For those that believe there is a right-wing conspiracy to force the LGBTQ+ community out of Denny Blaine Park: why didn't the conspirators astroturf the public hearing with persons purportedly in favor of the playground? Seems weird that they would just give up on their plot.

I’m a straight white male and even I could see through this: this was an attempt by one of the homeowners in the neighborhood to keep their beloved property values high. Just down the street from where some rich asshole bought Kurt Cobain’s suicide house either because they have no intelligence or no soul. It used to be that you could tell the “socially liberal, fiscal conservative” morons in Seattle by their Recall Sawant yard signs.

For the guy above, congrats I guess? I mean it’s not like conservatives got their geriatric army so angry about giving anyone under 65 even the slightest right to healthcare that we continue to pay the most for one of the worst healthcare systems in the Northern Hemisphere. But hey, Providence sponsored the Sounders so pay no attention to their greedy administration making millions off of a system that was a charity 100 years ago

Does Howard Schultz still have a house near there? It would be amazing if he was the private donor, seeing as he's already one of the most hated people in Seattle.

@3 - Why is Schultz one of the most hated people in Seattle?

Anyway, I'm glad that this park was saved. Now let's reclaim the space in Cal Anderson being overran by drug addicts

won't someone think of the children?

@5 pretty much nailed it. Also his narcissism led him to believe he should run for president. And I think he paved over part of a city park to widen his driveway. He’s terrible.

@3 yes, Howard Schultz lives nearby. He’s certainly a strong possibility, but guessing whoever it is likely hid their name behind some business entity to conceal their identity, so we may never know. Many of the neighboring houses are worth $10M+, so really could be any of the very rich people that live nearby.

Good lord. All you need to do is go to the King County Parcel Viewer to find out who the neighbors are. Schultz isn’t one of them.

Apparently Howie moved to Madison Park, so he's a mile away. But, still, he's a vindictive fuck so I wouldn't put it past him.

Honestly, I don't see Schultz having any interest to have a playground there to fuck with people. I can see someone affiliated with a Mars-Hill-like church with ties to Moms for liberty trying to do something like this.

But as I also said, can we now reclaim the park space at Cal Anderson that's been overrun by drug addicts and Sawant-ass-kissing activists?

Also, apres_moi dear, there is no love loss between the Schultz family and the Seattle Parks Department, or any of the residents of that neighborhood.

@11: “…can we now reclaim the park space at Cal Anderson that's been overrun by drug addicts and Sawant-ass-kissing activists?”

Nope. It’s now the Final Redoubt for both the CHOP, and for True Believers in Dear Departing Saint Sawant. The Stranger reveres both as holy, and will not permit desecration of such a sacred site.

(Yeah, addicts with their tents, filth, garbage, and crime all existed there for years before the CHOP, but the Stranger’s belief system makes every bit as much sense as any other religion.)

I'm surprised the city hasn't been more strict about Cal Anderson, given that it sits atop a giant reservoir. Granted, the public can't access it, but I'm sure there are SPU workers who have to go there frequently.

Long live Dyke-kiki!

@1 I think there's a good chance they tried to find people willing to do just that. But astroturfing is harder to pull off at the hyper-local level, where so many people know each other, than it is at (say) the state legislature. A total stranger who showed up claiming to be a "longtime neighborhood resident" would raise a considerable number of eyebrows -- and likely would face a considerable number of pointed questions afterward.

P.S. I don't think it was Schultz. He may be an asshole but he's not an anti-LGBTQ asshole.