Matt Tully has a good column re: the disaster in the coroner's office and Mayor Bart Peterson's lack of a response.

Says Tully:

"The Star's editorial page said it best last week: 'it's evident the coroner must go.'

"That's certainly true. Now, though, Mayor Peterson needs to say the same thing, or something close to it. So far, Peterson has skittishly avoided the issue....

"This city needs its leader to say, 'This is unacceptable.'

"So far, Peterson won't."

That's insight as far as it goes, but what Matt fails to address is why Peterson won't take on Dr. Ackles -- who has fired a team of respectable pathologists and added a new member to his staff with a questionable background.

The real issue is race. Peterson is known to be terrified of upsetting the Marion County Democrat black base, of which Ackles is surely a part. Peterson won't take on pea shake houses, he won't say a word against the shenanigans with 300 East and, given his silence on those issues, he certainly won't wade into the coroner's mess. Even tho the city's reputation and our whole criminal judicial system ultimately will suffer.

That's not leadership. But obviously, Peterson has plenty of people fooled -- the topic of Matt's column is the mayor's ascendancy to the presidency of the National League of Cities.

OK, I voted for the guy. Is anybody else as disappointed in His Wimpiness as I am?

comments: ruth@ruthholladay.com