-
Hugh Hallman
One of the things I enjoy about Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman is his deftly frequent use of humor. He knows how to poke fun at himself (maybe just little too often) and he also can use laughter to blunt the pain of some stinging criticism.
Hallman recently launched a promotional web site that’s common for most politicians these days who want to keep their public image polished for their next run for (higher?) office.
Hallman does have his critics, and one has created a video targeting the mayor’s longstanding opposition to city tax incentives for development that has changed the way public business is handled in Tempe. Check out the video for yourself, and I think you’ll agree it’s quite well done.
Instead of getting defensive, Hallman put together his own response by video that he shared with supporters and media outlets (before they had a chance to discover “Mr. Meth” on their own, I would guess). While technically not quite as slick as the original smackdown, the theme music is perfect for Hallman’s side point that the critic is hiding his or her identity (and I just happened to see Colin Hay in concert in Cave Creek Friday night).
I laughed during most of the video, but it was pretty tasteless to include the photo of Osama bid Laden (implying the critic could be a real evil character, who knows?). Sure, “Hewie” calls Hallman a liar and a hypocrite in the first video. But shouldn’t the mayor be able to rise above such petty cheap shots?
Twitter