Today brought the SDOT's Open House on the parking issue on Westlake. I awoke early, ready to march in the protest rally that would end up at the South Lake Union Naval Reserve building. A good friend and co-worker of mine had offered to pick me up and march with me, but unfortunately, when we arrived at the starting place for the march, no one was around. We waited for a bit, then headed down to the Open House. Upon arrival, I was not really surprised at the scene that awaited us.
It was your typical "not too serious city issue" meeting. Everything about the meeting, even the setup of the information tables, was carefully laid out to snub any opposition. DOT employees in their expensive suits were hobnobbing about talking with each other, and staring intently at me and my co-worker (who happened to be the only non-city people there at the time). Cheap refreshments a la Safeway had been carefully laid out on the table, and we were herded through a line that allowed us to sign in, collect our pretty yellow "comment form", grab a cheap pen that didn't work, and sit down at folding tables that were still scarred with food from someone's reception/retirement/etc. Held in what looked to be an old Gymnasium, there were tables set around the perimeter, each one labeled for a different group (residents, non-residents, businesses, and one that was cheerfully marked "transportation alternatives"), and city officials who looked poised to answer any question that you may have asked. In the corner, standing like an Obelisk of greed, a brand spankin' new Pay Station, which was escorted by a higher up parking cop (who looked as if she hadn't worked a beat in ages) I started to lose a bit of faith. There were only about 10 of us there, (my friend and I the only ones under 60), and there were only about 15 minutes until they (SDOT) would start speaking.
Not to be a wasted effort, I finished my page long comment form, handed it in to the Rubbermaid box, and casually strolled over to the "non-resident" table, where I met with a Ms. Marni C. Heffron. (the person who took the survey that started this whole thing) Our conversation went something like this:
Me - "One of the goals of this program is to meet the needs of the community right, so why aren't employees of the area provided options such as Zone permits or subsidized bus passes?"
Ms. Marni C. Heffron - INSOLENT FOOL! How dare you speak to me! You know not of parking affairs you pleb! You smell of Fish and Sweat! Run back to your kitchen and offend not my nostrils! You are but a mere child, mortal; do not bother me with your ruckus! If you do not agree with my parking summary, IN TO THE LAKE WITH YOU! Soon, ALL your money will belong to us!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAH
Ok, so maybe it didn't go exactly like that, I'll admit my disgust for the way this has been handled by the city has slightly skewed my outlook on the city employees.
No, Ms Heffron was a complete professional, but did not have the answers that I was looking for. I stumped her quite a few times, especially when I busted out the numbers that I had crunched as examples of what we'll have to pay. Her inability to answer easy questions (ones I could have answered myself actually) meant to me that she must be in agreement with me. She "agreed" with me that employees are affected the worst by the plan, and she also "agreed" that the fees paid by employees are considered a "negative consequence" (her words) to the plan. She started stumbling....
And right at our most perfect moment, at the pinnacle of our relationship, something wondrous happened.
The protest march showed up. Late...but then again, right on time
Suddenly, I was flanked by 3 or 4 crusty old guys (presumably boat owners), all listening to what the lovely (and now very jittery) Ms. Haffron had to say to me. They were not pleased. Next thing I know, Marni started shrugging uncontrollably, trying to fight off the facts and questions that were being forced fed to her. Poor woman looked on the edge of tears. I would have felt sorry for her, but I was too busy making new friends.
After we had reduced Ms. Haffron down to a puddle of goo, the presentation proper started. It began with the Wicked Witch (Grace Crunican- Director SDOT), reading verbatim the handouts that we had been provided, followed by Jumbo Cop telling us how it was to be maintained (tax money). Then they opened it up for Q&A, and that's when the real party started.
At first, their microphone for the audience didn't work, and we all had a good laugh (fitting metaphor for this whole thing) I was hesitant at first to speak, I've never been one for an open stage like that, and I felt I needed my facts a little more organized, but that didn't matter. The 3rd person to get on the mic. was my friend Karen (our director) who began her comments by reading my email to her concerning the restaurant folk. The 4th person was the person I gave my petitions to yesterday. So, after a few more, I figured that I can' t be just this ambiguous server hiding in the audience, and I stepped up to the mic. I really had no idea what to say, but I just wanted to make sure that we, the poor blue collars, were represented. I said something like this:
"Hi...uh...my name's Scott, and I'm here to represent the restaurant workers."
(round of applause caught me off guard, probably started by my buddy in the audience)
"I work with a bunch of people who are hard-working blue collar people, many of which can't be here right now because they are on the clock serving the Westlake area. We cannot afford to pay to park every day, some of us commute from 1/2 an hour away to work basically minimum wage jobs. And also, I think that all your little notices and publications should also be released en espanol because there's a good chunk of the population of Westlake workers who are Spanish speaking, are not represented, and don't have a chance to give their opinion. Thank you."
And I stepped away.
The kitchen guys say that I'm never going to have to pay to eat at our restaurant again.
(to be continued)
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