Goodbye, Kay
But over my lunch hour today, I did take a ceremonial trip downtown in honor of Kay Barnes. You know, I think I’m going to miss her. Oh, sure, she’s not really going anywhere – we hear she’s planning to officially announce her challenge to Congressman Sam Graves in St. Joseph on May 14, and I hope she kicks his pasty ass. But, you know, she’s been mayor for the past eight years, and I have to say I’ve kind of gotten used to her queeny presence atop City Hall. And as I took a spin through downtown, with construction pounding all around, I had to hand it to her. Here’s a lady who really got things done.
Were we too hard on her at times? Once, yeah, when we tried to do satire and failed miserably. The rest of the time? Naah. The old gal can take it, I’m sure. She’ll have to be able to if she’s going to Washington.
I will admit that I respect her, though. I just wish her administration would have been more open. Sometimes, when we wanted to investigate how well City Hall was working, it was nearly impossible to get access to public documents – they belong to the people, for Christ’s sake. I wish that, in her efforts to revitalize downtown, Barnes had reached out to the people who were already making it happen – artists, mainly. Last I heard, Crossroads gallery owners were still waiting on their tax breaks. My favorite Kay Barnes moment is still that time way back in October 2002, when she called a press conference to warn skateboarders to stay away from downtown’s streets because the hoodlums were damaging the infrastructure. That came at a time when downtown’s concrete had been crumbling for decades. Suddenly, skateboarders were to blame?
Anyway, we’ll just call that all water under the falling-down bridge. We’ll wish you endless terms in congress, Madam Ex-Mayor.
One last thing: A couple of weeks ago I read in the Star about how your adviser Steve Glorioso was the one who told you to quit wearing those big silk flowers on your lapels. I suppose it makes you look more serious without them. And, yeah, we made fun of them sometimes. But as you prepare your challenge to Graves, I just wonder: Are you going to do everything Steve Glorioso tells you to? – C.J. Janovy
Post a Comment
