BEST BUREAUCRAT

Mark Mahoney,

Springfield public works director OK, voters, let’s get one thing straight: A bureaucrat, by definition, is someone who works in government but not elected – you can look it up. That rules out state Sen. Larry Bomke, a fine fellow, but not a bureaucrat. Nor is U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who also was a top finisher. So we’re going to make our own call here and anoint Mark Mahoney, Springfield public works director. What makes Mahoney great? For one thing, he didn’t need the job. That he took a pay cut when he moved from being clerk of the Illinois House in 2011 to head of one of the most thankless jobs in city government speaks to his commitment to the city. While some questioned whether someone with zero experience in the construction and public infrastructure biz could cut it, Mahoney has proven those fears groundless by reorganizing the department and shooting straight with neighborhood groups that give him high marks for candor and communication. Mahoney, a former Ward 6 alderman, could have run for a third term, but he’s making the entire city better where he’s at now. To be sure, the city is still without a plan to fix crumbling infrastructure, and Mahoney hasn’t been able to steamline an archaic garbage-collection non-system that encourages fly dumping, but that’s not his fault. He has given his best and not embarrassed himself in the process. Don’t count him out to be mayor one day.