Let us lament the humble photo-op.
Your humble scribe remembers, in a far simpler time, the hubbub when then Mayor Kirk Watson graced the Chronicle‘s cover posing outside the Ritz. What a shocker! How wild – did he also cure munchies at the death-metal pizzeria next door? But our municipal innocence has since been shattered, the harried news addict needing much, much more to catch his jaded attention. It’s not hard to say when it happened, and we know who’s responsible: Will Wynn. When your mayor thinks nothing of working a catwalk in kabuki couture, nipples at pert attention, you know the button-down photo-op is in trouble. At this rate, full-frontal’s going to be a staple of council members’ contracts.
Yet they were so fresh, so innocent, when we first laid eyes on them at the bus stop!
So our inner sleaze aficionado owes Lee Leffingwell a great debt of gratitude for pushing the boundaries. Leffingwell, along with Jennifer Kim, Mike Martinez, Brewster McCracken, Parks and Recreation director Warren Struss, and others took to Barton Springs’ brisk waters last Thursday. They were there to lend a hand to the Friends of Barton Springs in their monthly cleanup efforts. Leffingwell got the algae-scrubbing party started when he began work in sparse nylon shorts, cutting a striking, grandfatherly figure. Martinez, falling back on his calendar-photo-shoot training at the Fire Department, soon lost his shirt. Kim remained coy and demure in her shirt and shorts, while McCracken remained fully clothed, so as not to blind anyone in attendance. Man – that’s one sexy quorum.
A couple of cold showers later we arrive at today’s meeting, a rather workmanlike session. With scant zoning cases after Wednesday’s special session devoted exclusively to such, and few items from council, attention turns to the annual budget. At 11am comes the Community Services Department’s presentation, encompassing Parks and Recreation, Library, Health and Human Services, Neighborhood Housing and Community Development, and Solid Waste Services (see p.20). Public input is scheduled for 6pm.
Clothing, unfortunately, is not optional.
This article appears in August 11 • 2006.