What do two Southern California bachelors do for nearly a week in swingin’ Music City, Nashville, the bosom of authentic country music?
Mayor Mehaul O’Leary and City Councilman Jim Clarke flew in Tuesday night, along with 4,000 other City Hall-types, for a convention of the National League of Cities.
Mr. O’Leary’s plans will remain aside for now.
Mr. Clarke, no stranger to touring American cities – last year the League huddled in Austin – talked this afternoon about his visit.
Everywhere he has walked, driven or looked, unavoidably there are cowboy-clad entertainers and their obligatory traveling pals, in spangled outfits that fit in Tennessee but would not in Culver City.
No boots, no spangles for the Northern California native.
“Seems as if someone is singing on every street corner,” Mr. Clarke said, adding that no, he has not been converted into a fan of country music.
Mr. Clarke is a wonk, which means if he flies in for a National League of Cities event, he will be in every meeting he is obligated to participate in.
As a policy committee member, he has genuinely enjoyed meetings focusing on arcane matters that rival the drought for dryness.
Mr. Clarke’s broad span of interests has made him an effective second-term Council member.
