Greeting Cad

Mayor's holiday humor raises ire

Comments (0) By Robrt L. Pela Thursday, Feb 13 2003

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NT: The Human Relations Commission is not the PC Police.

Berman: We've had some issues in Gilbert. We're known for our legendary white supremacist gang, the Devil Dogs. Like most gang members, they never did get the rules about how to be a white supremacist gang straight, because one of their members was black, and all they ever beat up was white people. One guy they beat up was Mormon!

Kevin Scanlon

No hot air here: Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman is neither small nor stupid.

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NT: And people here are concerned that your Christmas card will make them look backwards!

Berman: I think it did just the opposite. After our being stigmatized by things like our racist reputation and our white supremacist gangs, I think my Christmas card makes us look more progressive.

NT: There's a note on the back of the card that explains that it wasn't paid for with tax dollars.

Berman: Well, when you win an election, you beat people. Some people are gracious about losing, and others wait to get back at you. There are some people in this town who don't like me. In politics, friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. It's not unheard of here for people to use tax dollars for personal gain, so I just wanted to make sure people understood that I paid for this project myself.

NT: Do you think there'll be a recall?

Berman: We just had a survey of how well public service employees are doing their jobs, and only 8 percent didn't care for my views. That's not too bad.

NT: This drawing of you on the front of the card isn't a very good likeness.

Berman: Well, he was working from a photograph. It's a caricature. I went to the State Fair trying to get a drawing of me done, but it ended up looking more like Jerry Colangelo than me. What are you gonna do? He was working for free.

NT: What's the mayor of Gilbert doing selling cell phones?

Berman: I've been in cellular since 1984. The mayor's job pays only about $25,000 a year, and that's the good news. Most of the mayors in Arizona have day jobs. And an awful lot of mayors tend to be very stiff. The mayor before last never smiled!

NT: It must have been all the confused white supremacists running around.

Berman: Sheriff Joe asked me if I needed some help getting rid of the Devil Dogs, but I told him no. I said, "We'll just get some of our cowboys together and have us a gang roundup and neutering festival."

NT: Well, that sounds like fun. So what about next year's card?

Berman: I'll try to top this one. I've thought about having people sign a release before they open the card. You know, a lot of people have seen us in the past as a stern, sterile little town. I'd like for Gilbert to be thought of as more lighthearted. I tend to be more colorful than the other mayors, and I have a goofy sense of humor. One thing I'd like to do is show that we can laugh at ourselves, that we don't take ourselves quite so seriously.