For Dick Greco, it was like old times. Put it on schmooze control and keep it topical and conversationally affable. The actual occasion: His new gig as host of the weekly News Hour with Dick Greco that airs Mondays at noon on AM 820 News. Co-hosted by producer Dan Maduri, the News Hour broadcasts from Malio’s Prime Steakhouse.
This week’s debut show with Mayor Bob Buckhorn as guest went well. Mayor Bob is a wonk on details but not so wonkish in talking about them. He’s good copy, as they say. He was the ideal “get” for Greco, Tampa’s four-time mayor who was edged by Buckhorn in last year’s mayor’s race. Respect was apparent, continuity underscored.
How, well, refreshingly civil in an era when anything political is typically steeped in ratings-driven conflict. Where high-decibel, interrupted conversation is the communicative norm. Where partisan talk-radio and cable-TV hucksters and yammer-meisters dominate the spectrum.
“Politics is just so negative today,” pointed out Greco. “It’s so angry. So divisive. Nobody’s explaining things. It’s who looks best by making the other guy look bad. No wonder people hate the word ‘politics.’ No wonder we have 20 per cent turnouts for municipal elections. We need more civil forums. We don’t need any more ‘chicken coops’ with people yelling over each other. Hopefully, this can help.”
For Greco, the News Hour is really an extension of the folksy Mayor’s Hour television show that he and co-host Jack Harris debuted in the ’90s. Greco wants the radio iteration to be high interest but low key. And no call-ins to interrupt the conversational flow or introduce unwanted dynamics. He can wax casual and wing it because he’s been there, done that. More than once. Especially with Buckhorn, who grabbed the lion’s share of air time.
“Bob was great,” said Greco. “It was normal for me. I enjoyed it. It was also a way of saying: ‘See, the system works.'”
For his part, Mayor Bob ranged from the personal to the political. Some outtakes:
* “Thank you for the advice that ‘this job will eat you up if you’re not careful.’ I’m a father first and a mayor second.”
* “We’re looking at another $35-million (budget) hole. But you can’t cut your way out. You can’t get blood out of a turnip. You have to grow your way out of it (deficit).”
* “This (Republican National Convention) is not a political event to me. This is an economic development opportunity…And the pictures shown to the entire world are the pictures we want shown. And the message conveyed is the message we want.”
* “It (master plan for downtown) will be the blueprint for our future for the next 25 years…We’re looking to change the culture with new software programs. Streamlining the permitting process. Developers want predictability.”
* “You can’t force the marketplace. But you can help set the table.”
* “This restoration (of the old federal courthouse into a boutique hotel) will breathe new life into downtown. They’re (Tampa Hotel Partners LLC) not asking the city for virtually anything–probably a very long-term lease.”
* “The CAMLS (USF’s downtown Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation) project is going to generate 30,000 room nights per year.”
* “As for (St. Petersburg) Mayor (Bill) Foster, we have far more that we have in agreement than disagreement; 99.9 per cent of things we interact on, we’re in lockstep. As for the Rays, they’re a regional entity. I will give my best effort to see that they stay here, wherever here is.”
* “The political process has been denigrated to the point where you’re not getting the best and brightest…It can be a rough, rough business. But, you know, the really good ones don’t care. It’s a true calling to do good. The greater good outweighs the short-term pain.”
* “What would keep me up at night? Hurricanes. You can’t control it. And the convention. Ways to expose the city in a positive way.”
* “The (strip club) ‘six-foot rule’ took on a life of its own. It was about quality-of-life crimes and issues. I wasn’t born in a boy scout uniform–but Tampa is so much better than that. I would do it again.”
So what does Greco do for an encore? Next up is African-American attorney Warren Dawson to discuss themes appropriate for Martin Luther King day, followed by St. Pete Mayor Foster and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Former Gov. Charlie Crist is likely on deck. And don’t be surprised if President Barack Obama and the Republican presidential nominee make the Malio’s scene in 2012. A Tampa political icon and I-4 media exposure in the nation’s pre-eminent battleground state? Hardly a long shot.
Greco says he won’t shy away from those associated with controversial issues, but only if they understand the rules of engagement.
“I said during the campaign that I was neither liberal nor conservative–but ‘reasonable,'” stressed Greco. “We have enough negativity. You could pave the streets with gold, and somebody would say they don’t like the glare. Well, good things are happening too. Let’s talk.”