Keep Spokane Spokane

You probably have noticed but Spokane is not Seattle. People are leaving Seattle in droves because, well, because it’s Seattle and they’ve had enough.

Many of them come to Spokane and love the Spokane area. They love it because this is Spokane, not Seattle. The freedoms, the space, the lack of traffic, the city ordinance making it against the law to stand in line. Okay, maybe the last is a stretch but pre-pandemic, it seemed like there were no lines!

I welcome the people from the West Side escaping the rat race of the big city. Congratulations! My bride and I used to joke about coming over the pass and it would be rainy, cloudy and gloomy on the west side of the pass and as soon as you came down out of the mountains to Ellensburg, the sun would be shining and birds are singing. The politics were different, the weather was different, the feel was different.

Spokane, though not really a small town, has always had a small-town feel. People talk to you like old friends. I believe that small-town feel is part of what draws people from the West over. When they get here, they love it! All I ask is don’t bring Seattle here. Leave the big-town mentality in the big town. Call us backwards, non-progressive, even red neck but let’s keep Spokane the place you wanted to move to. Keep the Spokane in Spokane.

Stan Gilmore

Spokane