Climbing Inside of Wilder's Imperial Brain

Looking for a fascinating peek into the world of Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder? You get a double treat this month, served up by that wacky, unfettered world of the Internet and the more traditional local media. Between the liberated (and slightly better edited) Paul Goldman with his ongoing weblogging at NBC12's Campaign 2008 site and Bill Farrar's recent piece in the November issue of Richmond Magazine.

Goldman served as one of Wilder's key strategists through much of his meteoric political career. It's been fascinating to get glimpses in Goldman's perspectives on the ebb and flow of Wilder's administration since he began blogging at NBC12, but his recent posts have given tons of insight into how Virginia's first elected African-American governor operates.

But it's not just Goldman's insight into Wilder's style that fascinates me. Goldman has as much -- if not more -- knowledge about the legal and political facts of the current debate on mayoral power than anyone in town. He's also one of the first people to finally come out and compare Wilder's current power trip to that of President George "The Decider" Bush.

First, the current world of Doug Wilder as Goldman sees it:

Over the years, I have protected the Mayor from this side of his political personality any number of times by doing the one sure thing a friend can always do: tell the man what he may not want to hear, but what he needs to hear. I was far from always being right: but I was never afraid to make my case, face-to-face, even when I knew he would not want to hear it.  I never knew whether I was the only one with the guts to do it. Now I know...

... But there can be no joy in Mudville, at least for me and I suspect for most Richmonders, despite their evident unhappiness with the Mayor's performance and style of leadership, as they made clear in the recent Richmond Times Dispatch poll...

... In that regard, it is important for the Mayor's aides, advisors and retainers to realize they need to find the guts to tell him to change course before they drag not just him down, but the whole Elected Mayor reform down too.  If they want to commit political suicide, that's there right. But don't bring down a needed reform with it...

... his advisors have remade him from a legend into George Bush on the James, saying in effect that "I am the Decider" until it reached what I feared was the inevitable moment, now known as "Fiasco Friday".  It was all so unnecessary, so pointless, and now so tragic.

And despite Wilder's mastery of political drama, even Goldman sees the potential for the Mayor to dig his hole far too deep for recovery.

The Mayor is a 200-proof political animal. He relied on his lawyers, his aides, his advisors to make the legal and policy arguments for what he wanted to do. As predicted here, they were not up to the job because they are not qualified to do it in the context of the situation.

This is not to say they aren't smarter, more talented, or more capable than myself or anyone else. There is a saying in horse racing: There are horses for courses...

... What, if anything, has my friend the Mayor learned from all this? The voters of Richmond will want to know next year, long before election day. They know he is as good a speaker, as talented a debater, as capable a political candidate as all his likely opponents combined. The electoral record speaks for itself in that regard.

But they are no longer looking for a performer: they are getting desperate for performance. It serves no useful purpose to bore the reader with the various areas where they feel, rightly or wrongly, things have not progressed, indeed where they may have retrogressed. To be sure, the Mayor feels the people don't fully appreciate all that he has done. But he and his staff have to accept the iron law of doing the public's business: you can't win, much less govern, by blaming the customer.

And back in the paper world of Richmond Magazine, former Wilder press secretary Bill Farrar has come out with a dramatic retelling of his days by the Mayor's side at City Hall. It's not for the squeamish, and paints a picture of a man more loyal to political chaos than to advancing an agenda for change. It also suggests that voters looking for a man with a plan for the future of Richmond were duped.

On a particular summer day in 2005, I was alone with Wilder in his second-floor City Hall office. We were gloating over that day's headlines, which conveyed more bad news for the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation, our major target for the time, and deciding what the next move should be. It seemed all too easy, as the foundation's own missteps were providing plenty of ammo, and the news media eagerly amplified any accusation we made.

Up until then, I believed Wilder had a plan not only for the conflict with VAPAF but for the entire city, even if I had not been apprised of all the specifics. That morning, however, as he chuckled about the state of disarray surrounding the arts center project, he leaned back in his chair, fluttered his fingers around his head, and saif cheerfully, "I like to keep things all mixed up."

I literally felt queasy as it occurred to me that this actually could be Wilder's endgame for Richmond: keeping things all mixed up.

If you read past Goldman's and Farrar's reflections on their old boss, it's not hard to visualize a politician consumed by his own sense of drama and convinced that three decades of political success is a firm foundation. But in the world of politics, building your future on the shifting sands of the past is one of the worst mistakes you can make -- voters quickly stop caring what you might have been or delivered or created last election cycle.

It may well be that Wilder's new chief of staff will be the voice that Goldman suggests has been lacking since he left Wilder's side. The alternative is more drama. And more drama simply means less progress.

Who knew that when we elected a strong mayor that he'd have the power to stop progress in its tracks?

Comments

[Paul Hammond]

Doing SOMETHING is not the same thing as "progress". Before 2005 the city was on the rise and still is. Doug Wilder has hired an effective police chief and should get credit for that. As for effective management and honest administration he has fallen far short. Double dealing with City Council, the business community, neighboring governments and the public do not represent an advancement in city government.

[Preston M. Yancy]

Anyone who thinks "fiasco Friday" was not chaos is a lover of disorder and helps to explain how Hitlers and Idi Amins come to power. Everone looked to Mayor Wilder for leadership, but he chose to pick fights and employ dictatorship. He misunderstood his mandate. People do not want things mixed/shaken/stirred up. We want things to run smoothly. People do not want dictatorial fighters and dividers, we want diplomatic uniters. Polls indicate Mr. Wilder had better learn this quickly. And, how pray tell, can anyone think his actions will improve the schools. Preston M. Yancy

[Scott Burger]

In the end its about priorities. Unfortunately, Wilder has allowed corporate priorities (such as the VaPAF) to slip in front of citizen ones (such as renovation for RPS school buildings). Its even more disurbing that Wilder is going on yet another trip with VCU President Trani to Europe right now, when the City needs more attention.

[Joanne]

Don: I agree chaos for chaos' sake is not productive, I just don't see this "unrest" as chaotic. I see upheaval, but I see strides forward and I see an effort to "loosen up" some old ways of doing things that have not been productive. Look at the city school system for goodness sakes. It is not working. Talking about how it is not working isn't enough. Something has to be done. Because Farrar fears Wilder may just want to "keep things all mixed up" doesn't make it factual for me.

[Don Harrison]

Joanne: I have to disagree. Chaos for chaos sake is not an acceptable response to anything. And "Do something even if its wrong" isn't a political philosophy, it's a suicide pact.

[Joanne]

I read Farrar's piece as sour grapes. The reality is, politics is not for the squeamish. For Richmonders to get the vapors every time Wilder takes off the gloves in order to get some forward motion going in this city is a sure sign Richmond will continue to die on the vine. So we are okay with change as long as it isn't messy or impolite? Take a long hard look the last fifty years - what Wilder is doing may not be pretty but at least he is doing SOMETHING. I'm with Jon, if pre 2005 was "progress" ....

[Jon]

Good post until the last line b/c if what we had before 2005 is/was "progress", then I'll take stopping in tracks to prevent that type or "progress" from continuing anytime!