Mayor-To-Be Schedules Town Halls for Input and Companionship
Did you really think casting your vote had fulfilled your civic duty? Oh, no! No no no! You've got some town halls to attend! Mike McGinn's planning three town halls before stepping into the Mayor's office as a decision maker in January. The focus will be on the three central questions the McGinn team sent out to community leaders earlier this month:
- How do we build the strongest possible team to achieve the policy objectives and values set forth by the campaign (grass roots community involvement, transparency, and neighborhood focus)?
- How do we build public trust in the new administration?
- What do you view as the incoming administration and the city’s greatest challenge—what should the new administration do first out of the gate?
After running a campaign staffed entirely by volunteers, it's good to see that McGinn will be continuing to engage members of the public as he takes the reins from Nickels. McGinn has said he plans to "open source" his transition. We're happy he's getting input from the public, and frankly relieved he's doing so using the internet in addition to traditional media. But judging from a quote McGinn gave the Stranger, this might be more about the wintertime blues. The transition's been a little forlorn:
"The first day we showed up..it felt a little lonely," McGinn says. "The office was always packed with people and had a lot of energy end excitement, and then it was just me and a few transition staff heading up to a rather sterile office space."
Sounds like somebody's got the post-election blues! (The post-election blues present the same symptoms as the post-vacation blues, but without a tan.) After coming down from the excitement of winning a long, challenging campaign, it's no wonder he's feeling a little lonely. The nights are long and the days are gloomy. Mike, we don't blame you if you just need some company to get you through the drearier months.
Two All three town halls are confirmed:
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday, November 30 // Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Avenue NE
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 1 // Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Avenue S
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m, Wednesday, December 2 // Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center at Rainier Beach High School, 8815 Seward Park Ave S
