[img]1988|right|Alan Corlin||no_popup[/img]Not long after the following headline appeared here yesterday, “Don’t Let King Impress You Too Much, Says a Crusty Observer,” former Mayor Alan Corlin contacted the newspaper.
Friends had been calling, and he had been busy denying that he was the unidentified Crusty Observer, which was the truth.
As long as the ex-City Councilman was on the line, did he agree with the Crusty Observer’s opinion? C.O. held that rookie Council candidate Christopher Patrick King was at a disadvantage in the four-way race because it lacks a debatable issue or controversy. This would cede an added edge to the two incumbents who entered the race as strong favorites.
“I don’t necessarily agree with that theory,” Mr. Corlin, a tall, handsome and retired politician, said. “It helps. I do agree with the Crusty Observer when he says that the community thinks everything is fine.
“There is no particular reason to get rid of either one of the incumbents (Jim Clarke or Mayor Jeff Cooper).”
If Mr. Corlin were consulting for the young mortgage broker, how would he counsel Mr. King?
“I would say ‘Go with your strengths.’”
Mr. King had said at a Sunday meet ‘n greet that he would try and outhustle his three rivals by knocking on the doors of all likely voters not once, as the tradition goes, but twice.
“Whoa,” said Mr. Corlin to that ambitious objective. “Having walked the entire city myself many times, literally walking the whole city, I don’t think it is possible to walk it twice in one campaign – unless you are just dropping literature. If you are knocking on doors and talking to people, you just can’t do it.
“So I say, he should go with his strengths. You put it out there, and you hope people understand what the story is.”
Elaborating slightly, Mr. Corlin said of the candidate who is half his age: “I don’t see anything that is a red flag for me, other than the fact I have much more confidence in the two incumbents.”
