Over at Page One, Jake has Brad Cummings’ statement on why he doesn’t want Mayor Jerry Abramson to run for a final term as Metro Mayor. Cummings is chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. In his 2,200 or so word statement, he brings up taxes; population growth; controversies at Animal Control, Housing and Zoning; and the old saw Cordish.
It’s a scathing look at the Mayor’s tenure. Some of Cummings’ points do deserve explanation from the administration, but any time the “laundry list of failures” argument is used in politics, it raises lots of questions about accountability.
I’d like to know where you think the blame falls for things like lagging population growth and wages. I wonder how Louisville stacks up against the rest of Kentucky. Does Louisville suffer more than cities that are in more successful states? Is it the mayor’s job to overcome state cuts to education and other areas that are crucial to success?
And if anything that goes wrong under Abramson’s watch is his fault, is the mayor to be credited for every success?
Of course, the local buck obviously stops at Abramson’s desk. But what things that happen to and in Louisville are under the mayor’s control, and what aren’t? I’m not saying it is or isn’t, because that’s ultimately impossible to know. What do you think?
