1. Mayor Nickels is back on the campaign trail. For R-71. (A “Yes” vote on R-71 expands domestic partnership rights.)
Nickels is hosting a pro-R-71 fundraiser this Wednesday at the Tower Room at the top of Columbia Tower. He’s co-hosting the event with gay Seattle City Council Members Sally Clark and Tom Rasmussen—and Rasmussen’s aide, also gay, Brian Hawksford and his partner.
2. Political consultant Christian Sinderman—who, we recently noted, was talking with Joe Mallahan’s mayoral campaign—also talked with the Sierra Club last week about how the environmental group’s communication plan (to its membership) could best promote: King County Executive candidate Dow Constantine, city council candiate Mike O’Brien, and—Mallahan’s opponent Mike McGinn.
3. Part of the city’s $930 million commitment to the $4.2 billion waterfront tunnel originally included $135 million for a 1st Ave. Trolley.
However, the trolley project has been downgraded to a study in the latest city legislation.
(The city council’s transportation committee is set to approve a Memorandum of Agreement between the city and the state authorizing the deep bored tunnel to replace the Viaduct on Tuesday.)
4. Spotted at Fox TV personality Glenn Back’s Saturday night Safeco appearance: Dino Rossi. In the VIP section.
5. Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (in town this weekend) hosted a fundraiser for Port Commission candidate Max Vekich, the former state house legislator who’s running as labor’s candidate against establishment favorite Tom Albro.
The fundraiser was at state Democratic majority leader Rep. Lynn Kessler’s (D-24, Grays Harbor, Clallum and Jefferson Counties) condo in West Seattle.
There were about 30 people on hand and the event brought in $2,000 plus.
Morning Fizz hears Cantwell took the opportunity to talk about the health care bill, saying the public option “was possible,” but it would be “helpful if [Democratic activists] kicked up the volume.”
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Ummm . . That’s Clallam County.
6:33 am? wow. And the vote for Ref 71 is “Approve”, not “Yes”, just to clarify and to avoid confusion.
So, how about this list of advisors? Are they actually advising, or did they meet for coffee once?
Sinderman is “volunteering for” or “talking with” Joe?
Looks to me like a clarification is in order, because the impression that Sinderman is supporting Joe is being carefully painted, but what’s the extent of it?
Seattle politics is just a tad hard to understand right now …
@3 – Good point. I thought Sinderman was Joe’s inside guy. What’s up?
Also, Licata sent out an e-mail late last week questioning the rush to get the Memo of Agreement through. Are you going to cover this?
Deb,
I don’t think it gets any cleraer even if you live here. Between Ron Sims departure to DC and Greg Nickles ousting there is a bit of a power vaccum. In addition I think Nickles loss has at least some local elected officals worried about their political futures.
Didn’t Christian work for Nickels too? THe trifecta!!!
@6…nice observation. Things, even by Seattle’s measure, are really unsettled right now. Many of us here in this small town of Seattle Inside Politics are being pulled in many different directions, friendships are being tested. Here’s to hoping that we move forward with the understanding that tomorrow brings a new day and a new set of challenges, and those will require us to find and embrace that which is common between us.
Re#3, making the First Ave. streetcar only a study leaves open the possibility of restoring the George Benson Streetcar on the waterfront, which was killed in the dark of night when the deep-bore tunnel deal was cut. With no more viaduct on the WF, there is plenty of room for these tracks, even two-way trackage.
The First Ave. line is in no way a substitute for the WF line; it serves an entirely different market.
Didn’t you report that Sinderman was actually volunteering for Mallahan? If I’m rembering correctly, it now seems like that was untrue. Where did that info come from? There is a big difference between drinking coffee and doing work for free.
Max Vekich is one hell of a lot more than “labor’s candidate” in the Port Commission election. He is the environmental candidate and the grass-roots Democrats’ candidate.
Is there anyone left for Mallahan to hire? How is he paying all these folks? Maybe there should be a roster limit like the NFL. Is he saying he will shrink the number of advisors in the Mayor’s office because he sure seems to need a lot of advisors.
Who’s Dino Rossi?
By the way, calling the 1st Ave trolley the “Central Streetcar” lessens confusion between First Hill (funded) and 1st Ave trolley (not funded) lines.
Dino Rossi is one of Susan Hutchison’s friends. Susan the non-partisan candidate, that is.
@11 – For once, I agree with you! Vekich is endorsed by labor and the Sierra Club and would make a great Port Commissioner.
@3′s onto something as well. I’ve heard that Mallahan’s “advisors” aren’t and don’t plan to do anything at all for the campaign, other than offer their name for a press release. What’s the deal?
Wasn’t Sinderman responsible for leaking something right before the primary? Wonder how his (former) client feels about that.
have some mushrooms, publius. They’re from Christian.
@12–if you’re referring to the advisory committee that was recently announced, that’s all volunteer.
@ 12 – Volunteer means free! As is you are not paying anything!
@ 7 – My understanding is that Sinderman was not working for Nickels in this election (however, he has worked for him is past elections)
@16 – Obtuse
It seems to make sense that Sinderman would talk to the Sierra Club about how best to promote DOW since DOW is his premiere client, his numeruo ono. I don’t get how The Mike’s fit in except that if they are doing one mailer promoting the three then Sinderman is going to want to ‘talk to them’ about how to do that best.
About this:
Okay, I’m sick and tired of Senators Murray and Cantwell implying it will be OUR failure, not theirs, if there isn’t a public option.
A large MAJORITY supports a public option. Progressives have been SCREAMING about this incessantly from the beginning. Most of us want SINGLE payer.
Do your job, and STOP making it MY FAULT if the Senate fails us. You are the Senators, and you’ve been covering your asses from day one on the health care reform.
Just get the job done!
@12 and @18 – Payment will occur after the election. It is called quid pro quo.
@20: The trouble is that Regressives have been screaming louder. We’re not going to get single payor; we need to blast Congress with messages re public option to compete with the other louder blasts. Cantwell and Murray can’t do their job (i.e., give us what we want) unless there are enough progressive voters to counter the regressive voters. We have to give them cover.
Remember, all of Congress is being paid by the insurers/drug companies. We have to get their attention away from those “employers” and back to us.