Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman, he of the light rail opposition and the deep pockets, has a few things to say about Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn's plan to raise parking rates downtown.

Like, oh, "McGinn is Knifing Seattle Retail." (Over in Bellevue, a city that Freeman apparently sees a beacon of great urban planning, the parking is free.)

Freeman, a fourth-generation Bellevue land baron, continues, livid. “This guy (Mayor McGinn) doesn’t have a clue how to run a city. I should be dancing, but I’m not. It hurts the whole region, believe me. It’s like he hates people and he wants to run ‘em out of there.”

Rather than just grousing, Freeman offers some counsel for Mayor McGinn.

“No. 1, “ he says, “ I would start with the concept that healthy retail in downtown is the catalyst for a healthy economy for all other forms of commercial real estate in Seattle, such as office buildings, hotels, restaurants, apartments, condos and so forth. So if your goal is to have a healthy economy for Seattle, as far as downtown is concerned, there’s nothing more important than making sure that retail is healthy.” For one, he says, that means not raising the parking rates from $2.50 to $4 an hour.

It goes from there, with Freeman closing with this bit of advice to McGinn: "Don’t make the car your enemy. It’s actually your friend.”