Opinion
The Case for McGinn
Mike McGinn supporter and local nightlife entrepreneur David Meinert makes the case that McGinn's first term has been more successful than you might think.
Mike McGinn's start in office was rocky, to say the least. The inexperienced political outsider seemed to be exactly what many experienced insiders predicted: An activist blowhard obsessed by a single issue (the tunnel) who didn't know how to listen, with no ability to run or lead a multi-department government, advised by amateurs, and with a chip on his shoulder for anyone but the people who supported his campaign.
Adding to these perceived problems with McGinn's personal style were real problems with the city budget and out-of-control cops, a pissing match with the CEO of the region's highest-profile company, and a bitter, emotional fight between establishment art and alternative music at Seattle Center.
Eighteen months into McGinn's term, candidates were already lining up to run against a mayor who looked like an already defeated one-termer, and there were rumors of an impending recall effort. To make it worse, on McGinn's way to becoming Seattle's least popular mayor in recent history, Occupy Seattle started a movement that could easily have done for the mayor what WTO did for Paul Schell.
But instead of mishandling some very high-profile dramas, he showed off some smooth political skills. McGinn used Solomon-esque leadership to bring both KEXP and the Chihuly museum to Seattle Center, getting some much needed improvements at the Center as well.[pullquote]The NBA news, closely following the snow storm success, could be a game changer for McGinn.[/pullquote]
Next, he deftly handled the Occupy Seattle Protests, preserving his credibility with an almost impossible-to-please trio: The Occupy Seattle movement, the SPD, and downtown businesses.
And then came every Seattle mayor's nightmare ---a huge snow and ice storm. McGinn handled the storm better than any mayor in recent history, taking control, managing expectations, talking intelligently and succinctly to the media, and using every form of technology and social media to communicate with the entire city what was happening.
Then, this week, news broke that McGinn is helping broker a deal to bring the NBA back to Seattle along with a possible NHL team, with no major public subsidy. This news, closely following the snow storm success, could be a game changer for the mayor and already has caused people taking a second look at McGinn and his other accomplishments.
Those include: closing a huge budget deficit without raising taxes; rebuilding the city's depleted rainy day fund; adding 600 new jobs; passing new mobile food truck rules; passing a paid sick leave ordinance; creating several new late night taxi stands; allowing people to park on; filling more than 20,000 potholes in 2011 alone; reducing wait times for land use permits; liberalizing state rules regulating liquor service at sidewalk cafes; speaking out against human trafficking, specifically on web sites like Backpage.com; adding 30 police officers to the street and creating a late night public safety initiative; investing in neighborhoods like Belltown with the NATS crime-fighting program and the LEAD diversion program; establishing new standards for social service agencies that receive city subsidies; overseeing a reduction in the city's crime rate to its lowest point in more 55 years without trampling on civil rights; securing an $8.9 million federal grant to fund schools and other community organizations; passing the Families and Education levy at a time when Olympia is slashing education spending; and putting his nightlife initiative into effect, closing some very badly run and dangerous nightclubs while celebrating and promoting the better side of Seattle music and nightlife.
Given his initial problems and his subsequent successes---and remembering that Seattle's most popular Mayor, Charles Royer, started out with poor ratings, but turned it around to win two more terms---McGinn might be defying predictions once again.
Mike McGinn's start in office was rocky, to say the least. The inexperienced political outsider seemed to be exactly what many experienced insiders predicted: An activist blowhard obsessed by a single issue (the tunnel) who didn't know how to listen, with no ability to run or lead a multi-department government, advised by amateurs, and with a chip on his shoulder for anyone but the people who supported his campaign.
Adding to these perceived problems with McGinn's personal style were real problems with the city budget and out-of-control cops, a pissing match with the CEO of the region's highest-profile company, and a bitter, emotional fight between establishment art and alternative music at Seattle Center.
Eighteen months into McGinn's term, candidates were already lining up to run against a mayor who looked like an already defeated one-termer, and there were rumors of an impending recall effort. To make it worse, on McGinn's way to becoming Seattle's least popular mayor in recent history, Occupy Seattle started a movement that could easily have done for the mayor what WTO did for Paul Schell.
But instead of mishandling some very high-profile dramas, he showed off some smooth political skills. McGinn used Solomon-esque leadership to bring both KEXP and the Chihuly museum to Seattle Center, getting some much needed improvements at the Center as well.[pullquote]The NBA news, closely following the snow storm success, could be a game changer for McGinn.[/pullquote]
Next, he deftly handled the Occupy Seattle Protests, preserving his credibility with an almost impossible-to-please trio: The Occupy Seattle movement, the SPD, and downtown businesses.
And then came every Seattle mayor's nightmare ---a huge snow and ice storm. McGinn handled the storm better than any mayor in recent history, taking control, managing expectations, talking intelligently and succinctly to the media, and using every form of technology and social media to communicate with the entire city what was happening.
Then, this week, news broke that McGinn is helping broker a deal to bring the NBA back to Seattle along with a possible NHL team, with no major public subsidy. This news, closely following the snow storm success, could be a game changer for the mayor and already has caused people taking a second look at McGinn and his other accomplishments.
Those include: closing a huge budget deficit without raising taxes; rebuilding the city's depleted rainy day fund; adding 600 new jobs; passing new mobile food truck rules; passing a paid sick leave ordinance; creating several new late night taxi stands; allowing people to park on; filling more than 20,000 potholes in 2011 alone; reducing wait times for land use permits; liberalizing state rules regulating liquor service at sidewalk cafes; speaking out against human trafficking, specifically on web sites like Backpage.com; adding 30 police officers to the street and creating a late night public safety initiative; investing in neighborhoods like Belltown with the NATS crime-fighting program and the LEAD diversion program; establishing new standards for social service agencies that receive city subsidies; overseeing a reduction in the city's crime rate to its lowest point in more 55 years without trampling on civil rights; securing an $8.9 million federal grant to fund schools and other community organizations; passing the Families and Education levy at a time when Olympia is slashing education spending; and putting his nightlife initiative into effect, closing some very badly run and dangerous nightclubs while celebrating and promoting the better side of Seattle music and nightlife.
Given his initial problems and his subsequent successes---and remembering that Seattle's most popular Mayor, Charles Royer, started out with poor ratings, but turned it around to win two more terms---McGinn might be defying predictions once again.
