The most important coalition for political success that Ron put together in his first run for mayor in 2005 was inner city blacks. Inner city black voters have generally supported the democratic candidate, whoever that is since, well always. I think those voters would be surprised to learn that Ron Littlefield voted Republican in the 2006 Senate and 2008 presidential primaries.

Honestly, it's hard to figure why he did that, but the bottom line is that in both circumstances Ron Littlefield could have voted for an African American Democrat but chose to vote for a white Republican. Now I believe that a person should vote for whomever they chose, but if you are the leader of your political party (as a mayor is in a city of our size), you're kind of expected to vote for your own party. Right Ron?

If you don't believe me, check the public voting records.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Herman Wang: Why did you start this site?

Billy Blades: I think I'll let my first blog entry dated August 8, 2005, stand as the answer to that question. I print it, slightly truncated, below. You're welcome to read the whole thing in the WorstMayorEver.com archives:

Reason D'etre

Why? Why this blog? Why is Ron Littlefield the Worst Mayor Ever?
Is it because Ron Littlefield ran the sleaziest campaign in our city's history?

Is it because he put a push poll in the field that accused a happily married, heterosexual woman of being a lesbian? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Is it because he made a deal with a (recently indicted) state senator to trade the support of his political machine for a job for his daughter?

Oh, speaking of vote trading, how about when Ron Littlefield approached his recently eliminated opponent Dan Johnson--a man diametrically opposed to him politically--and promised, and delivered, a cushy job at City Hall for his support in the run-off election?

Or is it the heinous character assassination he committed on our city's most active and responsible citizens--each and every one of them being his mental and moral superior--to create a false divide amongst a populace that is, sadly, so easily divided?

Yes. And what's even more irksome is that after all his backroom deals and Good Old Boy maneuvering, he's done so freaking little! There was actually something in the paper last week heralding our mayor for the smoothing of a bump on a bridge. I was apoplectic. He drags us through all that muck and that's all we get?!? Think about it--what has this guy done? But seriously, do you remember the flurry of activity when Builder Bob took office? Same thing with Kinsey. Committee's appointed, initiative's announced, projects underway, etc. This guy--crickets chirp. So yes, I'm indignant about all of that and that is why I've started this blog.

No doubt about it--Ron Littlefield: Worst. Mayor. Ever.

HW: What did the mayor do from the start that had you pegging him as "worst mayor ever" just days into his administration?

BB: Well, the timing in your question is not accurate. My first post came four months into his administration, (Inauguration day-April 18, 2005, first post-August 8, 2005) but I take your meaning. This wasn't the beginning of Ron Littlefield's political career in Chattanooga and six months of sleazy campaigning on his part had me well primed. I happen to believe that the political process doesn't have to be an exercise in character slaughter and venality. I believe that two honest, well-intentioned people can contend for the same office without resorting to electoral barbarism. Obviously, I live in a dream world that no longer exists.

As I've stated several times on worstmayorever.com, I've only mirrored the tactics Ron Littlefield and his henchmen (and women) used during the (2005) mayoral campaign. The things he did to win were successful, but they have consequences. I think of this site as an extremely drawn-out act of justice. I think most people miss the 'Colbert Report' aspect of this site.

But that's just what got it started. If it was just about the campaign, I could have stopped at the first post. But the longer this administration goes on the worse it gets. The recycling boondoggle still baffles me. I'm sure Ron thought the Homeless Hilton was a slam-dunk for him, but he's has managed to create a situation that a savvy opponent will likely use to cause him a lot of problems in a campaign. If I were that opponent, I'd put a poll in the field asking people to rank certain citywide services against a state of the art homeless shelter. The citizens are, after all, paying for one or the other.

HW: You obviously have some contacts within city government. Are you a current or former city employee?

BB: I think that's made pretty clear on the site, but I guess I can be more clear: Yes.

HW: What's your real identity?

BB: We're in the blogosphere, baby! I'm Billy Blades. Billy Blades doesn't exist outside of this context.

HW: What kind of reaction have you gotten to your site? Mostly positive? Negative? Threats?

BB: That has been very surprising to me, because frankly, I love a good fight. However, I've only received one negative email. Or rather, three negative emails from one person. I've received hundreds and hundreds of positive emails; an unambiguous landslide of support.

