Published April 9,2002 in Seattle Post-Intellgincer

By Greg Nickels

Wednesday (April 10) marks my 100th day as Seattle's Mayor.

I took office determined to strengthen basic services, restore confidence in city government, and make a difference in people's lives.

I've kept a "get it done" list during my first 100 days, and with the help of hard-working, dedicated city staffers who have risen to every challenge thrown at them, I've been able to put a check mark beside every task. (You can see the entire list on the Web at http://www.cityofseattle.net/mayor/.)

We're making progress in traffic congestion; in helping businesses grow and create opportunities for all; in building confidence that our city is prepared to face any threat; and in expanding our sense of community so every neighborhood and every person feels welcomed and included.

These accomplishments have strengthened my belief that with strong leadership and clear direction, the city can accomplish wonders.

We have a long way to go, but I feel good about where we're headed. We've built a solid foundation for the future. By showing common sense and by taking care of the small stuff, the public knows that, when we seek support for a big project, we will keep our promises and deliver results.

Here's a rundown of milestones reached in my first 100 days.

To strengthen the region's economy, we formed an Economic Opportunity Task Force of education, civic, business, labor and community leaders to develop an action plan for helping Seattle businesses.

I have one goal in mind: jobs. The new economic plan should identify specific steps to assist large and small businesses, especially those that expand the base of living-wage jobs.

To ease traffic congestion, we moved quickly on several fronts.

We began reorganizing the Transportation Department, starting with the appointment of Grace Crunican as director. We deployed tow truck operators on the Montlake and West Seattle Bridges to clear disabled vehicles. We improved signage for truck drivers, started park-and-ride bus service to Sonics games, and synchronized 37 traffic lights in 3 key corridors to move all traffic--bus, car, bicycle and pedestrian--more efficiently.

And yes, we did pot holes - more than 700 since I became mayor. The city now fills 97 percent of reported pot holes within 48 hours, an improvement from the previous rate of 78 percent. (If you spot a pothole, call 684-ROAD, and set your timer!)

Fixing potholes is a basic city service. So is public safety.

Working with the Police Department and the Pioneer Square neighborhood, we made sure that the tragedy of last year's Mardi Gras was not repeated. Thanks to a good plan by the department's command staff and some terrific work by the men and women of the police department, we had a safe and fun Mardi Gras.

To improve overall readiness in public safety, we made a variety of improvements. We developed and began a three-day training program for police sergeants and first-line supervisors in the Police Department. We sped up development of a new firefighter training center. We strengthened our readiness to respond to any emergency, be it an earthquake or a terrorist attack, by consolidating all relevant services in a new Emergency Preparedness Bureau in the Police Department.

To build a sense of community, we made several changes. First, to show that city government will keep commitments to neighborhoods, we restored funding for 28 neighborhood transportation projects that had been cut in the 2002 budget. The reason was simple: when citizens create a partnership with the city, that's the last sort of thing the city should cut.

To do even more to promote a shared sense of inclusion, the Department of Neighborhoods' took on an expanded mission to include a serious focus on social, cultural and racial issues. A new department director, Yvonne Sanchez, will lead that effort.

To help keep neighborhoods clean and restore Seattle's reputation as one of the nation's cleanest cities, several city departments worked with schools and community councils to launch the Clean Seattle Initiative. We started in southeast Seattle at Othello Playground and most recently, we formed a "human broom chain" to sweep a neighborhood in Lake City.

The entire 100-day accomplishments took some work, but we've had fun too.

In the first 100 days, we've honored Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno; celebrated basketball championships won by Seattle Prep and Rainier Beach; and broken ground for a new performance hall at Seattle Center, named after Marion Oliver McCaw. And on a personal note, I was moved by the civic celebration of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This is a great job, and I'm honored to be your mayor.

In the coming months, we face some budget challenges. We have to find some efficiencies, make some hard choices, and close a significant gap between expected revenue and expenditures. We've got to get moving on the big transportation projects that will really make a difference in our lives. We've taken the small steps. Let's take the big steps together.

With your support, we'll get it done.