West Seattle weekend scene: Breakfast with the mayor

Mayor McGinn breakfasted at West Seattle’s Chelan Café today with a small group of community activists, including Pete Spalding, who shares the photo. Spalding, whose current involvement includes the Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council, Delridge Neighborhoods District Council, and citywide Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, explaining that he and Chas Redmond (in the top photo) initiated the invitation. Redmond’s current involvement includes the City Neighborhood Council and Morgan Community Association. Also at the table were Mat McBride, chair of the DNDC; Dorsol Plants and Michael Taylor-Judd, both currently involved with the North Delridge Neighborhood Council (and both former candidates for City Council), while Plants is with Spalding on the levy Oversight Committee; and Marty Westerman from the Fauntleroy Community Association. (The participants may well be involved with other groups – this is just what we know from our recent community coverage.) Spalding says, “We discussed a wide range of West Seattle issues during the two hours.” Any specific announcements or revelations? we asked him via followup e-mail. “We spent a lot of time talking about peninsula-wide transportation issues, a number of issues around the Department of Neighborhoods, and our desire to see the city spend more time, effort, and money on West Seattle issues.”

miws June 9, 2013 (4:15 pm)

…..Dorsol Plants….[snip]…(and both former candidates for City Council)

C’mon Dorsol. Run again. You know you want to. ;-)

Mike

brizone June 9, 2013 (8:21 pm)

And that’s also Chas Redmond there…

=> Who organized the meeting! <=

WSB June 9, 2013 (8:28 pm)

That’s what “initiated the invitation” was supposed to mean. I asked Pete Spalding, when he e-mailed us about this afterward (we didn’t know about it ahead of time), whose idea it was, and he said his and Chas’s. – TR

McBride June 10, 2013 (1:34 pm)

Thanks to Chas and Pete for organizing. Thanks to the Mayor for coming over to the Westside to talk.
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It was a good discussion, which I appreciate. I also appreciate that this mayor is accessible and open. I look forward to continued dialog between the Westside and the Office of the Mayor.

Del Martini June 10, 2013 (9:12 pm)

Another example of an insiders game of playing with other peoples neighborhoods because this small group of people have anointed themselves as knowing what is best for all.
Not even an open invitation was extended? Not even the WSB or Herald were on the scene to report? Good grief. Sure wish that gal from Highland Park Action was at the table. She has some moxie and spirit and isn’t interested in playing wanna’ be politician.

McBride June 10, 2013 (11:33 pm)

Del,
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I agree, it would have been great to have Carolyn at the table. She’s good people.
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Regarding the rest of the attendees, I can only surmise that you either have no idea of the amount of effort each of them has invested voluntarily and without compensation to make your community a better place for all, or you simply have an axe to grind.
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If the former, there’s no end of ways to get engaged and help make a difference. All of the public community meetings are listed on this blog. If the latter, well, I’m sorry you feel that way.

Michael Taylor-Judd June 11, 2013 (4:46 pm)

The Mayor has held a number of public town halls here in West Seattle to hear from citizens… This was not a public meeting, and the Mayor was not in attendance with any staff — city or campaign. It was a small conversation amongst friends who are involved in West Seattle neighborhood groups to address some concerns we have with how the City has addressed some key issues in our neighborhood.
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I’m not oblivious to the fact that all of us at the table are white, privileged males (although Dorsol might argue he’s a starving college student). I can only promise that we were not advocating for any particular project nor claiming to represent any particular group of people in our neighborhoods.
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Mat is right, however… Anyone is welcome to attend neighborhood council and district council meetings — which are all public and publicized — and get involved. We have accomplished great things here in West Seattle in the last couple of years, and could use more help!

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