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Larry O'Brien市长接受The Ottawa Citizen编委会采访后,The Ottawa Citizen的Randall Denley写了下面的评论员文章:
Denley: O'Brien on top of his game
Mayor gives stellar performance at editorial board
By Randall Denley, The Ottawa Citizen October 5, 2010
It might be too late, but Mayor Larry O'Brien is finally presenting himself exactly the way he should have from Day 1 of his campaign. In a session with the Citizen editorial board Monday, O'Brien apologized to the public for his poor performance in his first two years as mayor, then gave an articulate and passionate defence of what he has done in the last 18 months and what he wants to do in the future.
O'Brien has a reputation as a clumsy speaker who often gets tongue-tied and can't even speak from prepared notes. Despite that, he has a one-on-one mode that is much more effective and that is what we finally saw Monday. In four years of watching the mayor, I have never seen him give a better performance and the key was that it wasn't a performance. O'Brien was saying things that he actually believes.
It was quite a contrast to the candidate's presentation in the same forum four years ago. He couldn't even properly articulate his own policies and showed himself almost entirely ignorant of City Hall. It will be a sad twist if the voters who supported the uninformed candidate of four years ago reject the much better version in front of us now.
One of the most effective things a politician can do is tell the public the truth, although it's a tactic seldom employed. Everyone knows O'Brien did a lousy job the first two years, when he thought he could make things happen just by demanding them. He described the result as "a complete disaster." Everyone knows that's true, but stating it himself still has a powerful effect, particularly because his point is that he's a much improved man and mayor now.
"I'm going to be asking people to give me a second chance," O'Brien said.
In response to questions, O'Brien was able to consistently play to his strength, which is seeing the big picture and the long term.
The mayor will never be a detail guy, but in the last election he knew the light-rail project needed to be improved and Lansdowne needed to be fixed. This time, he wants to tackle Sparks Street, the Gordian knot of city planning. He doesn't know how, but neither does anyone else. What counts, O'Brien argues, is setting a target and working with others to meet it.
The mayor took a lot of heat early in his term for suggesting Ottawa should have swagger. What he really meant, he says now, is that this needs to be a city that's "vibrant and fun to live in."
That's what we need to attract and retain the creative people our economy requires. It's a popular idea of the moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. The Lansdowne redevelopment, the new transit plan and the new convention centre are all examples of projects from this term of council that will improve our city.
It's easy to suggest that these capital projects and a tax freeze are incompatible. Not necessarily so. Both Lansdowne and the LRT have been structured to have minimal effect on the operating budget.
O'Brien clarified his latest zero promise, which has been widely misinterpreted as yet another plan to freeze taxes. What he's really doing, and he has been consistent in saying this, is promising to present a budget that would freeze taxes. It's up to council to say yes. O'Brien's proposed departmental budget freeze makes his promise feasible, although it won't be easy.
On the vital issue of growth, O'Brien champions an unfashionable perspective. While people such as him are happy to live downtown, it's not for everyone, he says. The city is relying too much on urban intensification to handle growth. Long term, he thinks we will need another satellite community on the scale of Kanata and we will need to do more to get jobs in Orléans. He will flesh out those ideas later this week.
O'Brien focused entirely on his own weaknesses, strengths, accomplishments and plans for the future. He wisely avoided comparing himself with frontrunner Jim Watson, other than to say that O'Brien doesn't think a mayor should just be a cautious administrator.
The comparison is inevitable, though. While the two men are similar on some major policy points, there are two significant differences between them. O'Brien is attracted to the long view and the big plan. Watson is inherently leery of anything risky or expensive. Most important, these are two very different people. O'Brien projects an authenticity that is often missing in the Jim Watson persona.
One good presentation does not make a mayoral campaign, but O'Brien is finally showing that he's worthy of a serious second look.
Denley: O'Brien on top of his game
Mayor gives stellar performance at editorial board
By Randall Denley, The Ottawa Citizen October 5, 2010
It might be too late, but Mayor Larry O'Brien is finally presenting himself exactly the way he should have from Day 1 of his campaign. In a session with the Citizen editorial board Monday, O'Brien apologized to the public for his poor performance in his first two years as mayor, then gave an articulate and passionate defence of what he has done in the last 18 months and what he wants to do in the future.
O'Brien has a reputation as a clumsy speaker who often gets tongue-tied and can't even speak from prepared notes. Despite that, he has a one-on-one mode that is much more effective and that is what we finally saw Monday. In four years of watching the mayor, I have never seen him give a better performance and the key was that it wasn't a performance. O'Brien was saying things that he actually believes.
It was quite a contrast to the candidate's presentation in the same forum four years ago. He couldn't even properly articulate his own policies and showed himself almost entirely ignorant of City Hall. It will be a sad twist if the voters who supported the uninformed candidate of four years ago reject the much better version in front of us now.
One of the most effective things a politician can do is tell the public the truth, although it's a tactic seldom employed. Everyone knows O'Brien did a lousy job the first two years, when he thought he could make things happen just by demanding them. He described the result as "a complete disaster." Everyone knows that's true, but stating it himself still has a powerful effect, particularly because his point is that he's a much improved man and mayor now.
"I'm going to be asking people to give me a second chance," O'Brien said.
In response to questions, O'Brien was able to consistently play to his strength, which is seeing the big picture and the long term.
The mayor will never be a detail guy, but in the last election he knew the light-rail project needed to be improved and Lansdowne needed to be fixed. This time, he wants to tackle Sparks Street, the Gordian knot of city planning. He doesn't know how, but neither does anyone else. What counts, O'Brien argues, is setting a target and working with others to meet it.
The mayor took a lot of heat early in his term for suggesting Ottawa should have swagger. What he really meant, he says now, is that this needs to be a city that's "vibrant and fun to live in."
That's what we need to attract and retain the creative people our economy requires. It's a popular idea of the moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. The Lansdowne redevelopment, the new transit plan and the new convention centre are all examples of projects from this term of council that will improve our city.
It's easy to suggest that these capital projects and a tax freeze are incompatible. Not necessarily so. Both Lansdowne and the LRT have been structured to have minimal effect on the operating budget.
O'Brien clarified his latest zero promise, which has been widely misinterpreted as yet another plan to freeze taxes. What he's really doing, and he has been consistent in saying this, is promising to present a budget that would freeze taxes. It's up to council to say yes. O'Brien's proposed departmental budget freeze makes his promise feasible, although it won't be easy.
On the vital issue of growth, O'Brien champions an unfashionable perspective. While people such as him are happy to live downtown, it's not for everyone, he says. The city is relying too much on urban intensification to handle growth. Long term, he thinks we will need another satellite community on the scale of Kanata and we will need to do more to get jobs in Orléans. He will flesh out those ideas later this week.
O'Brien focused entirely on his own weaknesses, strengths, accomplishments and plans for the future. He wisely avoided comparing himself with frontrunner Jim Watson, other than to say that O'Brien doesn't think a mayor should just be a cautious administrator.
The comparison is inevitable, though. While the two men are similar on some major policy points, there are two significant differences between them. O'Brien is attracted to the long view and the big plan. Watson is inherently leery of anything risky or expensive. Most important, these are two very different people. O'Brien projects an authenticity that is often missing in the Jim Watson persona.
One good presentation does not make a mayoral campaign, but O'Brien is finally showing that he's worthy of a serious second look.