I get a lot of emails from people whom Ron has pissed off and they want me to write a post about how he built landfills in north Georgia for his own financial benefit or something like that. You'd be surprised the number of well-known people who email me. They are very interesting and many are howlingly funny. The amazing thing is that people write to me and identify themselves and completely trust me not to reveal their identity. Obviously, I never have. I guess they see through the sarcasm of my site and they trust Billy Blades. I personally know at least 60% of the e-mailers from work, civic involvement or nightspots in Chattanooga, but I never reveal myself to them. I've built quite a network of informants, but I don't use all the info I receive.

It's very interesting to me to contemplate the psychological implications of the whole thing. I'll get an e-mail from someone deep inside City Hall, and I'll think, "Are you crazy?! Why would you risk exposure?" Chattanoogans are very disheartened at how bad Ron has proved to be as our city's leader. But the arrogance of his staff has really galvanized people against the Littlefield administration. Really nice, sweet people have been very offended by how arrogant Littlefield staffers are. I used to get mostly angry emails about Ron's power-tripping, but now, it's mostly people who are saddened about how poorly he represents Chattanooga in the wider world.

It really is quite sad to think about the progress we aren't making. The ideas not being conceived. But then I remember that Missy has created a Web site to bring art to the masses and I rest easy about the state of things in East Lake.

HW: Any candidates you have in mind for the 2009 mayoral election?

BB: Yes. There is someone who I think could mount a credible campaign and is a particularly honest and good person. But I think that if I name that person, it will just give Ron's attack machine someone to point it's guns at and start blasting before things even get going.[That person did not end up in the race, btw. BB] Honest and good people don't seem to fare well in our civic process, and I can't recommend it to anyone. I've thought a bit about the upcoming campaign and I don't think I will endorse anyone, because I don't want to be a negative for him or her. I suspect blogging about Ron Littlefield will be my contribution to whoever runs against him. Of course, his or her supporters are welcome to purchase Littlefield: Worst Mayor Ever t-shirts from my Web site! I don't make a penny, but they're just so good lookin'!

HW: Is there anything Littlefield can do at this point that would make him redeemable in your eyes?

BB: Well, that's a bit heavy. I mean, I assume you mean redeem his political career and not his life. Ron Littlefield is a man who's in over his head. He just doesn't have greatness in him. He's not a man who has achieved great things because of his strong vision or brilliant ideas, like his recent predecessors. That's not a crime--many people are ordinary. And honestly, I think that Ron wants to do great things. The fact that his ability lags behind his ambition is what causes him to behave badly and pursue bad ideas. I don't think anyone expected him to be a Bob Corker. People of that energy don't come along very often. But I do think they expected him to keep the momentum of progress in Chattanooga moving forward, and they were led to that expectation by his campaign promises.

No honest person that knows anything about civic process and city building can say that Ron Littlefield has improved Chattanooga. He's so concerned about matching Senator Corker's legacy that he's blown through half of his term and we only have a fashion magazine and a time capsule to show for it. Oh, that's right you guys did the magazine with Missy. Make a little room on a shelf for the award you're sure to win for that one.

But in this question, I think you mean can Ron do something that will placate me and make me close down this blog. No. Ron can't un-smear reputations and he can't un-tell the Big Lie (I refer specifically to his canard about the Power Structure and it's mysterious, puppetmaster-like control of our lives).

However, if you mean, can Ron do right by the citizens of this city--yes, absolutely. Just get something done! He seems to think he needs to be a religious leader or civic guru. Just do something already! Sadly, he's burned the bridges to the people who could help him move our city forward. Unlike previous mayors, Ron Littlefield can't call our city's best and brightest into his office and seek advice or partnerships.

Did you see Mayor Corker when he was making his presentations around the city to raise money for the waterfront? Corker reached out and made some really big requests and the city answered in a big way. Ron Littlefield has spit in the face of all the people who get involved in the big projects that last for generations. That resource does not exist for him. He got what he wanted when he was elected, but it was at the cost of the tools a mayor needs to be successful in office--to the detriment of all of us.

HW: Are there any positives to Littlefield's administration so far?

