If Venus Velazquez hadn't gotten Drunk, Harrell would never have been elected Mayor
It's not that I hate Bruce Harrell, dislike is a better description, along with Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark. Jean Godden, Nick Licata, Tom Rasmussen, and Kshama Sawant. What do they all have in common? They were all Seattle City Council members in 2014 who voted to eliminate the TNC cap of 250 cars per company (Uber & Lyft,) thus opening the floodgates that inundated Seattle's taxi industry. Mike O'Brien was the only sitting member to oppose the motion. In common parlance, we were "sold down the river," Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council caring little if we all drowned. Please also remember that Uber and Lyft were allowed to operate illegally between 2012-2014 without penalty.
As I wrote recently, I still see the grinning Harrell in my mind's eye, casting yet another damning vote, plunging a figurative knife into our cabbie hearts. There we all were, sitting in the city council chambers bleeding to death, and no one, not anyone at all offered to bind our wounds--- no bandages, no medical attention---just a boot in the rear to the nearest cemetery.
That's why, guys and gals, you should never consider for a moment voting for that "fill-in-the-blank" Harrell, Mister Insipid himself. Yes, we were betrayed by Mayor Ed Murray and Sawant but they are long gone. Harrell is the only one left, along with Burgess who remains deputy mayor, so by kicking Harrell down the road, you also rid Seattle of his complicit sidekick. Revenge may be sour, but there are few options left given the late hour.
What is not funny is that back in 2008, when running for the first time, his opponent for the city council seat, Venus Velazquez, was routing him in the polls. He was not going to win until, mere weeks before the election, dumbbell Venus was arrested for being drunk behind the wheel, tipsy coming back from a campaign event. Due to too much booze, Harrell trounced the once strongly favored Venus, voters finding him the more moral candidate.
The irony here is that after Venus requested a jury trail, she was subsequently found not guilty but of course at that point it was long after the election was decided and over. So we can thank Venus for giving Seattle Mister Harrell, and now in November, we can thank Katie Wilson, who is leading in the polls by 51 percent, for giving Bruce an early mayoral retirement.
I then urge everyone to please participate in the upcoming election and give Harrell an electoral middle finger. Seattle's taxicab industry is greatly diminished and he helped make it that way. Remember that, dear lady readers, when your male TNC driver does something shocking. You can thank Harrell and his 2014 Seattle City Council Members for the driver's behavior. Yes, thank you both Sallys, Bruce, Jean etc.
How do you like these for potential campaign slogans:
"We don't need him! We don't want him! Send Harrell out the door and on his way! Hip Hip Hurray!
or
"Open that door, giving Harrell a swift kick, not wanting his kind 'round no more!"
or
"Harrell, it is time you leave, and I guarantee we Seattle voters will not grieve!"
or
"Vote Harrell out, the dirty lout!"
or
"Don't pout, yank Harrell out by his sniveling snout!"
Elections can be entertaining, serious monkey business masquerading as Pluralist Democracy. Humor is always helpful but poor governance is not a laughing matter.
And PS to all this: In the August 25th Seattle Times online edition, there was a headline article about drug contamination at the Civic Hotel, a facility rented under the auspices of both the City of Seattle and King County to be used as a homeless shelter. The City and County are now being sued by the hotel owner for leaving rooms contaminated by dangerous drug residues left by illegal drug use.
Now predictably, the City and County are pointing fingers at each other, claiming someone else is responsible. I bring this up to illustrate why no one should vote to reelect Harrell. His governance is purely theoretical, evoking fantasy then claiming it to be real, a trait some might say he shares with Donald Trump.
But in this case, the evidence is undeniable, rooms were used inappropriately, and now the City of Seattle says it is not responsible. Wait, I know who is at fault! It was either God or his/her evil Universal partner, Satan that should be sued. Aren't they the ones responsible for all human behavior? Open the high gates of Heaven and let Justice reign! Mighty Jehovah! You be the Eternal Judge!
When $140 Million Dollars is a Drop in the Taxi Bucket
This is the second time I written about this upcoming settlement that is inching closer to a final summation. For those who don't know or remember the details, this sordid saga encompasses a period in New York City taxi history from 2003-2020 where any kind of arrest, even for jaywalking, resulted in a NYC cabbie losing their taxi for-hire license, their ability to drive a cab.
