Since it’s the time of year for wish-lists, it seems appropriate to put on a red cap and play a little Santa Claus.
If I were St. Nick, here are the presents I would hand out:
• Mayor Ron Littlefield: A legacy. Since being elected mayor of Chattanooga in 2005, Littlefield has had a multitude of ideas. Let’s see, there was buying the water company, building a one-stop homeless shelter, consolidation between the city and Hamilton County (he said he wanted to be the city’s last mayor), developing a regional water and sewer authority, improving the library, buying the water company (again) and rebuilding the Westside with a Purpose Built community. As he heads into the home-stretch of his second and last term, however, none of those things have come to fruition, which kind of pales in comparison to the mayor before him – Bob Corker, who pushed through the 21st Century Waterfront.
• Speaking of Corker, I’d give him more headlines. Tennessee’s junior senator isn’t getting enough attention from the national press these days. His name is only popping up every-other day in stories ranging from the fiscal cliff to Grover Norquist’s no-new-taxes pledge. It seems a shame that nobody is paying attention to what he says and nobody is seeking out his opinion. (Yes, note the sarcasm.)
• Stringer’s Ridge: A dry winter and spring so the ridge, now being sliced up like a monstrous loaf of bread, won’t become a mudslide that blocks Highway 27 and its ongoing expansion. We don’t need to lose any more of the ridge – or the homes on top – to the highway.