O'Brien assumes position with Jacobs campaign

Pat O'Brien, former candidate for Moline mayor, is now in a top position on the state senatorial campaign of Sen. Mike Jacobs.

At first blush, this seems a surprising development, as there has been some rather nasty fall-out between the two camps in the aftermath of the mayoral election which saw Republican Don Welvaert prevail.

But thinking about it a bit further reveals that this may be a good match for both men. Various sources make note that there are plusses to this arrangment.

O'Brien is justly known for his hard work ethic and doing the tough and unglamorous work which is an important part of any campaign, while Jacobs has a reputation for rarely getting his hands dirty with such things. This should be a good balance.

Jacobs is seen by some as having shaky labor support, and O'Brien has solid labor credentials and connections and can only be an asset in that respect.

With the addition of O'Brien, Jacobs may benefit from O'Brien's strength in Moline, challenging opponent Paul Rumler on his own home turf.

And finally and most hopefully, it's long been clear that Jacobs behavior has been crying out for some sort of intervention. Countless observers have openly wondered why there was no one around to give young Mike the hook and yank him away from activities which only damanged himself and increased doubts in many minds. There was speculation as to whether Jacobs would blow himself up before he even got to the starting line of his first election as candidate.

O'Brien is level-headed, and while passionate and committed, doesn't possess a penchant for loopy pronouncements or frantic explosions of ill-conceived invective.

It's also good to see Pat back in the game and in a position to demonstrate to others what he has to offer.

It remains to be seen whether Jacobs will begin to be open to advise, but O'Brien's influence, if it's accepted, can only be positive in my view.

How do you view this development?