Interesting exchange in today’s Dayton Daily News.  Evidently, the DDN alerted Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin about a Cal Thomas column that ridicules Dayton’s leadership, and, so, on the editorial page is the Thomas article along with McClin’s response.

Thomas claims that Dayton contributed to a wish list sent to congress by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and that among its possible requests was for funding for a program to help rehabilitate Dayton prostitutes.

Thomas writes, “Here’s one proposal I especially like: $1.5 million for an initiative in Dayton, Ohio, for the ‘Reduce Prostitution — Off the Streets Program.’ The proposed spending would ‘connect individuals involved in prostitution with resources to leave a life of prostitution.’”

The headline of the article — Cities like Dayton are singing ‘Here comes Santa Claus’ — captures the contempt communicated in Thomas’ writing.

Mayor McLin’s response was headlined “Cal Thomas misses point of city survey,” and starts, “Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas uses a survey distributed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to suggest that cities are irresponsibly seeking assistance from the federal government to help with a variety of community challenges.”

McClin writes that Dayton responded to a survey:  “The survey responses do lay out the host of challenges we face, the efforts we have initiated on our own to deal with those issues, and the associated costs of those efforts. The point of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey, and the corresponding response from cities, is to clearly illustrate the vast problems confronting local communities.”

McLin’s words in her response are so generalized that she fails to enlighten.  McClin never deals directly with Thomas’ charge — that on Dayton’s wish list is a wish to find $1.5 million in funding that would help rehabilitate Dayton’s prostitutes — so the end result is that a reader must assume that Thomas’ charge is true.

McClin’s concludes:  “We do not apologize for identifying the challenges we are up against to provide a high quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors. We only wish there weren’t so many.  Sadly, without an economic stimulus package targeted specifically to help cities, more will be added to the list.”

This is all very good.  Rah Rah Rah, but it doesn’t really say anything.  I read McClin’s response before I read Thomas’s article and I really couldn’t understand by reading McClin what she was writing about.

If Dayton’s leadership has created a list of challenges — and possible price tags for dealing with those challenges — I would like to see the list.  McClin had an opportunity in today’s DDN to share that list and the thinking of Dayton leadership in making that list.  Her failure to use her opportunity to make an effective response is disappointing.  She should have dealt with Thomas’ sarcasm and accusations head on.  Her non-response undermines her leadership because it makes her appear to lack courage to communicate truthfully and completely.

If there is a $1.5 million prostitution rehabilitation project of the list, as Thomas charges, then, when given the opportunity, McClin should have responded, specifically.  I’m thinking there is probably a strong defense for promoting such a project.

Mayor McClin should reconsider her weak response to the contemptuous Cal Thomas article, and, the mayor should try again.