Hinting at the seismic cultural shift that could come with a Mike McGinn administration, The Seattle Times has an article this morning headlined “Band of advocates, activists now McGinn’s likely insiders.” But The Times reports that “no one is naming names.”
While McGinn has announced some names of the leaders on his transition team—like landscape architect Liz Birkholz and Southeast Seattle activists Darryl Smith (also rumored to be in line for a job with the administration)—most members of the “Band of advocates” haven’t been mentioned.
However, PubliCola has got the names of a few of the advocates and activists working right now to focus the new administration’s agenda—people who’ve been holding long meetings this week (and more meetings this weekend) to help get McGinn’s administration up and running. Obviously, working on the transition team could lead to a gig with the McGinn administration.
Some names include:
Wyking Garrett, founded the Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council, was president and CEO of Umoja Fest (an African American community festival), helped displace drug houses in the Central District with community centers, and is the local representative of Green for All , a social justice group founded by Glenn Beck-ousted-White House advisor Van Jones that uses environmentalism to address urban poverty.
Garrett ran for mayor in the primary (he came in seventh) and is the son of Omari Garrett who is infamous for cracking former Mayor Paul Schell in the head with a megaphone.
Rob Holland, the newly-elected (first African American and first gay) Seattle Port Commissioner, the former chair of the 37th District Democrats in Southeast Seattle, and a bio-fuels salesman.
Sharon Lee, director of the Low-Income Housing Institute—an affordable housing developer.
Cary Moon, a strong anti-tunnel activist—and as the head of the People’s Waterfront Coalition, the leading proponent of the surface/transit option along the downtown waterfront.
Tania Maria Rosario, a public relations consultant and longtime organizer on Latino, labor, and children’s issues.
Roger Valdez, a former King County anti-smoking advocate and Peter Steinbrueck staffer who currently works at green think tank Sightline as a research associate.
Julian Wheeler, a Roosevelt neighborhood leader (was on the board of the Roosevelt Neighbors Alliance), a Democratic party activist (the vice chair of the 43rd District Democrats), and a lawyer who works with the Seattle Office of Civil Rights.
Yesterday, we broke the news that David Postman, Vulcan’s spokesman and former Seattle Times political reporter, is on McGinn’s transition team as well, advising on communications.
(Team McGinn is looking at hiring Postman as the communications director for the administration, according to sources close to the “Band of advocates.”)
Tweet
oh god cary moon and roger valdez. both are complete nutjobs, glassy eyed activists
See that Mike McGinn is reaching out to Rob Holland (Seattle Port Commissioner, Former 37th District Democratic Chair, and all around good guy) in the transition process. Holland is a remarkable up and coming star with deep roots in the Black community, and has strong knowledge in the area of economic development.
If these are the types of people Mike McGinn is talking to, McGinn is going to be a great mayor.
Yah for Sharon Lee! She’s been one of the best sources of information and clear-minded advocacy on housing/homelessness issues for years.
Good moves. I can’t think of anything grumpy to say. Weird.
Rob Holland, Tania Maria Rosario, and Julian Wheeler would be a credit to any mayor’s team. None of them will be there to throw up any walls between the mayor and the voter — quite the contrary. All of them have their ear to the ground, always.
McGinn’s inner circle shall now be known as the “Spandex Mafia”
I made one comment earlier against Postman. Please correct my opinion about him if I’m wrong. My question is his attitude toward Mercer West which could make traffic worse. If so, why did he support it? Prove it won’t be worse or reject Mercer Mess.
There are several ideal major bike route ‘options’ being eliminated in the Alaskan Way boulevard redesign. Nor do I perceive how tourist and thru-traffic will be managed. I still like the early design extending Railroad Ave to Pike.
Also ideal for streetcar. Paleeyahs think about it darn it.
To all the good urban designers reading, you are off to a good start! Seriously consider “symbiosis” between pedestrian/bicycler. Picture this or that boulevard/street/parkway WITHOUT cars. Do curb extension drawings.
EXTRA!
REMOVE ’500′ curbside spaces within the City, particularly at Intersections. On Curb Extensions plant trees. Cut wide curbs for bikes to zip out of street. Just a thought. ahem. Cut/cover 4-laner, call it Tunnellite, very Seattly.
Hey, no kitchen cabinet folks from Team Mallahan?
The next 4 years will be VERY interesting…
Tania Rosario is a great choice. She is whip smart and cares about engaging the community. Good to hear this about McGinn.
Postman is such a ego-driven wannabe. He likes to “purport” himself to be the all-knowing journalista, but when it comes down to it, the guy’s a sell-out hack who has no tact.
I’m really happy for Julian. He’s a strange bird, but has always been totally committed Democratic activist.
Why not tell us the whole list?
