All politics is local . . . the Life of Briley

I enjoyed a blogopp today with Nashville Mayoral Candidate David Briley (David Briley for Mayor of Nashville) which was graciously coordinated by Sean Braisted (http://www.Nashville21.com).

I have a couple of initial impressions: Brittney's kind of "petite," ACK's kind of tall, John Hutcheson's kind of nice, Sarah Moore's kid is definitely cute . . . and, oh yes, . . . . Briley is definitely talented. Now to some substance.

I couldn't help but think during the time that there is a real beauty to non-partisan elections. Because the candidates aren't all wearing party "brand labels," the races tend toward more substantive "debate" on issues/policy. The same phenomenon occurs in counties like Williamson County, which essentially (though that may be changing) do not have a general election, so the real campaign is in the primary.

Second, I like the dynamic of local elections (such as a mayor's race) because there is less of a market for "hot button" issues. A mayor's job is consumed by fundamentals--sanitation services, educational performance (esp. in a "metro" setting like Nashville), law enforcement; thus, there is more accountability and less distraction with the "sexy" or flashy issues.

In a city like Nashville--which has not yet accepted the dysfunctional-by-default categorization as "urban" there is still the opportunity for the gov't (and mayor) to deliver for its citizens.