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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > October > 16 > Entry
Martin Gottlieb: Leitzell, McLin did most of what they could in debate
2009 ELECTIONS
Debates are Rorschach tests for viewers. What you take away depends a lot on what you bring.
Well, bringing the particular baggage of a political animal who has been watching one candidate — the challenger — for a month and the other for years, my reaction to the Dayton mayoral debate was that both candidates did about as well as they could have hoped to.
Gary Leitzell still had to cross the first hurdle of a first-time, unknown candidate: to show that he’s not a joke. He did that, presenting himself better than I’ve seen, standing up to an incumbent and not being blown off the stage.
He did give the other side some future lines of attack, but he didn’t make the audience laugh at the wrong times or squirm in embarrassment for him.
Mayor Rhine McLin, who, despite a lifetime in and around politics, doesn’t relish this sort of political combat, had one overriding job: to make clear that she and the city commission have not been sitting on their hands for the past four or eight years as bad things have happened.
She did it. She had lists — perhaps too many — of programs that are under way, of efforts being made to counteract the national tides at work against Ohio and cities.
If the candidates had engaged in some give-and-take, her opponent might have said that somebody listening to her might get the impression that things are going fine in Dayton. That wasn’t her point, of course, but her enthusiasm came close to suggesting that.
At one point early on, she had a moment that brought to mind a certain vice presidential candidate of the recent past: stringing together phrases without an apparent sentence. But she quickly recovered with a couple of quite strong answers. Not the most polished politician in her use of the language, she did communicate.
Both the candidates managed to keep talking even when they couldn’t offer a direct answer to the question at hand. That’s a basic job requirement.
Leitzell said some things that would typically be considered impolitic:
• His home-schooled daughter would be bored in the Dayton public schools.
• Crime in Dayton is typically of a petty sort and, sure, you could avoid it by moving to the suburbs, but that would cost you a lot more. (He seemed to be settling for high crime as a reasonable trade-off for cheap housing.)
• The problem with the Dayton public schools is not the students, teachers or administrators, but the parents. (It’s a variation on a point that even Barack Obama makes. But making it even as you introduce yourself to those parents in their capacity as voters is tricky.)
These are the kinds of things that an experienced or trained candidate would be less likely to say. But perhaps some people will give Leitzell some credit for speaking his mind forthrightly.
Less forgivably, he speculated — as he has before — that Dayton’s business regulations date back to the 1950s or 1960s, when a few big businesses ran things and didn’t want any competition. There’s no excuse for a person in his role speculating. His job is to know, if he’s going to raise the subject.
Still, he had some good lines (“First in Flight” has taken on a whole new meaning for Dayton.) He pounced on some obvious weaknesses in the city’s record. And he presented a respectable alternative for a newcomer.
His specific policy ideas — selling city services to nearby communities, for example — seem unlikely to bring people to his side. But they’re enough to justify some people in saying a respectable alternative is at hand, if they are so inclined.
(Leitzell has wisely modified his proposal on regionalism, saying “baby steps” are needed, backing off the city-county merger he seemed to be calling for earlier.)
Typically, debates are seen as an opportunity for the challenger, but only a potential pitfall for the favored incumbent. But the Democrats behind McLin are hoping the debate will help to convince their people that there’s an actual race going on, and that they have to get to the polls.
The race had such a low profile until now that the Wednesday debate might almost be considered the beginning. Now come the mailings and the charges and countercharges. It could get unpleasant. Awakening potential voters sometimes entails (over)dramatizing a threat.
Debates like this are often criticized for being too controlled or having too little give-and-take. But, as often happens, this debate could turn out to have been the highlight of the campaign season.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: City of Dayton, Columns, Elections, Martin Gottlieb, Miami Valley Politics
Comments
By Gary Leitzell
October 17, 2009 1:54 AM | Link to this
Mr. Gottlieb, Thank you for the fair editorial, however a few corrections need to be made. My statements were 1) My home educated daughter would be bored in a “brick and mortar” school. 2)The problem with the Dayton public schools is not the students, teachers or schools, but parental involvement in the lives of children. If you are going to quote me, please use my exact phrase because what you have written changes the context of what was actually stated. If you would like to view the debate, please go to my web site www.GoGaryGo.net where you can hear what was actually stated.
By Cam
October 17, 2009 9:42 AM | Link to this
I don’t think it was fair at all. I think the DDN bends over backwards to give McClin credit she doesn’t deserve. She is incoherent. Period. DDN is going to lose the last bit of credibility it has left in this town.