I was a little surprised when I caught a glimpse of New London Mayor Daryl Finizio having lunch in a downtown restaurant last week.

I had pictured him holed up in his City Hall office instead, rolled over in the fetal position, maybe even sucking his thumb.

After all, last week was an exceptionally bad one for someone running for re-election as mayor of New London.

Most obvious was the still-smoking report by an attorney hired by the city to determine whether there is just cause to fire the police chief, one of the many heavy weights hanging around the mayor's neck these days.

The report, of course, shredded each and every one of the mayor's 10 proposed causes for firing the chief. The report not only exonerated the chief, it more or less indicted the mayor for bad management, meddling in police business and taking the side of union officials in negotiations, at the expense of city taxpayers.

I am not a lawyer, but the report made me think of the advice often given to fresh attorneys: Never put a witness on the stand if you don't know what they are going to say.

In this case, the mayor, a lawyer, recommended hiring someone, the investigator, who essentially became sole judge and jury on the issues of firing the chief, a loose cannon, before he even got to put anyone on the stand.

Connecticut law Sec. 7-278 indeed puts high hurdles on firing a police chief, requiring notice in writing of the grounds for firing, a hearing for the fired chief and a route for the chief to appeal to Superior Court.

Finizio totally flunked the firing test, when the investigator he strangely recommended hiring gave him a big public raspberry, a score of 0 for 10 on his reasons for wanting to fire the chief.

The ball, now seemingly attached to a big golden settlement package, fell squarely into the lap of the chief and her lawyer, thanks to the way the mayor has bungled the whole thing.

Remember, this is a chief, now in the litigation driver's seat, with all the lights and sirens on, who has been on paid leave since last summer, thanks to Mayor Finizio's absent management skills.

Still, I don't think the report on the chief was the worst news for the mayor last week.

If I were him I would have been much more worried by the big showing of city property and business owners who packed City Council chambers last week to protest the proposed 12 percent tax increase in the mayor's budget.

(It kind of makes me chuckle, every time I write that a Connecticut mayor is proposing an incredible 12 percent tax increase the same year he is running for re-election.)

The protest was memorable for its size and makeup. On hand were many longtime New London businesspeople, among those whom the mayor has tagged "the old guard."

Many who turned out to say no more new taxes are the people who were keeping the lights on all those dark years in downtown New London.

That same night, one of the mayor's allies on the council said, in commenting on the police firing report, that it was another nail in the mayor's coffin. Ouch. Another defection. The coffin lid is getting pretty snug.

It makes you wonder the level of support left in the mayor's camp, as he battles for the Democratic nomination in a city where you can already see a lot of significant opposition within his own party.

Can he pull off a victory principally with the support of residents who don't pay taxes — people not likely inclined to vote in an off-year election anyway— and unions that include many members who don't live in the city? Hard to imagine.

The mayor's first elected municipal leadership role was a place on the Westerly Town Council. He was elected as a Republican and took office in 2006 but resigned before his term was up.

New London knows the mayor's inclination to throw in the towel from his surprise announcement during his budget address last April that he would not seek re-election.

Of course, as we all know, he reversed course and announced a new campaign.

Would it surprise anyone if he changed his mind again?

At this point, who could blame him?

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: @DavidCollinsct