He’s no Robert Moses, but who is?

A little over a year ago I prepared to take the Columbia University Journalism School entrance exam. It’s among the best graduate j-schools in the country, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to apply.

I wanted to prepare as best I could for a Columbia education, so I called a professor there for reading suggestions. He said I should read Robert Caro’s “The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York.”

Robert Moses was New York City’s city planner who designed the current modern New York City. While I only read between a quarter and a half of the text’s 1344 pages, I took away the fact that Moses was a very effective city planner.

But apparently Omaha’s own city planner, or rather “planning director,” doesn’t have Moses’ gravitas.

The Omaha World-Herald reported today Rick Cunningham, Mayor Suttle’s appointee for planning director, may not meet the city charter’s requirements for the position:

The city charter specifies that the planning director must have at least five years of experience in a “city planning post.”

Suttle's incoming planning director, Rick Cunningham, has a resume that reflects extensive experience in the private sector and as a government consultant focusing in the areas of engineering and architecture. But he has not worked as a city planning employee for a municipality.

The Mayor's Office says Cunningham, who worked with Suttle at consulting firm HDR Inc., is qualified for the position.

Cunningham’s experience is impressive, though it may not meet charter requirements.

But this seems odd from a man who on two occasions called for the most experienced person to get the city out of financial trouble. As we mentioned yesterday, he said the city was having a heart attack and we need a heart surgeon.