For anyone interested in reading a recent newspaper article about all this, I recommend the New York Times online edition August 13, 2025, and the article reported by Taylor Robinson, "Cabbies Who Lost Licenses After Arrests Near $140 Million Settlement." On that same day, Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals made final preparations to make the long awaited awards to the maligned cabbies and their lawyers.
The much shortened version of this travesty of justice concerns the thousands of NYC cabbies permanently suspended by the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission between the years 2003-2020. The vast majority of the accused cabbies were given no ability to contest their suspension or explain the circumstances behind their arrest. It is estimated that 90% of those arrested had their charges either dismissed or downgraded. One egregious example was a driver arrested in 2017 after a minor fender-bender accident at New York's LaGuardia airport. Minus a hearing, his taxi license was immediately suspended. And it begs the question, why would anyone, cabbie or otherwise, he arrested for a commonplace accident? Last month I reported on the spate of contrived fraudulent accidents committed by a cartel of bad actors. Was this accident in 2017 one of them?
It was sometime in 2020 that the Commission updated its policy after the 2006 class action suit questioning their actions. The new policy states that the Commission must consider whether a driver is "a direct and substantial threat to public health and safety."
That this case took nearly 20 years to reach conclusion says everything about how much the Commission cares about New York City's taxicab drivers. Remember, these are the same folks who encouraged medallions to be worth over one million dollars, something that bankrupted many naive cabbies, leading some to kill themselves. Where was the apology for that incredible disservice to the NYC taxicab community?
Immorality is nothing new in the Big Apple. Donald Trump and the now mayor, Eric Adams certainly symbolize that. Money talks and this case it walks all over past and current NYC cabbies. The expected payout is about $30,000 per eligible driver. How does that compensate for losing twenty years of income? Clearly it doesn't, not even close. Given the City's track record, don't be surprised to hear if yet another Commission attack upon the cabbies isn't in the works, angry because they had their hands slapped. When you don't care, you simply don't, pretense, saying you are sorry when you are not isn't even something condoned by the Pope, sincerity in the confessional considered both divine and holy.
And She had the Cab Wait
All veteran cabbies know that passengers are capable of anything and everything, and about five years ago, Aimee Betro, from the dairy state of Wisconsin, while involved with a British romantic partner, decided to try once again to murder her lover's enemy, something having to do with a failed business deal. Three night previously, when a jammed pistol prevented her from succeeding, she arrived back once again to the scene of the crime in a Black Cab, telling the cabbie to wait nearby while shooting up her intended victim's house, three shots ringing out.
Thankfully, all that this madness achieved were arrests, with Amiee Betro on the lam for four years until recently found hiding out in Armenia. On August 21st, she was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for her failed assassination attempts. There is no word whether she tipped her cabbie. If she stiffed the driver, add another year, with hard labor.
The lesson for all cabbies is, always get a cash deposit when the passenger leaves your cab, and if you hear gunfire, you might decide that something is terribly wrong. Yes, a possible logical conclusion. A cab makes a great getaway car. And don't we all know how to drive fast? Zoom! Zoom! down the getaway highway. "Drive faster, cabbie, I left a boiling kettle on my stovetop!"
Gordon Bowker Once Drove a Cab
I know nothing concerning the details but in a Seattle Times obituary, it was mentioned that Bowker, the co-founder of both Starbucks Coffee and Red Hook Beer, once drove a cab in Seattle. For those of us who know, we know that we can be a talented crew. Screw all the bad press! We cabbies, the unsung transportation heroes driving beneath the toplight radar! should shout to the sky "Go to hell! and we know why!"
Light-Rail Accident at the 9800 Hundred Block of Martin Luther King Jr Way on August 29th, 2025
I mention this as yet another bad example of bad governance and planning by the City of Seattle and King County. During the initial planning stages for the much needed regional transit system, though very aware of the danger of vehicles colliding with street-level train cars, they decided against elevating the tracks through Rainier Valley. Multiple accidents since illustrate how dumb that decision was. But when it comes to the legacy of governmental decision making in Seattle and King County, it displays how important it is that voters choose the correct candidate. Unfortunately, the history is dismal.
