Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 7, July 2003
Copyright 2003 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.
POLITICALLY SPEAKING
Neighborhoods need to speak up
at election time
By JAMES BUSH
The May 31 Neighborhood Summit was one swell event. Credit the organizers for several good calls: the spacious South Lake Union armory was set up properly, more than 150 people showed up, the opening presentations didn't drag on too much.
Well, there was the predictable round of speeches during the "question" period, but that's what you get for setting up an open microphone in a room full of activists.
The effect would have been far more impressive if City Council member Jim Compton hadn't unveiled his resolution expressing support for key aspects of Mayor Greg Nickels' South Lake Union plan two days before the event.
In essence, Compton forced his colleagues to make a very public choice are you folks for neighborhood planning or are you for jobs?
Politicians love jobs; Compton's resolution passed 9-0.
There are two lessons to be learned here. First, in tough times (and election years), politicians are terrified to be seen as anything less than pro-business. Second, a room full of neighborhood activists drinking coffee doesn't scare anybody.
That last point was seconded in mid-June when the council voted 6-3 to remove all restrictions on the University of Washington's ability to lease property. In another sign of the times, the alternative proposal represented a huge giveaway, but would have at least retained the framework for future city controls on UW leasing. Again, the activists howled; nobody listened.
Feeling ignored, activists? You ought to be.
But, someone was paying close attention to the Neighborhood Summit. Only two of the five council members running for reelection showed up, but four times as many council challengers were in attendance.
Why isn't someone forming a neighborhood political organization to make City Council endorsements?
Not enough time? Hey, that Summit got put together in a month.
Worried about who gets to vote on the endorsements? Make everyone who showed up for the Summit a voting member, along with every officer and board member from every neighborhood group. Conduct the vote by mail or e-mail if you like. Get your endorsements set by early August. Give the group an official-sounding name. Hold a press conference to announce your picks. Get a few bucks together and draft a flyer touting the endorsements. Get a few more bucks and mail out some copiesor at least make sure there's a stack of them on the literature table at every candidates' forum until the November election.
There are five council incumbents up for election this year and each has at least one legitimate opponent. None of those five incumbents voted to preserve at least a semblance of the UW lease lid. Consider every race an open seat.
What's more, the Summit-fed thrill of standing up to Mayor Nickels has already worn off and the mayor is once again working to consolidate his position. His latest ploy is to send representatives from his office on a tour of community council and district council meetings to remind everyone that the mayor still loves them and neighborhood planning, too.
At the June 4 Wallingford Community Council meeting, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis explained that there were "some misunderstandings" about the mayor's devotion to neighborhood planning, adding that the City spends $55 million per year (mainly voter-approved bond funds, but who's counting) on implementing various goodies that the neighborhoods asked for.
In the inimitable Nickels style, there were even printed handouts (some day they're going to name a landfill after that guy).
Nickels isn't afraid to use the power of his office and his office's printing budget to press his case, so activists need to return fire in the most effective way possible by getting involved in the elections process.
Sure, some people carry bad memories about Vision Seattle and the Civic Foundation, the last two attempts to turn activist zeal into raw political power. Both of those groups did good work for an election or two, but were foiled by the daunting task of trying to keep an elections-related group alive between elections.
Make this new organization a one-election thing (then resurrect it two years from now if you want). No officers, no dues, no continuing organization. Just count the votes, print the results, and sit around feeling powerful until the election.
Elections and politics are one and the same. The election season is the best time to get a politician's attention. The number of citizens who routinely volunteer for campaigns and donate to candidates is a very small one, but these people constitute a very powerful group. Join it.