Pontiac voters choose wise path

Congratulations to Pontiac voters!

Not to sound overly patronizing, but they have decided they think democracy is a good idea for their city.

They made excellent choices in choosing nominees for mayor Tuesday. Library Board Chairwoman Deirdre Waterman and incumbent Mayor Leon Jukowski will square off in November.

Both have supported the reforms necessary to bring Pontiac back from what has virtually been a bankruptcy, though the law doesn't define it as such.

That's the good news. The bad news is that between them, Waterman and Jukowski got less than 44 percent of the vote. The rest went to three unqualified candidates who would have led Pontiac back to the sorry financial state from which it has been liberated.

We have seen too often in Michigan where emergency managers come in to cities or school districts to set things aright, just to have them return to the ruins from which they emerged.

New Pontiac officials can succeed where their predecessors failed. They need to follow one simple rule: Don't spend money the city doesn't have.

Not that the word is "simple." No one says it will be easy.