Christopher Pike was sworn in this past week and has an opportunity to set the Albany City Commission on fire with his youth, intelligence and enthusiasm. I met Pike several years ago at Thronateeska and was impressed with his drive and youthfulness.
Pike and I discovered we are both Albany State University alumni, and even though I am almost 35 years his senior, our ASU connections put us on many of the same trains of thought. Pike was drum major for the ASU band and led the mighty marching unit through football, parades and other events.
Drum majors are born leaders, as former Albany mayor Tommy Coleman (a great mayor) was drum major at Albany High School, where he and I matriculated.
I hope Pike sets his sites on bringing new jobs and opportunities to Albany rather than the usual diet of tripe, myopic vision, petty racial politics and downright buffoonery that has characterized years of Albany Politics as Usual.
We have commissioners, but we have few real leaders. As we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday, I hope Pike follows Dr. King’s leadership role as leading by example and not by decree. I hope and think that Chris Pike could be the start of great new things.
The only hazard he faces is the reality of politics to slowly wear a man or woman down because of its tedium and consistent boredom.
