City Hall
McGinn's Office Says He Never Intended to Meet With Bloggers for Two Hours
Responding to an item in this morning's Fizz linking to a furious post
at the Northwest Asian Weekly, which trashed Mayor Mike McGinn for requesting a two-hour meeting with community and ethnic bloggers and leaving after only 20 minutes, McGinn's spokesman Aaron Pickus says the mayor only intended to stay for the first half-hour of the meeting. However, he adds, "I failed to make this clear in the invitation I wrote."
"My failure gave many of the attendees the false impression that the Mayor was scheduled to be in the meeting for the full hour and a half, instead of just the initial 30 minutes. I apologize to anyone who felt disrespected as a result of my error and who felt that our office did not value their work in the community. We deeply value all residents of Seattle and look forward to working with as many media outlets as possible in order to support an inclusive dialogue about our city."
The invitation, which Pickus also sent PubliCola, does imply that McGinn planned to stay for the whole meeting, telling invitees, "We would be honored if you could join Mayor Mike McGinn, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith, Communications Director Beth Hester and city staff" for the media roundtable.
The mayor's apology may be too little, too late for the bloggers who expected more of his time; the NW Asian Weekly post says flatly that although McGinn often appears to have good intentions, "he often acts opposite to what he intends, destroying good will and the relationships he has built."
"My failure gave many of the attendees the false impression that the Mayor was scheduled to be in the meeting for the full hour and a half, instead of just the initial 30 minutes. I apologize to anyone who felt disrespected as a result of my error and who felt that our office did not value their work in the community. We deeply value all residents of Seattle and look forward to working with as many media outlets as possible in order to support an inclusive dialogue about our city."
The invitation, which Pickus also sent PubliCola, does imply that McGinn planned to stay for the whole meeting, telling invitees, "We would be honored if you could join Mayor Mike McGinn, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith, Communications Director Beth Hester and city staff" for the media roundtable.
The mayor's apology may be too little, too late for the bloggers who expected more of his time; the NW Asian Weekly post says flatly that although McGinn often appears to have good intentions, "he often acts opposite to what he intends, destroying good will and the relationships he has built."
