Dear Des Moines,
I want to congratulate all three applicants for the Council vacancy, especially the winner, Vic Pennington. He was not my choice, but he ran a gauntlet of criticism that most of us would find very tough to take and did so graciously. To him, I promise my full professional cooperation.
To those of you who are unhappy with the results tonight, I understand and I am truly sorry. As I said in my comments, I raised black children here, several years of it as a single parent and… lessee… we had one black neighbour near the church and…. there was one couple over in Pac Ridge we never got to know and… ? Let’s just say, it wasn’t a particularly ‘diverse’ experience. 😀
Back then we weren’t concerned about things like stickers on a light pole. We prepared for some form of overt racism every time we went out to eat.
This puts me in an awkward position. As a politician one cannot scream about injustice. First off, you simply will not get elected, which means you can’t help anyone. Second, it sounds like one is badmouthing our happy town or ‘anti-police’ so no one listens. And then… if I appear less than thrilled about proclamations like “Racism As A Public Health Crisis”? I must be a racist.
There seems to be some ‘golden mean’ of “sensitivity” I never quite achieved, perhaps because I have so much frustration at seeing some things (like Highline Schools) actually going backwards while the City becomes more diverse.
I’ve noticed a number of the most upset comments were avid supporters of Matt Mahoney, Traci Buxton, Harry Steinmetz. My comments tonight were mostly for you. I’m sorry, but this should have come as no surprise. I’ve tried to be sympathetic all along, but since so many of you gave me hell, it’s been slightly challenging. 😀
Many of you were wondering about the circumstances of CM Pennington’s departure from his position as Chief of South King Fire & Rescue. Instead, I would ask you to think about it a different way: the majority did know what you wanted. But as I said, it was willing to go this far to make sure that big ticket projects like the Marina and airport keep sailing along. And it is for that reason I would ask your help in providing more oversight on everything they propose from now on. There is no transparency and between that problem and tonight’s vote? This should be a red flag.
I had about a dozen calls re. the appointment process. I was yelled at in every one. And that’s fine. Others I asked to speak with chose not to. Also fine. Most of the people I spoke with simply had no interest in what I was saying. You wanted what -you- wanted. But the thing is: I was -trying- to tell you what it would take, both for Yoshiko to get across the line and to achieve goals I know we both share. All it seemed to do was breed contempt and I’m sorry.
But… I do make those calls. I really do hear you. And you have my record of votes as your proof.
I often hear my writings are ‘TLDR’. You want short signals. I do get it. But it’s also kinda puzzling to me.
Because all you ever need to judge us fairly is to look at our votes. If you take nothing else from tonight, remember that. The votes are all that matter. Then it’s up to you to reward or punish accordingly. Don’t judge us by what we say or how we look or selfies at some fun event or -whatever-.
Judge us by how we vote.
Because if you vote a certain way over and over, regardless of how we vote, there can be no real ‘change’.
I’m sorry for the scolding tone, but I’ve lived here long enough to see a bad habit that has to be broken. I was willing to share some of my private life (which I really do not enjoy) because I want you to understand that I share your frustration, profoundly. And I need your help to get us where we should’ve been a long time ago.
It is my honour to serve Des Moines.
—JC
(206) 878-0578