The Man Who Would Be Mayor

First, on the Man Who Would (like to) Be Mayor:

During an interview last week, City Council candidate Ken Svoboda made it clear he will consider running for mayor in two years.

After garnering 12,357 votes to be the top vote-getter in the April 5 primary election, Svoboda is up for re-election in Tuesday's general election. The council seat is a four-year term, but when asked whether he would consider running for mayor in two years, Svoboda said: "One election at a time."

Svoboda said many people have asked if he would make a run at the office, and he has discussed the possibility with his family. "A number of other people know that if called, I will certainly look at that race," he said....

"To me, I don't have a political career. I don't have political aspirations. I didn't get into this with a desire to be in Washington some day. But I will never say never...."

When he was asked what he thinks of the job Mayor Coleen Seng is doing, Svoboda said, "I have a great deal of respect for the position she's in." He said he enjoyed working with Seng when she was on the City Council, but added, "Short of that, I don't want to say she's in over her head, but nobody is in a perfect position of having all the experience they need to be a mayor." He said there's a learning curve, and Seng didn't have an administrative background...

"I see that mayoral position as being one of very strong leadership," he said. "Coleen is being more of a team-builder....."

The answer to the question of whether Svoboda will run for the office may have come out later in the interview, when he said, "I'm drawn to leadership roles and I don't know why that is."

It certainly sounds as if a lot of the appeal for Svoboda might be the power of the office. Out of nowhere, he's talking about the possibility of his advancing to Washington D.C., while insulting Mayor Seng for putting too much emphasis on teamwork(?).

Wow, between Hagel's comment about Rep. Osborne and Svoboda on Seng, these Republicans certainly have funny ways of showing their "respect." I've never seen praise that stabs so well in the back.

Got to give credit to Svoboda for this: he pulls off the 70s porn-'stache pretty well. Other than that, I don't really get what people see in the guy. Go to his website, click on the "Vision" link, and, quite fittingly, the site reports his vision for the city "could not be found."

I'd say that reflects his four years of service pretty well. Of course, Svoboda obviously has a vision (and big plans) for himself, but what Lincoln voters see other than that remains a mystery. Maybe it's the mustache after all?