When Seattleites elected a new
mayor at the end of 2009, they really went for a breath of fresh air. In the general election, Mayor Mike McGinn, who rides a bike to work daily, was outspent nearly four to one. The race was very close, but with
an energetic volunteer base — and a campaign that emphasized many livable streets
issues — he pulled out the victory.

Only a few weeks into the new administration, I got the chance to commute with Mayor McGinn from his home in
Greenwood to City Hall. It wasn’t hard to convince him, seeing as he’s
a longtime Streetfilms fan, going back to his days as the founder of an organization called
Great City.

As you’ll see, McGinn has a lot of great things to say. Particularly exciting is a new website called Ideas for Seattle, which asks residents what they would like to see the mayor focus
on. Take a look: A good dozen of the current Top 20 could be
classified as livable streets issues. (Note: I think other cities
should replicate this.) So we wish Mayor McGinn the best and can’t wait to check back in a few years to see what kind of changes have taken place.