We don't know if this qualifies as quirkily romantic, or if it's just the most awkward, political-wonky marriage proposal of the year, but a guy proposed to school board member and City Hall education advisor Hydra Mendoza in the middle of the public comment section of last night's school board meeting, and she said yes.
That guy was Eric McDonnell, the chief operating officer of the local United Way chapter, and we suppose that the lives these two lead often revolve around local politics, fundraisers, and public meetings. And we suppose it's sweet, in a way, that McDonnell chose to propose in such a public fashion, during the time in the meeting when disgruntled parents and variously mentally challenged gadflies of the public-meeting sphere get up to harangue the school board. But it's also deeply embarrassing in ways we can't totally articulate. Also, we hate public meetings.
McDonnell apparently far exceeded his two-minute limit during the "Requests to Speak Regarding General Matters" section of the agenda by singing a couple of songs to Mendoza, including "You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” and “Always and Forever.” And as City Insider reports:
Dozens of the couple’s friends and family crowded into the board meeting room to hear the proposal and applaud the response. The romantic moment followed a tense discussion about a local-hire policy, which passed unanimously.
Hmm.
May they live wonkily ever after.
