Seattle Press on Line - An Open Letter to City Council President Margaret Pageler, Or Thomas the Tank Engine goes to City Hall

Seattle Press Editorial

An Open Letter to City Council President Margaret Pageler, Or Thomas the Tank Engine goes to City Hall

Aug 09, 2000 -- I have been trying to obtain an interview with you for the past four weeks or so regarding your position on the monorail.

I also invited you to write an op-ed piece for this newspaper outlining your views.

As City Council President and a leader of the opposition to the Monorail, you play a key role in city action on all public transit issues.

Unfortunately, you haven't been able to find time in your busy schedule to make yourself available to this newspaper and its readers for even a cursory interview.

I think that is a mistake on your part. Well over 30,000 people read our bi-weekly news journal and many of them are intensely concerned with issues the city council is now dealing with. When you ignore our readers, you send the message that you can take care of these issues just fine, thank you, without the bother of talking to voters or talking to those pesky reporters.

I also note that you were not present at the July 27 hearing where the public had a chance to voice their opinions on the monorail. Is that because you were not interested in what those 200 or so people had to say? Or is it because you had already made up your mind? Many who testified at the hearing said they simply did not understand the opposition of many councilmembers to the monorail.

A couple of days after my last call to your office asking for an interview, I received an e-mail with the subject line "Pageler Piece." I eagerly clicked it open, thinking "Aha!, Margaret's sending an op-ed piece on the Monorail." But I was bitterly disappointed. Instead of an essay with a substantive discussion of important issues facing our city I found a shallow, sophomoric PR piece that I can best describe as Thomas the Tank Engine Goes to City Hall.

For example you say, "In Seattle, the mayor and councilmembers are elected 'at large,' from the whole city. That means each of your city councilmembers is responsible to serve the whole city.

"Each of your councilmembers is making special efforts to ensure that a lively urban experience is accessible to folks across all income levels."

I assure you, Margaret, this is not the kind of thing that most grown-ups are thinking about when they say they want to hear from their public officials.

I strongly urge you to lay out your reasoning behind your continued opposition to the monorail and engage in a continuous, candid and respectful public dialogue that is the hallmark of a democratic society.

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