Thanks for your service, Bill. You are, and always have been, a class act in my book.

Thrilled for his new gig! Very happy for him - totally deserved.

Granted, Schrier made as much progress in the areas mentioned as is possible in a disfunctional environment that is the City of Seattle local government.

Obvious by omission, is his part in the failure to get a municipal broadband network established for the citizens. Many reasons are used as an excuse, the biggest one is cost. Yet, it seems by pushing the most expensive option right out of the gate, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. No one had the guts to stand up to Comcast and Century Link, and the intimidation was effective.

Public-private partnerships were clearly not going to do it. Look at Tacoma's Click. Ignoring affordability and focusing on access was never an effective business model, as was demonstrated under Nickles. The current policy is doing exactly the same thing, and will result in exactly the same end. Nothing, except a continuation of overpriced service for the few who can afford it. The digital divide is not addressed by access alone.

There were other feasible models and ideas suggested, going back to 2006. They were ignored. Many of the same reasons for not doing this before are being used, and it's because the same assumptions back in 2007 have never been examined.

Cost isn't an excuse for not doing something, it's a reason. The whole concept of a municipal broadband network was a campaign promise of Mayor McGinn, whose post-election unpopularity prevented him from seriously pursuing a city ballot issue to fund such a system.

In other words, blame the boss, not the tech guy.

I blame both. There are other feasible avenues and methods of implementation to persue, but they both did not want to address them. It was not cost that kept this from advancing, but it was the excuse heard over and over again, based upon studies done in 2006.