Bloglander

Far be it from us to take lightly the entire genre of mano-a-mano, mayor-versus-mayor epic challenges, wherein civic pride is put on the line over some obscure sporting event, such as the Super Bowl — or in this case the even more obscure participation in the 2010 Census.

Yes, the month-long contest to see which city — Spokane or Spokane Valley — had the highest percentage of returned census forms is finally over and, dear readers, we know it has been tough on y'all to hold your breath for this long.

In the slim chance you don't remember this bet, the mayors met out at the fairgrounds and posed in boxing gloves for a media audience of exactly one person (and I swear to you I was only there to ask about an entirely different story) with the bet being that the loser had to wear a t-shirt chosen by the winning mayor.

Finally, you can exhale. Take a deep cleansing breath and ... unleash a mighty groan of frustration because the result IS A TIE!

According to the official returns, both cities have a census participation rate of 76 percent. (Whew, am I glad I quit procrastinating and mailed mine back on the very last day!) In the spirit of such things, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner and Spokane Valley Mayor Tom Towey decided each would wear the t-shirt the other had picked out.

Towey got the worst of this bargain as Verner picked out a lovely pink tee.

Maybe it's just our big-city bias over here at The Inlander, or maybe it's the dimples, but admit it: Verner looks way cuter  in that two-tone, sporty Valley t-shirt. And Towey, who is quoted in the press release saying, “Pink isn’t one of my favorite colors, but since Mayor Verner is one of my favorite mayors, I’m going to wear it proudly.”

Well, dude, put it on.

Can't wait to see how they top this for the 2020 census.