When asked Monday if she would be a candidate for mayor next year, Common Council President Andrea Shaut demurely replied, “It’s too early.” Tuesday morning, she announced her candidacy via a press release.

Shaut is either the fastest study in modern history of government, or she had been working on this campaign long before outgoing mayor Steve Noble announced he would not seek another term last Friday.

Shaut’s boilerplate term paper hit all the boxes, for sure – we must look back with pride but forward with courage (I paraphrase, but not by much). But in too many ways, it sounded like an announcement for re-election that Noble might have made. Essentially, she promised to do everything if elected that Noble has been doing for 11 years. Where’s the beef? Call it Noble-Lite.

Fifth Ward Alderwoman Teryl Mickens joined the campaign, advising that her candidate would hit the ground running (don’t they all?) and warning that the city could not afford a “mayor in training.” Presumably, she was referring to first-out-of-the-chute Alderwoman Michele Hirsch who probably knows more about city issues than any other councilmember, with the possible exception of Shaut.

So far, we have two women vying to be the first woman to be elected mayor. Progressive Alderman Michael Tierney clearly views himself as mayoral timber but needs to clean up his act to be taken seriously. Dropping f-bombs on the mayor was no way to impress people with this young man’s maturity for the job.

There may be a few more adults in this crowded room, but for the long shots, excess is best. In a crowded Democratic mayoral primary, anybody can win with 30 percent.

Candid Camera

At first glance of the letter from City Hall, I thought it might have been the mayor appointing me to the charter revision commission I had requested months ago. Obviously, Hizzoner has bigger fish to fry these days.

The enclosed notice advised that I had been charged with driving at 26 mph in a 15 mph school zone and fined $50. I’m pretty careful about these things, so I thought maybe there had been some mistake.

The proof was irrefutable. There was a photo of my car, headed down Delaware Avenue near the entrance of JFK Elementary at 9:09 a.m. on a sunny morning. And if I thought it might have been another snazzy white convertible, a blown-up photo of my plate was featured beneath the car image.

Guilty, your honor.

I suppose I could have pleaded that the intersection at the end of a long, steep hill was a classic speed trap and that the school itself was at least 100 yards removed from the main road, but it would have been futile. When these pole-mounted cameras catch a speeder, their goose is cooked.

In days of yore, a cop might give a motorist a break, or one could petition the city Traffic Violations Bureau. Not anymore. These tickets go straight from the camera on the pole to a faceless processing center in Atlanta, Ga.

After an initial surge in the spring before drivers have become accustomed to school speed zones, it looked like the city might potentially net upwards of a million dollars a year from the cameras. Things have calmed down to the point where half that amount is anticipated in the coming year, still a very nice large infusion of fresh, collected cash. Under their agreement with the provider, the city nets 30 percent of all tickets.

This idea of school speed zone cameras was based on child safety, kind of like with medical marijuana, as well as constant complaints of speeding from city residents. But while pedestrians and bikers get hit by vehicles all too often, such accidents near schools, with their crossing guards are, thankfully, all too rare.

Still, drivers need to be alert, very alert when approaching those yellow flashing lights that indicate they are approaching a school zone. Punishment will be swift and sure, for sure.

My advice, which I did not follow in this instance, is to avoid school zones altogether, including the high school on Broadway. The inconvenience and the few moments lost are more than worth it and kids will be even safer.

Note: The passing of former county legislator and fire commissioner Katheen Quick, wife of former mayor Don Quick, reminded me of a story about tickets.

Quick, who had been an alderman for more than a decade, was elected to the first of two terms in 1971. A regular guy, “Quickie,” as friends called him, was the most informal of mayors. A soft touch with favors, he was once accused of hiring cronies for city jobs.

“What do you expect me to do,” he responded, “hire my enemies?”

Apparently, the new mayor thought invalidating parking tickets was another perk of his office. Routinely, at least for a while, he would write “OK, DEQ” on tickets friends would present him.

Revealed by a disgruntled denizen of City Hall, it made for a few good news stories. Afterward an embarrassed mayor would simply pay the fines (just a few bucks) himself.

I thought about Quickie when I read Kay’s obituary in the Freeman this week. Our condolences to their family.