Yeah, well, sure:
Mayoral candidate Paula Hughes continued her criticism of city budgeting by saying she'd cut the pay of the job she hopes to win in November.
Hughes, one of the Republicans competing for the chance to run for mayor this year, said the mayor of Fort Wayne shouldn't be paid more than the governor of Indiana. Democratic Mayor Tom Henry's salary is $124,665; Gov. Mitch Daniels earns $95,000.
Mixed feelings. This sort of political grandstanding, meant to be symbolic of fiscal restraint rather than a meaningful, substantive proposal, has sort of worn thin for me over the years. But she does have a good point: It's absurd to pay the mayor more than the governor gets and the deputy mayor more than the lieutenant governor. (Why do we even need a deputy mayor, by the way?)
Since the mayor's salary is set by the City Council, wouldn't it be funny if she won and demanded a pay cut and the council said, "No, no! We absolutely refuse"? That'd really cause a lively stir in the Harry Baals Municipal Building, eh? (I think we should all start calling it that, no matter what the city decides. And let's bring back Baer Field while we're at it.)
