“It’s been said that character is what you do when no one is looking,” Winters wrote. “A lady who lives in my building called me early yesterday morning asking for my help. She had been riding her bike on our boardwalk and while making the U-turn at the West End fell and badly hurt her ankle. I told her I’d be right there. But before I even arrived our City Manager, Jack Schnirman, who had been out jogging, helped her on the spot, personally. He carried her to his car. He took her to the nearby West End urgent care facility, where it was determined that her ankle was badly broken. I’d expect a public figure to just call the police or ambulance or have someone else call and just move on.”

Winters confirmed the incident, and told the Herald that the woman is doing OK, but declined to give her name. She did not return a call seeking comment.

“No cameras were rolling, not even mine,” Winters wrote on his blog. “No reporters took notes, no one even knew who he was, so there was no positive political advantage to be gained by this action. He even put her bike in his car for safekeeping. I later went to City Hall to retrieve the bike. As we walked to his car, I expressed my appreciation for his going out of his way personally. He said he just did what any other person would do.”

Schnirman, who was appointed city manager in 2012, said he tries to go for a run every day before work. He said he hasn’t heard from the woman, but added, “Hopefully she’s OK.”

“We quickly note when public figures disappoint us,” Winters wrote. “I think it’s important to also note the positive things they do when they think no one is watching. It’s events like this that reveal the character within.”