Spokane mayor, rapper tell stories of life in city

SPOKANE — Mary Verner, part-time rapper and full-time mayor, suggested recently she might start putting her policy proposals to a beat.

Anything to get the message out.

Verner, 52, became a minor Internet sensation after her performance last month of a rap duet, "Coming Together," hit YouTube.

The song is a collaboration between Verner and 19-year-old Eastern Washington University freshman Josh Ogle, aka Gasmasq. Part Spokane history, part biography — both performers have overcome obstacles — the rap sings the city's praises but doesn't hide its darker side.

"If you listen to the message, it's a very positive message about people turning their lives around," Verner said.

On a recent Saturday, Verner and Ogle performed between acts at RAWK the Inland Northwest's Final Four, a youth-band competition. Verner was the oldest performer, by a few decades. But she and Ogle elicited screams and cheers from the crowd.

"I'm Mary. I'm the mayor of the city, but the road that brought me here hasn't always been pretty," she rapped. "I've had money in my pockets but food stamps, too. I've been looked up to and down at — somehow made it through."

Ogle's life hasn't always been pretty, either. After a falling-out with his mother, he spent three years homeless. He was in juvenile detention on charges related to vandalism and theft, he said.

"My education froze," according to his lyrics, "cuz I was constantly in juvy for tryin' to steal clothes."

With the help of Volunteers of America programs, including the homeless-youth outreach center Crosswalk, which Ogle entered in 2005, he stopped drinking and smoking pot, he said. He started performing in poetry slams, earned his GED and got his own place to live.

He said the song's title expresses its message: "Coming Together."

"Even though we looked like we were on different planes at the moment, we had generally similar backgrounds," Ogle said of himself and Verner. "Even though people might come from different avenues and different walks of life, we are all people."

Lucas Brown, a Lewis and Clark High School junior, said Verner's appearance was startling but the crowd was impressed.

"It totally surprised me," said Brown, who performed with the funk band Bodhi Drip. "I thought it was gutsy, but she pulled it off."

Brown, the son of state Sen. Lisa Brown, said he could envision his mother dancing or singing at such an event, but probably not rapping.