Multimedia Reporting (Bradford-Utsler)

By Bart Vandever

Dennis “Boog” Hiberger is a lanky man with shaggy, gray hair and a beard. He lives in a cooperative house in Lawrence’s student section, which now occupies Brenda Frankenfeld, her husband, Mike McKinney, and their three children, Oliver, Strully, and Cyprus, who were each born in the house with Brenda serving as the midwife. Today, Boog is sitting at a small desk in his study wearing a black suit. Behind him, books, debris, and fan mail from his yearlong term as city mayor, are stacked to the ceiling. Boog is soft-spoken and unassuming, conducting himself more like an artist than a politician.

Boog in his bedroom study. He has lived in a cooperative homes for most of his time in Lawrence.

When Boog’s term as mayor ended on April 4 of this year, he was well aware of his many supporters and detractors, some of which criticized him in online chat rooms and blogs. In an April poll conducted online by Channel 6 Lawrence, 55 percent of the 1,054 people polled said Boog had done a job that was “below average” or worse in his past year as mayor. Boog however, characterized such online polls as “unscientific,” and added, “If you’re a public official, you’re going to get negative comments, that’s just part of the territory.”

To his critics Boog chuckles, saying, “People talk about politicians as being in it all for themselves, but if I was in it all for myself, I would have quit this thing a long time ago.” Boog calculated that at $10,000 a year, and a 30-hour workweek, he earned a dollar over minimum wage during his time as mayor. And although, he currently gets paid just $9,000 for his job as city commissioner, he takes this in stride, saying, “as long as I have constitutes that are being paid minimum wage, I can’t complain about getting paid more than that. In fact, we’re among the higher paid commissioners in the state.”

Dan Kozak's rommates. Brenda Frankenfeld (center), Strully (left), and Cyprus (right).

In addition to his job as city commissioner, Boog spends his days as a lawyer for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “Although I’ve never held a full time job, I’m always working way more than full time.” One of his best-known achievements prior to becoming mayor was his creation of the short-lived, but popular REAL dollars program in 2000, featuring bills with faces of well-known Lawrence residents like William S. Burroughs on them. The Lawrence-specific currency was redeemable at dozens of businesses across town.

On the subject of Lawrence politics, Boog speaks with a hushed and well-thought out drawl, choosing his words carefully. “Lawrence is famous for having a very educated and opinionated population, and it makes things take longer sometimes, and it makes things more stressful sometimes, but…I think we make much better decisions because of it.” “I really like how Lawrence is still the size where local, elected, officials are easily accessible.”

Boog has an extensive collection of fan mail from his time as mayor.

“I’ve always felt that I need to give something back. So many people have helped me get to where I am.” At 15, Boog had a serious accident when playing with his friends in the snow, and for two months he was paralyzed. He eventually regained motion and limited walking ability, and he then came to KU at the conclusion of his high school career in 1977. In 1984, he became the student body vice-president of his class. “We were sort of outsiders at that time…I certainly didn’t think I was one of those student government people that would actually end up in politics.”

Owen, a yellow cat jumps across the floor, and on to the windowsill to look out at the back yard garden, the shed, and a small pond filled with goldfish. “For the record, that is Owen…She had kittens yesterday. This is the first time I’ve seen her running around,” Boog says flashing his toothy smile. During the interview, it becomes clear that Boog feels more passion in discussing things like the Dadaism art movement of the 1920s than any negative ink he might have received in the press. “Some people criticize politicians…but I don’t feel like a “politician.” In fact, the event that gained Boog the most attention in the press came in December of 2005, when he declared the International Dadaism month, which called for the celebration of the absurd. In true Dada fashion, he spread the dates of the month not in sequential order, but randomly, throughout the year. “Dada’s based on a lot of chance and randomness. It’s a very playful world view, and I’ve been drawn to it for quite a while.”

Currently, Boog is considering running for mayor again in 2007, and he hopes to see some of his plans, like the development of the South Lawrence Traffic Way fully realized. “I hope I’ve done a good job…but, like I said, it’s always hard for me to tell…I guess if I run again, I’ll find out if I’ve done a good job or not.”

LINKS:

Boog's contact information as city commissioner
KUJH TV's story on Boog's background
Dadaism month