Second in a series of three
Re “They Met in Culver City and They Matched – Kevin James and GOP Guru”
[See what others are saying about the candidate below]
[img]1646|left|Kevin James||no_popup[/img] [img]1645|left|Fred Davis III||no_popup[/img]Inside of two months until the March 5 primary election for mayor of Los Angeles, the tide is rising for the candidate the wise guys said last autumn shudda stayed home, Kevin James, the lone – but not lonely – Republican in the field.
Gaining both momentum across the city and favorable attention from media that normally treats conservatives like pariahs, Mr. James is given an ever-widening chance of qualifying for the May 21 runoff.
Unthinkable two or three months ago.
Now Mr. James, popularly portrayed as – but not necessarily – the quintessential outsider, is being treated in print by liberal reporters as an upstart fellow who has earned the right to stand as an equal beside the three City Hall veterans whom wise guys used to regard as the real field:
City Councilman Eric Garcetti, City Controller Wendy Greuel and Councilperson Jan Perry.
Against odds and muscularly held perceptions, Mr. James’s well-researched, thoughtful, succinct, articulately delivered, crisp-as-a-spring morning answers have separated him from the field as clearly as dense prison walls divide Them from Us.
A Winning Strategy?
His approach:
His three opponents, all decade-long denizens of City Hall, propose, unblinkingly, to cure the devastating municipal problems they created and he says, convincingly, that theory throbs with illogic.
Here comes presumably untainted – but also never elected – Mr. James with a wrench, a hammer, a screwdriver and a satchel bulging with ideas his supporters say twinkle as if in a jewelry display case.
A 49-year-old former federal prosecutor, whose unmistakable Oklahoma twang helps to divide him even though he has lived here 25 years, Mr. James has matured into the kind of well-spoken, idea-rich, confident but not overconfident conservative the national party not only could use but needs.
Three Is Not Enough
The almost daily mayoralty forums have resembled an exercise in pouring cement – the answers by the Three Is Not Enough field have taken on that rigid form. Their responses have varied less than the order of the calendar.
Whether Mr. James’s answers/solutions actually have been as fresh as this morning’s laundry, or only seem that way because his distinctive comments are so different from the majority, may scarcely matter at the finish line.
However, in one important area, Mr. James strongly trails his rivals, fundraising. Ultimately, it depends, of course, how broad the gap is, how much it handicaps the lone new competing mind in the remaining 55 days.
That is where the gilded GOP guru Fred Davis figures in the increasingly elaborate, but also closely guarded, James campaign scheme.
Mr. James’s run for mayor was a seat-of-the-pants campaign, it appeared, until Mr. Davis showed up a few months ago as a kind of messiah, right down to his looks.
He is a player with a rep to match. Mr. Davis’s nimble brain has given birth to some dynamite political campaign advertising – and that is a sword with contrary edges.
Dynamite because they worked.
Or they didn’t click, and they should have been blown up with dynamite before being shown.
Mr. Davis’s messianic potential will be explored in the final installment of this series.
What Others Are Saying
Examiner: “On January 3, it was clearly Kevin James who walked away the undisputed winner by displaying command of the issues and an authoritative presence in countering the excuses of the city hall insiders in the race.”(First Los Angeles Mayoral Debate of 2013 an Undisputed Victory for Kevin James-Steven Holmes, Examiner, 1/5/2013) Watch full debate here.
LA Weekly: “…his standout debating style has been leaving the politically experienced but often deadly dull top candidates Perry, Garcetti and Greuel in the dust.”(Kevin James’ Mayoral Dreams Get Legs-Hillel Aron, LA Weekly, 1/3/13)
Ron Kaye LA: “…[At the Council District 5 Coalition Mayoral Forum] more than half the 75 people who attended the Coalition forum said that if the election were being held now, they would vote for the outsider, attorney and radio talk show host Kevin James…”(The Mayor’s Race: Much Ado About Nothing-Ron Kaye, Ron Kaye L.A, 12/5/12)
LA Downtown News: “…he has the potential to do damage once the debates begin.”
(Kevin James is the Man Who Would be King-Jon Regardie, Los Angeles Downtown News, 06/18/12)
The Front Page Online: “Not because he says he is but because for at least four months’ worth of these debates, the 49-year-old Oklahoma-born lawyer, speaking in stentorian tones, has produced an uninterrupted waterfall of panaceas…for what ails Los Angeles… Mr. James, meanwhile, has, without seeking permission, made it his task to supply the needed policy-driven oxygen at each forum.” (How James is Changing the Race for Mayor-Ari Noonan, The Front Page Online, 12/17/12)
California Political Review: “Among the top performers in the debate were Kevin James” (L.A. Mayor KABC Debate Misfocused– James Lacy, California Political Review, 12/16/12)
Front Page Online: “The brilliantly prepared and impressively delivering Mr. James rhetorically ground up Ms. Greuel and Ms. Perry.” (James is Fast Closing the Gap with His Rivals for Mayor-Ari Noonan, Front Page Online, 12/14/12)
Village to Village: “When voters receive meaningful information through a neutral, well-managed event, they are in a better position to assess frankness, independence, command of the facts and sincerity – in other words, four traits candidate James seems to have in abundance.”(A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Out of the Forum-Paul Hatfield, Village to Village, 12/9/12)
LA Observed: “On the mayoral panel, City Councilman Eric Garcetti and Kevin James, an attorney and radio talk show host, were the best speakers. For James, after years on the tough L.A. talk radio circuit, it comes naturally. Garcetti lacks James’ resonant voice and blunt talk radio phrase making.” (Mayoral Candidates in South LA-Bill Boyarksy, LA Observed, 12/9/12)
Front Page Online: “Arguably, the 49-year-old Mr. James, a former federal prosecutor and radio talk show host, consistently has presented the most substantive, pragmatic responses in the ongoing forums leading up to the March 5 primary.” (The Kevin James Mayoralty Campaign is Gaining Altitude, Ari Noonan, Front Page Online, 12/7/12)
The Los Angeles Times: “In debates and at events, James displays a commanding grasp of city issues.” (Kevin James Makes an outsider run for L.A. Mayor-Catherin Saillant, Los Angeles Times, 12/6/12)
City Watch LA: “If you watch the video of the candidate forum sponsored by the CD5 Homeowners’ Association you can’t help but come to the conclusion that former US Attorney and radio commentator Kevin James is the only major candidate who takes seriously the threat of adverse financial consequences associated with the city’s failure to deal with its structural deficit.” (LA mayoral Candidates: Just Looking-Paul Hatfield, City Watch La, 12/4/12)
Front Page Online: “That leaves former federal prosecutor Kevin James, the outsider but the most consistently pragmatic respondent from debate to debate, to pose a logical inquiry that his three rivals cheerfully have ignored: If you did such a terrific job, in three different terrific ways, why is Los Angeles in its worst ever financial crisis? And then he appends practical solutions.” (James Continues to Produce the Best Debate Responses-Ari Noonan, Front Page Online, 10/15/12)
(To be continued)
