Written by: Tom Sawyer

First, is there really such a thing as a good politician?  There are probably good politicians from the standpoint of being good at being a politician, but what about a politician that does/is good?  I’m not so sure about that.  It seems like now more than ever, politicians are getting their dirty laundry aired to the point of not being elected or even going to jail.

Although not an athlete, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was recently convicted on seven counts of trying to hide more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor. He is asking his Senate colleagues as well as Alaska’s voters to stand by him as he appeals the verdicts.  With 99% reporting, he held a 1.5% lead.

I think holding politicians accountable is a great sign of possibly cleaning up what some would consider a dirty profession to begin with.

But what about the athletes that turn to politics after their careers on the field, court or stage are over.  We know about people like Arnold Schwarzenegger (Body Builder), Heath Shuler (Football), Steve Largent (Football) and Jesse Ventura (Is wrestling a sport?).  There is a new successful athlete-turned-politician and he is quietly one of my favorites.

Although on a much smaller scale than Barack Obama, former Phoenix Suns guard Kevin Johnson was victorious after Tuesday’s runoff for mayor of Sacremento.  Mayor Johnson is the first African-American to be elected mayor of Sacremento and will take office on November 25th.

“Obama and myself, we ran on the promise and the theme of change.  No more business as usual,” Johnson said in a Sacremento Bee report.  “I am so ready and so humbled to accept this great honor that has been bestowed upon me today.”

From 1993-1996 I lived in Phoenix – during this time the Suns went lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals.  Phoenix is a big city, but people travel in the same circles, not always a good thing.  Several members of the Suns like Charles Barkley and Richard Dumas were regulars a different nightspots around town, but we never heard much about Johnson off the court.  In fact, I know about him going to a local church and his brother moving to Phoenix to live with him.

On the court was a different story.  He was a little guy, by NBA standards, who let it all hang out on the court.  I liked the fact that he would sacrifice his body to make whatever play needed to be made.  Similar to Allen Iverson, this is probably something that isn’t good for a basketball career.

Will he make a good politician?  The odds are definately in his favor to do so and I have faith in him.  He was considered a little guy and more importantly a good guy.  Apparently the city of Sacremento thinks enough of him to elect him as their leader and I think they made a wise choice.

Good luck Mr. Mayor.

 

Tags: athlete, Kevin Johnson, mayor, politician, Sacremento

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Current Buzz, Political Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.