Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn gave a State of the City address Tuesday that was so casual, idealistic and unscripted that City Councilmember Nick Licata quipped afterward: “I don’t think that was a speech.”
McGinn’s 33-minute address was quite different from the formal, carefully orchestrated State of the City speeches delivered the past eight years by former Mayor Greg Nickels. The new mayor was at times folksy, addressing the half-full City Council chambers with a few notes, but no pre-written speech.
McGinn listed Seattle’s challenges: public safety, the education system, joblessness and the city’s budget shortfalls. He didn’t name any new initiatives or give a timeline for following through on ideas he already has talked about, such as upgrading the broadband system.
McGinn is in way over his head.