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January 19, 2005

A Quickly comment makes it into the Post

Jon Costas (mayor of my hometown) delivered his State of the City address on Tuesday, summing up his first year in office. One of the most interesting aspects of being a political advisor is watching the press reaction the next day.

(By way of background, Jon was elected mayor in late 2003, defeating a 20-year incumbent who had a 71% approval rating. I was Campaign Director.)

Jon is a good speechwriter and getting better. Jon's Achilles Heel is that his speeches aren't particularly saucy, so I try to add a bit of paprika. Take for instance this line in the Post-Tribune's article:

“Make no doubt about it, the condition of our roads stinks,” Costas said. “We have lost ground over the years, and it is time to stop ignoring this elephant in the corner.”

After I saw that in the paper, I had to look up "elephant in the corner" to make sure that the phrase wasn't misused. Thank goodness for Saphire's New Political Dictionary.

The papers covered the city's improving financial situation fairly well, but there was barely a mention of the fact that Jon doubled the annual job creation rate touted by the previous mayor. I suppose that this is an issue in speechwriting--a figure may be newsworthy, but without hitting it hard, it will get buried. The snow may not have been removed perfectly, but 400 more residents are employed in sustainable, non-retail jobs than a year ago. That's a pretty good first year, especially after the prior mayor touted 200 jobs/year.

The Post's beat reporter, Jim Stinson, is a pretty good local political reporter whose articles are usually quite fair and balanced. The campaign had trouble with Jim because he did his job and didn't just repackage the campaigns' press releases. For whatever reason, Jim didn't cover the State of the City, and we ended up reading this boner in the Post:

[One attendee] gave the speech mixed reviews. He said the annexation of 1,600 acres on the city’s west side mentioned both in the speech and in the plan concerns him.

“That’s a lot of roads,” said [the attendee], a former president of the Chamber. “The plan is good, but the total funding is not clear.”

He wonders where the money will come from.

“A lot of the projects are very vague,” he said.

Vague? Gee, this is why there is a cadre of city leaders fleshing out exactly what it means and a 20 page plan sitting on the table. Is the Post sure that this wasn't intended as a comment for Quickly?

Posted by adrianjo at January 19, 2005 10:52 PM

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