Who is the ideal candidate for mayor?

With filing coming up in a couple of months for the local municipal elections, and with open races anticipated for the Blytheville and Gosnell mayoral positions, it's worth a look at the type of qualities needed in the ideal mayor.

In the coming weeks, topics such as road conditions, police protection, job creation, grant applications and recreational facilities are sure to dominate the discussion when it comes to picking a new mayor. And well they should. But the success any candidate will have tackling those issues will be directly related to the skills and experience he or she brings to the table.

So what skills should mayoral candidates bring to the table? Here's a few I would like to see:

— The ideal mayor should have experience in a government setting. Whether it's a city council, a school board or a state legislature, government doesn't always work like the real world. There's a host of regulations and red tape, and there's almost always a political component to everything you do. A mayor's success will be linked to his or her ability to understand these intricacies.

— The ideal mayor should have experience in the private sector. Running a city is a lot like running a business. There's income and expenses that must be balanced. There's personnel issues that must be properly handled. There are deadlines and commitments that must be met. Any candidate who has worked in the private sector with any degree of success has a leg up on his or her rivals.

— The ideal mayor should be smart. One need not necessarily be a rocket scientist or a Nobel laureate, but a mayor's got to have some street smarts and a lot of common sense. He or she must be able to process information and make logical decisions. Citizens deserve to have the best and brightest the community has to offer serving in leadership positions — mayors should never be likable folks who just couldn't make it in the "real world."

— The ideal mayor must be a uniter. We live in a diverse community. We are black. We are white. We are rich. We are poor. We are old. We are young. We are of all levels of education. We need a mayor who can connect with everyone and build strong coalitions. The various candidates considered to be candidates for mayor all have their own constituencies which will follow them loyally. But that's not enough. To be a successful mayor, one must be able to reach out to different groups of citizens, and unite them behind a common cause.

— The ideal mayor must be a good ambassador for the community. Whoever is elected will be called upon to represent the city in any of a number of public settings. Sometimes the only impression an outsider to the community will get will be from the mayor. We need someone who will represent the community well.

— The ideal mayor must be honest. It sounds like a no-brainer, but anyone who has followed the news knows that many communities have struggled with this. The mayor must be absolutely steadfast in following the law, and in conducting city business in an open and ethical manner. The needs of the citizenry must outweigh the seduction of cronyism.

— The ideal mayor must know the community. One need not be a lifelong resident, but anyone running for mayor ought to have lived here long enough to know the Rotary Club from the Boys and Girls Club. They've got to have an understanding of the area's history — its successes, and its failures. After all, those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.

— The ideal candidate will have spent part of his or her adult life living outside Mississippi County. Seeing how different communities have operated in different places can provide a mayor invaluable perspective in finding new approaches to old problems.

— The ideal mayor will be a good organizer. He or she must be able to effectively maintain the vast amount of information needed to keep the city running. We need a mayor who can keep the i's dotted and the t's crossed. The mayor must be able to delegate authority.

— The ideal mayor will be a visionary. It's not enough to know where we've been or where we are. The mayor must be someone who can see where we need to go — and figure out a way to get there.

Do any of the candidates running for mayor meet all these qualities? Probably not. But some of the candidates possess some of these characteristics. The trick for voters will be determining which candidates bring the most to the table, and making the informed pick on election day.