Rantz: Seattle Deputy Mayor harassing residents into a coronavirus ‘thank you’

Seattle Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan spent part of Saturday demanding Twitter users thank the mayor for enacting a car-free policy. It was desperate and harassing. And boy was she dragged for it.

The City of Seattle closed a near-3 mile span of car lanes along West Green Lake. This was meant to allow pedestrians and bicyclists more space to physically distance themselves from one another as they get out of their homes.

It appears Ranganathan went on a Twitter scavenger hunt for thankful tweets. Instead, she found the thanks ignored Durkan. So she decided to pounce.

Thirsty for praise

Urbanist Seattleites praised Seattle Parks and the Seattle Department of Transportation for the move. This apparently upset Ranganathan. She wanted Durkan to get credit.

After the The Urbanist blog’s Twitter account gave a shoutout to Parks and DOT, Ranganathan churlishly replied, “And thank you @MayorJenny who had asked for the proposal and approved the plan. There fixed that for you.”

When former Seattle City Council candidate Cathy Tuttle praised the move, Ranganathan again went in to snipe at the activist apparently ungrateful for Durkan’s leadership. She replied, with the same pablum as before: “And thank you @MayorJenny who had asked for the proposal and approved the plan. There fixed that for you.”

The same happened when account @4SafeStreets praised the move, without bowing down to Durkan.

And thank you @MayorJenny who had asked for the proposal and approved the plan. There fixed that for you.

— Shefali Ranganathan (@TransitShef) April 18, 2020

The deputy mayor gets dragged on Twitter

Twitter users weren’t happy with the petty Ranganathan responses. They absolutely dragged her for her bizarre anger.

Jen pointed out how selfish it was for the mayor’s office to assert itself.

A good leader would let her people / departments take the kudos, but go on.

— ⭐️⭐️ Jen (@MsJenKitch) April 18, 2020

David pointed out that this move was weeks overdo and that Durkan dragged her feet for a move she now apparently wants credit for.

Thank you @MayorJenny for giving us a safe place to walk. I wish it hadn't taken weeks of many people asking over and over… And the leadership of so many mayor's who did the right thing first… but thank you for meeting basic needs. Fixed for @TransitShef

— David (@David52973759) April 19, 2020

Another user pointed out this is the kind of behavior inspired by abusive bosses demanding they get credit. It’s worth noting that Durkan has previously faced accusations of a toxic work environment where she once grabbed a staffer’s face in a bout of anger. Durkan denied the allegations.

All my absolute worst most abusive bosses were the ones who demanded personal credit and public recognition for everything their teams accomplished.

— Whatever (@ScrambledMeggs) April 19, 2020

Finally, this user sums up the response succinctly.

This is so cringy

— Matt Lowe (@_mattlowe) April 19, 2020

Maybe the environment is abuse

I’m trying to figure out why Ranganathan would target a small handful of accounts praising the move. It’s not like this was a brave decision, nor was it particularly meaningful to the vast majority of Seattle residents.

Perhaps there is truth to Durkan being a bully. Is Ranganathan terrified of a Mayor Durkan angry she’s not getting credit?

If you’re scared that your boss will get on your case for not getting much credit during the pandemic, perhaps you will go to great lengths for any positive coverage. Durkan has taken a back seat on coronavirus leadership. While Governor Jay Inslee is holding the widely consumed press briefings, Durkan’s office has been mostly relegated to sending out a bunch of press releases. Is that leadership in a city the size of Seattle?

Maybe it’s unfair to read too much into these dopey tweets. Perhaps Ranganathan is acting out of her own bizarre pettiness. But it is still a really bad look not just for her own office, but for Durkan.

This is, ultimately, a small accomplishment no one will remember Durkan for. Nor should they. Durkan temporarily closed a road, one week after inexplicably closing parks. She got panned for that. Now, she’s hoping for an easy PR win even if it results in some Twitter pettifogging.

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