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The Trouble With Spikol

So far our new mayor's no nightmare. That's a big improvement.

By Liz Spikol

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Apr. 9, 2008

He also said, "You get the time you get, and you'd better do something with it." This got a rousing cheer from an audience of people who've devoted themselves to helping others.

But most important, Nutter spoke from the heart about his own life.

"All of us are recovering from something," he said. "There were substance abuse issues at home that I had to deal with."

He told the crowd he wasn't sure initially he was going to talk about this. "It's important to share that with you today," he said, "because some people get a microphone more often than others."

Without speaking for long, he said some really important things that told me he felt warmth for this community, respect and the desire to do more. I left the conference feeling some of my political dreams had come true.

Of course it's still too early to tell. He's going to make mistakes. He's going to grapple with the political machine. He's going to fail because all of us fail almost every day.

Perhaps it's my far-out lefty naivete that makes me think living the dream is possible. When Nutter starts handing out puppies, I'll know for sure.

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