A little over a year ago, I had half a million readers. As a career journalist, I wrote three columns a week for the Seattle Times. I heard from those readers. They phoned, they wrote and they emailed - sometimes to compliment, sometimes to complain, sometimes to add their "items" for the column.
Today, I'm still dealing with half a million, but now they're constituents. They call, they write, they email, they speak at hearings, they buttonhole me on the street. Sometimes they compliment, sometimes they complain. Frequently they offer suggestions.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The job assignment for me has changed, but the opportunity to put more people in touch with solutions to problems has stayed constant.
In the year that I have served the city as a City Councilmember, people have been kind enough to say they see a clearer sense of civility, maturity and commonsense in our hallowed halls. I hope that's not just flattery. We have been going through a small revolution at City Hall. With the addition of three new councilmembers - a turnover that hasn't happened since 1935 - the council has changed dramatically. There's more pulling together to get things done.
Let's face it, we are on notice to produce.
Major projects have moved forward in an almost dizzying pace. Check this out:
We defied the recession blues and passed a budget that put people first - even restoring the Seattle Public Library's Bookmobile.
But, the truth is, I haven't changed the council nearly as much as the council has changed me. In no way am I the same ink-stained wretch that I was just 18 months ago.
For me the transition from newsroom to council chambers was a major culture shock. My informal education began before swearing in January. It started the day after last November's election with briefings with city departments including finance, planning, law and intergovernmental relations.
As luck would have it, I was asked to chair the important Energy & Environmental Policy Committee. I jumped at the chance. But, although I had followed energy issues as a journalist, I still had scads to learn. And, while educating myself, immediate issues loomed: starting with the task of confirming a new City Light superintendent, negotiating an acceptable contract with City Light's largest customer and laying out a work plan for the year.
The biggest challenge for me, however, was learning to work not as a solo act as a newspaper columnist, but in concert with eight other councilmembers. All are passionate about doing what's best for the city, but sometimes they disagree on how to arrive at that goal.
As one political role model, I looked to a former councilmember, the late Sam Smith. Agree with him or not, you had to admire his savvy politicking. It was Sam who often lectured the press on the importance of being able to count to five. If there weren't five votes out of nine for an issue, Sam didn't mess with it.
Something else I learned from Sam: He always maintained the personal touch. Despite his role as a veteran councilman and a sometime council president, he almost always answered his own phone, saying, "This is Sam."
Soon after taking office, one of my legislative aides reminded me when the phone was ringing. He said, "When you were running, you said you'd answer your own phone. There it goes. So answer it, d--- it." I often do. It's great to hear the shocked silence that follows.
My new colleagues, too, are good role models. Their dedication has earned my respect. Whenever I show up at community meetings or neighborhood events, it's rare that I don't see Tom Rasmussen or David Della also forsaking hearth and home to attend.
If there's an irony in my new career, it involves my dealings with the media. You'd have thought that, after 29 years on Seattle dailies, I would know how to talk to reporters. But what I had to discover, to my dismay, is that it's certain that I will be quoted - accurately - on the stupidest thing I happen to say.
In a way, my vulnerability stems from the fact that, as a reporter, I seldom was quoted. Good reporters blend into the woodwork, recording the news but never - almost never - stepping over the line and becoming newsmakers.
There are differences between the journalist in me and the politician. As a columnist, I loved telling elected officials what to do. Now the citizens tell me what to do. I find myself listening more carefully than ever.
Since leaving the newsroom, I am 18 months wiser and more in awe than ever at the opportunity to serve this city and its incredibly engaged citizens.
This is a great city. It's getting better everyday. The economy, happily, seems to be improving, if a little more slowly than we'd like. We're moving ahead on plans that have potential to make Seattle an even more attractive, more vibrant and more inclusive city.
The longer I serve, the more I agree with John Buchan of the British Parliament, who once said that public life should be regarded as the crown of a career. He concluded, as I do, public service is still the greatest and most honorable adventure.
