The mayor of Bellingham recently created some buzz by offering the key to the city to Comedy Central host Jon Stewart, an apparent response to the mayor of Mount Vernon’s offer of the key to their city to Fox host Glenn Beck. Our good mayor explained this act of real-life satire on an episode of The Morning Show on KGMI. I must admit, the whole incident brought back memories of an embarrassing time in this young writer’s career. Since I haven’t posted anything for a while, I’ll share with you the following story:
During Election Day of 2008, I was trying to cover the results all while broadcasting updates live on my cell phone. It was my first time localizing a major national event, and I was sweating bullets. I had just finished a live update from Whatcom County’s Republican headquarters where the scene was rather somber, when our News Director Tracy Ellis asked me to run to the Lakeway Inn Convention Center where the Democrats were gathered.
The scene there was near pandemonium, as the national election results increasingly titillated that Barack Obama would be the winner. After attempting to describe the scene in another cell phone broadcast, Tracy asks me off-the-air to get an interview about the results from State Rep. Kelli Linville. So I hung up, and looked around the crowded room. I had no idea what Rep. Linville looks like! I didn’t even know where to begin looking or who to ask, and just when the gravity of the situation finished sinking into my brain, I spotted a familiar face out of the crowd. Before I could even think, the man says to me, “you’re Mike from KGMI.” So I asked, “I’m sorry, what was your name?” And he says, “Dan Pike!”
It was the mayor! My face instantly turned pink. I had failed to recognize the mayor of Bellingham, and worst of all, he actually recognized me! He kindly led me to where Rep. Linville was standing, and I tried to cover my indecorum by saying “thank you Mayor Pike,” but the embarrassment was already incurable.
To this day, I am still humbled by that story. For a reporter, I have a terrible memory. And for a politician, Dan Pike must have an exceptional memory! He’s a friend of the station, he’s always willing to grant an interview, and so I say Mayor Pike should be allowed to give the key to the city to anyone he deems fit.