Hardly had the pixels dried on my last post based on an e-mail by Mayor Bob when I got another one from him, this one in turn based on a poll in The State today:

The State had a poll today about City issues that relate to the race for Mayor. The poll showed remarkable support for Innovista by City residents. On the question of whether Columbia  should provide financial assistance to the University of South Carolina’s Innovista research center, 62.6% support Innovista 19.2% oppose and 18% are undecided. I am attaching parts of the article and poll.

That’s particularly interesting in light of the fact that most of what you hear about Innovista — from the highly amplified S.C. Policy Council, from our governor’s few remaining followers and from our own Doug — is extremely negative. It’s good to know that most people still understand that this endeavor was, is, and will be one worthy of continued effort.

But as charmed as Mayor Bob was by that — and I’m with him — I was just as happy to read this part:

Manager or Full-Time Mayor

Well over half (57.7%) say they want a full-time mayor, while just fewer than 20 percent (19.2%) say they prefer a city manager as we have now. Over 20 percent (23.1%) are undecided on this issue, saying they don’t know one way or the other. Question: “Who should run the City of Columbia? Should it be a city manager as it is now, or should there be a full-time mayor?”

Fifty-seven percent — that’s a landslide, people. Yet all we seem to hear whenever this is brought up in the corridors of power is negative. Why? Because the folks in the corridors of power — from City Hall down to neighborhood associations (which have disproportionate power in this system of fragmented accountability, know it, and don’t want to give any up to an empowered executive) — are totally invested in the current system. In a system in which no one has enough power to lead, lots of people have little bits of power, and they don’t want to give it up.

But most folks realize they’d be better off if they had someone to hold accountable.