PUBLISHER’S PAGE

On the political front, for once there’s good news. The good news is no news. For the past few months Adlene Harrison and Garry Weber have both resembled the fellow who licked his finger, poked it into the air, blew on it, then said he felt a draft. Whatever draft they did feel, it wasn’t blowing hard enough to topple Bob Folsom’s strong base of support. So the city will not have to suffer through another divisive mayoral election this spring.

One reason that’s good news is that an election battle this time around would have amounted to nothing more than a clash of political egos. No substantive issues are at stake, no major disagreements over policy or purpose. Bob Folsom just happens to sit in the chair which Mr. Weber and Mrs. Harrison would dearly love to occupy. With all the good things that are beginning to happen in this city right now, we didn’t need an election battle fought more for the contenders’ pleasure than for the city’s advancement.

It’s almost tangible, the enthusiasm people are beginning to feel for this city’s future. “The optimist is a fool,” wrote Nietzsche, “and the pessimist is most likely a coward. The best men walk forward with cautious optimism, ready to step back if necessary, but not too ready.” With the events of the last few months, it would be hard to find a Dallasite who doesn’t feel a cautious optimism about the future. One by one the chips are falling our way: Dave Fox’s announcement of his inner city development, the new physical presence of Reunion as a symbol of the continuing growth of our skyline, the new activity of the downtown business leadership (announcing their intention to stop talking about revitalization and start working), and – perhaps, most of all – the dawning realization of the impact the 900,000 new residents projected to move here by 1985 will have on this area.

Amid all this activity, Mr. Folsom has done a good job, as even his detractors left over from last year’s bitter election must admit. He has bolstered the confidence of the business community in the city’s future at a time when that confidence is crucial. I’ve already stated on this page my belief that he’ll become one of this city’s greatest mayors. That doesn’t mean this magazine has married the man: we’re concerned, for one thing, about the possibility of conflict of interest with the Renner annexation because of the mayor’s substantial land dealings there. But right now Mr. Folsom appears to have fulfilled his promise to restore a businesslike attitude to the operations of a city council which had too often in the last six years more closely resembled a three ring circus. He deserves a full term in office, and I’m glad he’s going to get it without a time-consuming, divisive battle.

What happens now to the careers of Mr. Weber and Mrs. Harrison, two of the most popular elected officials in recent city history? Mrs. Harrison has already announced she’ll run for reelection to her seat on the council, a decision which frankly surprised me. In private conversation she’s even more bitter than she appears in the newspapers. As we go to press the word is out that the Folsom organization is looking for a candidate to challenge her for her council seat. Without knowing who it is or even if the challenger will materialize, all I can say is that he’d do well to think twice: Mrs. Harrison may be down but she’s not out. She’s gifted with an ability to appeal to everyone who admires an independent streak, and she’s positioned herself as the one free voice on the city council.

Mr. Weber’s future is less certain. He makes it clear that he plans to stick with local politics, but in what form he doesn’t say. When we talked recently, he wondered aloud if it isn’t time to wipe the county courthouse clean by running a non-partisan slate against Judge Whit-tington and commissioners Pickett and Orr (up for election next year). The suggestion is that Dallas could do for the courthouse today what the CCA did for city hall in the 1930’s: get rid of partisan politics, move in competent men and women whose motivation is more civic than political, and establish a clear-cut reform program. It’s a far-fetched, and tantalizing, idea. A lot of people have made a lot of mistakes underestimating Mr. Weber’s ability to read the voters’ minds, so I won’t. Needless to say, the courthouse will be the place to watch this year.

The one thing that strikes me about all three of these people as I write about them is that they’re not professional politicians, although politics consumes the largest part of their time and energy. It speaks well of this city that we’ve held so strongly to the idea of citizen government and that we’re able to attract men and women of this caliber to political service, without reducing them to the level of political hacks.

Of all the good news, that’s the bestnews of all.