Michael “Boy Wonder” Berry is set to become the second official candidate in this year’s Mayoral race, and today’s Chron has a profile of him. I’ve called Berry’s candidacy a joke, and while I stand by that assessment and his odds of making a runoff, it has occurred to me that I ought to consider rooting for him. After all, any support for Berry is likely to come out of Orlando Sanchez’s vote column. It’s not out of the question that he could cost Sanchez a shot at the runoff, giving us a Turner/White showdown in December. I can certainly think of worse things than that.
Be that as it may, I do have to wonder why he thinks running for Mayor after one mostly ineffective term as Council member is a good idea. Why not serve the three terms (since hardly any incumbent draws opposition due to the term limits law, reelection would be essentially assured) and then take a shot at something higher? I have to think that if he does get trounced, he’ll be finished. Yes, plenty of politicians have bounced back from defeats. It’s just that they almost always made a serious impression in their initial losses. I just don’t think he will.
But hey, it’s a long way off and I could be wrong. He’s got the Blakemores on board as consultants, and their track record is not one to sneeze at. Spoil away, Boy Wonder!
UPDATE: Berry makes it official.
I’ve been chuckling at Boy Blunder for a while now, but I did find it interesting that Dick Murray didn’t just dismiss him. Murray’s a pretty seasoned observer of real politics, although it’s entirely possible he didn’t want to say anything bad about a former (star) student. As a Sanchez booster, I don’t see BB as a major problem, but we’ll see.
Yeah, I noticed Murray’s comment. He was pretty careful to use weasel words (“if” he can raise money he “can” be a decent candidate), so I tend to think he was trying to be nice without being ridiculous.
It’s the presence of the Blakemores that makes me wonder if I’m wrong about Berry. I don’t get why they’d back an obvious loser. Maybe the paycheck is all that matters, I dunno. They’re unlikely to lose future clients with one quixotic campaign, so what the heck.