Third Degree with former City Manager Jon Nelson

by Courtney Clenney

If you could be any inanimate object, what would you be? Why?

I think I’d be a mountain, that way you could have a good perspective on the world.

What would your death row meal consist of?

Oh, I’d have to go with steak and potatoes, asparagus. Have to have some toast, good salad. German Chocolate cake. I like my steak Medium, my wife likes it Medium Well, so always have to get it off the grill to meet everyone’s expectations.

Would you rather have the power of flight or invisibility?

Power of flight. Yeah, even when you’re invisible you’re not really invisible. You’ve got a byproduct whether people see you or not.

If you were a bar drink what drink would you be?

Well, I’d have to go with a beer. Lager probably. Nice cold lager on a hot afternoon.

If you could spend the day with one historical figure who would it be? Why?

Honest Abe- There’s a wonderful book…by Dorris Kerns Goodwyn and it’s called Team of Rivals and it’s about Abraham Lincoln as the president and how he took a cabinet that had a lot of divisiveness and people that just didn’t like each other and through strength of personality and persistence and leadership accomplish what needed to be accomplished for the country.

If you had to spend one million dollars in a completely frivolous and selfish manner, how would you blow it?

I’d set up a dummy corporation that made it seem like it was frivolous but that actually did good works…I’m all for hedonism but a million dollars seems a bit large for me.

What is a personal cure when you get nervous?

A couple of things, you tell yourself not to worry about what people think of ya, because most people don’t think about you at all. And you tell yourself that they can’t take your family and your faith away from you and so what happens, happens.

What is a personal cure when you get sad?

I would say, you need to go do something, preferably with a friend, so walking with Priscilla (Nelson’s wife), going to a movie…something to get your mind off of what’s making you sad or depressed so you can reconnect that there’s a bigger world out there than that little focus of your brain.

Where do we go when we die?

Oh, I would say we go to heaven.

Favorite Beatle’s song?

Hey Jude, I really like that but there’s kind of a melancholy [feel] but we’ll go with Hey Jude.

Favorite article of clothing?

I can say that I’m not a clothes horse. I guess a shirt. I don’t have a favorite, sorry.

One luxury item you cannot live without?

(After me noting that I can’t live without my mascara, Nelson joked he couldn’t live without a hair comb.) I do enjoy my morning coffee, my morning coffee and newspaper are important to me.

If aliens landed and asked you to go with them, would you?

Yeah.

Have you ever seen a ghost?

Nope.

If you had to give up one sense (sight, taste, hearing, touch, smell) what would it be? Why?

Oh I’d give up hearing. All the others are more intimate, more fulfilling. I’ve heard enough in my life (chuckle).

Karaoke song of choice?

Lousy at karaoke, don’t really have one.

Favorite Painter?

Harvey Dunn, I grew up on the Dakotas and he was a painter that did some nice pieces on the plains.

What is more annoying, whistling or humming?

I do both, but I try not to do it around other people and irritate them. I would say whistling is, it’s more disruptive.

Favorite Movie?

Oh gee, that is really, really hard. I’m 55 I’ve been to so many different movies over the years. And I’m trying to think about the ones that wow, you know that first Godfather was like that. I really enjoyed Chariots of Fire, but my little brother walked out of that movie.

Favorite Anatomical feature of the opposite or same sex?

Priscilla.

What is your earliest memory?

Falling in a river. I had my parent pluck me out. I suppose why you remember it is the hullaballoo getting a little kid out of the river and I’m sure it was probably up to my ankles at the time.

What do you drink when you are thirsty?

Coffee in the morning and then a cup of tea in the afternoon. I drink more water than I do diet coke. I’m already on record as saying I like a cold beer and a nice glass of pinot is good too.

Favorite holiday? Why?

I like that stretch between Christmas and New Year’s just because it’s good family time, the kids are home.

What has been the most defining moment of your life to date?

Marriage and family

Favorite Book?

I did enjoy the Stieg Larson trilogy recently, that was fun…I went through those pretty quickly, they were hard to put down.

Favorite Disney Character?

I always liked the interaction between the Road Runner and Wylie Coyote, that always tickled me.

If you knew you only had 24 hours to live, how you spend your final day?

With family, go to the beach or go on a hike.

What question aren’t people asked enough?

Really, truly what are your motivations? In city government, there’s usually, obviously motivations for people.

Please answer that question?

Well for me in my career, I went down a path of either getting a law degree or an MBA, or wanting to…you’re a trickster, that’s a tricky question…whether to try to find an occupation where I could feel I was giving to a greater good than my bottom line and I’m not saying that an attorney or somebody with an MBA doesn’t also do that, cuz they do. I think I wanted to do something in public service because it made me feel like I was giving something to the greater good that would help others into the future.

Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?

Oh, you’ve gotta live. It’s better to love and lose. Life is not a spectator sport.

Is it better to be lucky or skilled?

Skilled, because that has a connotation of dedication and hard work, verses happenstance.

Is there a God?

Yeah!