Mayoral thank-yous
Dennis Hession hasn’t had much private time since being appointed mayor in December 2005. He had some when he slept, but he admits to not needing much of that. So you’d often see Hession (with his wife, Jane, at his side) getting buttonholed by constituents on the street, on his daily runs, at church and at gala events that were supposed to be just for fun. And more often than not, the constituents shared with Hession their major problems and suggestions for how the mayor should solve them.
Today, Hession’s very public life ends. Mary Verner will be sworn in as Spokane’s 43rd mayor. Though Hession and Verner both served as City Council members, the demands placed on a mayor in a strong-mayor system of government are beyond what most of the rest of us can imagine. Mayors receive hundreds of daily e-mails and phone calls. Every spare minute is scheduled, and the demands range from cutting ribbons to solving budget crises.
Mayors have instant accountability every time they walk down the street or into a room, because they live among their constituents. Washington state’s legislators – as sausage-grinding as their jobs can be – are in Olympia during the session. While there, they have some physical distance from constituents, though their phone calls and e-mails are plentiful, too.
And yes, the mayors Spokane has elected so far under the strong-mayor system knew what they were getting into. They asked for it by running for office. They chose to put themselves in that 24/7 space. But they all deserve credit for assuming one of the most difficult – and thankless – of elected offices.
Despite having a holiday set aside for it, we’re not a culture easy with the thank-yous. Handwritten thank-you notes are seen as a Miss Manners anachronism. Some believe that to express gratitude is a sign of weakness. Others believe that your paycheck is the only thank-you workers should ever need. We live, says “Radical Gratitude” author Mary Jo Leddy, in a “culture of perpetual dissatisfaction.” The mayors we elect hear about that dissatisfaction every day.
Today’s changing of the guard at Spokane City Hall is both an ending and a beginning, and thank-yous are definitely in order. To Hession for serving as mayor for nearly two years. To Verner for stepping into this very public – and demanding – life.