1. Seattle state Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D-43) wants to amend last year’s domestic partnership law (which he sponsored and which withstood a test at the polls in November, R-71). He wants to tweak the language so that Washington state recognizes same-sex marriages and partnerships from other states.
Also on Pedersen’s 2010 To-do list: He wants to repeal the ban on paid-surrogacy in Washington. He says he would replace the ban with a plan to provide health care for the surrogate mother and mental health examinations for both parties involved.
2. Two Kemper-Freeman-backed opponents of light rail through downtown Bellevue won spots as the city’s mayor and deputy mayor yesterday. Don Davidson will serve as mayor, and Conrad Lee will be deputy mayor; motions to appoint pro-light rail through downtown city council members John Chelminiak as mayor and reconfirm Claudia Balducci as deputy mayor both failed.
3. The appointments that Mayor Mike McGinn announced yesterday included (ahem, contrary to prior reports) several women, such as: Chief of staff Julie McCoy, strategic adviser Rebecca Deehr, and labor and community liaison Candace Inagi.
However: It’s worth noting that on average, the women will make slightly over $13,000 less than the men: $76,164 on average, compared to $89,615 for the men. The disparity is due largely to the fact that McGinn’s very highest-paid staffers (the two deputy mayors; the communications director; the directors of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations and Policy and External Affairs, etc.) are disproportionately male. Of 13 McGinn staffers making $100,000 or more, only three are female.
4. Being Mayor can come with some unusual perks. At Mayor Mike McGinn’s city hall inauguration yesterday afternoon, the now official Mayor of Seattle was surprised with a visit from Gao Zhansheng, the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco.
Zhansheng came all the way from San Francisco to congratulate the new Mayor and present him with a ceramic camel.
The crowd was nearly as confused as the Mayor himself, who eventually took the moment in stride, posing for pictures and enthusiastically thanking Zhansheng for his appearance.
5. In other swearing-in news: Jan Drago’s coronation as the newest member of the King County Council yesterday was held up briefly while the council waited for a critical attendee to arrive.
Drago’s husband? Her son? Nope—the meeting was held up while council and audience members waited for a Seattle Times photographer to make it to council chambers.
6. Every time new council members are elected, as two were this year, council members scramble to switch to better offices. So yesterday, while hundreds of folks at the inaugural festivities downstairs snacked on deviled eggs, watched two pairs of hired dancers tango, and schmoozed in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, council members and staff upstairs were busy shuffling boxes of files and books from old offices to new ones.
The really hot controversy yesterday, though, wasn’t over who got the better office (that was settled weeks ago), but why one council member, Tom Rasmussen, got a special painted wall in his office while everyone else was stuck with a color Rasmussen referred to dismissively as “putty.”
Rasmussen’s special mauve-colored wall (technically, an “accent wall”) is on the west side of his office, which used to be Jan Drago’s digs. Apparently, Jean Godden wasn’t informed about the possibility of an accent wall, and is unhappy to be—for the next two years, at least—stuck with putty.
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Julie, Candace & Rebecca kick a**. What is lacking in numbers is more than made up for in sheer quality.
It’s appropriate that a public official as out of tune and out of touch as Jan Drago was held up by a newspaper as out of tune and out of touch as the Seattle Times.
Please keep an eye on how many of McGinn’s managerial layoffs are women. It appears he is intent on turning the city of Seattle into a good ol’ boys (good new boys?) club. I thought I voted for a “social justice democrat” but I guess I shouldn’t have tried to read between the lines during the mayoral campaign.
Social justice is a complex issue, not just a handy label. It doesn’t directly translate to an equal number of women and men employed by a particular administration. More important is what that administration actually does.
McGinn didn’t run as a social justice candidate. Joe Mallahan mentioned it often but that didn’t mean he was a social justice candidate. Neither of them fit easy labels, nor was it easy to figure out their intents during the campaign. I doubt if McGinn has any particular intent in appointing people other than putting in who he wants.
Why is McGinn adding new strategic advisors when he wants to get rid of 200 citywide? Just goes to show that there’s no better job title to use for a lot of people that do a lot of good work….
@1 is obviously not a woman who has had to deal with the boy-created glass ceiling.
McGinn has 6 direct reports. One is a woman. That is the decision making team.
Will he hire strong women in the Police, SDOT and Human Services role? Time will tell.
Sound like Publicola supported McGinn watches Mad Men, and takes it seriously.
right, bring back Grace Crunican! She’s a woman! And that chick Tierney, she’s a woman, too!
Pretty sad that the basic principle of comity with other states should be considered hot controversy.
Why no fiz on the news that the council hired their own lobbyest yesterday? I hope that McGinn turns his attention to filling the ravine between himself and the council quickly. He articulated a winning vision for the city during the campaign. I’ll be watching to see if he has the leadership to rally the council and our Olympia delegation toward promoting a common Seattle legislative agenda this session. I accept that the State’s largest city has to hire a lobbyist (though one could argue that we really haven’t gotten our money’s worth) to promote its agenda beyond our own elected delegation, but it is worrying to me (as it should be to the Mayor’s office) that we now have two.
I’ll paint Jean Godden’s office wall whatever color she likes. It would have to be on a weekend.
@6 The real question is, does McGinn *appreciate* Peggy?
City Hall today: Women get a “glass ceiling”; men get an “accent wall.”
@8 – I am pretty sure the City of Seattle has always had 2 lobbyists. The position that was just hired opened about 2 months ago.
Not that it matters, but how many gays/lesbians scored sweet jobs with Team McGinn?
and what we really want to know:
did McGinn ride his bike to work today?
#11 — the city council has never had its own lobbyist. it has always used OIR’s lobbyist. this is big news.
@14 -
It was big news a few months ago when they legislated it.
But was it a female ceramic camel?
@15, it’s still big news.
@18 – Of course not. That’d be too many women in his inner circle.
Is there any news here, or is it all like this?
I have wondered who are the GLBT folks in the new power structure in the mayors office – no body knows.
None? Hold overs?
Interesting how all those goals for real representation of minorities, women, and GLBT have become just talking points …
Progressive, hardly. Mc Ginn will be well spoken and ruthless on the inside. Beware.
Pretty sad that the basic principle of comity with other states should be considered hot controversy.
Why no fiz on the news that the council hired their own lobbyest yesterday? I hope that McGinn turns his attention to filling the ravine between himself and the council quickly. He articulated a winning vision for the city during the campaign. I'll be watching to see if he has the leadership to rally the council and our Olympia delegation toward promoting a common Seattle legislative agenda this session. I accept that the State's largest city has to hire a lobbyist (though one could argue that we really haven't gotten our money's worth) to promote its agenda beyond our own elected delegation, but it is worrying to me (as it should be to the Mayor's office) that we now have two.