I’ve heard that old pot smoking advocate Frank Blethen has been picked to handle the sensitive negotiations with the Firefighters Union, could that be true?
Sweet Jesus – how can this many egomanics in one room get anything done? I sure hope that we can recover from these 4 years of utopia. I cannot wait to get out of this city.
Are there any people in the “People’s Waterfront Coalition” that actually work on the waterfront? So far, Moon and the FoS have never answered that question.
Can those in the know identify Mayor Mike’s plan for improving business conditions so jobs can be created? Also, what are his transportation plans relative to improving the flow of goods from the terminals at the port downtown? I know the focus is green but green without jobs is death.
Nice to see the Times keepin’ the snark coming strong. Leading off an article about “Seattle’s environmentalist, bike-riding mayor-elect” with a nice, unsubstantiated rumor…
At least we can rest assured Joni and her crew will speak truth to power under the McGinn regime.
@3 i agree, but i hope mcginn and co. will be seeking info from a wider variety of people/voices from within the affordable housing community. lihi is but one organization and there are many many competent nonprofits in seattle…
I am going to combine #14 , #15, and #16, and call it a smoke screen leading us to Soylent Green Cliff Bars.
When the McGinn drone appears at my neighborhood meeting I have a map of where the infrastructure goes before more giant greenwashed cubes of more density appear.
The map is 10 years old now.
As part of my older neighbor’s winterizing their homes they are getting out pitchforks and torches.
I think we are about 18 months away from another call to have council members represent districts. The 10 mayor system will have produced all kinds of, uh, fun by then.
@19
The District idea for councilmembers is terrible. While in principle it would give a neighborhood some very specific representation which often gets overlooked, it would also mean that you would have no voice when it comes to something in Seattle you care about that is not in your district. Just because I live in one district or neighborhood of the city, does not mean I am ready to lose my voice with regards to the rest of town.
@20, I should have mentioned that it is a terrible idea.
I still expect it to show up in about 18 months, one full McGinn and City Council budget negotiation cycle will inspire all kinds of bad ideas to mitigate conflicting agendas.
Followed by mass voting on everything.
Negative Nellys… most of you. His team gets me wet….
@18: True, there are many good low-income nonprofits who have relevant expertise (AHA, for one). But Sharon’s pretty special as far as length of experience and knowledge of/caring about the whole picture of homelessness, and the fact that she’s invited onto McGinn’s team is impressive.
I am sure that there are some strong voice for affordable housing advocate within the McGinn circle.
that gives me comfort–
wow. this is rather sad. julian wheeler – might want to check your sources – doesn’t so much work with the seattle office of civil rights as used to volunteer for and now no longer volunteers for the commission.
wyking — now he’s credible. didn’t he get arrested for protesting the opening of the African American Museum?
And Roger Valdez, didn’t he get fired from the Department of Health?
I want McGinn to do well. And he can do better (with the exception of Tania, Rob and Cary) than any of these folks.
wyking — now he’s credible. didn’t he get arrested for protesting the opening of the African American Museum?
Oh, that, as long as McGinn does nit need him on 11/23/2009…
http://uhurunews.com/story?resource_name=wyking-garrett-vs-domestic-neo-colonialism-in-liberal-seattle
@20: Do you object to your state representatives and Senator representing only your district? I think they actually take part if collective legislative proposals, discussions and votes in the legislature, so it’s not like they go down to Olympia and secregate themselves. So do County Councilmembers. What’s so different about the City Council? If you’re concerned about an issue write/speak to the whole Council.
the arguement against district representation is just hallow. there is no evidence that we are better off, or that folks have a strong voice, with total at large. there is also no proof that your voice will be stunted with district reps.
the proposals that are out there is a hybrid system, and this would serve places like Rainier Valley and the CD that have, without question, been underrepresented by city investments.
p.s…that mercer project you hate would probably be DOA with a hybrid system.
Laughable — It is all well and good to state you are going to give those on the outside a voice on the transition and in the new administration — but realize, once you get into office — it all changes — there is no longer an outside, only the need to perpetuate the power. Additionally, yes, it takes ideals to govern, but you also need skilled administrators and technocrats to make the gears move — the names put forward are lacking the concrete skills to govern. Plus, McGinn will soon learn if he spends all his time listening at a town hall meeting a day, he will never get anything done.
@18 & @23
On the other hand Jon Fox should be left out somewhere howling on a streetcorner.
@30: Jo[h]n Fox’s expertise is “outside City Hall”, as his emails state. I doubt if he’d want to be a bureaucrat. But he has influence commensurate with his 30 years’ hard work. No one knows as much as John how Seattle’s housing situation has changed for the worse during that period. He should be treated as the historian/alarm-bell-ringer that he is. Most others have just been along for the ride to get what they could.
@ 30:
John Fox has more credibility in his little finger than the whole urbanist density bicycle woonerf hipster cult has in its collective body.
