“Cities are waking up to the idea that nightlife isn’t a nuisance to be gotten rid of, but an economic driver to be supported,” Scott Plusquellec says. Credit: CARLOS CRUZ

“Cities are waking up to the idea that nightlife isn’t a nuisance to be gotten rid of, but an economic driver to be supported,” Scott Plusquellec says.

“Cities are waking up to the idea that nightlife isn’t a nuisance to be gotten rid of, but an economic driver to be supported,” Scott Plusquellec says. CARLOS CRUZ

Compared to, say, building another Amazon tower, the City of Seattle is not known for making it easy to open a spot for a DJ to lay down a late-night set of scintillating ’90s house while you throw back a tallboy of Rainier. The city has many well-enforced rules about amplified sound, building use, alcohol sales, operating hours, and the other minutiae of nightlife businesses.

But plenty of other growing cities around the world have decided that, in fact, what happens after city hall closes up for the evening is no less important than what happens during daytime business hours.

Enter the night mayor. In 2012, Amsterdam kicked off a global trend by designating a nachtburgemeester, which translates from the Dutch as “night mayor.” Despite the moniker, the club promoter Amsterdam picked was not a city employee but rather head of the outside voice of the nightlife industry with a direct conduit to city hall—not unlike the Downtown Seattle Association’s role on behalf of downtown business owners.