Paul Schell was Mayor for a turbulent and agitated period in the city and the country. The experience left him a little shell-shocked, if you will. But Paul Schell was a visionary who cared about how the city looked and how its served its citizens. Some people didnt like his projects, both when he worked as a planner and later as a developer, but he helped shaped the city and left a legacy of spaces that we will enjoy for years. The Pike Place Market, Harbor Steps and Waterfront Place are models for bringing people back to downtown. The Alexis helped transform a still changing 1st Avenue. For all its hight tone sensibility, the Four Seasons offers public access to some fine works of NW Art. The UWs Office of Sustainability will have impact far into the future. I spoke with him monthly during his tenure and always found him engaged and open, willing to argue his points, but willing to hear the criticism as well. He wasnt a typical politician and that hurt him sometimes, but I felt it made him all the more credible, through his failures and his successes. After his tenure as mayor, he remained a person who felt deeply for the city and was willing to share his opinions and analysis. He had a sense of himself as a citizen, obligated to engage in civic life. Condolences to his family and friends.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 18:21:02 +0000