‘WHERE IS FRANK JACKSON?”

We aren’t alone in arguing that Mayor Jackson’s self-imposed low profile is quickly passing from quirky to intolerable. Today Roldo lets him have it over the serial killer story:

As if the Cleveland police don’t have enough on their hands. Now they have another missing person: Mayor Frank Jackson.

Where is Frank Jackson?

I’ve covered a lot of mayors going back to Ralph Locher. I don’t know one of them that would not have had a strong public presence in a situation as the one where 11 women have been murdered. And where so much evidence points to an embarrassing lack of policy, execution and service from the city and its bureaucracy.

I don’t know any of the Mayors for more than 40 years who would not be very visible, trying to guide the city, calm the city and give it some assurance of action. I don’t know any of them who wouldn’t be consoling the residents, trying to reassure them in every way, every day that the Mayor has concerned for them, for what has happened and for a just resolution.

This Mayor is absent without leave. He can’t hide behind, “What is, is.”

It won’t fly. Not this time.

Roldo goes on to note that a lengthy New York Times article on the case doesn’t mention Jackson once. Read Roldo’s entire post here. — Frank Lewis

(Incidentally, the NYT article was co-written by former Scene staff writer and Cleveland resident Chris Maag, and the photo was shot by Scene contributor Ken Blaze.)

This article appears in Nov 4-10, 2009.