I worked at City Hall for 30 years and was a very close observer of the City Council, being called upon occasionally to give reports and write documents for their review. Several years ago, I found myself chair of the last redistricting. As was my habit, I wrote a memo to my fellow committee members and to the public explaining what our committee did and what the issues were.

Our committee met in various locations in the community to take public testimony. At one of the community meetings, Councilman Mike Fagan showed up. I have not always agreed with Mr. Fagan on his views, although as a city worker I kept my views to myself. Prior to the meeting I gave Mike a copy of my analysis, which was probably too lengthy. He immediately sat down and read every word. I was impressed. He was also very friendly and personally engaging.

So if there are more councilmembers that I don’t agree with always like Mike Fagan, I sure hope I have a chance to work with them. I might even pay more attention to their views.

Robert Beaumier

Spokane