When Seattleites elected a new mayor at the end of 2009, they really went for a breath of fresh air. In the general election, Mayor Mike McGinn,
who rides a bike to work daily, was outspent nearly four to one. The
race was very close, but with an energetic volunteer base -- and a
campaign that emphasized many livable streets issues -- he pulled out
the victory.
Only a few weeks into the new administration, I got the chance to
commute with Mayor McGinn from his home in Greenwood to City Hall. It
wasn't hard to convince him, seeing as he's a longtime Streetfilms fan,
going back to his days as the founder of an organization called Great City.
As you'll see, McGinn has a lot of great things to say. Particularly exciting is a new website called Ideas for Seattle,
which asks residents what they would like to see the mayor focus on.
Take a look: A good dozen of the current Top 20 could be classified as
livable streets issues. (Note: I think other cities should replicate
this.) So we wish Mayor McGinn the best and can't wait to check back in
a few years to see what kind of changes have taken place.
While San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom might not drop the suit to ride to work but once a year, he does a nice job of promoting bicycling and bicycle-friendly businesses in this clip on his Youtube channel.
