To listen to the full mixtape, press play above.
Outgoing 5th District Councilmember Gerrie Schipske is known for her staunch stances—something 8th District Councilmember Al Austin recently described as a willingness “to go against the grain”—and her open criticism of her opponents on her social media outlets.
But few people knew of Schipske’s softer side—and her eclectic taste in music—until, that is, the heartfelt sonic goodbye she began singing City Council on July 4th through her Facebook.
Like bearing one’s soul to a high school crush on a carefully-crafted Memorex cassette, the transparency with which Schipske musically channels her emotions are on the level she wishes to seek from government itself. Art mimicking life indeed.
As abused-animals-poster-child Sarah McLachlan laments “I will remember you—will you remember me?” we realize that with this impeccably constructed ten-song love letter to the City Schipske’s served looping endlessly through our minds, it will be impossible to forget her. The outgoing councilmember achieves the impossible: while becoming the pillar for seniors living in Long Beach, she has now become the go-to audiophile who asks her fellow councilmembers with such adamancy, “Why you gotta be so mean?”
While the politicking might have been nails on the chalkboard for her, surely those days are past, and there is nothing left but the sweet musical catharsis brought on by the juxtaposition of an overly emotional country-gone-pop twenty-something hating on gossipy bloggers next to a disco goddess’s proclamation that, yes, you will survive (even if your mayoral bid bit the dust).
But of all the friends and places—though some have indeed changed, from Rae Gabelich to the new airport terminal—it seems that for Schipske, nothing compares to the Council chambers. The ruby Tuesdays of weekly Council meetings came and went while she served but now, the goodbye proves painful: her set of footprints on the chamber floor—just one less—will leave a mark on more than just the political landscape of Long Beach. After all, how will news bloggers ever be the first (again) to report on the loss of the dino racks of Willow?
Speaking of the pang of loss: the Council seat itself. The leather already feels cold—there just ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone—and there is no question that as this group of Councilmembers faces the final curtain, perhaps this is a song that, though it’s been sung, they’ll sing again.
Thank you, Gerrie, for opening our hearts to this musical story of your time on City Council. Fear not; we will not be gettin’ excited as we hear the slammin’ door. Rather, we shall hold hands and remember how, in the end it’s clear, you did it your way.