Do you remember a couple of years ago when rumors began swirling that Lynn Swann was running for governor? When the rumors started, my reaction, like many people's, was "Why do you think he's running?" "Is this a joke?" "What kind of experience does he have?" and "Just because he's a former Steeler doesn't make him qualified to govern a state."
The rumor turned out to be true, and I'm not sure what was the bigger shocker--that he actually launched a campaign and did so with a straight face, or the fact that he's a Republican.
About a week ago I heard a similiarly preposterous rumor, this time for the upcoming Pittsburgh Mayoral race. No, not a city councilperson, or the mayor of a small borough running in the race, but none other than someone connected to another Super Bowl champ, Franco Harris. This time it's Harris' son, Franco "Dok" Harris. The fact that he is under 30 and has no political experience isn't standing in the way of his Mayoral bid--he has his Dad's good Steelers mojo going for him!
Okay, it's not quite this bad. On paper, he has an impressive resume...educationally. He's a graduate of Princeton University and CMU's Tepper School of Business/Pitt Law School. His undergraduate degree from Princeton is in Politics, and at CMU/Pitt besides getting an MBA and a JD, he won multiple awards for his business planning and entrepreneurial skills.
But--book smarts does not a politician make: reading a book about politics is miles away from actually running for--and then governing as--Mayor of a large city.
According to the information provided on his disastrously-designed web site (Did he get a guy from craigslist to do it for him for free? I hope so, because if he paid real money for it, it's his first bad spending decision.), his only political experience is confined to student council as an undergrad. He never once volunteered for a political campaign, he has never interned for a congressperson or other political figure, and--most importantly--he's never held public office.
There's a little thing I'd like to share with Mr. Harris: it's called paying your dues. I hate to break it to you, but coming from a wealthy family, going to Ivy League schools, and being under 30 does not actually entitle or qualify you to become mayor. It comes from working on campaigns, starting out at the ground level, and learning about the political process as a participant, not as the candidate when the ink on your sheepskin is barely dry.
Good God, even Ravenstahl knows this: he may be under 30 and a former beeper salesman, but at least he comes from a political family, learned the business at the knee of his father, and then ran and served as a councilman before becoming mayor. We may scoff at his relative youth, but at least he held office before becoming mayor.
My advice, if I may be as bold as to offer Harris some advice, would be this: you have great academic experience and are clearly a smart guy. But: if you want a future in politics, you need follow in the footsteps of your idol, President Obama: be humble, learn from others by working in their campaigns, and then foray that experience into running for office, starting small. Swann was not taken seriously, and neither will you--and he's a beloved figure with Super Bowl rings dripping from his fingers!
Having no political experience and running your first campaign as Mayor is nothing short of political suicide. And you're too smart with too bright a future to have it all snuffed out by one very bad decision.
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