With every respect to the fedora-fancying incumbent Gordon Bradbery and the passionate Hawks fan challenger Tania Brown, Brian Goorjian should be the next Lord Mayor.
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Take the keys to the city, run it how you like, we're all behind you.
A fairytale NBL title would be the greatest sporting achievement the Illawarra has seen but just making the playoffs reaffirms Goorjian's standing in the Wayne Bennett class of coaching achievement.
Of course, the careers of Goorjian and Bennett have been compared over the years, given their success.
Bennett has seven premierships, most recently with St George Illawarra in 2010 and Goorjian six, the last with the defunct South Dragons in 2009.
And while Bennett had to overcome the "chokers" tag - the enormous pressure which came with their years of finals failure - he inherited a talented squad which stayed top-four contenders throughout his time in charge in Wollongong.
By contrast, Goorjian and the new ownership built from the ground up after another dark and disastrous period in Hawks history, where the club plunged into liquidation then had the Illawarra name taken away by the NBL to add further insult.
After a rocky start, Dorry Kordahi and the US connection backing Illawarra have justified their investment and delivered on their promise to build a competitive team.
They boasted the largest outlay on a Hawks squad in history, a seemingly necessary move to have an impact both on the court and in terms of chasing respect and corporate support.
But the most remarkable part is, the playoffs position has been clinched without their biggest signing Deng Adel and the experience of former Chicago NBA big man Cameron Bairstow.
This is Illawarra at its finest. The Hawks do not have to be amongst the glamour clubs, throwing good money after bad on flashy signings. They just need to be stable and sustainable.
They also need to offer something for the community to believe in, which is exactly what Goorjian has done.
Even after the loss to the Kings on Thursday, the players will believe in a plan to take down the might of Melbourne United and Perth, but anything they achieve from here is a bonus for the club and the region.
Goorjian's impact in ending the impasse between the NBL and the campaign to reinstate the Illawarra name should never be underestimated.
His standing, strength of words and ability to cut through a ridiculous situation, where he was coaching the nameless birds trying to take flight again, made the NBL back down.
Now he can dare to dream about matching Bennett by bringing a title to the Illawarra.
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