Editorial

Time to pay attention

With the biennial ritual of endorsing candidates now history, the city moves toward the next phase of the mayoral process. By Nov. 2, the voters will have their say. What happens in the next few weeks, however, can have a big impact on that vote. We hope residents will pay some attention.

The candidates for the two parties have been chosen, and neither was a surprise. The Democrats have endorsed incumbent Mayor Nancy Rossi for a third term, while the Republicans chose Tenth District Councilman Barry Lee Cohen as its standard-bearer. What needs to be determined is the next step.

Both parties had other candidates seeking the nomination. At one point the Democrats had two. That was until challenge candidate, former Mayor Edward O’Brien, opted out of the primary process and decided to go forward in the general election as an independent. That leaves O’Brien’s former Executive Assistant John Lewis as the remaining challenger.

Over in the GOP side, Steven Mullins announced his candidacy a scant two weeks before the caucus. He has been a vocal opponent of the party’s leadership over the last two years, and it remains to be seen if he will seek to go the primary route.

For Rossi, the theme sees to be “stay the course,” while for the GOP it was “labels don’t matter.” Both can be effective tools in the run leading up to November, but before that happens there is a primary in one party and a possible one in the other.

Primaries can be very clarifying in that they give voters the opportunity to see candidates as leaders of their own parties. If they can’t get solid support in their own party, there might be something missing. The downside, however, is the primary battles take on a more personal, less issue-oriented, track. We hope that doesn’t happen. But, knowing city politics the way we do, we are not holding out much hope.

Already we are seeing some attacking leadership styles or ways of doing things. What voters want are ideas, concepts, and a vision for the city. They deserve it, and the candidates would do themselves and the voters a service by sticking to them.

The city has gone through a very difficult three decades. Twice we have gone into state receivership. Candidates must present a roadmap forward, a way that will take us out of the morass we’ve been in these last years. Whether endorsed or challenge candidates the campaign at this point is or should be about a vision for the city.

It is difficult to gain the attention of the voters at this time of the year. They tend to focus after the summer season. However, the opportunity of candidates to present their programs for the city – staying away from personal attacks – is one that would do the campaigns and the residents well.

In the next days or weeks whether we have a two-party primary or only one will come into focus. Petitions must be signed and verified, and campaigns set into motion. During these weeks we hope to see what candidates will do if they come into power. We, and we suspect the voters, are not interested in ad hominem attacks.

What issues can you as a candidate bring to the voters? What do you see as the future of the city? What makes you a better option than the other? These are questions that must be answered.

It remains to be seen who will do the better job in the two parties.