New York never sleeps. Chicago has those big shoulders.
We* still call ourselves a cow town, and Mayor Michael B. Coleman is tired of it.
Among the things he hopes to accomplish for Columbus during a third term that begins this week: putting a little more spring in the step of a place many don't realize is the nation's 15th-largest city.
"It's time Columbus had some swagger," said Coleman, who strolled through the November election with 70 percent of the vote.
We* still call ourselves a cow town, and Mayor Michael B. Coleman is tired of it.
Among the things he hopes to accomplish for Columbus during a third term that begins this week: putting a little more spring in the step of a place many don't realize is the nation's 15th-largest city.
"It's time Columbus had some swagger," said Coleman, who strolled through the November election with 70 percent of the vote.
The mayor will be sworn in just after midnight Tuesday, without the pomp that began his first term in 2000. He'll be at First Night Columbus and will take his oath on the stage outside COSI Columbus. He's planning brief remarks, but no major address and no inaugural party.
That's about it for low-key in the next four years, Coleman said.
On Jan. 29, he'll throw open the doors of the Greater Columbus Convention Center for a communitywide brainstorming session, part of his call for a concentrated, four-year effort to improve everything from sidewalks to social services in the years leading up to the city's 2012 bicentennial.
With some of that swagger he wants others to adopt, Coleman calls it the biggest public-input session in Columbus history. Thousands of ideas and comments already have been shared through a webcam-equipped kiosk that made the rounds of summer festivals.
A cleaner Scioto River? A better recycling program? More office towers Downtown?
Some might seem far-fetched, but Coleman said he wants Columbus to think big.
"I want us to think about being the best in this and the best in that," Coleman said. "I don't want our city in any way to view itself as average."
Kevin Wood, president of the Downtown Residents Association and a member of Coleman's 2012 Commission, likes the mayor's ambition.
"Most people feel we do undersell ourselves, not only with what we have today but with what's coming down the pike," he said.
The mayor gave an outline of his plan for a bicentennial makeover in his State of the City speech in February. He spoke of efforts to install more sidewalks and improve recreation centers, which would be funded through a $1 billion bond package put before voters in November 2008.
*-We?!? yea I think most that have been vocal in the city's image have definately stopped calling columbus cowtown
RANT:
I really do commend the mayor on this initiative but as a cynic I think this is more of a publicity stunt than anything. This is his third term and you are just not trying to listen to the residents. What govt. grant are they trying to lure in? I am all for Columbus acting like the 15th largest city in this country but come on. Anyone knows the heart of the city is dead so why do you need to call a town meeting for that? Don't just talk just, do. If you are offering tax abatements to residents that move into the downtown region, what can you offer the businesses? Enhance your public transportation system. the people that choose to stay in the city rather than move to the 'burbs aren't asking for much just the bare necesities a city SHOULD HAVE!
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