Morning Fizz
A Pretty Classy Move
1. Cascade Bicycle Club interim director Peter Morgan has responded to outgoing director Chuck Ayers' comments about being dismissed by the bike club's board. Ayers told PubliCola earlier this week
that the board dismissed him because he wanted to move Cascade into a "more ... grassroots, on the ground" advocacy group than they would have liked.
Morgan disagreed with Ayers' interpretation. "The board has and continues to support all the advocacy positions Chuck has proposed and believes one of the great strengths of the club is its ability to mobilize members and other parties in the public interest," Morgan said in an email. "Differences re: advocacy have been confined to tone, style and the image the club projects in the public domain."
2. The union for liquor store employees just sent out a weird (confusing?) horror-movie-themed mailer that attempts to scare voters with taglines (marked with skulls and crossbones for good measure) like "AN EXPLOSION of 3,000 new places to buy hard liquor," "ELIMINATE 1,000 JOBS of UFCW members at state liquor stores," and "INCREASE THE RISK of DUIs, underage access to alcohol, and problem drinking."
As the union member who provided the mailer to PubliCola put it, the mailer seems to be "almost self-mocking their own scare campaign."
3. City council member Mike O'Brien says he doesn't see Monday's vote to postpone legislation imposing new regulations on phone-book companies as a setback; in fact, he says, he anticipates that only one council member---Jean Godden, who expressed "First Amendment" concerns about charging phone-book companies a recovery fee if they deliver unwanted phone books---will vote against it next Monday.
By a 5-4 vote, the council delayed the legislation on Monday wanting to make it clearer that the new law will not apply to groups like the Greater Seattle Business Association, which distribute free booklets listing their members' addresses and phone numbers.
4. Last week, the League of Conservation Voters (the national environmental group) endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8) over his Democratic challenger Suzan DelBene.
However, Fizz hears that DelBene is planning to be at the local chapter's fundraiser breakfast tomorrow. Besides being a pretty classy move, it'll be interesting to see who gets more applause, Reichert or her. (Reichert infamously told a group of Republican supporters earlier this year that he only votes for environmental legisaltion to take green activists out of the game.)
5. Seattle Ethics and Elections commission director Wayne Barnett has written a memo recommending that the ethics board dismiss a complaint made on behalf of Sakara Remmu. Remmu, a former employee of Tabor 100—a firm that links women-and minority-owned businesses to city contracts and frequently meets with city employees—was let go by Tabor executive board president Ollie Garrett after deputy mayor Darryl Smith complained to Garrett about some blog posts Remmu had written that were "very critical" of Mayor Mike McGinn. (Remmu blogs as Sable Verity . She was also briefly PubliCola's SoulNerd).
For example, the complaint says, "On August 16 2010, Ms. Remmu posted an article on her blog entitled 'Mayor McGinn: Shit on Your Shoes, or Blood on Your Hands,' that criticized the Mayor's focus on public safety in Belltown." Smith told Garrett he "might not be comfortable" talking freely at Tabor 100 meetings with Remmu in the room.
Garrett, Barnett says, decided to terminate Remmu's employment because she didn't disclose her blog. However, Barnett's recommednation to dismiss the complaint says there isn't sufficient evidence to charge Smith or any other city employee with misusing their position to get Remmu fired.
6. Another ethics board case: A $500 late-filing penalty for city council member Mike OBrien, who ran for election last year. O'Brien was fined after a convoluted series of events involving multiple bounced checks (from both O'Brien and his consultant, the Mercury Group), a deposit from O'Brien's personal funds that was apparently backdated two months, and confusion over whether invoices had been paid.
The $500 penalty specifically involves a nearly $4,000 check to Mercury for advertising that initially bounced, then went unpaid for almost a year, an oversight Barnett said he was "particularly troubled by." On the other hand, Barnett wrote, "you cooperated fully with staff, and all of this activity occurred after the election, so voters were not denied any information about your committee when they cast their ballots."
