I am sure that when democratic socialist Katie Wilson was running for mayor she was thinking about how she would handle homelessness, strike the right balance on public safety and deal with downtown businesses that viewed her with suspicion. She certainly was not thinking about being the city’s sports mayor.
But, here she is, forced to be a big fan, even if she cannot tell a pick six from a bicycle kick.
Wilson’s first half year as Seattle’s mayor began with the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl and is now ending with World Cup fever overtaking the city. In between, she has gone to at least one Storm basketball game and an outing with the Mariners. Before her term is up, she may be overseeing the long-awaited return of the Sonics to Seattle.
Wilson says she is having fun with all this sports activity and, whether or not she would really rather be doing something else, it is probably politically smart for her to be in the stands cheering. Grim, overly zealous radicals with bullhorns at their lips rapidly grate on people, but someone with the same concerns about social justice can win over a lot of skeptics just by showing she is not that different from everyone else.
Being a sports mayor just might help Katie Wilson become a successful mayor.
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