From the amount of buzz Manny Diaz has generated in the past year, you'd think he was the greatest mayor ever. Sure, he's amazing in comparison to some of the other wackos who have held his job, but damn, this city still has a lot of problems. US News & World Report's annual "America's Best Leaders" hits newsstands Monday, but it's already online, and Diaz has made a list of 21 luminaries, including Lance Armstrong, Herbie Hancock, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman.
US News falls all over itself praising Diaz:
The bilingual mayor is credited with attracting major developers, combating crime, bringing down poverty, and improving city services. He tries to get the city's 3,655 employees to see the big picture and praises them when they do. He answers his own E-mail. He blogs. He isn't above picking up a piece of trash in a city Forbes magazine heralded as the cleanest in the United States. "I'm personally a clean freak," confesses Diaz, who subscribes to the "broken windows" theory of community policing that says areas marked by disorder are havens for criminals.
I blog. I answer my own e-mail. I pick up trash. I subscribe to some theories. Where's my writeup?
They also credit Diaz for his teamwork with John "America's Worst Cop" Timoney. That aside, congrats, Manny, and make sure to e-mail this link to someone in the Obama transition team.
