Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: Ambulance Company Going for City Contract is Based In (Boycotted) Arizona
Today's Loser: Tim Ceis' New Client, Rural/Metro
Rural/Metro, the emergency services company that plans to bid for the city's emergency vehicle contract against 10-year Seattle ambulance provider, American Medical Response, may have run into an insurmountable problem. No, not the EMT whose license the state pulled for fondling a sedated woman after she had surgery. Their real issue: They're based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As readers with long memories might recall, last May, the city council voted 7-0 (with two members absent) to boycott all businesses based in Arizona because of the state's position on racial profiling. Specifically, the resolution the council adopted (and the mayor approved) says that
Former deputy mayor turned consultant Tim Ceis says the company "is in more places than Arizona," including San Diego, Tacoma, and other Northwest cities. "It's not as if you're buying from an Arizona company," Ceis says. "Rural/Metro operates currently here in Washington State and has a lot of employees here."
City council member Tim Burgess, whose public safety committee will oversee the contract, council president Richard Conlin, and the council member who sponsored the boycott, Sally Clark, have not returned calls for comment. Nor has a spokeswoman for Rural/Metro.
In Tacoma, a five-member majority of the city council just voted to toss out a decision to give that city's emergency services contract to AMR to allow Rural/Metro to appeal a city panel's renewal of AMR's existing contract for three more years.
Today's Winner: Local Consultant John Wyble.
Wyble does a poll that says city council members are vulnerable and that, in particular, no one knows who council member Bruce Harrell is. And voila: He signs a client—former Muni League leader, Brad Meacham—to run for city council against incumbent Bruce Harrell.
Rural/Metro, the emergency services company that plans to bid for the city's emergency vehicle contract against 10-year Seattle ambulance provider, American Medical Response, may have run into an insurmountable problem. No, not the EMT whose license the state pulled for fondling a sedated woman after she had surgery. Their real issue: They're based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As readers with long memories might recall, last May, the city council voted 7-0 (with two members absent) to boycott all businesses based in Arizona because of the state's position on racial profiling. Specifically, the resolution the council adopted (and the mayor approved) says that
City Departments should to the extent practicable, and in instances where there is no conflict with law or prior contractual agreements, (1) refrain from entering into any new or amended contracts to purchase goods or services from any company that is headquartered in Arizona, and (2) avoid sending City officials or employees to conferences or events in Arizona.
Former deputy mayor turned consultant Tim Ceis says the company "is in more places than Arizona," including San Diego, Tacoma, and other Northwest cities. "It's not as if you're buying from an Arizona company," Ceis says. "Rural/Metro operates currently here in Washington State and has a lot of employees here."
City council member Tim Burgess, whose public safety committee will oversee the contract, council president Richard Conlin, and the council member who sponsored the boycott, Sally Clark, have not returned calls for comment. Nor has a spokeswoman for Rural/Metro.
In Tacoma, a five-member majority of the city council just voted to toss out a decision to give that city's emergency services contract to AMR to allow Rural/Metro to appeal a city panel's renewal of AMR's existing contract for three more years.
Today's Winner: Local Consultant John Wyble.
Wyble does a poll that says city council members are vulnerable and that, in particular, no one knows who council member Bruce Harrell is. And voila: He signs a client—former Muni League leader, Brad Meacham—to run for city council against incumbent Bruce Harrell.
