Mayor McGinn to Tour Lake City this Saturday

All NE Seattle residents should consider attending this event so I'm re-posting my Lake City Live story here as well:

Ever since Mike McGinn stepped into the mayoral office three months ago, he has made it a priority to get out and tour different neighborhoods in Seattle.  His purpose, to learn about the issues and opportunities in different parts of the city. The walks started in the Pioneer Square/International District neighborhoods where over 70 people attended and discussed their concerns and ideas. I'm not sure what, if anything, came out of that walk and the subsequent ones that followed. But I can bet, at the very least, it increased the sense of community; something I think our area could use a little more of.

This Saturday, April 10th, the Mayor will tour our very own Lake City. This is an open event to public and residents are encouraged to attend and share their concerns about the neighborhood. Many thanks to Ed Pottharst, of the Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods, for sharing the following tour details:
People will have the chance to talk with Mayor McGinn at tour stops.  Most of the tour is walking.  The last two gathering places—Little Brook Park and Jackson Park House & Village (youth tutoring program) –are about a mile north of the earlier stops.  You are welcome to join Mayor McGinn on bike hops to these two places.

What Do You Want for Seattle's Kids?

One of Mayor McGinn's biggest inaugural projects is to address the challenges kids and their families are facing in Seattle right now with the Youth and Families Initiative.  As with other initiatives coming out of the mayor's office, the first step is starting a discussion. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention before but I swear I don't remember our former mayor taking so much time to get the public's opinion - it's definitely refreshing!

The Youth and Families Initiative will begin with five large workshops at community centers across the city.  NE Seattle residents can attend the group meeting on March 1st at Northgate Elementary, from 7:00-8:30pm.  Have a kid, or know one, in the public schools system? A sixth, youth-only, workshop will be held at City Hall on April 8th.

For those not able to make it to one of the workshops, the YFI is planning up to 100 Community Caucuses in an effort to hear from as many residents as possible:

Each Community Caucus will be an opportunity for a group that wants to make its voice heard to meet, with a facilitator, in a living room, coffee shop, community center—anywhere where people gather naturally in a community; the idea is that instead of asking you to come to us, we’re going to go to you to make sure that your voice gets heard. Each Community Caucus, like each small table at the large group workshops, will elect one delegate to send on to the broader Kids and Families Congress on June 5th at Seattle Center, so holding a Community Caucus will be a great way to ensure that your group’s voice is heard as the Initiative moves forward.

If you are interested in volunteering with the Initiative, please contact Sol Villarreal in the Mayor’s Office at sol.villarreal@seattle.gov or 206-233-2656.