Raise the Hammer

Frank: Great commentary. This is the stuff of great discussions. I hope that there's some good back-and-forth here as a result. Well done.

Undustrial: "While Eisenberger doesn't always "get things done", at least both sides are more comfortable with him."

I don't want to get harsh here, but seriously, I have to ask what your definition of 'great leader' is.

Granted, there are many management styles, Some are arbitrary, some are collaborative, some are inspirational... But in the end, there are desired results. What you've described is a 'good friend'. Or a coach or teacher that's well-liked, but doesn't win, doesn't get his students to achieve brilliantly. Not an effective mayor.

As someone who admittedly stands on the periphery of things-Hamilton in terms of politics, the impression that Eisenberger has given me is one of...of nothingness. It's not a case of him being 'wrong', it's not a case of him being 'misguided'. It's a case of him appearing to be a non-entity. Now, if he was still managing to get stuff done, if Hamilton was moving forward, if his 'invisibility' was proving to be a boon, that it was the reason things were being accomplished, fine.

I suspect that the situation is more that nothing catastrophic has happened on his watch.

I don't feel like we currently have a great mayor. And I realized this last night when I spent 15 minutes on the phone answering survey questions. One portion had to do with who I had the most faith in...and I was actually stunned by my response: that I trusted the Federal government with my interests more than I did my local government.

As a born-and-bred Hamiltonian, I am saddened to realize that we're currently living in an abyss, leadership-wise.

I want leaders with vision, I want leaders with integrity, I want leaders with conviction, with empathy, who actually represent the people more than they represent business interests, leaders who inspire.

Mayor Eisenberger does not come to mind when I think of these attributes.

He may indeed be a 'nice guy', but I do not believe he is what Hamilton needs right now, or will need in the near future...returning me to the thrust of Frank's editorial.