BB: Didn't you hear? We got a new traffic light. Hang on, I'll dig up the press release. Also, he fired MichMich--that was a step in the right direction. Seriously, I hope that he does something good for our libraries. But here again, he's muffed it from the start. Our libraries need to be made vital to young people and he appointed a commission of W.W.II vets. It's not about the card catalog anymore. We need some twenty-somethings on that panel to bring fresh ideas about what will make a library a community information and communication hub in the future.

HW: What's your assessment of the administrations of Corker, Kinsey and Roberts?

BB: Corker: Best. Mayor. Ever.

Kinsey: Smartest. Mayor. Ever.

Roberts: Kindest. Mayor. Ever.

Berry: First. Mayor. Ever.

HW: How long have you lived in Chattanooga?

BB: I grew up here.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

I've gotten emails from quite a few people ticked off that he dissed them and their constituents and speculating as to why Ron Littlefield is afraid to debate Healy. It's my opinion that his out-of-town pollster has told him that he has this election in the bag (primarily because interest is so low and early voting has been so abysmally low) as long as he doesn't make any big mistakes. In other words, it's his to lose, so why show up and face people in an open forum and take a chance of saying the wrong thing?

Oh, and if at some point Ron or his spokespeople say that he had previously scheduled meetings and couldn't be there, think this to yourself, "That's BS." In a political campaign, nothing is more important than standing before constituents with your competition and talking to them face to face. Besides, he's the mayor--he can move any meeting he needs to.

So Ron isn't going to come to your group and discuss his (in)actions of the last four years, because it's safer not to. What if he runs into a citizen that has been paying attention? He knows that the vast majority of people are uncomfortable with change and incumbancy is hard to overcome for a challenger. That's what history tells us, and why should this year be any different? (Oh, yeah--that whole 'Hope!' thing)

So, what's it gonna be, Chattanooga? Does it matter to you that your mayor won't stand before you and be accountable for the job he's done. Are we sheep?

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Say what?!? Which neighborhoods? MLK? Brainerd? I can't think of a neighborhood that has been improved by public money or mayoral action in Ron's tenure. The MLK neighborhood has been besieged for the last four years by Ron's obsessive desire to create a Southeastern Homeless Magnet Complex in their neighborhood.

Oh, and btw, there was a letter to the editor (a Littlefield campaign planted letter, no doubt) that gave Ron credit for the softball fields at Warner Park. The letter writer may just be uninformed, or just a Littlefiend, but the money and plans for those fields were a part of former Mayor Kinsey's ReCreate 2008 parks plan, that was put in motion TEN YEARS AGO. Sorry, Ron, not gonna let you take credit for another man's work. Again.

Back to my original point about neighborhoods. Now, it's true that there has been a great renaissance in the Main Street area near Market Street during Littlefield's term, but that's all due to foundation money and influence and RiverCity--Littlefield's arch-nemisis. Ron had nothing to do with Main Street and I can tell you that the people in that area bristle when he pops up trying to claim credit. Or worse, his pathetic attempt to link himself to CreateHere's efforts in a letter to the editor in the Times Free Press last August.

Littlefield has done NOTHING for neighborhoods, and I have no idea why he'd try to claim otherwise. All any citizen has to do is look out his or her window to see the (non) evidence of that.

So Ron, when you are handing out talking points to your cohorts, try to find some that don't make readers do a spit-take onto their daily newspaper. If you're going to try to convince us that black is white, hot is cold or that Ron Littlefield is an effective mayor--you'll have to do better than 'committed to neighborhoods.'

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Last week, the firefighters union, who supported him last election cycle, have opted not to endorse Ron Littlefield for Mayor. While it's true that they also didn't endorse Healy, but that's not the point here. Ron lost the firefighters. A Democrat, sitting mayor lost the firefighters? Wow. That's strong. I mean weak. It's a strong testament to how weak Ron's leadership skills are.

But that's not all--he also lost the service workers union (SEIU). SEIU brought workers from Nashville to work for Ron during the last election and he made promises to them that he didn't keep. In fact, they aren't being as neutral as the firefighters, they're actively working against Ron. And Marti--which is just fun stuff. (BTW-she's pulling the same crap as last time--in my view, she doesn't live in the district she's running to represent. She just stays over there more often. Oddly, she admitted she does her laundry at Hemphill. That whacked-out mu-mu support system is always her own worst enemy. Test number 3 for 'does someone live here': Where do you do your laundry--that's where you live.)

