A Basis for Hope

It was an overcast, Thursday afternoon. The fog was rolling in across the Bay and the temperature was dropping. It was the kind of day that is more typical of summer than fall in the Bay Area. It was late in the day and I was feeling particularly uninspired about my job. When I had first started working as the Executive Assistant to Mayor Loni Hancock, I’d thought I had the best job in the City. I was at the center of power in local government, and I thought I was in a position to make things happen. From the very first day the job had been demanding, but in a good way. Every day I was presented with new challenges and new issues to work on. At first I thought that I was in a position to have an impact on issues I cared about – homelessness, drug abuse, and the plight of the city’s youth. About three months into the job my optimism had given way to the grim reality that change comes slowly in municipal government.