Like every mayor since the beginning of time, Mayor Joe Curtatone has his supporters, his detractors and the people who don’t really care one way or another. We said it when he first got elected – if he does something wrong, screws up, or generally acts like a power hungry jackass – we will be the first to slam him. In the same vein, we also said that if he is a good mayor, does a great job, surrounds himself with effective department heads and builds bridges, we would be the first to praise him.

Thankfully, he has been better than a good mayor – probably the best anyone living can remember, especially given the enormous obstacles and situations he has to face on a daily basis and with the tax revenue he has. In this world full of political correctness, Mayor Curtatone has done much to improve city services, has made and followed through with commitments to the public schools, services to the elderly and low-income residents and done much to promote responsible long-term, multi-use development within the limited space available in this densely populated city.

There is one person (and one era) that people have not equated Mayor Curtatone with, but we will go ahead and put ourselves out on a limb and say it (even though most people just won’t get it at first). Mayor Joe reminds us of Ronald Reagan – not in political spirit, but in community spirit – a sense of pride that comes from within. Reagan was masterful at making the country feel good about itself – and boosting the image of the country tremendously after the previous 6 or 7 years of embarrassing situations we as a nation had to endure. You remember Nixon’s resignation, Ford’s inability to connect with the people, Jimmy Carter’s ultra liberalism and finally the hostages in Iran? Not the best six or seven years in our country’s history, never mind self-worth. What Reagan did was boost up the stature of the nation in a period we needed the boost of self-confidence – and directly effectuated the end of the Cold War as a result.

So take a minute and think about this Рstep away from the political arena for a moment or two and you will realize that Mayor Curtatone has stepped up and re-built bridges (figuratively), rebuilt buildings and local icons (literally) and has done much to remove the stigma that has followed the suburbanite doggerel associated with the term “Slummerville.”

The Memorial Day Parade and the July 4th Fireworks are perfect examples of his efforts to connect with something internal in the residents of this city – quite frankly, the sense of community pride he has directly injected back into the people of this city, be they legal, illegal, man, woman, child, tween, whatever – has never in our lifetime been as fulfilling as it is going into this July 4th holiday weekend.

Don’t like the guy, fine. Don’t like his politics, fine. Respect his efforts for promoting a sense of community in this very difficult economic time, definitely.