The 300K Developers' Friend in the Mayor's Office

Michael Cass seems to do an effective job at grasping concerns that community leaders have expressed about Mayor Dean.

It's past concern for me. It's more like regretting my vote for Karl Dean, and I'm not sure that I can vote for him next time around with his exclusive commitments to over-growth, public schools, and crime prevention. (The crime prevention leg seems rather weak given that the beginning of his term was marked by a significant theft at the offices of the election commission that occurred because of a nonfunctioning alarm, computer protocol problems, and a reproachable security company. And I haven't noticed a drop in crime in my community during his term). Seriously, besides style, what has been the difference between the way Karl Dean has governed and the way that Bob Clement said he would?

All I've ever expected is balance, but seen little of it coming from this Executive. And when Mayor Dean tells a reporter that he is committed to balance, I don't see it. I never expected a clone of Purcell or a guy committed to installing sidewalks at breakneck pace. It just would have been nice to have a Mayor who could include neighborhood advocates in leadership positions in his administration. It would have been nice to see him commit to an Office of Neighborhoods rather than "refine" it. It would have been nice to know that once and a while the Mayor would govern as if growth and development are not restricted to economics and private structures, but also pertain to community and infrastructure.