Mayor Baker is Exhibit A in why Wilmington Needs a Two Term Limit for Mayors
It just makes sense. Because if you go three terms, then you might become a cranky old asshole who cusses out anyone and everyone at every opportunity.
In a profanity-laced speech Tuesday, Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker lashed out at critics of a publicly supported hotel on the Christina Riverfront during a ceremony to announce the construction of another apartment building in the Justison Landing development.
“We should be excited about our city. I don’t understand where all the negative people come from. They all ought to go to hell and forget it. We don’t need them. I mean, they’re about as useful as a doggone flea on an elephant. Nothing,” Baker told a crowd of about 30 people who had gathered at the site of a proposed $17 million building across from the Kooma Restaurant and Lounge Bar on Justison Street.
Winding up his remarks, Baker said, “I don’t care anymore. You can’t kick me no more. I’ll kick your ass.”
In an interview later Tuesday, Baker did not temper his earlier remarks.“Anybody who opposes me, I call a fool,” he said. “I don’t sugarcoat it.”
Well that’s just wonderful. Nothing makes me excited and proud about a city than a profanity and insult-laden tirade from a mayor who has been on the job far too long.
Now, some of you may call me a hypocrite here, since I use foul language and insult my ideological and political opponents every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But I am a blogger. I am not an elected official.
How does a two term limits connect to this? Well, sometimes you just get tired of dealing with people. You get more abrupt and rude in your official duties, duties that call on you to be gracious and dignified, at the very least in public remarks you make in and around the city. If you can’t manage a veneer of dignity and graciousness in office after 10 years and during your third term, then perhaps it is time for you to take a powder.
Then again, Mayor Baker may simply be an asshole.
Baker’s outburst is among several in his 10 years as mayor and 28 years on City Council. In March, Baker ripped into City Council for daring to question his budget proposal. He also has lambasted council members by calling them “idiots” more than once in public settings.
Come January 2013, I am sure most of us will be happy to see Mayor Baker and all his graciousness get shoved out the door.
Baker was an asshole before he became mayor!
Can you honesly say that City Council is devoid of idiots:)?
I don’t think that Mayor Baker’s outburst(s) are related to multiple terms. He is an unusual character for a politician and has been since I moved into the city. He is outspoken and sometimes profane and isn’t especially interested in being everyone’s friend and pal. He is pretty clear about his role and that is Chief Executive of the city — not the best pal of 70K people. He says what’s on his mind and isn’t putting his finger in the wind to gauge what people want to hear. That’s OK with me, because you are pretty clear where you stand.
That said, Baker does think that he ought to be given a pretty wide berth to do what he thinks is necessary. This attitude seems to harden the longer he is in office. Even citizens who are looking for improvements to government performance are largely told to being nervous nellies and that no one cal tell him how to run the government. I’ve heard this in person.
I don’t know what the deal is — the man cares about the city and does have an interesting vision. Sometimes I wonder if he just doesn’t have people around him that will help move that vision and generate the kind of excitement that he is looking for. Certainly he doesn’t have an especially good partner in City Council — who (with some individual exceptions) is largely ineffectual.
The other day I saw him in a meeting planning for the Underground Railroad National Byway. He was engaged and interesting with his pretty vast knowledge of this area’s history on full display. This is the guy that I think lots of folks voted for.
This is why we need to vote James Baker out of office and support Michael Brown. Regardless of political party, we need someone with some class. Also we need someone who will not have a condescending view of anybody who disagrees with him. That would be Michael Brown.
That ^ comment made me laugh.
John T, perhaps you are ignorant, but Mayor Baker is not running for a fourth term. He is retiring. And even if he was not, he would crush Brown into a thousand little pieces, even despite this.
Last thing — the disconnect that Baker has here (and had during the last few budget wrangles) about this hotel is pretty remarkable. Lots of people — even in a liberal city — want some better use of their money. The Riverfront Convention Center does indeed need a hotel to make it a more attractive destination, but people do have memories here. And those memories are of a couple of hotel deals started and fallen apart — so why would you ask state and city taxpayers to do what the capital markets won’t? If you live in the city — then you want to know why it is that this kind of asset development (or even asset caretaking) doesn’t get this kind of support and funding?
And hey — NJ, getting the CRI to weigh in on any business deal is nothing but FAIL. These people have no investment in the city whatsoever, and they don’t even know what kind of government this country has. WTF is a market democracy? And WTF is the NJ doing giving these idiots any more ink? As if Wilmington doesn’t have enough problems already.
The article in the NJ made me chuckle – just Baker being Baker – as Cassandra said.
What really shocked (yes, shocked!) me was that the NJ actually quoted his use of “bullshit” – in full, no “b-s-“, no “b&(*s*(&”. Correct me if I’m wrong, but, this is the first time I have ever seen this! Can’t wait for the pure of mouth to jump on them for their use of offensive language!
I also was surprised to see the full profanity spelled out. Might have been an editing oversight since there’s really no one left on the staff over there.
Where’s Dan Frawley when we need him? Let’s get another Irishman in there. (Hear me, Bo?)