November 18, 2005
Amateur on Parade
If there is anyone unconvinced the death of the monorail is a good thing, The Stranger's interview, A Chilling Effect, with acting-chairwoman Kristina Hill should change their minds. Hill's statements are the very opposite of professional. Her answer to the very first question is that "Seattle has just screwed itself." She then proceeds to give a profanity-laced interview, using the s-word three times and variations on the f-word no less than six. This is the behavior of the person the monorail board has chosen as their leader.
I can understand that Hill is angry after losing a battle she has fought for several years. But an employee of a public agency should not be cursing in interviews to the press, especially not the head of an agency. Civil servants -- in which I include elected and appointed officials -- should always strive to be exactly that: civil. A lowered standard of civility in public discourse has a corrosive effect on democracy. Eventually people feel they cannot talk to each other and only talk past each other. Then there is no way to reach the compromises that keep society whole.
But beyond the profanity, what really comes across is the monorail board's incredible naivete in the face of objections by elected officials. In answer to just about every question, Hill shows herself to be totally reliant on the goodwill of the mayor, and she still seems surprised that he acted in his own interests rather than in hers. People who make decisions based on wishful thinking you don't want in charge of multi-billion dollar public works projects.
Posted by Andy MacDonald at November 18, 2005
03:00 PM | Email This
1. I've stated many times that a monorail is the RIGHT solution to downtown traffic issues.
However, it is blatantly obvious that it will have to be built by someone other than people like her. It needs to be built by people who earn money for a living. Not spending money for a living.
2. THEY HAVE LEARNED THEIR WHINNING FROM THE BEST ,KEVIN PHELPS
3. Hey don't blame Kristina Hill. I'm sure she's a regular reader of the HorsesAss.org. The profanity and juvenile behavior is so thick over there, that one often feels like it's a South Park episode and not a political blog.
I'm sure Ms. Hill is just parroting what has become the norm for liberals, to become completely unhinged and irrational instead of arguing with reason.
Oh well, she lost, so who cares.
4. Didn't she have to go to sensitivity training for making a bunch of anti semitic statements about the monorail's opposition?
Class act. Even if you are completely inept at your job, you can at least ATTEMPT to compensate for it by being polite.
5. Well, if this is typical of the quality of the monorail leadership, then it's, "Good riddance to bad rubbish".
She obviously needs to get a real job... but then, I wonder how long she'd last!
6. Does that apply to Dick Cheney?
7. Dick Cheney's use of profanity didn't happen in a interview with a newspaper. I'm sure you'd like to put a wiretap on every Republican so that the next time they were hammering in their garage and missed and hit a thumb or were cut off dangerously in traffic while driving, you could record and then play the profanity for all to see as a reason why they should be removed from office.
Context matters.
8. That won't work for them Jeff, Kerry was caught on tape by a TV reporter using the "F" word during the campaign......... He didn't know the camera was on!
9. Holy Cow! Does she eat with that mouth? It's typical, though. Like at HA, when there are no substantive comments to be articulated, revert to foul mouthed blaming someone else. No wonder the monorail project got into so much trouble, with people like her who admittedly don't know what they are doing, and think it's just fine to spend taxpayers money in perpetuity without anything to show for it. Sheesh!
10. How is it that such obviously stupid people get in charge of major projects? I crap smarter than her.
11. Furthermore, at least Dick Cheney had the decorum to direct his comment at one particular individual, and to look that person in the eye while saying it.
Ms Hill prefers to slander a whole class of people in a place where she'll never have to worry about living up to it.
12. I love the following comment from her, so typical...
"Seattle is basically an anti-intellectual town"
Well, I guess that explains why Seattle voted for the monorail the first time around. Seattlites need to vote on something five times before they figure out how dumb it is...
13. That previous comment also explains the existance of Horsesass.org...
14. By "anti-intellectual" she must mean "not quite Marxist enough". Of course, we all know that "intellectual" is actually leftist code speak for "liberal arts degree with Marxist overtones".
It must be odd for her to be surrounded by many thousands of people with engineering and science degrees that don't agree with her basic political agenda. But then, those people don't have the "right kind" of education as they didn't gorge themselves on PC thought and actually studied meaningfull subjects.
Of course, most of those people tend to live outside of Seattle city limits......
15. That's liberals for you. Just read the comments here and then read the comments on horse's ass. They cuss like 800% more on the left. At least publicly.
16. Good grief! What these people really miss is their big fat paychecks. Their salaries are unbelievable and they aren't qualified to pick up dog litter. Will this city/county EVER learn?