O'Brien tells PubliCola he won't challenge the penalty. He says the initial check to Mercury bounced because he failed to account for a separate bill he paid to a catering company, which put his bank account at $500 less than where he thought it was. Then, he says, the unpaid bill "kind of sat there" until September, when he finally paid in full.
Morgan disagreed with Ayers' interpretation. "The board has and continues to support all the advocacy positions Chuck has proposed and believes one of the great strengths of the club is its ability to mobilize members and other parties in the public interest," Morgan said in an email. "Differences re: advocacy have been confined to tone, style and the image the club projects in the public domain."
2. The union for liquor store employees just sent out a weird (confusing?) horror-movie-themed mailer that attempts to scare voters with taglines (marked with skulls and crossbones for good measure) like "AN EXPLOSION of 3,000 new places to buy hard liquor," "ELIMINATE 1,000 JOBS of UFCW members at state liquor stores," and "INCREASE THE RISK of DUIs, underage access to alcohol, and problem drinking."
As the union member who provided the mailer to PubliCola put it, the mailer seems to be "almost self-mocking their own scare campaign."
3. City council member Mike O'Brien says he doesn't see Monday's vote to postpone legislation imposing new regulations on phone-book companies as a setback; in fact, he says, he anticipates that only one council member---Jean Godden, who expressed "First Amendment" concerns about charging phone-book companies a recovery fee if they deliver unwanted phone books---will vote against it next Monday.
By a 5-4 vote, the council delayed the legislation on Monday wanting to make it clearer that the new law will not apply to groups like the Greater Seattle Business Association, which distribute free booklets listing their members' addresses and phone numbers.
4. Last week, the League of Conservation Voters (the national environmental group) endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8) over his Democratic challenger Suzan DelBene.
However, Fizz hears that DelBene is planning to be at the local chapter's fundraiser breakfast tomorrow. Besides being a pretty classy move, it'll be interesting to see who gets more applause, Reichert or her. (Reichert infamously told a group of Republican supporters earlier this year that he only votes for environmental legisaltion to take green activists out of the game.)
5. Seattle Ethics and Elections commission director Wayne Barnett has written a memo recommending that the ethics board dismiss a complaint made on behalf of Sakara Remmu. Remmu, a former employee of Tabor 100—a firm that links women-and minority-owned businesses to city contracts and frequently meets with city employees—was let go by Tabor executive board president Ollie Garrett after deputy mayor Darryl Smith complained to Garrett about some blog posts Remmu had written that were "very critical" of Mayor Mike McGinn. (Remmu blogs as Sable Verity . She was also briefly PubliCola's SoulNerd).
For example, the complaint says, "On August 16 2010, Ms. Remmu posted an article on her blog entitled 'Mayor McGinn: Shit on Your Shoes, or Blood on Your Hands,' that criticized the Mayor's focus on public safety in Belltown." Smith told Garrett he "might not be comfortable" talking freely at Tabor 100 meetings with Remmu in the room.
Garrett, Barnett says, decided to terminate Remmu's employment because she didn't disclose her blog. However, Barnett's recommednation to dismiss the complaint says there isn't sufficient evidence to charge Smith or any other city employee with misusing their position to get Remmu fired.
6. Another ethics board case: A $500 late-filing penalty for city council member Mike OBrien, who ran for election last year. O'Brien was fined after a convoluted series of events involving multiple bounced checks (from both O'Brien and his consultant, the Mercury Group), a deposit from O'Brien's personal funds that was apparently backdated two months, and confusion over whether invoices had been paid.
The $500 penalty specifically involves a nearly $4,000 check to Mercury for advertising that initially bounced, then went unpaid for almost a year, an oversight Barnett said he was "particularly troubled by." On the other hand, Barnett wrote, "you cooperated fully with staff, and all of this activity occurred after the election, so voters were not denied any information about your committee when they cast their ballots."
O'Brien tells PubliCola he won't challenge the penalty. He says the initial check to Mercury bounced because he failed to account for a separate bill he paid to a catering company, which put his bank account at $500 less than where he thought it was. Then, he says, the unpaid bill "kind of sat there" until September, when he finally paid in full.
