In the middle of his term Compton announces that he’s leaving for, what he called this morning: “The chance of a lifetime.”

He’s going to do research in Romania on the evolution from a communist society to a democracy. And he’s also going to teach journalism in Egypt.

Those seem like cool gigs, but … ????

The answer, I think, is that Compton was humbled and wounded by Stripper Gate and Paul Allen airplane gate, and has been a bit disengaged since then. He also had mayoral ambitions, and the scandal baggage upended those chances.

And so: He entered his 2nd term a bit adrift. He’s done some commendable yeoman work as chair of the utilities and technology committees for the last two years (and he was great during the Gary Zarker/City Light upheaval in his first term), but lately he’s seemed out of the council mix otherwise.

Indeed, this morning, when I asked two of his closest council allies, Jan Drago and Richard McIver, if they were surprised by Compton’s resignation, both gave telling replies.

Richard McIver: “Well, I expected him to finish his term.”
Jan Drago: “I’m surprised by the timing, but I’m not surprised.”

In other words, everyone knew Compton had lost his passion for City Council.