Kelty made so many mistakes, not because there was a clamor for Democrat party leadership. There are simply more Rs in the city than Ds which gives any reputable Republican the edge. The real battle will be in the primary.
Kevin Leininger in his recent News Sentinel interview with Mr. Crawford noted that the doctor could not run a practice and serve as mayor, simultaneous, but added that Mr. Crawford did not need to work any longer, thanks to good investments. Given the recent history of the markets that alone should qualify him for some exalted position.
My guess is Mr. Crawford will bide his time, raise money and then decide next year which office he would like to hold. His success with investments might suggest an alternative path in which he might be substantially more valuable to the community: city controller.
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My greatest complaint regarding John Crawford would be the smoking ordinance. While I understand the motive and agree that non-smoking environments are healthier in general, as a former bartender with more than fifteen years experience, I believe each business owner should have the freedom to run their business as they see fit. Dr. John (or government in general) has no idea who or what a businesses customer base is and if you don’t like smoke don’t go into that bar. It should be all about choice.
As far as Crawford is concerned, he lost me forever when he appeared in a PSA shortly after the election condemning health care provisions claiming that government had no business making those decisions. Bad form from someone who chose to make business decisions for many who lost businesses or became unemployed because of HIS ”Smoking Ordinance.” Keep practicing medicine, Dr. John, and leave the politics to someone who is able to stand for some conviction. Or maybe retire to somewhere warm and ay golf.
Hey Schmitz, did you and I ever bartend together? You’re name sure rings a bell.
If Mr. Crawford could offer some leadership, vision and transparency…..not a lot of that right now on Council or the 9th floor.
If you like a transparent, leading and visionary nanny, he would be perfect.
I am not sure it is the right time for Crawford.
Given the apprehension of Government Control, his ideas on the Smoking Ban were the catalyst to his defeat. I don’t know people are over that–not in this atmosphere.
Don’t get me wrong. I admire Dr. Crawford, now the fight is over, even though I am not happy about government restrictions on businesses.
Not only was he my father’s doctor who cared compassionately for him (I later found out), but…as it turns out he was a hell of a nice guy on the corner of the street when I found him to apologize for attacking his character because of his stance.
I have had a chance to talk to him on occasion and believe there are good things he can offer for government. Right now, though?
I suggest to let the tides turn a bit, and let people get over the ant-Crawford sentimentality when the economy turns up.
Well said, CP.
Dr.Crawford had a grasp on all the city did.He is one smart person.And I think he is what the city needs.If he can win the mayors primary he can win the general election.So go for it.
John, I think you are essentially right. John is one of the smartest guys in Fort Wayne and willing to take the harassment that goes with holding public office. He is not a perfect politician, but compared to many who hold office in Allen County, and on city council, and who have been and are mayor, he would be an improvement.
Crawford would do a much better job than our current mayor – I have absolutely no doubts about that…
Jeff, glad to see you made it back safely. Tom has been a bit of a disappointment. Over the past couple of weeks I have had chats with a fair number of old timers and one looked me in the eye, when I mentioned my disappointment with the Mayor, and asked me “what did you expect.” The oldtimer added that as a councilman, Mr. Henry’s votes did not always reflect what he had told constituents, business leaders or fellow politicians. The oldtimer said that Mayor Henry’s ambiguous stand on local gambling was just a reflection of his old self.
Obama is said to be one the smartest guys to ever be President. I’m not so sure that’s the singular characteristic one should use for voting for anyone. Crawford was voted to City Council to represent the interests of his constituents, he voted his conscience on the smoking ban and Harrison Square, and his constituents voted him out. Say what you will about the 3-way race we was in, fact is, fewer people voted for him than the winner. He didn’t represent the people that elected him to office and they voted him out. Does someone believe if voted into the Mayor’s office he is somehow going to change his behavior? If so why, he learned a lesson? I don’t think so.
Dr. Crawford has the money and it sounds like he is prepared to make the time to run. But being less bad than Tom Henry (who I do not think will run for a second term) and only slightly better than Paula Hughes, is not a very good reason to vote for someone.
If Crawford runs, the Chairman will feign impartiality in the primary but paddle hard below the surface to get him into the general election. He will have many of the elected officials’ support and their endorsements. The country clubbers will support him just to be able to once again hold sway over the City. The papers will hold up his votes on Harrison Square and the smoking ban against the desires of those he represented, as “tough”, “independent”, “principled”, and perhaps “courageous”, then fawningly endorse him. When in reality what Crawford did is no different than what Democrats in Congress are doing today with their vote on health care in the face of a majority of Americans who oppose it.
You can be sure Crawford will have a poll in the field soon if not already.
Once the wunderkind, I believe Mitch Harper will tease everyone all the way up to the last day of filing, then not run citing either his support for Crawford (should he run), or that he has an equally important role to play on City Council, as Council President. Harper’s encyclopedic knowledge of State and Local Government along with his penchant for history qualifies him more as philosopher\wonk\critic instead of the visionary/leader/executer the city needs.
Fort Wayne and the Republican Party should be looking forward with a candidate, not reaching back, and I don’t believe you have to be of Government to be in it. The city needs a candidate that is inspiring, accomplished, down-to-earth, smart, not beholden to anyone, proven performer, willing to do the hard stuff, and is not worried about getting re-elected. This shouldn’t be the best job the candidate has ever held in their career.
None of the people mentioned are necessarily “bad” or “evil”, but for goodness sake, is this the best we got?! To paraphrase Edmund Burke, All that is needed for mediocrity to triumph is for good men to do nothing. We may be there.
There are plenty of qualified folks capable of running, and moving the city back on track and forward, but after seeing the Party eat its young in the last mayoral election, I suppose it’s understandable why potential candidates might consider otherwise. Granted hubris and ineptitude contributed greatly to the fall of the 2007 primary victor, but the fuse was lit and flame fanned by the sniffy Party regulars (Crawford among them) after the great unwashed masses voted down their selected candidate.
I guess the voters of Fort Wayne need to ask themselves, “Don’t we deserve better than the same ole re-tread candidates?”, and “Are we going to let influential Party officials and contributors dictate the primary field and result?” The Mayor’s election will be as much a fight for the control of the Party as it is for the Mayor’s office. The primary election is where the battle will be joined. What side will you be on, freedom or power?
Oh, where to start. So, if there are plenty of good people capable of the task; who might they be?
Just because Henry is so bad you don’t have to settle for this guy, Fort Wayne.
JW, please explain your thought.
Dear John Henry, first, thank you for writing. I am honored and I appreciate your determination to make this a better community. Many of us in politics, community affairs, whatever, are trying to do just that, in our own ways. My family has been in politics since the late 1700s in America, Republicans in Kentucky, Democrats from Ligonier; a sheriff, two state senators, a city clerk and numerous others in varying positions. We serve. I do appreciate that Dr. Crawford is willing to expose himself to contempt and ridicule, as is now too often the case. I think him to be a remarkably intelligent man, as are many of our elected officials and political leaders. I very much like Mitch Harper, John McGauley, John Shoaff, Tom Smith, Nelson Peters and a few others. I do not have such strong positive feelings for some. You mentioned you think there are plenty of people qualified to get the city back on track. Who are they and what track would that be?
I grew up in a mixed marriage, mother Republican and father a Democrat. I heard both sides often passionately presented and learned to appreciate and argue both sides. I consider myself open to new ideas and a defender of good tradition. My coif is liberal with conservative highlights and liberatarian undertones. I believe in liberty with responsibility. So, we can disagree on some things, and agree on others. Let us try to work together to improve life here as often as possible.