17. The profanity just doesn't surprise me. Disappointing? yes
18. Absolutely, it is a matter of context. Cheney was decent enough to save his profanity for the softball league-like atmosphere of the Senate Floor while Hill disgraced the hallowed halls of the Stranger's office.
19. Wow!
She is truly flabbergasted that her project is dead! In her interview, Hill spelled out all of her flakey contacts, her liberal resources, etc...and Mayor Nickles just threw it all under the bus!(or the rail...) She was completely stunned at the thought of bringing the monorail vote to the people! (What an absurd idea!)
I love it! This is what happens to a socialist liberal when they have their purse strings snipped...They implode. Especially if it's snipped by those "anti-intelligent"...gasp...voters!
20. I don't believe this! Everyone is so concerned about this woman's use of the F-bomb that the main point is being overlooked...That Seattle politics exist to benefit Seattle politicians!
The people of Seattle voted FOUR TIMES for the monorail...yet the mayor and the city council, either by action or inaction, did everything they could to put the monorail in it's grave, thus giving "the will of the people" the finger.
Just a little something for everyone to think about during your next commute...
21. Gee! I really have to agree with Kris. The monorail was going to come close by my big Magnolia home; I even thought I would get a chance to ride with Jim and Larry to town. Now I'll have to drive my Escalante over to the U-district to catch a ride on Light rail. Will they have a bar car?
22. No surprise there. At least we know that she will not be in the media much in the future, since their will no longer be a board for her to sit on.
This should be a wake up call to all Seattle voters. STOP VOTING BASED ON POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. These are the sorts of idiots you end up with. City government is full of them too, but they are better able to hide that nonsense they are up to.
23. Not to worry--Kristina and the rest of the defrocked MR board can always run for city council. There's still money to be "made."
24. I wonder if she kisses her lover (I mean mother) with that mouth?
25. Cheap tart. Potty mouth. You get what you pay for---or do you? I've known many working for a fraction at non-profits who can run circles (in ability and integrity) around these public hacks. What a shame. What a waste.
26. Her conclusion that Seattle 'screwed itself' isn't correct...She screwed Seattle. The monorail had the benefit of 4 consecutive favorable votes. I think some kind of monorail would be a lot better than light rail. Thanks to Hill and her ilk, the probability of a monorail is now dead for generations... Her F-bombs really demonstrate how completely over her head she was in this project. Can you imagine this dolt conducting productive negotiations with real business people??? Do you remember the news conference when she kicked the public out and then shuttered the windows so they couldn't see in and then claimed that SMP was a wholly open agency? What a joke!
My lingering question is, "Where did kristina Hill come from?" How does someone as inept as this woman get put in charge of such a significant public project?
Hats off to the Stranger for shining a bright light on this looser. With this article tailing her around, she should be finished in Seattle...
27. You know, upon reflection, if you ignore the foul language, some of Kristina's comments are right on, e.g. her statement "This is not a meritocracy. The smart people are not in charge." That pretty much sums up everything we're up against.
28. Good Point Organization Man all one has to to is look at Silly City's counsel,KCE King County Government & Wa,State to know smart people aren't in charge!!!
29. She's Seattle's witch who has turned on them and some of her comments are indeed true, but her agenda a selfish, devisive and one designed to screw the people out of more money. Smart people are no where to be found- its pathetic. Maybe this will escalate into a riot on City Council by the deposed Monorail board - then there will be some news for a change.
30. I think she's p*ssed that those in charge of *counting* the votes didn't *count* them in the monorail's favor....
Her outburst's are sounding more of a response to a betrayal...yet - she didn't seem that worried before the election.....The monorail initiative was probably the only vote count in King County and Seattle that wasn't manipulated...
31. What a major league ass hole.
32. "Ms." Hill is a professor at UW (http://www.caup.washington.edu/larch/people/faculty/hill/hill.php), so what do you expect?
Time to put this "We voted 4 times for it" argument to bed once and for all. 2 of the votes didn't speak to project funding at all and none of the votes passed wwith very broad support.
In the recent vote, the PEOPLE spoke, and spoke loudly.
DIE MONORAIL, DIE!!
33. Let's not forget Queen Cristene's lastest stupid remark about not being having our education standards compered with Ga & N. Corolina. When
Ga.State Government heard this from the sponsors putting this on they said that they were educated enough to not alow their governor to steal their election!! He he he a much deserved slap in the face to CG!!I guess the voters of this state aren't the only ones that think she too is not smart!