Who Would Nickels Endorse?

Seattle Steam kicked out a press release this morning announcing the ground breaking of a renewable energy storage facility. I don't really understand it, but it has something to do with converting waste wood into fuel. Alternative energy projects haven't been hugely successful of late—Propel's biofuel stations are pretty empty—but the most interesting thing that jumped out wasn't the fuel, it was the guest list for the event—Mayor Greg Nickels, running for re-election next year, and Council Member Larry Phillips, exploring a 2009 run against Ron Sims for his Executive post. Is it just a one-time joint appearance or a harbinger of campaign alliances to come?

It's been a rough week for Sims—the County Councilor unanimously passed a measure last week asking for more transparency with regard to the Metro funding gap with fare increases on the horizon. And yesterday, three people from the council, including Democrats Dow Constantine and Julia Patterson, announced they were pushing for privatization of the animal shelter—another Sims liability. “The current model isn’t working, and frankly hasn’t worked for years,” Patterson states in a press release yesterday.

Topics: Campaign 2009 and Environment

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Licata for Mayor?

Nick Licata has never been a go-along, get-along guy. His strength on city council has often been the lone voice of dissent when the rest of his colleagues are willing to sign off on questionable public policy. But lately he's become even more strident and more public about his opposition to what's coming out of City Hall.

Over the past few months he's challenged the mayor and the council on a proposal for surveillance cameras in city parks and on the $200 million plan to reconfigure Mercer Street. "Essentially the Mercer Project is an urban renewal project, not a transportation project," Licata wrote recently in an online newsletter. "Investors in South Lake Union will benefit from this project far more than those driving through this corridor."

He's also disagreed with the majority on the multifamily tax exemption and on expanding the South Lake Union streetcar. In fact, he's attending council member Jan Drago's streetcar community forums to pass out his own materials— a one-pager comparing the cost/benefit of streetcars versus busses and electric trolley buses. "The cost of operating the South Lake Union Streetcar is about 50 percent higher than the average Metro bus," reads Licata's handout.

"Jan and I are polite," Licata insists, adding that he felt compelled to provide additional information because the presentation at the forums focuses solely on the benefits of the streetcar and "isn't a complete picture."

He says that in general his recent ramped-up opposition is because he "wasn't getting any traction making compromises." "I'd rather lose the vote than be on the wrong side and not get anything out of it," he says. "I just think the best thing I can do right now is speak out clearly and offer positive alternatives."

Sounds like something beyond your average policy squabbles. Is Licata considering a mayoral run?

"I think about everything," he says matter-of-fact, a Meet-the-Press quality non-denial denial.

"Mayor Nickels does have a vision for Seattle, but it ignores, for the lack of a better term, the needs of the common people," Licata says. "[Nickels] is a solid Democrat, good on liberal issues, but he's too much into the shiny and new and doesn't realized how this impacts good citizens. There needs to be a different vision."

Sure sounds like the beginnings of a stump speech, but Licata insists there are others beside himself who could bring that alternate vision. Richard Conlin? Peter Steinbrueck? Both are rumored to be considering a run in 2009, but Licata could steal their thunder if he got out there now.

Still, it would mean the council would lose its lone contrarian, perhaps too much of a tradeoff for a risky run against a two-term incumbent.

Topics: Campaign 2009

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Put Me In, Coach!

The city council, once a haven for former journalists and neighborhood activists— next a favored resting place for retired athletes? Bruce Harrell, former UW football star, won his spot last year. And now former Sonic center James Donaldson is already gearing up for 2009.

Donaldson says the skills he gained in his 15-year NBA career would make him a good city councilman. "I was a team leader, a locker room stabilizer," he says. "I negotiated and worked to resolve conflicts between people. We worked on our goals as a team."

Not sure the city council needs any more "team" players. But Donaldson does appear to have the charisma and service bona fides to be a contender. He's spent the past decade participating in community associations and boards and says he sits on about a dozen today including the Washington State Mentors, Snohomish-King County Youth Club, Central Area Senior Center, Boyscouts of America, and Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

A Magnolia resident, Donaldson bought his house in 1981, a year after his first season with the Sonics, and despite playing in L.A., Dallas, New York and Salt Lake, says he always called Seattle home. "It's been gently used," Donaldson says of the "vintage" early 80s furniture that still inhabits the place. "It's just me basically."

Unlike his trading card above, Donaldson now sports a shiny shaved head, and on this occasion, a pinstriped dress shirt and black slacks. He describes himself as "a happy-go-lucky guy." That is, until you ask him about the Celtics winning the championship this year. (Donaldson, who played against the Celtic powerhouse teams of the 80s, isn't much for Boston.) "We never won a game, any team I was on, in [Boston] Garden," he says.

Already getting a knack for the political, Donaldson's not promising much when it comes to specifics. And in truth, it's early. He still has months before he'll have to say which seat he's campaigning for, though it will likely be one of the open ones. Three of the council members up for reelection next year (Jan Drago, Nick Licata and Richard McIver) are rumored to be considering calling it quits. The only other challengers currently signed up are Jordan Royer (son of former mayor Charles Royer) and Robert Sondheim, who lost in a 2007 primary against Jean Godden and Joe Szwaja.

But Donaldson does have a couple of pet issues. As the owner of fitness centers in Seattle, Mill Creek and Mukilteo, he says Seattle could be less expensive and more responsive to the needs of small businesses. And he says the city shouldn't forget about basketball. "It's going to be some time before we can get a team back. We're not in the good graces of the NBA, but if the NBA realizes that there are elected officials at the table who are interested. That should help," he says. "In the back of my mind I'll always long for the NBA to return to Seattle."

Topics: Campaign 2009

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