Opinion
Has Something Changed at the Mayor's Office?
Now that the people are getting a chance to decide—"the overriding goal is to make sure the voices of the people are heard when a policy decision is made," King County Superior Court Judge Laura Gene Middaugh said Friday when she decided to allow the tunnel referendum to go forward—why haven't we heard from Mayor Mike McGinn?
After all, McGinn, who endorsed the referendum, gave his own staffers time off to work on the campaign to get it on the ballot, (while his allies, including his longtime political consultant Bill Broadhead and the Sierra Club, were top contributors), has consistently said "the people" need to decide. In fact, McGinn defaults to "the people" rhetoric so much, we took to calling him Hugo Chavez out of frustration.
So, I must admit, McGinn's silence on Middaugh's ruling is deafening. This seems like a huge win for him. [pullquote]McGinn has been relatively quiet on the tunnel in general lately. And this latest radio silence was just too stunning not to conclude that something has changed at the mayor's office.[/pullquote]
I'll hazard a guess: McGinn's polling and focus grouping has revealed the reason his numbers (with the people) are weak—the tunnel. Indeed, McGinn has been relatively quiet on the tunnel in general lately. And this latest radio silence—no press release, no big press conference—was just too stunning not to conclude that something has changed at the mayor's office.
When asked about the issue, he did say: "The court has determined that the public has a right to vote on the tunnel. Now we can make a decision once and for all on this project."
With a new communications director (he recently hired former Seattle Channel director Beth Hester) and the bad polling, it's clear McGinn is trying to broaden his message. Or, more accurately, get off message. We'll see if he can resist.
After all, McGinn, who endorsed the referendum, gave his own staffers time off to work on the campaign to get it on the ballot, (while his allies, including his longtime political consultant Bill Broadhead and the Sierra Club, were top contributors), has consistently said "the people" need to decide. In fact, McGinn defaults to "the people" rhetoric so much, we took to calling him Hugo Chavez out of frustration.
So, I must admit, McGinn's silence on Middaugh's ruling is deafening. This seems like a huge win for him. [pullquote]McGinn has been relatively quiet on the tunnel in general lately. And this latest radio silence was just too stunning not to conclude that something has changed at the mayor's office.[/pullquote]
I'll hazard a guess: McGinn's polling and focus grouping has revealed the reason his numbers (with the people) are weak—the tunnel. Indeed, McGinn has been relatively quiet on the tunnel in general lately. And this latest radio silence—no press release, no big press conference—was just too stunning not to conclude that something has changed at the mayor's office.
When asked about the issue, he did say: "The court has determined that the public has a right to vote on the tunnel. Now we can make a decision once and for all on this project."
With a new communications director (he recently hired former Seattle Channel director Beth Hester) and the bad polling, it's clear McGinn is trying to broaden his message. Or, more accurately, get off message. We'll see if he can resist.
