SONDERMANN | Hypocrisy, thy name is Michael Hancock | Focus on Denver

“Stupogance.”

Or, if you prefer, “arropidity.”

In either case, it is a mash-up of “stupidity” and “arrogance.” Both are words, among others, to describe Mayor Michael Hancock’s inexplicable, hypocritical (two more apt words) decision to violate everything he had preached for weeks and indulge himself with a Thanksgiving trip to be with family in Mississippi.

There are many facets of leadership. But high on any list of such requirements is the correspondence of words to actions.

Leadership involves not just using speech to set forth a policy or course of action, but then setting an example of such conduct. That is doubly true when the message is one of sacrifice amid a frightening spike in the pandemic.

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In one statement and video clip after another in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Hancock had urged Denverites and all Coloradans to stay home for the holiday and to keep gatherings to the immediate household. And, most of all, to abstain from travel.

But, then, without public notice or acknowledgement, he hopped a plane Wednesday morning to fly to Mississippi, via Houston, to join his wife and daughter for the holiday. In an act of notorious bad timing and tone-deafness, his office actually put out a tweet almost simultaneous with Hancock walking down the jetway again prodding all of us “to avoid travel, if you can.”

Did no one in the mayor’s office note the hypocrisy? Did no one anticipate the fallout? Is anyone in his circle capable of standing up and telling the boss when he makes a profoundly wrong turn?

In Hancock’s apology of sorts after his flights and the intense public reaction, he tried to justify the trip by setting up a false dichotomy. He suggested that it was a choice of him flying to be with his wife and daughter; or of the two of them flying home to Denver.

Just no. The third and obvious choice, consistent with Hancock’s multiple pronouncements, was for everyone to simply stay put. (It is a separate question as to why Denver’s First Lady had traveled earlier to Mississippi, but we will leave that be for now.)

In our case, we have a young adult daughter in New York City and son in Philadelphia. Our decision wasn’t about whether we should fly there or have them fly here. No, we listened to our elected leaders and public health officials and followed their entreaties.

Because Denver’s Mayor evidently thinks that he flies by a different set of rules, and that his own words don’t apply to his family, he now joins quite the gallery of COVID hypocrites. In fact, he has a seat at the head of that table.

The motto of this group of phonies is, “Do as we say, not as we do.” In addition to Hancock, other leading members include Gov. Andrew Cuomo who called upon New Yorkers to cancel their holiday gatherings while he planned to dine with his mother and two daughters. Also, the always better-than-thou Gov. Gavin Newsom who cracked down on all manner of social gatherings across California, only to then retreat to the swankiest of restaurants, right in his back yard of Napa, for a $350 per plate dinner with more than a dozen assorted others, all unrelated, maskless and sitting close together for the merriment.

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Given such dubious examples of “leadership” in crisis, maybe we can dispense with some of the think tank navel-gazing seminars exploring why so many citizens have lost faith in their government.

Of course, there is a place at this table reserved as well for Vice President Mike Pence who ostensibly heads a COVID task force, but doesn’t deign to follow its own recommendations on mask-wearing. But at least Pence has the advantage of representing an administration that never pretended to be all that serious about the public health response.

While we are holding leaders to account, a word also needs to be said about Gov. Jared Polis. His management of this crisis has been on target for the most part, both substantively and tonally. But he failed that test on Wednesday by clamming up when asked about Hancock’s travels. This was a time for unequivocal clarity instead of mute party loyalty.

How does Polis rail against Republican county commissioners with their heads in the sand and refusing to enforce public health mandates if he is unwilling to say the obvious with respect to Hancock?

Another crucial component of leadership, especially during circumstances such as we are living through, is moral authority. Hancock may cling to his office for another couple of years while demonstrating the conceit and emptiness of third terms. But the remarkably poor judgment he displayed here makes him the lamest of lame ducks. Who now is going to listen to his lectures of pleadings or advisories?

9News anchor and Twitter champion Kyle Clark put it well when this news broke: “This is the last time Denver needs to hear public health guidance from Mayor Hancock. If the city has a leader who actually follows the advice they give the public, we’ll put them on instead.”

It is neither overly dramatic nor hyperbolic to suggest that some people will die due to Hancock’s atrocious choice. Hopefully, this will not be due to direct exposure. But many people who would otherwise listen to the person fortunate enough to occupy the office of mayor will now tune him out. Understandably so. And, thus, the virus will spread further with all its attendant consequences.

As my wife and I enjoy our Thanksgiving meal at home, by ourselves, as instructed, we hope your Mississippi jaunt was worth it, Mr. Mayor.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Denver Gazette. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann.