San Francisco Values? Yes Please!

Props to political operative Jeff Roe for coining a phrase that will remain in the Kansas City lexicon for some time; "San Francisco Values". Meant as a scare tactic to stir up homophobic fears among conservative voters, the phrase has become something of an inside joke amongst liberal Kansas City voters. To me, the phrase has nothing to do with Kay Barnes, Nancy Pelosi or strangely dressed actors who can't dance. To me the phrase evokes visions of a city not content with enjoying its geographical advantages of being a temperate coastal town. It's a city not content with a thriving tourist economy, a world class symphony, competitive professional sports franchises and excellent transit. To me San Francisco Values are the competitive "what's next?" attitude that keeps world class cities world class. There's a war going on out west. Mayor Sam Adams of Portland, Oregon and Mayor Gavin Newsome of San Francisco, California are engaged in a friendly, albeit serious war of words over which city will lead the country in EV (Electric Vehicle) technology. To most, electric cars still seem like a distant concept never to be realized. I have followed technological developments of EVs for years. It always seemed like production was "five years away" and then as that date approached, production was still another five years away. But there is a growing storm of innovation that indicates to me that this time it's for real. EVs are here. Tesla Roadsters are speeding around the Bay area, with one even sighted right here in Kansas City. BMW owned Mini is conducting road tests of an EV version of their popular Cooper. Heavyweight Nissan is building an entire plant that will begin manufacturing EVs in Tennessee. While our more progressive cousins to the west are scrambling to position themselves for the new economy, Kansas City and the rest of the heartland seems content in shuffling along at the back of the pack. Our utilities seek to build more coal-burning power plants and consider nuclear power to be sustainable energy. Our zoning ordinances encourage, even demand parking capacities that far exceed that which is necessary. Our elected leaders pay lip service to "Green" initiatives without truly understanding sustainable practices. What Sam Adams and Gavin Newsome are doing is a stroke of genius. Competition breeds innovation. Even though the whole "war" is simply a public relations ploy, they have elevated the conversation and made the race for supremacy very real. The result will mean more jobs, more economic activity and a huge step up on the rest of the country. Kansas City used to be known as the Paris of the Plains. Is there no one willing to lead the charge? Kansas City needs commerce. Kansas City needs industry. Continuing to shuffle tax abated retail developments around town is all too similar to the expression about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Can we compete with the likes of Portland and San Francisco? Maybe. But maybe the better question is can we afford not to?