Sometimes a real capable person like the late Seattle mayor, Charles Royer comes on the scene but usually instead we have sorry examples like former Seattle mayors Norm Rice, Paul Schell, Greg Nickels, Paul Schell, Ed Murray, Bruce Harrell and King County Executives like Ron Sims and Dow Constantine, a true 'Rogue's Gallery" of hubristic incompetence.
I can't tell you how many times when in my cab I had to quickly avoid an oncoming light-rail train on MLK. And my prediction is that it is going to take many more collisions until finally, new funding is located and the tracks are elevated above the roadway. How many more injuries and deaths will have to occur before this happens? In the hundreds, if not in the thousands. As I keep saying, welcome to Seattle, the City of Somnambulism. How do you like that for a catchy city motto?
The San Francisco, California Taxi Industry is in Real Trouble due to High Medallion Costs
More than 300 SF taxi medallion owners have defaulted on their loans for medallions sold to them by the City of San Francisco for $250,000. Drivers are currently asking for relief, requesting that the cost be lowered, complaining that their business model has been battered by the City's decision to allow Uber, Lyft and Waymo driverless cars into their market. The SF Taxi Workers Alliance is urging the the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and the San Francisco Federal Credit Union (SFFCU) to either provide relief or buy back the medallions.
There are currently over 800 Wayno driverless taxis in San Francisco, and as I have reported in the past, nearly 45,000 Uber and Lyft operators. How can the cabbies compete with those kinds of numbers? The quick answer is that it is probably impossible. To drive Uber and Lyft, all you need to do is buy a used car costing about $20,000 and you are on the road. To own a cab in SF you have to make monthly payments on a $250,000 loan along with yearly insurance costs between $5000-7000.00 dollars. Then of course add in the costs of maintenance and fuel. Bloody insane is what this all is.
Poem
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The kid was white, of course not understanding how his hijinks could have resulted in an unwanted haircut.
Uber and Lyft Drivers in CA Win Path to Unionization
Assembly Bill 1340, sponsored by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) California, and Senate Bill 371, sponsored by Uber and Lyft, clears the way for TNC drivers to organize for increased pay, job protections and other benefits. In exchange, Uber and Lyft will be getting reduced insurance coverage mandates. Uber and Lyft, in a rare move, actually helped form the legislation with Governor Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, all Democrats. This all comes after the dumbbell voters in California voted to Pass Prop 200, something backed by $200 million in advertising spending, to kill TNC driver's rights. The ruling government in Sacramento never liked that outcome, resulting in this recent agreement. Now if only cabbies were to receive equal treatment but don't hold your breath waiting for that because you will only faint dead away.
Bad! Cabbies in Cancun and Tulum, Mexico
From all reports, taxicab drivers in these tourist hotspots on the Atlantic coast of Mexico are ripping off tourists at every opportunity. I just watched a video and clearly part of the issue are inexperienced travelers not understanding that they must adjust being in a poverty stricken country, and that cabbies and everyone else view them as their personal ATMs.
In all my travels across the globe, I have only been over charged twice in essentially 40 years. Once in Romania 2011 and once in southern Spain 1991. The guy in Bucharest took a roundabout route to go a few blocks, which was obvious. And in Spain, the driver took me past the first bus stop, stopping a mile or so at the next. Not a lot of money was involved and of course, no tip for them. In Tallin, Estonia in 2015, I found that cabs were able to set their own rates, making the fares highly variable, some cheap, others not. Due to that, I simply walked to where ever I needed to go.
My overall advice when traveling to Mexico is to avoid the most popular resorts. And do dress normally, not like you are on a beach in Miami. Maybe I should start teaching classes on how to be a sane and happy American traveler. My first suggestion is to look up the definition of the word foolish and try to understand how that might apply to yourself when visiting a foreign land.
When I am traveling, I can immediately spot an American tourist from hundreds a feet away. The way they walk, the way they dress and the tone of their facial features. Always a dead giveaway. And you can be sure that the savvy cabbies in Tulum and Cancun know this too. They are waiting to pick your pocket. Beware!
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