Oh, and the police aren't too happy either. Ron must have promised them money too.

Like I said, it's unlikely any of this matters--based on the Ward Crutchfield phone transcripts from Operation Tennessee Waltz, Ron still has his coalition with inner city leaders intact, and that is the most important thing in a municipal election in this city--but it's still interesting that several of the piers he built his previous campaign around are crumbling.

Plus, Chattanoogan's know deep down that VW had nothing to do with Ron and that he is, in fact, the Worst Mayor Ever.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Given the non-campaign Ron has been running, I'm guessing Ron's polling numbers tell him he can't be beat. It's probably true, but I can't stop trying. Four more years of sleazy mediocrity, in my opinion, is not acceptable. Four more years of riding the coattails of better, smarter, harder working men. Four more years of not-a-damn-thing happening in our neighborhoods. Four more years of funding Missy Crutchfield's goofiness, while a recycling program that was not very good to begin with has been made virtually useless by Littlefield's incompetence.

So while it's true that most Chattanoogans will fall sway to the power of incumbancy, we've got to try. Do you have a Healy sign in your yard? Do you have a bumper sticker on you car? Are you talking about who you intend to vote for with co-workers, at the gym and at your church? There's less than a month until the election--and there won't be a runoff this time folks, this is it.

For the record, I didn't say a word about either while there was more than one (serious) candidate opposing Littlefiend. That's over now. 'Nuff said.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

From the VW logo on the front door, just in case you were too dim to get the symbolism, to the over-the-top text--"Mayor Littlefield Opportunity Knocked. He Answered"--it's really shocking how grasping and desperate Ron is to seize credit for VW.

The copy inside was clearly copy-and-pasted from some other guys brochure. I mean, there's no way it could be about Ron. In fact, that guy would appear to be Senator Bob Corker, since it describes 'determination and leadership.' But then goes on to say 'Mayor Ron Littlefield worked with local and regional leaders to steer the 1.9 million sq ft VW factory here."

He's shameless and he'll likely get away with these lies, but I simply must repeat the truth. One more time: Ron Littlefield had NOTHING TO DO with VW choosing Chattanooga. Governor Phil Bredesen and Senator Bob Corker, and all the economic recruitment professionals did all the heavy lifting on that project.

If you've ever met Ron-at a civic event say or a business meeting--you know very well that he just doesn't have the wherewithal to do something of that magnitude. The thing is that he really, really wishes that he could swing pipe with the big boys, but that's just not who he is.

His out-of-town campaign strategist has got to come to town every once in a while and actually meet the candidate. Either that or he has got to remember that some of us actually know this guy and this crap he's writing is not going to ring true.

Beyond the outrage of the lie that Ron Littlefield brought VW to town is the brazen, unauthorized use of the VW logo. VW was forced into issuing a statement that they weren't endorsing Littlefield, because the use of their globally iconic logo on political campaign literature is a huge gaffe and put the VW execs in a very awkward position.

Here's the thing; Littlefield didn't mean to upset VW, because he didn't have any idea that using their logo would cause a problem. His campaign strategists knew very well what they were doing, but they're in the habit of asking for forgiveness, not permission. My point is that the reason Ron didn't know he was causing issues is that he isn't the business man or business recruiter that he would have us think he is.

Anyone who deals with large corporations regularly knows that you don't touch their logo without their permission. In fact, each and every usage usually requires the approval of the PR department and the legal department. These are things you know when you deal with large corporations. Never occurred to Ron.

He's an embarrassment to us all and I can only hope that the Germans aren't too angry about his country-ass politics. More importantly, I wish that Chattanoogans were, but I'm afraid that we've come to accept mediocrity. Four Mo'Ron years.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Now the bad news: If Joe does this, I already regret what Ron and his minions will do to Joe's good name. Is there a Mrs. Joe? If so, she should stop reading the paper or watching TV sometime in early January.

On the other hand, after the amazing election of Barack Obama, we have a new model for serious candidates running against those who will say or do anything to win. Barack treated McCain with respect even when McCain's people were smearing him with lies and innuendo. The country seemed to respond pretty well to that. Just sayin'.

