The new mayor of Scranton is soliciting ideas for a new city flag.
Let's back up a bit.
A mayor will be judged on safe streets, efficient firefighting, timely trash collection, nice parks and filled pot holes. Financial solvency is also a plus. Scranton is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and it's been that way for a while. It is a problem inherited by the new mayor. It's none of her doing, but it's now on her plate.
A flag isn't high on the list.
As I have noted here before, it's also a mayor's job to get citizens feeling good about themselves and their city. Scranton's Jim McNulty was the best I ever saw-- master showman, fantastic promoter. He thought big, and that is a rare commodity around here.
There is nothing wrong with the old flag. A new one might be the first step toward a new image, and a symbol of new thinking. It just seems to me there are other problems that need to be tackled first. It's like slapping a fresh coat of paint on a house with a crumbling foundation.