Taxi Commissioner Leon Swain is a gruff man, but given the risks he faces on a daily basis, like mayoral purges so regular he can never be far from his heat, you can’t blame him. If he has to get a little icy sometimes just to cool down, who are we to judge?
Not all of Swain’s duties are so high-stakes, though. He also has to attend public comment sessions and experience all the little cuts they put in his vitality. Case in point: last June’s public comments (PDF).
In the minutes, Swain wrestles with cab drivers complaining about fare price, makes a woman speak last because he knows she’s a talker, and suspects one speaker of having a heart attack. Near the end of the meeting, Swain resigns himself to the drudgery necessary to drag a town into the new century:
Right now I realize that a lot of people are not happy. My phone numbers and everything else, my address, everything is public record. I have not changed my phonenumber. I have not taken my number out of the telephone book. I get calls day and night. Some are very disgusting. Some don’t bother me at all. But guess what? That’s what happens.
Emphasis mine. I hope you appreciate those meters.
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