A lot of folks have been talking about how Nancy Denson's early declaration for mayor was done to 'clear the field' and put her in a commanding position for next year's election in Athens-Clarke County. And, sure enough, she's got plenty of experience and strong name recognition, and a buddy of mine told me she was out at a recent Athens-Clarke County Heritage Foundation event shaking hands and introducing herself as a candidate for mayor.
But, based on some things I've been hearing, her candidacy isn't the most popular thing in the community and is largely DOA.
First, Pete's column in Flagpole has taken a lot of wind out of her sails. This is a progressive town, and I've heard a lot of folks say that his column is going to hurt her in the long-run. And, speaking as someone who has worked on his fair share of campaigns in the area, there is a substantial portion of the local population that votes based on the Flagpole endorsement lists (rightly or wrongly). With Pete coming out against her so early, it's going to be very hard for her to work her way back into the mix.
Second, I think she stumbled out of the gate. With this community facing such massive challenges ranging from poverty to affordable housing to neighborhood stabilization to economic development, Denson wants to play small ball. She wants to focus on the basics, which fails to recognize the need this community has for the articulation of the next step of a grander progressive vision.
Lastly, her casual dismissal of the need for some decreases in property valuations isn't going to play well. You can't open your campaign talking about focusing on the basics because of a tough economy, but then show indifference to those directly affected by said economy. Nor can you attempt to concoct some mystical world where Athens-Clarke County is magically immune from the drop in property values. While I can concur that it's foolish to expect a massive drop in property taxes, I also have to think that she'd recognize that, politically speaking, folks aren't going to be happy when they get tax bill that looks the same as previous years (and, in fact, is going to be higher due to the elimination of the Homeowner's Grant Program at the state level).
Listen, Denson has been a great public servant having devoted roughly 30 years of her life to serving the people of Athens-Clarke County. I've met her a handful of times, and I've found her to be kind, sincere and compassionate. And, while I do think she'd be a fine mayor, I still hold firm in my belief that she isn't the right person for right now.
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One thing that has struck me about the comments I've seen against Ms. Denson is that all of the supporting comments such as "she is kind, sincere and compassionate", "she wants to focus on the basics", and "she's got plenty of experience" seems to argue against the conclusion "I don't think she'd be a fine mayor."
ReplyDeleteI, for one, am very impressed at this sort of reverse-svengali effect Ms. Denson seems to have on the media right now.
And it' not just you, jmac. Pete seems to have written his exdorsement the same way.
I think that's a fair enough point - and I'm flattered and mystified that I'm part of 'the media' - but I think it's a combination of two things ...
ReplyDelete- The genuine respect folks in the community have for Denson and her service;
- The real recognition that a campaign run by someone so entrenched in the status quo of how things are done, whether through institutional service or a smaller sense of what type of vision the community needs, is something that can hinder moving forward.
(Also, I had a typo that has been corrected ... I mean to say that I think she'd be a fine mayor, not that she would not be.)