Housing is a big issue for this administration to deal with. Curbing developers abuses and increasing low income stocks should be a priority. Better use of levy (propisition 1) money must also be a priority Low-income advocates are uniting to hold off the brakes of specail interest and the usual suspect. Years of Nickles is gone, and i believe McGinn will bring a better sense to this mess. I am glad we have him in the city hall.
He must appoint someone who has sense of social justice and progressive value in the Office of Housing.
@31 gotta agree, john fox knows nothing about how to actually HOUSE homeless folks. he has a soapbox and he stands on it. sharon lee is pretty well aligned with fox, which sometimes undermines her credibility. by picking lee, is mcginn trying to extend an olive branch to fox? i wonder?
John Fox is widely respected with his unwavering take on developers, and gentrifiers. He does a good job. However, one of his weaknesses is his inability to build coalition and work well with others.
Sharon Lee is great. She is whip smart, totally dedicated to the cause of low-income housing, and a rare combination of hardcore policy wonk and a manager with decades of experience.
And she has that rare quality– a courage of her convictions– that has been sorely lacking during the years that Greg Nickels has appointed empty suits and unqualified 20-something campaign staff to important positions in the Office of Housing.
I would be impressed if McGinn broke with the Nickels tradition and appointed a real advocate for low-income housing to OH. It would not only show a progressive streak in his approach to housing affordability (something that was lacking during much of his campaign). But it would also show that he wants department heads to advise him based on their expertise, and not just take orders.
I agree that one of the reasons I’m not in favor of districts is because your neighborhood only get one voice on the Council instead of their collective representation. Renters often changes neighborhoods, and switching representatives (and M.O.’s) every time you move could be a pain.
@37: Yes and look at what great representation we have for renters’ rights and housing affordability on the City Council right now.
I don’t know much about Sharon Lee. I will do some research about her progressive value in advocating the extreme low income folks.
@35
That is precisely my problem with Fox. His hatred of developers and gentrification lead him to take stands that don’t help the problem of preserving or increasing the amount of affordable housing in the city and may actually make the problem worse.
38. And it won’t be much better when everyone has to funnel their gripes through one person who then has to contend with eight other councilmembers and a Mayor.
Sharon Lee is experienced and accomplished in creating affordable housing in a broad range of formats from ending homelessness to homeownership, not sure her personal energy is well-suited for the bureaucratic activity and demands of a city department.
The current head of OH Adrienne Quinn has been good for affordable housing, safeguarding the 2002 Housing Levy – 70 percent of production has been for people living at 30 percent or below of Area Median Income. She is also strong advocate for Seattle’s low income residents on her own time as a private citizen.
On John Fox; big heart and well-intended but has too often ended up as an obstacle to the very affordable housing he advocates for. There are many affordable housing advocates besides John who are credible and who are accomplished in creating not preventing.
@41 i agree, lee doesn’t seem like a great fit for OH. she is known as a great advocate, not a particularly great manager. and i would think that the recent passage of the levy – the widest margin of success ever on a Seattle Housing Levy – would serve as a great referendum on Quinn’s performance and management of the 2002 levy. She is a skilled individual and very competent manager of OH – let’s hope McGinn sees this too, and retains her as one of the most talented department heads we currently have.
@31: I guess my comment at #30 was badly worded. I was defending John.
Quinn simply passed on Nickels’ proposals for the Levy renewal; what it finally consisted of (which was quite different from Nickels’ proposal) was insisted upon by advocacy groups and passed by the City Council. They deserve the major kudos. She may have been a strong advocate in her private life, but she lived the Nickels line in her professional life. As everyone in City Hall did, admittedly.
@43
i don’t think that accurately describes how the levy evolved. what eventually got proposed (and agreed to) by almost every Councilmember was fully supported by Quinn and OH. i think that one of the reasons that the levy was so successful this year was because all of the advocacy groups really rallied together to get a Levy on the ballot that worked for everyone. i never perceived or experienced Quinn to be against what got passed by Council. as you probably know, there was a push to get a much higher Levy on the ballot, but this is not what the majority of advocacy groups wanted during a recession in particular, nor did Council. what they took was the pragmatic path, and that yielded a 65% approval rating by voters. this should be viewed as a huge success during such a large recession.
i want to remind people that nickels has been a vocal advocate for creating more deeply subsidized affordable housing in this city, often dedicating extra funds out of the general fund for projects built by great organizations like plymouth housing, that serve the most needy here. that is not to say he is/was beyond criticism, but i would love to know from sarah68 what she found so egregious in nickels affordable housing platform.
I hope Cary Moon’s portion of the agenda focuses less on fighting the viaduct project and more on honing those grid/transit improvements that the PWC claims will save Seattle from SR 99.