I had lunch with the mayor of a major city yesterday. He is a democrat. He is also innovative, charming and erudite.

He said he targeted getting big companies into his city because he believed they could be generous donors to worthwhile causes and charities.

“Mayor,” I said, “that sounds like a Republican sentiment.”

“That’s why my party calls me a bad Democrat,” he replied with a grin.

When it is good to be bad? This is an example. In the current two party political spectrum bad democrats and bad republicans often end up as centrists, or social liberals and fiscal conservatives or visa versa.

Frankly, I like these mold-breaking departures. I’m tired of both parties, and I belong to one of ’em.

In leadership, it is easy to fall into a category that can trap you as well as define you. The Mayor is, in my opinion, an excellent leader because he refuses to let that happen. He is also a world-class consensus builder who has brought people of different views and beliefs together to do great things for the community.

Too bad he isn’t running for president.