1. Mayor Nickels got a surprise going away party last night at the Seattle Aquarium. Nickels showed up to a  Climate Partnership networking event at the aquarium (the Climate Partnership is a group of Puget Sound businesses that are committed to decreasing their carbon footprint), and suddenly found himself  as the main attraction: Local environmental leaders came up to the podium to fawn over Nickels' accomplishments and Nickels' staff played a video they'd made featuring mayors from all around the country cheering Nickels' work on the US. Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. (In the absence of America's commitment to green house gas reductions, Nickels got hundreds of cities to sign on to a pledge to meet the Kyoto Protocols.)

Some of the video testimonials:

“By…reaching out and embracing us, it really brought mayors from all
across the country into a common goal.”
- Mayor Hickenlooper, Denver

“Greg, we will miss you more than you will ever know.”
- Mayor Riley, Charleston

“All of us acknowledge your vision, your leadership, the tenacity and passion….”
- Mayor Villaraigosa, Los Angeles

“You know, tomorrow’s gonna be a better day, and it’s gonna be a
better day because of Greg Nickels.”
- Mayor Hays, North Little Rock

More important, the 150th local business signed on to the  Climate Partnership: Microsoft.

2. The King County Council has appointed a committee to recommend a replacement for council member Dow Constantine. (Constantine, of course, won this month's election for King County Executive and will be  sworn in next week.)

The council—four Democrats and four Republicans without Democrat Constantine—is expected to choose among six candidates recommended by the search committee by December 14.

The 12-member committee of local leaders from Constantine's district—West Seattle and S. West King County—will be co-chaired by Anne Levisnon, co-owner of the Storm, gay rights leader, former Seattle Municipal Court Judge, and monorail agency head and Mark Okazaki, executive director of Neighborhood House, a human service agency with facilities in Greenbridge and High Point.

Constantine's vacant seat on the County Council is leading to a game of political musical chairs (with vacant seats in the state legislature.) Erica outlined the process here.

3. Recently-ousted KVI talk radio jock Kirby Wilbur tells his side of the story.

4. Erica is speaking on a panel tonight sponsored by the Washington State Society Cascade with Seattle Times election reporter Emily Heffter to recap Election 2009. It's at the Del Rey in Belltown, 2332 1st. Details here .

This morning's Morning Fizz brought to you by Jeanne Kohl-Welles