Tonight I was at Seattle's Bitter Lake Community Center. It was, more or less, retail politics. The Q & A with the Mayor Mike McGinn was literally and figuratively pedestrian. Northeast Seattle is where the sidewalks end, and open rainwater ditched are more common than sidewalks, and we've noticed.
After 1 hour and 23 minutes of Q & A the mayor was not asked about the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the Tunnel Option, the impending vote on the city council's mechanics of expressing approval, and McGinn did not offer any. It might have helped that media people were not asking the questions, and we are in the "other" Seattle, far, far away from downtown.
At one point I could see how somebody could actually vote for him, but it was a fleeting moment, temporary, like the temporary break from Tunnel talk for much more simple topics, actual needs.
On July 1st the city will start putting a mechanical boot on vehicles that have 4 or more outstanding parking tickets. That is a great idea, unless you live in your car, with your kids, and that is your home. When staffers that leave to work on campaigns against the tunnel i am convinced that their time and your energy could have your efforts better spent on things your are actually responsible for, that you have some direct control over.
No public official can come to northeast Seattle without getting asked about sidewalks.
Well?
Mike McGinn keeps getting asked about licenses on bicycles. He says that implementing a licensing scheme would actually cost more than the revenue it would actually collect. I have tried to explain this to my cat, she must have a license, and bicyclists must not. But finally, the mayor quipped that he might consider a bicycle license of some kind just so people would stop asking about it.
Well, meow?
A fleeting moment, I am sure.