Good luck, Joe. You'll need it.

Senator Corker worked hard and was certainly there when needed, as were Claude and Ron. But, believe me, it was all masterminded by Phil Bredesen and I'm so bummed that we're about to lose him because of term limits. God knows what he could do for our state with another four years in office. I hope the story gets fully told, but the business community in Chattanooga came together in an unprecedented way to show the VW executives that Chattanooga means business and it won the day. That effort was coordinated by Phil. Sadly, our mayor played almost no part in that effort and if not for our hard-working governor, it wouldn't have happened.

Ron Littlefield was just a bystander, and given his poor leadership abilities, that was for the best. I said it about the efforts to bring Kia and Toyota to town and it applies here as well: Ron has no ability or knowledge in this area and he neither helped nor hindered the efforts to woo VW. He showed up when he was told to and made bland comments when necessary.

So, thank you Gov. Bredesen, you've helped us immensely by stepping in when we needed it. Our children and their children thank you as well.

Say, since you're term-limited in the governor's office, would you consider being mayor of the city you just helped succeed in the 21st Century? Thanks to you, it's going to be all the rage and everyone's gonna wanna live there. Hell, you're already doing the job our mayor is supposed to be doing. Why keep that big brain on the sidelines? Unless, you have something bigger in mind...

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

But the prospect of the coming mayoral election has woken me up and I am confident that Ron Littlefield--the man known far and wide as the Worst Mayor Ever--will indeed be challenged by someone with energy and integrity. I am, as the song says, holding out for a hero.

The problem is, what role should Billy Blades and all the staffers at WME play in the election? We certainly can't work on behalf of any of the legit contenders--Ron would just use us to discredit them.

No, we won't be advocating for anyone. We, as per our prime directive, will be working the other side of the equation. It's what we do.

So the art department and the editorial department here at Ron Littlefield: Worst Mayor Ever have come together and started thinking about how to address the issue at hand. The issue of ridding Chattanooga of the creative energy-sucking, civic momentum-killing, vortex of directionless slack that is Ron Littlefield. Being Americans of a certain age, we've come up with the only logical answer--a t-shirt.

It's out with the old swag and in with the new. The WME store is now featuring the first of our new line of shirts. The front of the shirt addresses something that comes up in emails that we receive here at WME all the time: Who is Billy Blades?

Who indeed. Well, I'm a concerned Chattanoogan who wants good things for this city and wants honest people in leadership positions. If that's you, you're me. So why not declare your solidarity with the resistence in cotton! Be among the first to be seen at NightFall wearing the new 'Hello, My Name Is Billy Blades' shirt. They're sure to be all the rage in the River City as the Mayoral Campaign heats up. The back has a message that I think we can all agree with. Well, all except incumbent do-nothing politicians.

Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason.

Time to change that dirty nappy folks.

BTW. We don't make any money on any swag from the WME store. We've priced it as low as Cafe Press will allow. It's about the message, not the money for us.

See you on the hustings.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

1. Ron Littlefield and Dan Johnson gave Dale Mabee (Ron's campaign manager) an interest free loan to finance the $1.07 million dollar land purchase. Huh?! That has never been done in all of the downtown development that has revitalized our city. It'd be one thing if this was the first downtown construction project and it needed to succeed to build the market--like the old Riverset Apartments. But I think the ball is pretty well rolling on downtown residential and the marketplace can regulate itself. I'm not at all surprised that Ron Littlefield, a man so devoid of ethics he'd have to climb up to the bottom of the skuzzy barrel, gave his campaign manager a free loan. After all, the man has to be paid back for all the lies and character assassination he's responsible for.

2. Then they gave Dale and the Moon boys the option on the rest of the block. That wasn't even in the request for proposals (RFP) released by the city to bring in bids by competing developers. In the paper Dan 'Bankrupt Doesn't Just Describe My Morals' Johnson said it just made sense because any developer would want to control the rest of the block. Well, that may very well be the case grandad, but that developer should compete with everyone else for what gets developed on that block. It's called free enterprise. Except it's not when it's not competitively bid. Folks, this is just plain wrong.

