No question it's been suggested a few dozen times -- at a minimum.

But today, Mayor Mark Funkhouser's chief of staff said the mayor had hired a political adviser.

The lucky guy? Mark Siettmann who most recently worked at Axiom Strategies, GOP political consultant Jeff Roe's shop.

Siettmann starts Thursday. He's on a six-month contract at $5,000 a month. And yes, he'll work at City Hall.

What on earth has taken so long to get a person like this?

"Better now than never," chief of staff said Kendrick Blackwood.

"Even critics said need somebody with a little more political acumen. We believe he will bring this to the table."