On one hand I think "dude, you're just mayor of Seattle, not President of the USA".

On the other hand, I think "holy moly, this place is finally gonna make some great changes!"

It spreads wide the credit for whatever nice things happen - and the blame for what goes south.

Genius strategy while he finds his feet and builds his Mayor 2.0 engine.

Interesting strategy - as a dedicated nitpicker, though, I take issue with the third point: the greatest challenge may not be the one that should have the quickest action.

I absolutely love it!

Seattle is indeed, 3 (actually 4) cities within a city:

1) North (of 45th)
2) South (of Columbian)
3) Central
4) West

Maybe McGinn, once he's rectified the mess, can Gorbechev Seattle into 4 principalities -- or perhaps appoint "Vice Mayors" to each fiefdom.

I can hardly wait for the meeting in "Central City." Will any superheroes be attending?

Uh, it sounds like he invited some of his friends and supporters to give feedback but just wrapped it in a different package to "wow" dumb reporters. With a bad video.

Unless the "scores of civic leaders" including supporters of his opponent? How about the full list?

Is he serious about these video messages going forward? EGO!

Maybe he can get Mallahan to send directly to our cell phones.

I'm sure we can look forward to real hard-hitting coverage of the mayor's office:

Dominic: "So, Mike, is your administration going to be just plain awesome or, like, radically awesome, dude?"

Sounds like a great plan.

It would have been better if he had just followed tradition: A luncheon for the people he wanted to think were important as the Washington Athletic Club, followed by a dinner for the people who really count at the Rainier Club.

Of course, if he followed tradition, he never would have run in the first place, and we wouldn't be in this appalling situation.

McGinn is just positive enough to cancel out the shit flying in this thread. You go Seattle!

If McGinn's strategic approach is so ordinary - why haven't any incoming mayors before him made extensive use of it?

Just askin'...

It going to be a rough four years if I have to listen to this type of self absorbed pycho-babble about we're going to talk to everybody, and we are all going to be little ambassadors from the neighborhoods. Well hello Mayor touchy-feely! This is a bait and switch to cover the fact that Mayor hairy fat puss doesn't know what the fuck he's doing or got himself into. "You don't need a weather man to tell you which way the wind blows" It sounds great but what we want are results not more talk. What issue possibly hasn't been talked to death in this city. Everybody is feeling all warm and fuzzy thinking now that we have a Mayor who's all about gathering little nuggets of endless chit chat about the inner workings of our city to be then subjected to more rigorous hair splitting and mouse milking in order to be finally be used to determine such weighty issues as the pot holes need to be fixed.

@ 15

Dude, this is not "touchy-feely talking to everybody." This is McGinn's attempt to institutionalize his base. He's prepping for battle. It's really only "unconventional" because his coalition is unconventional.

In any case, dealing with this City Council is liable to make the most inclusive, warm, fuzzy team player into a ram-it-down-their-throats-and-make-them-thank-you-for-it authoritarian. One thing I never begrudged Nickels for was being a dictatorial jackass. McGinn, for better or worse, likes to fight.

good point. Visit this great Bed and Breakfast in Duncan on Vancouver Island

@15: Asking constituents to identify priorities for the mayor's office is 'mouse milking?' Start taking your lithium before you hurt yourself.

Hey, cool down guys. the guy won, and he is our mayor. Show some respect.

Sweet Jesus, we elected a damn hippie.

Ah, the sweet rending of clothes, tearing of hair, and crazed demeanor of the downtown elitists brings tears of joy to my eyes ....

Besides, everyone knows Seattle is: a. North of the Ship Canal, b. Downtown, c. Everyone Else

I like this idea, but these questions are too damn vague

Hmmm... obviously each of you who express your disgust would rather be spouting off embarrassing yourselves than actually contributing to the dialogue. This is a great point in post-election politics. Get your opinion in to the transition team. Take a moment to care about our city, and think of the greater good for a change.

1. How do we build the strongest possible team: Those who will make this city the most compelling city in the world in everyway possible, from prosperity to health to happiness.... We have this capacity and we know it.
2. How do we build public trust in the new administration? If we begin to hear and see the above achieved. Not impossible - just extraordinarily hopeful.

3. What do you view as the incoming administration and the city’s greatest challenge — what should we do first out of the gate? Inspire everyone in the city to do one thing every day to improve our city. That's alot of things every day that will make a huge difference collectively! What are YOU doing today?