3. Then they gave him a free alley for access to the luxury condos, which was valued at nearly $100,000. Seriously, this is amazing. This wasn't offered as part of the original RFP either. Why not just have city work crews cut down the trees and pave the alley for free as well?

We at WorstMayorEver.com have decided to leave the not-very-lucrative protest Website business and move into real estate development. The first order of business for Billy Blades & Company, LLC is to donate to the Littlefield re-election campaign. That should guarantee that we get these kind of sweetheart deals. And as a bonus, when Ron is re-elected, it'll guarantee the corruption continues for four more years!

4. Then they accepted a promissory note instead of, ya know, actual money! Excuse-the-hell-out-of-me?!? I know he's your friend and all, but if he didn't have the money to finance the project, maybe Mabee (hee! I made a funny!) should go back to building crappy McMansions in the suburbs. It's not like our country's in a credit crunch or anything, so Ron & Dan's Favors For Friends Machine can just keep cranking out the graft, with no consequences at all.

The really sweet part of all of this (Hey, it's the stinky part too--that's weird.), is that all of this started because Ron Littlefield hired a bunch of auditors to sic them on RiverCity. They found only piddling things--none illegal or unethical--less than you'd find on your average new WalMart construction project. But somehow Ron & Dan's auditors completely ignored all of this in their report. Not until the Times wrote the story this morning were the shady Deals For Dale revealed. So Littlefiend's vindictive nature has come back to bite him in the ass. Make's a person believe that justice can prevail. Sorry, a little optimism about our city government slipped through. I'll get a handle on that.

For the record, hiring auditors to look into those who use the public's funds is a good thing. But the city charter dictates that they report to the City Council, not the mayor. The City Council controls all the money, so why would you have the people who check the books report to the person whose books they are checking? So you can control what they look at and report, obviously. This reporting structure has been wrong for a while, it just took someone of Littlefield's (lack of) character to misuse it.

It's time for the City Council to look into all of this. It's time for the City Council to bring the auditors under their purview. And it's almost time for a serious candidate to step up and declare that this kind of thing is going to stop.

p.s. I [heart] Dave Flessner.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

It's clumsy and cheap, but Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga's Worst Mayor Forever and Ever Amen, has launched a public letter-writing campaign against former Mayor Corker. [Yes I know he's a US Senator now and that would make a foolish target in your mayoral campaign, but I'll unpack the whole case in a sec, trust me.] Thanks to my amazing team of WorstMayorEver.com field reporters, I've got the scoopage.

If you're an involved Chattanoogan--and face it, if you're reading this, you are--you've probably seen these letters to the editor on John Wilson's Chattanoogan.com.

On March 26 Renee McIntosh wrote the following:

Waterfront Was Completed In Time For What?

Renee McIntosh

Renee's just a tax-paying citizen, like you or me, right? Why wouldn't she resent Corker for working his ass off to accomplish a decades work in three years? How dare he. She just hates that gorgeous waterfront of ours and preferred when it looked like a loading dock on the Jersey shore. So what that Corker spent months and months making the civic rounds raising much of the money from the private sector? Renee resents that kind of thing, as would any right-thinking person, ya know? I mean that's what moved her to write a letter about $150 grand in cracks in a $120 MILLION dollar project, yes?

No. Renee's not an average, unconnected citizen. Renee McIntosh is Lanis Littlefield's best friend.

On the same day, another watchdog hero among us was similarly compelled to write this fact-deprived missive:

Questions On The Sinking Slabs

Ben Brychta
Hixson

Such righteous indignation! Such engineering knowledge! Such total BS! Because Ben Brychta is a certified Friend of Ron and you can check it out for yourself a couple of times a month when they can be seen at the IHOP enjoying a short stack of pancakes while concocting a giant stack of crap.

Notice all the names listed in the letters. This wasn't about the waterfront so much as it was about denigrating Corker-era works.

You see, Ron's team of evil genius' (Hi Dale!) have decided that one election tactic that will be really hard to fight is when a competitor picks up the theme from this Web site and points out how poorly this administration has performed when compared to the last one. And the one before that. (Actually, you can keep going ad infinitum. That's what being the worst ever means.)

You would think they'd have learned about the foolishness of the staged letter of outrage by now.

