Who Decides If Edgar Runs Again

No, I don't understand it either. The story does not make a lot of sense nor does the Santos explanation.

Perhaps that is why it is called politics:

• "Kingsville mayor and federal Liberal candidate Nelson Santos said he will announce in June whether he will seek re-election as mayor or try his luck in the federal riding of Essex.
  
  "My record has shown if I run for a position I'm committed to the full term of that position," Santos said Wednesday.
  
  "If I can't make a four-year commitment, I will make the determination not to seek re-election but I need to go through all the discussions and review my position."

Surely Nelson knew what he was getting into when he ran for the Liberal nomination. If not, why did he run? Remember when he was nominated:

• "Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos, the Essex County warden, will be acclaimed Friday at the Mastronardi Estate Winery as the Liberal candidate in Essex...
  
  Santos, 39, has served as the head of county council as warden since 2006 and has been mayor of Kingsville for six years. He said he's trying to bring a "new face" to the Liberal party and thinks he can gain back the riding for the Liberals...
  
  If an election is called, Santos said he will continue to serve as warden and Kingsville's mayor as he campaigns, something former Kingsville mayor and county warden Pat O'Neil did when he ran provincially in 1999 and 2003. Santos said he could reduce his work as a real estate agent and as editor of the Kingsville Reporter."

Presumably, if a federal election was called and he won, Nelson would have resigned as Mayor. What's different now? Perhaps Nelson now feels that Watson is unbeatable and so he wants out.

Frankly, the whole episode has hurt his credibility. If he runs federally, he looks weak since he had trouble making up his mind. If he runs municipally, it is his second choice because he could not make it in the Big Leagues.

Speaking of credibility, does Edgar (aka Eddie) have any left with his "I won't run for Mayor--I may run for Mayor" game being played. It's almost as much fun as Monopoly.

To be direct, in my opinion Edgar has no chance if someone credible runs. Heck, the chicken suit could make it close.

Let me be even more direct. Being Mayor is Bill Marra's to lose! Simple as that. If he wants it, it is his unless he really does something stupid. Like not run.

Edgar won't run. Of course not. He told us he was only a two term politician. More than that, do you really believe that he would handle criticism well if a serious contender ran, taking shots at him, giving him a real campaign with his record on the line.

Not our Edgar. He cannot handle blame well. He would make mistake after mistake lashing back. It is just not in his nature to be able to accept that he has done something wrong.

Can you imagine if he lost. I wonder if he could handle it. What a shock that would be to his system. It would be devastating to his ego. Better not to run and believe he still could have won.

In any event, in the end, it does not matter what he wants. Michelle, his wife, is the decision-maker in the family on matters such as this.

I read a speech that Edgar delivered back in 2007 where he sets this out. The speech is fascinating because of the insight it gives into how Edgar thinks and what drives him. I will BLOG about it another time but now about Michelle:

• I told my wife I was going to be here speaking to each and every one of you. Here you have an individual that was in private business as an entrepreneur, then became a lawyer and ended up in politics - eating chicken dinners and spending long hours and low pay that attracted me to politics. And I told her there is going to be a group of lawyers, and she said, "Good. Get one of them to represent you to sue you for being a fool to go into politics."



• But then, fortunately, I was elected to represent Ward 5, which is the east end of Windsor. I wanted to apply what I learned through the business to Windsor Council, and I did that, but at the same time I went to law school. And then I became a lawyer, and I had a decision to make.
  
  The decision I had to make was whether I was going to be a lawyer or whether I was going to be mayor of the City of Windsor. My wife and I decided to go away for a vacation, decided to have this most important discussion while we were away, and I had made my decision.
  
  I had four years under my belt as a political representative. Politics is interesting to say the best. It is not for everyone. My hats off to those individuals that can do it, that do it extremely well and do it consistently, but politics is a different sport. It is a different environment than in the business sector. It is different.
  
  And I didn't expect it to be as different as it was. So the decision I had was: I wanted to go and practice law. And my wife looked at me and said, "That's fine. I am 100 percent behind you. I will support you in any endeavor you choose to undertake. But know this: if you decide to walk away, no 'what ifs,' no complaining, no watching councils, no sitting on the sidelines, no Monday-morning quarterbacking." And then she said, "You know, you could be a lawyer any day. You can't be Mayor of Windsor any day."



• DR. KING: Do you plan to go higher?
  
  MAYOR FRANCIS: Do I want to move up?
  
  DR. KING: Do you want to move up?
  
  MAYOR FRANCIS: I could have all the aspirations in the world, Henry, but my wife has other plans. You know, I get asked this question a lot, and my answer sometimes--I am 32.



• AUDIENCE MEMBER: You are still young, and you have a chance to be prime minister, but it seems you have that ability.
  
  MAYOR FRANCIS: You realty have to meet my wife. She doesn't want any part of it.

So forget about what Gord says. He has no clue. His ups and downs about Edgar running are nothing more than political tea leaf speculation. If you want to know what Edgar is going to do, ask Michelle.

Oh and how the game is played. Edgar learned the drama from Mike Hurst's press conference when he decided not to run. Expect Edgar to one-up Hurst's performance. That's Edgar's style too.