Leadership top priority in Scranton mayoral race
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share thisRegardless of the dominant policy issues in most political campaigns, the overarching issue usually is leadership. The solution - or failure to achieve one - usually can be traced to the leadership ability of the people in office.
In The Times-Tribune's endorsement last week of Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty, we noted some of the specific policy matters on which Mr. Doherty has demonstrated leadership during his two terms in office.
He resuscitated the government's recovery process under the distressed city program by rallying public support to the cause. Since then he has doggedly stayed the course.
In the course of exercising that leadership in pursuit of the government's long-term stability, Mr. Doherty, a Democrat, has run afoul of a traditional Democratic constituency - public employee unions. Perhaps the most convincing demonstration of Mr. Doherty's ability has been that he has not allowed that struggle to deter progress for the city as a whole, beyond the government itself.
The progress is evident in new police and public works headquarters, a revitalized park system that was on life support eight years ago, and several hundred million dollars worth of construction in downtown Scranton.
Progress in Scranton is obvious. The city is a better place to live, work and invest than it was when Mr. Doherty took office.
Mr. Doherty's opponent for the Democratic nomination, former Councilman Gary DiBileo, has offered no inkling that he would exercise such independent, aggressive leadership, and has a record that strongly leans to preservation of the status quo.
As Scrantonians go to the polls Tuesday, they should remember that continuing progress depends upon continuing the brand of aggressive leadership demonstrated by Mr. Doherty.
4 posted comments
Wow, two endorsements in one week? That ought to change the voters opinions! Well done from a newspaper that donated to the mayor's campaign. I love the deflection from the real issues to "leadership" in the first paragraph.
It reminds me of the great old movie "The Wizard of Oz" where the great and powerful Oz (The Times/Doherty) tells the simple little girl Dorothy and her friends (the taxpayers) "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"!!
"pay no attention