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Our View: Berman should be mayor first, candidate second
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Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman's claim that he knew all along that a recall campaign against him was relying on wrong information illustrates the kind of leadership he has offered to his community in the past few years.
Tribune writer Blake Herzog reported Wednesday Berman knew from the beginning of the recall petition drive that Town Clerk Cathy Templeton had provided organizers with the incorrect number of valid signatures needed, about 1,000 fewer than state law actually requires to call a special election for mayor. Berman waited to raise the issue until after the signature gathering deadline had passed, guaranteeing his critics couldn't force an election.
As a matter of principle, Berman should have stepped forward much earlier with his understanding of how many signatures would be needed. No mayor should stay silent when he's convinced a town official has shared the wrong facts with the public, especially when it comes to a core, prominent function of his government such as elections.
As a matter of honor, Berman should have wanted to defeat his critics through an honest clash of ideas and comparison of positions rather than by a technical tripwire created by an official error outside of these critics' control.
But as a matter of politics, Berman did exactly the right thing. He was under no legal obligation to speak out. And his strategy worked masterfully as the recall effort was thwarted and any other potential attempts probably will be discouraged as well.
Of course, if Templeton's error had somehow made a recall election more likely if caught later, Berman would have made sure his thoughts were heard early and often. That's what happens when campaign politics are a mayor's first priority; all other matters become a distant, secondary concern.
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