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Mike Burke: Lawyer. Person. Guy.
The next month will be chock-full of cordial lawyer-on-lawyer action, if you believe this morning's predictions about the upcoming campaign to become Kansas City's next mayor. Mike Burke, development lawyer, and Sly James, personal-injury attorney, are apparently friends and are basically vowing to keep the rhetoric rational between now and March 22.
"You're going to see an unprecedented dialogue," political activist and Burke supporter Mary O'Halloran told the Star's Steve Kraske. Somehow, though, I have to believe these guys end up throwing some 'bows.
After all, they're in this to win. Their heads are by now full of oddly detailed fantasies of televised speeches and ribbon cuttings and peace treaties and business trips, eight years of prosperity and maybe even a book, a real thick one, like that one about that Philly guy by that other Philly guy, the one who wrote that football book that turned into that show that my wife likes so much.
Like I said, oddly detailed.
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Sly James: Lawyer. Man. Human.
With heads full of all that -- and no doubt empty of the far more depressing reality that awaits the winner -- neither of these guys is going to go quietly into the night, even if the night does pay way better. So, eventually, it gets a little nasty.
How so? Who knows what the scoundrels who run these things will dream up. But here are some things we'll likely hear about:
With the Port Authority debacle firmly planted in voters' minds -- they have no idea what it's about but are locked into "Port Authority + money = bad guys" -- Burke's time as the Port's go-to lawyer is bound to come up. Specifically, you'll hear about all the money his firm racked up while doing specious-sounding work for the Port. This, of course, is what lawyers do: make shit-tons of money for work you don't understand. But it will become An Issue.
Then there's James*. His job will be an issue, too; for everyone who hates development lawyers, there are three guys who hate "ambulance chasers." And while a vague
John Edwards association may have helped a few years back, nowadays most folks associate Edwards with overpriced haircuts and people they want to stab repeatedly. That Sly has sued the city repeatedly won't help with some voters, either.
But more interesting will be how Burke's behind-the-scenes campaign weasels try to use James' ethnicity against him, especially north of the river. Someone I spoke with -- someone involved behind the scenes in the primary election -- predicted not-so-subtle mailers highlighting James' promises to clean up midtown and the East Side.
Translation: "Just so we're on the same page, you do know we're talking Family Stone Sly, not Rocky Sly? Right?"
Who knows, though. Maybe they'll just stick to the issues and end up tied and settle it with a bake-off. I hope that's the case, and I hope I get to judge. I love cupcakes.
*Newspaper convention dictates that people are referred to by their last name on second reference and thereafter. But boy, is it hard not calling him Sly.
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