Who's 'The Guy?'

Before diving in, a brief thought on this bizarre McCain campaign suspension idea: If McCain had said "I'm going off the campaign trail, dropping my debate prep, and concentrating on this crisis for a few days. If my debate performance stinks on Friday, too bad for me, but the country takes precedence," that would be one thing. But the whole suspension -- even taking down ads -- makes it look like desperate grandstanding. Why take your ads down? What does that have to do with it? Running ads don't effect a darn thing. McCain may have had a good idea here, but he overplayed his hand.

Now, on with the show...

Yesterday afternoon I had a wonderful lunch with someone who has played a role in city government and politics for decades. But afterward, I think we both went away a little frustrated and discouraged on one particular issue.

What we decided is that there is no absolute power player in the city who can mobilize forces, get people together, set a goal, and make it happen. In short, there's no "The Guy" who can demand results on a shared priority.

The mayor can be that person, but usually it takes a mayor with a longish tenure and the mandate to look forward. The current mayor has a shortish tenure, and is still focused on the city's survival.

How about other politicians? Stephen DiNatale seems to be a capable representative, but hasn't shown the ability to be the force of nature that demands people make something happen. Jen Flanagan is completely unproven in this realm, and isn't from the city. I don't know of a councilor who has the power to pull something together. Is there a business leader in the city who can fill the power void?

What we're talking about here is someone who has power, ability, network and resources to get the power players in the same room and say "This what we're going to do, and all of here are going to make it our top priority until it gets done. And we're going to get it done." And then they make a big public display and keep talking about it until it happens.

I think back to the Crocker Field restoration event at the Fay Club a few weeks ago (read about it here). The room was full of the city's power players, but I don't think there was The Guy who could grab the city by the scruff of the neck and drag it forward. The Crocker Field folks are looking for $3.2 million overall, and $900,000 for FieldTurf. It appears to be a very significant mountain, so Crocker Field can be more than a few dozen times a year. A great idea for the city, and should be a priority.

But there's no one who can organize all the leaders and demand results. There's no force of nature that says "jump" and gets people leaping. I think back to last year's holiday lights fiasco, where the city needed $5,000. There was no one to step up and take that over and make it happen, and that was for a measley $5,000.

There are dozens of priority projects for the city, but no one who can say "OK, we're doing this one first, everyone get on board." There's no one who can sit at a table with the 10 most important people in the city, demand unity and action, and get something done. There isn't The Guy, who through sheer force of will and power, makes stuff happen.

Or maybe there is, and I don't know who it is. If there is, now would be a good time for The Guy to step forward. It's a void in leadership that needs filling.