PETERSON — 1, BALLARD — 0, PETERSON — 0
The winner of last night’s mayoral debate was incumbent Bart Peterson. I watched the debate several times before coming to this conclusion. For the record, no candidate said anything they had not said already a million times before. (Such is the curse of attending dozens of mayoral forums and following the issues closer than about anyone else in town.) So this time I looked at style, not substance.
Incumbent Bart Peterson tried to come across as “Reganesque” in his presentation. He tried to convey a message of optimism and that the city’s best days were still ahead of it by all joining hands and working together. Republican challenger Greg Ballard had a delivery that was stiff, stilted and robotic. And he left several opportunities on the table to score some crucial hits against the incumbent. Libertarian Fred Peterson had some interesting ideas but tended to come across at times as a “grumpy old man.”
Overall, no candidate did anything to change any impressions the voters might have so in essence, the incumbent Mayor won because neither candidate gave the voters a reason to think they were a viable alternative.
But the news isn’t all bad, there are three more debates scheduled and the candidates all have a chance to make a better impression. Unfortunately for them, yours truly is participating on one of the panels so they better really come prepared.
