Super Sad, Super Rad

My buddy Chip emailed me this afternoon with the breaking news that Jon Snyder resigned from his position on the Spokane City Council (super sad).

 Reason being, he was appointed Washington's first Director of Outdoor Initiative, a new post created by Gov. Jay Inslee (super rad).

 The news immediately reminded me of a line from the movie Shawshank Redemption . . . "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."

While the comparison may seem super sappy and overly-dramatic, the fundamental sentiment rings true: It would be flat out wrong to cage the magnitude of Jon's integrity and passion and vision and energy within the boundaries of Spokane politics. He has bigger work to do. I will miss him, though. His city council shoes are huge ones to fill. His leadership gave me great comfort.

My buddy John first introduced me to Jon, and it was kind of momentous for me, because it was my first-ever significant personal connection with a local politician. Through Jon, I have had the great privilege of experiencing high-level public servant integrity. Jon embodies the virtue of "for the people", with his every word and action.

It will always be a source of pride for me that I built a front rack for the bike that Jon rode all the hell around Spokane in the course of conducting his business these last few years. The story is here.

 And I will always be incredibly grateful for Jon's recent support of the John Wayne Pioneer Trail at the local/regional level.

With this said, my personal issues, interactions and memorabilia are so incredibly insignificant, in terms of the work he is doing. On this very day that he resigned, a profound and impactful letter to the editor that he wrote was published in today's Spokesman Review.

Holy hell. That's the level of priority and awareness that this guy is operating at.

Thanks, Jon, for everything you have done for Spokane!  And congratulations!  And go get 'em!