JohnA: Souza listened, Sims didn’t

JohnA: Well, it was an interesting 90 minutes at the Library tonight as Sen. Souza and Rep. Sims held their public hearing on urban renewal. It was standing room only as the event began. Rep. Sims was circulating her anti-URA fliers to the crowd, which led one commenter to question if her mind was already made up. Sen. Souza, to her credit, was not only courteous to each commenter but encouraged each to give their recommendations on how to improve URA laws. As the first commenter I wanted to challenge the mistruths in Rep. Sims’ flier, while also highlighting the successes of small-city URAs with whom I’ve have been fortune to work. After my 3 minutes Sen. Souza gave me some extra time to give my thoughts on any changes to the laws, which I thought was very courteous.

After some 20 commenters John Stone gave his thoughts on the issue, including how it has taken 15 years to build out his Riverstone development, something that wouldn’t have happened without urban renewal. In the end I gained a measure of respect for Sen. Souza. The key for me will be if all of our comments are shared with the interim committee next week. Rep. Sims, meanwhile? Nothing will ever change her closed mind on the issue, and that’s a very sad thing indeed for a duly-elected official.

Question: Is Mary growing into the job?