April 2006

Even the most determined man can’t fight the battle alone

Now the real work begins.

For Wayne Hippo, that will mean poring through page-upon-page of scribbled notes, spending countless hours on the telephone and acting as an arbiter whenever opposing factions just can’t seem to find sufficient common ground.

While that hectic schedule is rather commonplace in the life of a successful attorney with a burgeoning law practice, a closer look would reveal that a fine line exists in workload and responsibility between Wayne Hippo the attorney and Wayne Hippo the first-term mayor of the City of Altoona.

The Mayor, at the invitation of The Blair County Chamber and the Altoona Mirror, recently presided over a series of meetings with the local business community. While the tone of the meetings was civil, the topics of concern were predictable and often graphic. Boiled-down, it sounded an awful lot like the mayor was being asked how he intended to redirect the fortunes of a city that was on the verge of becoming an overregulated, drug-infested cesspool.

Hippo refused to take the bait, instead focusing on initiatives already yielding some measure of promise. He encouraged the business leaders in attendance to identify other areas of the country where successful projects had been completed, admitting that he had no aversion to borrowing from others.

If Hippo is concerned at all about his ability to lead the city through a difficult period, it didn’t show itself during these meetings. He was a pillar of strength.

He’ll need to be.

For all the bickering that went on regarding the pros and cons of code enforcement, the city’s two greatest threats are still drugs and blight. Anyone who tells you otherwise just isn’t paying attention.

Both issues got their due at the meetings although there seemed to a sense that many of the circumstances that had caused them to become so unmanageable were outside any single person’s direct control. Even a mayor with the best of intentions.

The city’s ability to identify blighted properties and then knock them down seems more attainable than ridding the area of illegal drugs and the corresponding ills that accompany them. In reality, to make inroads into correcting either problem, the missing ingredient is a citizenry fed-up and determined to affect a change.

Where that citizenry has gone is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps it’s succumbed to economic obstacles that make it more difficult to support efforts aimed at higher aesthetic standards or adequate levels of police protection. Or maybe it’s lost its enthusiasm to compete with surrounding municipalities that seem to constantly gain the upper hand in attracting new and better opportunities.

As Wayne Hippo assesses the scope of the challenge that he undertook by pledging to return the City of Altoona to its former glory, his abilities as a motivator will never carry greater importance. Mobilizing the troops for the battles ahead will take skill and acumen. Some of his charges will come reluctantly. He can’t afford to lose even one of them.

Hippo knows that the other side is relentless. They prove that every time a young person dies of a drug overdose or the sounds of stray bullets pierce the quiet of neighborhoods that at one time were considered safe.

It’s time for Altoona – and all of Blair County – to stand up and answer the call. To follow the lead of people like Wayne Hippo.

We just can’t wait any longer.

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