So Ron Littlefield thinks that if he can smear Corker for having the audacity to work hard and quickly to make big, bold civic improvements that will benefit this community for decades, he can lower the public sentiment about Bob Corker enough that he won't look so bad in comparison. And then of course they can start in on people who might actually be running against them next spring.

First of all, with or without cracks, the Waterfront is a thing of beauty and it's been embraced as Chattanooga's front yard. Just go down there on any Friday night or sunny Saturday. Secondly, the investment in the waterfront has already had a positive return on investment, and you can ask anyone at the CVB or a south shore business owner. Engineers will fix whatever's wrong and kids will be hoppin' around in the water in no time. Really dumb tactic. I'm sure worse is coming.

Ron, it's not gonna happen this time like it did last time. When you pull dirty tricks, we're going to expose them. The tricks may still work, but people are going to see behind the curtain and understand the depths you'll plumb to stay in power.

Oh, btw some people in Guy Fawkes masks asked me to deliver this message:

Hello Littlefiend. The past was prelude. The Internet has come for you.
Love, Anonymous.

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

The jobs'll come out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That Tomorrow
There'll be jobs!

Just thinkin' about Tomorrow
Helps avoid The Awkward
That there's nothing
Going on!

When I'm stuck with a mayor
That's lame,
And sleazy,
I just stick out my finger
And linger
To say,
Oh!

Not a thing will come out
Tomorrow
Not a train to Georgia
Or new Downtown retail
Hear what I say?

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
Ron loves ya Tomorrow!
You're always
An election cycle a-way!

Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com

Today's Times Free Press story had a lot of interesting information. Like Councilman Pierce saying that he gives up trying to work with the Mayor on the project because when dealing with Ron, it's "my way or no way."

The most outrageous bit was when Ron "compared the homeless project to the three-year, $120 million waterfront revitalization effort overseen by his predecessor, Bob Corker. He said the riverfront endeavor required extensive preparation, and so will this one."

Uh. Where to begin. Littlefield's homeless debacle is to Corker's riverfront project as Britney Spears is to responsible motherhood. How can Ron be foolish enough to compare his hairy turd of a project to Corker's shiny riverfront diamond? Wow. Can he be so clueless as to believe he can spin his Homeless Hilton crap into Waterfront gold just through the power of his words? Sorry Ron, the whole thing was ill-conceived and poorly executed and someone will soon be using it (and the suspicious financing and favors-for-friends related to the land acquisition) against you during the upcoming mayoral campaign.

In Michael Davis' excellent story, Ron Littlefield, Chattanooga's Worst Mayor Ever, admitted that there's no plan to make his homeless complex actually happen, but that he hoped that if he bought the property an opportunity would come along to bring his unformed dream to reality. That's the kind of mayor we have folks - a wing and a prayer. Except the wing cost Chattanooga's taxpayers $775,000. Good news though--prayers are still free.

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To address the first part, Ron Littlefield gets all giddy about this kind of made-for-tv-news gesture because politics is all a game to him. It certainly isn't business and that's why NOTHING IS GOING ON AT CITY HALL.

I'm assuming he found a way to pay for a truck full of bottled water to be delivered to Atlanta through some private means (though not his own pocket--never that.). But this isn't the lead up to the big game versus our rival school. His gesture is an embarrassment and I'm shocked that he'd be so short-sighted as to do it. It doesn't address the real issue of Georgia trying to steal St. Elmo from us, but it does stand a chance to piss them off enough to keep trying. And the bit where his assistant is delivering the water wearing a coonskin cap and head-to-toe buckskins is jaw-droppingly stupid. We're trying to sell Chattanooga as the hippest new spot to plant your new-media, high-tech company and he's making us out to be hillbillies? I know he can't seem to do anything to proactively help our city, but does he have to make it hard for those who are actually working? Astonishing.

Remember the dress-up party Ron threw to re-open our modernized City Hall? This is the same thing. It's always the week of homecoming for Ron Littlefield and he's the head of the float committee. Except that this isn't a Mickey Rooney movie, and we deserve more than a head cheerleader as our mayor.

After you read the smart-alec proclamation, did you laugh? Were you amused that your civic leader had pulled so childish a stunt? Maybe you were, or maybe you rolled your eyes. What I wonder is, if you voted for Ron Littlefield in 2005, do you regret your vote?

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