Editor’s note

Nobody could accuse Mayor Mike Houston of being entertaining when he delivered his State of the City address to Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce members at an April 8 luncheon sponsored by the Commercial Real Estate Network. In excruciating detail, the mayor led his audience through the gradual improvement in the city’s average daily cash balance, and the steps taken to get there. A few were starting to look at their watches as he went on to explain all four points of his infrastructure improvement tax proposal, which may come up for a city council vote next week. Exciting it was not; nevertheless the applause seemed genuine, reflecting a sense that this mayor is getting the fiscal house in order. If he can step beyond policy to effective politics, enough to get his infrastructure program passed, he may yet have a successful term. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher