A: The projects that I have the most fun defending, supporting and advocating for are the projects that improve people's lives. Things like doing everything we could to get approval for the Mary Alice O'Connor Family Center, when that was a tenuous vote, and no matter the negativity about it, providing the financial resources to assist with the acquisition and rehabilitation of the Family Service Agency was the right decision in the right place at the right time. It serves the most at-risk families, and if we're not helping them, what kind of community are we? On the economic side of things, although I was disappointed by the vote, I think we did a good job when we took the Whole Foods project through the process. That was a challenging project, and the staff, Joy Forbes and others, did a phenomenal job. I am pleased that we have started a conversation by all of the work we did on negotiating and walking through the process with the development agreement with the airport. It's so critical to this community. To be able to scale back that vitriol that was out there for so many years and to say, 'Look, the airport is in our community. They respect our position and we should respect their position, and we should provide the opportunity for them to do the necessary security upgrades.'
Q&A: Sue Georgino
Q: What will you miss the least?
A: I think I am going to miss the least folks that don't invest. They don't invest anything in giving anything back to the community and yet they feel entitled to cynically denigrate folks that do. I know that is something that is a given in public life, but I won't miss that. I won't miss the fact that they can get up there and chastise and denigrate and call into question virtue of people who day-in and day-out are getting up and giving back something of great value. They are heroes of this community for giving of themselves every single day to make someone else's life better and to listen to folks who don't do that, who don't invest, who don't give, who don't put themselves out there. I don't ever see them at community events. I don't ever see them volunteering. They are not calling us to say, 'Where's the next community event? Can we come out and help give out backpacks, or help give snow cones, tutor kids, mentor or be engaged in anything positive?' And yet they can get up there and make very negative comments. I won't miss that, even though I understand it.
Q: Would you consider running for City Council?
A: I don't think so. I really don't think so.
