So how can a city government that cannot keep track of the money it taxes and spends, cannot meet the most basic requirements of financial management, cannot fill the potholes, cannot send out bills, cannot issue timely permits — how can a locality marked by such regular and predictable ineptitude ever hope to address its deepest failings or lend a helping hand to its neediest citizens? It cannot, of course.

Despite the complexity of the problems, the test for choosing our next mayor is actually quite simple: Who possesses the skills and experience to transform the city into a competent, functioning municipality that can meet the basic needs of its citizens and respect the integrity of the money it collects from them? Who has the strength and will to reform the city’s bureaucracy into one that works?

The answer is clear: Jack Berry.