OK, I honestly haven’t been following Boulder City politics as closely as maybe I should, but in light of my speaking engagement there this past week at the kind invitation of the Boulder City Republican Women, I have a question about the three-way mayor’s race there….especially since all three candidates spoke after me at the same event.
First, and with all due respect to Zachary “Zach of All Trades” Inman: Dude, you’re running for mayor…not city handyman. As Andre Agassi would say, image is everything. And faded jeans, tennis shoes and a short-sleeve polo shirt ain’t exactly the image most people have of a mayor. Dress for success, my friend. That doesn’t necessarily mean a three-piece suit…but at least tuck your shirt in!
Which brings us to the brouhaha between incumbent Mayor Roger Tobler and City Councilwoman Linda Strickland, both of whom are seeking the mayor’s gavel. I don’t know either and have no dog in this fight, however….
According to a Las Vegas Review-Journal story this week by Henry Brean, Strickland is an attorney representing a group of citizens who are being sued by the city over “several ballot initiatives” that I’m assuming the citizens are proposing. Tobler, as current mayor, says he supports the lawsuits.
But here’s the part I don’t understand: Mayor Tobler, according to the RJ report, “doesn’t understand how Strickland can serve on the (city) council and represent her clients when those two roles are at odds with each other.” According to the mayor, “She’s put herself in a huge conflict of interest.”
How are those two roles at odds with each other? As an elected member of the city council, Strickland represents citizens of the city. As a lawyer, she’s representing some of those citizens of the city. How is that a conflict? Unless, of course, you believe that Strickland’s duty and loyalty should be to the government and not the actual citizens.
Boulder Cityites….please clear this up for me.
UPDATE: Since I originally posted the above on Friday, I’ve been inundated with all manner of “clarifications” from both sides. Suffice it to say, I appear to have lifted a rock and all manner of critters have scurried out. As such, I can assure you this is not the last ye shall hear of the Boulder City Brouhaha.
