Well, the public forum happened tonight.
Fifteen of the sixteen applicants participated. They all deserve credit and respect for putting themselves out there and for being willing to serve the public. Thanks also to the forum organizers.
While the large number of participants and the limits of the format did not allow for many policy insights, it was nevertheless clear almost from the outset who has the basic knowledge and skills to join the Council and make positive contributions to the budget development process over the next six weeks — and who doesn’t. Most of them don’t. There are a couple of people with interesting ideas and relevant background, but the one clear conclusion from tonight is that Nick Licata is by far the most qualified and the leading candidate.
You can view the applications of all sixteen candidates here. Tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, you should be able to watch the forum on the Seattle Channel web site.
Wednesday evening, the Council will hold a public hearing at City Hall to allow members of the public to provide input to the Council on whom they should pick.
A fascinating and, at times, ridiculous display. Hard to argue with your point that Licata has the most experience for the role…and I appreciated his comment that the time in office was more about the specific act of passing a budget versus creating utopia.
I get freedom of speech and all that, but for a forum that applicants were “strongly suggested” to attend, there should have been far less tolerance of Tsimermann’s BS. The MC was convivial enough (and not afraid to insert editorial commets about candidates) but I wish she had ejected him at outburst #1. He’s already banned from City Hall (or is it just chambers?) so kick his ass out.
Best line of the night was Mr. Radford’s remark: “The short answer is no. And the long answer is no.” And then he turned off his mike. Loved it.
All in all, though, I counted one use of “microaggression” and two uses of “intersectional” so I think that counts as a successful Seattle meeting. 🙂