Who Blinked?

Mayor Plusquellic has a knack for trying to out-maneuver his opponents...and today's push from South High Street to put Sewers for Scholarships on the ballot is a classic political move.

There really was little doubt the move by the City Attorney in sending back petitions that would have forced a public vote if City Council went along with the scheme was only buying time. Opponents of the "rush to flush" the project wanted to make sure it didn't move as quickly as most city votes do, so tying it to a public vote slipped a considerable roadblock on the Mayor's road to progress. So while the "scare-erists", as the Mayor describes his opponents, work to correct their paperwork he launches a preemptive strike and moves to put it on the ballot anyway.

Now the real politics begins. Since it is the Mayor's version he's pushing to get on the ballot he'll control the language he hopes will convince Akron voters to go along with his proposal, often called the "Kalamazoo Plan" after the Michigan city that first had the vision or chutzpah to suggest selling off a sewer system to plug an education hole had merit.

When the Mayor formed his special task force to give the idea the once-over there were whispers some had been told to meet quickly and apply the rubber stamp as soon as possible. Now that won't be a criticism, because City Hall is asking voters directly to apply the rubber. It will be interesting to watch this play out in an election year already chock-full of other drama: does Akron's causeway to the classroom make a sexier issue than Obama-McCain, or Pry-Laria?

One has to appreciate the irony when the same political segment that screamed bloody murder when gubernatorial hopeful Ken Blackwell wanted to unload the Turnpike system now wants to unload the pipeline we really can't do without. There's an old joke that goes something like this:

Guy's organs are having a discussion; who is really indispensable?

"I am", says the brain, "because without my thinking we don't know what to do."

"It's me," says the heart, "because without my beating the blood won't move."

"Think again," says the stomach. "Without food all of you would starve and wither away."

Quietly, a voice from the bottom spoke up: "Without my work, wait until you see what backs up. That's why I'm really the most important, because without me you're all full of...."

Point made.