You’re gonna miss him when he’s gone

I wanted to take a small break among all of the blast from the past goodness to make sure that I recognized a real special member of this Alameda community. Today is the last day that John Knox White will be sitting on that City Council dais and Alameda’s City Council will be a lesser body without his presense.

Yes, I can feel some of you rolling your eyes but I can also feel a lot more of you nodding your heads in agreement so suck it eye rollers.

There have been few members of the City Council, at least in my recent memory, who has understood each and every issue that has come before the Council and didn’t bog down the meetings with useless questions. He respected the professional opinion of staff but, when necessary, pushed back when something didn’t make sense. These push backs were never part of an elaborate “gotcha” to try to trip up staff but to make sure that the decisions being made were in the best interest of Alamedans.

Most importantly of all he advocated for policy for the benefit of all Alamedans, particularly those that have never been actively engaged in the decision making process at the local governance level. That speaks to a real commitment to service and inclusion that many speak about but few actually live up to that promise when it’s time to take those votes.

So, thank you John Knox White for being so wonky, geeky, and giving this city your all. We didn’t deserve you, but you definitely deserve this much needed break.