No fault governing

Pioneer Press Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:09:44 -0600
Our city, our time

... The mayor got up and thanked everybody in the room, thankfully not all one at a time, and then launched into a speech that was 90 percent pep talk, 10 percent litany of accomplishments. That was refreshing, because: For one thing, it had the potential to be the opposite, a mere here's-what-I've-done-for-you-lately-don't-you-just-love-me speech, and it wasn't. For another, it was, to our ears, at least, distinguished by a grown-up willingness to take responsibility for dealing with the world as it is, the good and bad of it. In the two years Chris Coleman has been mayor, in increasingly difficult economic times, we've seen a steady decrease in the blame reflex in his administration. ... And there's only so much that mayors, or any agent of government, can do about [problems facing the city]. One thing they can do is to acknowledge that as fact and rally their constituents to do for themselves. Another is to take responsibility for dealing with the world as it is, without wasting energy, good faith and credibility on blaming somebody else. So, when Coleman says in his State of the City speech, "This is our time, this is our city," we hear not just a call to action, but an acceptance of responsibility. And, in these days of "damn the opposition, full blame ahead," that's a breath of fresh air.

[[keywords: Officials;Metro;]]