I really dig the initiative by mayors across the country to support marriage equality (h/t). It pushes the issue forward and while it’s mostly symbolism, that’s all that they can do. Still, when I checked out the Washington entries on the list, I was a little disappointed.
Timothy Leavitt – Vancouver, WA
Mike McGinn – Seattle, WA
Marilyn Strickland – Tacoma, WA
Ava Frisinger – Issaquah, WA
That’s it. McGinn and Strickland are gimmies. I’m glad they signed on but it would be much more surprising if they didn’t than if they did, just based on the cities. But Everett isn’t on the list. No Olympia or Bellingham. No Bellevue and only one suburban King County city. No Spokane or any Eastern Washington cities.
Of course, gay people (and their allies) live outside those 4 cities. They live in Eastern Washington. I don’t know what the outreach there was to the mayors not on the list, but there’s more work to do.
Spokane’s current mayor, David Condon, is one of Cathy McMorris’s lackeys. I wouldn’t look for him to sign on. I’d think Bellingham and Oly would be on the list, but I don’t know anything about their current mayors.
Spokane’s old mayor, Mary Vernor, probably would have signed on, but like @1 said the new guy is boilerplate right wing.
I don’t know that there’s another progressive mayor in Eastern Washington, except for maybe Pullman.