For five years as state auditor and, before that, eight years as state treasurer, Tim Berry largely stayed out of the partisan fray over state political and governance issues, focusing on his duties and rarely spinning financial numbers in either party’s favor.

So it was surprising to see the Republican and former Allen County treasurer stumping last week for mayoral candidate Paula Hughes.

With Hughes and incumbent Democratic Mayor Tom Henry at odds over the extent of the city’s indebtedness, Berry apparently was on hand – as state auditor – to lend credibility to Hughes’ take on city finances.

“Paula Hughes has a record of putting taxpayers first,” Berry said. “She voted to reduce the 2007 property tax levy, voted against Tom Henry’s push to increase the wheel tax, and even proposed a direct property tax rebate as president of County Council in 2010.”

As far as the 2007 property tax reduction, it depends on your definition of “reduce.” Hughes did indeed vote to cut $100,000 from the proposed budget, a budget that even with that $100,000 cut, increased property taxes by $1.7 million.

To say the levy was reduced is misleading.

As far as “Henry’s push to increase the wheel tax,” the mayor supported the increase. But it was Hughes’ fellow County Council members who initiated and adopted the increase, resolving a county government-sparked standoff when the county commissioners made the unprecedented threat to stop taking care of bridges within the city limits.

Dissing the clerk

Under state law, the city clerk serves as secretary of the City Council and, as such, works with the council members regularly. It’s not unusual for council members to back their party’s nominee for the clerk’s office with financial support and endorsements, but it’s rare for a council member to attack publicly the incumbent clerk.

After City Clerk Sandra Kennedy announced she was moving the council toward paperless minutes and equipping council members with iPads, Harper credited the move not to Kennedy, 74, but her 22-year-old Republican opponent, Zach Bonahoom.

“In a clerk’s office that has difficulties creating PDFs, I doubt we ever would have seen such an innovative proposal were Zach Bonahoom not running for clerk,” Harper said, according to a statement on Bonahoom’s website.

Crawford and Elvis

One of the more attention-getting strategies this year is former City Councilman John Crawford’s decision to revive his mid-1990s commercial featuring an Elvis impersonator and former Fort Wayne broadcast journalist Liz Berry Schatzlein. The humorous spot offers a contrast with the take-no-prisoners mayoral campaign.

Crawford may need the attention; many political observers believe the at-large council incumbents seeking re-election – John Shoaff and Marty Bender – will win, putting Crawford in a close race with fellow Republican Tom Freistroffer for the third seat.