Lessons from a Departed Council Member

While the late Dr. John N. Crawford may not have been well known around the state, he was one of the most respected and consequential public servants in the Fort Wayne area over the past 30 years. And we can all learn lessons from how he lived his life.

His sudden death from a heart attack on July 17 at age 73 while playing tennis was a shock for all who knew him, and a real loss to the community. In addition to being a very successful radiation oncologist, John served five terms on the Fort Wayne City Council and was active on a number of civic boards. 

Crawford’s career in politics teaches some lessons applicable to other candidates and community activists:

Get Involved and Stay Involved

I first heard about John when I was running for mayor of Fort Wayne in 1987. He sent me a contribution and wrote me a letter expressing interest in some issues I had raised about governmental consolidation. We eventually met, and I learned what this native of New Orleans had been doing in the medical field and how he wanted to do more to serve the public. I encouraged him to consider a run for public office. Four years later he ran for city council at-large, but was unsuccessful. Rather than let this discourage him, he ran again in 1995 and won a close race for the same position. He went on to be re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2011, and 2015. He was planning another run in 2023. If we want our system of government to work, we need more people, from all walks of life, to get involved in the political process.

Learn From Defeats

After his first political loss in 1991, John attended campaign schools and analyzed what could have been done better. Realizing that his “doctor persona” and analytical approach may have been a bit imposing to some voters, he changed his advertising to become more humorous (claiming an “endorsement” from Elvis and then tracking him down for a news story, for example) and self-deprecatory. He named his very young son, Grant, as his campaign chairman. Similarly, John would find ways to keep advancing issues that were important to him, such as smoking-bans in workplaces and restaurants, even after early setbacks, by studying what had and hadn’t worked. While his push for a smoking ban and other contentious issues contributed to his defeat for council in 2007, he came back with wins in 2011 and 2015 before losing in the primary for mayor in 2019. He never strayed from his principles, but realized that there were always lessons that could be learned from setbacks. Too many first time candidates give up after a loss, rather than learning from the experience and working harder at connecting with the voters in the future. Too many elected don’t learn how to get a majority behind their proposals. We can all learn, as John did, to treat losses as temporary setbacks to be studied and work to be more successful the next time.

Base Decisions on Facts and Data

John’s background in medicine and the sciences helped him develop a fact-based approach to political issues as well. He looked at the significant costs to public health of second-hand smoke and argued successfully that this justified greater governmental regulation of private sector businesses. When the data failed to show any solid long-term benefits from anti-drug efforts like the D.A.R.E. program, he pushed to cut that from the city budget. Economic development efforts had to show a solid cost-benefit approach before John gave his support. Even if he had supported or opposed something on general philosophical or partisan grounds, if the facts and data showed that he was wrong, he was not afraid to change his views. He was willing to admit making mistakes, too. Early in John’s first term on council, he raised some long-term concerns about the costs of some program and felt it would become unsustainable. When we pointed out some specific factor that he had not taken into account he dropped his opposition. We need more elected officials who will look at facts and data and adjust their positions to reflect reality. Too many take the easy way out of just arguing a popular political theory or adopting a partisan political talking point rather than really trying to see what works, and what doesn’t, and proceeding accordingly.

Dr. John Crawford was an exemplary public servant. We need more like him.