Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn (left) and public meeting facilitator Kip Tokuda (middle) addresses a crowd of attendees, asking them what would make Seattle better. (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW)
On Dec. 2, Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn held a town hall meeting at the Langston Hugh Theater. Facilitated by former State Rep. Kip Tokuda, attendees were supposed to give McGinn input on how to make Seattle a better city.
Input means you give insights with positive and negative feedback. I was surprised by some of the meaningless criticisms. One stood up and complained about everything from the fact that the deputy mayor is a real estate developer to where she wanted to sit in the room. That’s how democracy works, I guess, let the little guy speak.
Too many cooks might spoil the broth, however. Too much time can be wasted on processes! McGinn has spent more than 40 hours in town hall meetings since his campaign. At some point, enough is enough!
I understand McGinn does not want to fall into the habit of the current Mayor Greg Nickels, building a wall between himself and the people. This was one of the reasons for Nickels’ downfall. It’s a tough job to be the mayor of this city. I would hate to see him get burned out before he begins in January. ♦