I've always loved the thought of living downtown in a big city. A real city, more like New York City, less like Atlanta -- which I've always thought of as a loose collection of suburbs. One of the things I like about Chattanooga is that the leadership here has a vision for a vibrant downtown. Recently the city released the Chattanooga 2025 plan, an ambitious plan for the continued development of the downtown sector, which has been responded to eloquently by local businessman Tim Kelly. Kelly argued that the 2025 plan has a "disdain for automobiles" that, if left unchecked, could end up hurting downtown businesses more than it would help them. His arguments are well-informed, well-reasoned, and a perfect mixture of common sense, realism and idealism.

Unlike some opinion writers, Kelly doesn't underestimate the importance of downtown. Every time there's a big proposal for downtown Chattanooga, there are some naysayers who sound like they'd be happier if the entire region was nothing but strip malls, fast food restaurants, and cookie-cutter subdivisions. What I'd really like to know, as the Mayoral election approaches, is which of the candidates has a balanced vision for downtown as well as the rest of the city. Whether you live downtown, in North Chattanooga, in St. Elmo (as do a lot of Chattabloggers), or in East Brainerd, as I do, we all face issues related to continuing development. How the mayoral candidates approach these issues will have an impact on who earns my vote this year.