Morning Fizz
The Tense Vibe
1. Tim Ceis, former deputy mayor under Greg Nickels
, has been linked to a pro-tunnel (and so anti-Mayor Mike McGinn) group that's done a series of massive public records requests to McGinn's office. (We're all for public records requests—we did one to get this story—but sometimes they are used to harass political opponents.)
Certainly, things have never been warm between the Nickels and McGinn crowds, but Ceis, who started his own lobbying firm with a partial focus on city business (he's lobbied the city on behalf of Yellow Pages companies , an EMS provider, and Russell Investments) is now reportedly persona non grata at the current mayor's office thanks to his association with the group; not a great spot for a local lobbyist.
PubliCola's own public records request found Ceis on the chain of at least one email from Bob Donegan, a leader of the pro-tunnel group, Tunnel+Transit Coalition, in December.
In the email cc'd to Ceis, which refers to "our public records request," Donegan goes on to gripe about the mayor's response to "detailed, thoughtful critique[s]" (of McGinn's tunnel position) with a form letter.
Ceis doesn't chime in, but in the thread, Seattle Marine Business Coalition president Peter Philips piles on, calling the mayor's positions on maritime issues "consistently detrimental to our needs" and his staff "needlessly callous."
Philips goes on: "It is extremely unfortunate that his administration has chosen to conduct itself as it has, but it seems to be the environment we will be operating in for the foreseeable future, and SMBC will plan our course of action accordingly."
Ceis has not returned a call.
2. Fizz was at the Stranger's crowded police accountability forum at city hall last night (and we'll post a more detailed report soon). For now, here's a photo we snapped that captures the tense vibe , especially in the aftermath of Native American wood carver John T. Williams' death at the hands of the SPD, as hundreds of angry citizens heckled the panel which included police chief John Diaz , Mayor McGinn, cop union head Rich O'Neill, and members of the SPD's own in-house accountability office.
The large Native American community at the event was not satisfied with chief Diaz's responses. One man, wearing a yellow jacket with the words "Killerop" and "Mobile Target" painted on his back, spent the last portion of the debate standing in the middle of the room, staring motionlessly at the panel .
3. Fizz got a chance to speak with state Rep. Eileen Cody (D-34, W. Seattle) about the legislation she introduced yesterday to close several corporate tax loopholes , including the $5 million tax break for TransAlta's Centralia coal plant and an estimated $60 million break for banks.
Our question: Could she get the two-thirds vote required to pass tax increases (closing loopholes has been interpreted as a tax increase)? Cody promptly acknowledged that she wasn't going to get the two-thirds. (She also agreed that her proposal would require a two thirds vote.) "I'm just starting a conversation that we need to have [about these tax breaks]," she said.
Cody also said she wanted to highlight how difficult it is to get a two thirds vote (though Fizz pointed out that last year's attempts to repeal the TransAlta break and the bank break couldn't even get a simple majority).
Additionally, noting that her legislation would only save $150 million (the state is facing a $4.6 billion deficit), Cody also said, "This will show all my liberal friends that it's not that easy to find so many tax breaks. Do we want to get rid of the sales tax exemption on food?"
Last year, social service and health care advocates presented a list totaling around $1 billion.
4. State Rep. Dean Takko (D-19, Pacific County) chair of the house local government committee, has offered an amendment to legislation being proposed by state Rep. Joel Kretz (R-7, Ferry County).
Kretz's legislation, anathema to environmentalists , monkey wrenches with the Growth Management Act by allowing a batch of smaller counties to opt out.
The Democratic chair's amendment is a friendly one: It would allow a couple more counties, including Kretz's home base Ferry County (which inadvertently isn't included in the the original bill) to opt out as well.
Certainly, things have never been warm between the Nickels and McGinn crowds, but Ceis, who started his own lobbying firm with a partial focus on city business (he's lobbied the city on behalf of Yellow Pages companies , an EMS provider, and Russell Investments) is now reportedly persona non grata at the current mayor's office thanks to his association with the group; not a great spot for a local lobbyist.
PubliCola's own public records request found Ceis on the chain of at least one email from Bob Donegan, a leader of the pro-tunnel group, Tunnel+Transit Coalition, in December.
In the email cc'd to Ceis, which refers to "our public records request," Donegan goes on to gripe about the mayor's response to "detailed, thoughtful critique[s]" (of McGinn's tunnel position) with a form letter.
Ceis doesn't chime in, but in the thread, Seattle Marine Business Coalition president Peter Philips piles on, calling the mayor's positions on maritime issues "consistently detrimental to our needs" and his staff "needlessly callous."
Philips goes on: "It is extremely unfortunate that his administration has chosen to conduct itself as it has, but it seems to be the environment we will be operating in for the foreseeable future, and SMBC will plan our course of action accordingly."
Ceis has not returned a call.
2. Fizz was at the Stranger's crowded police accountability forum at city hall last night (and we'll post a more detailed report soon). For now, here's a photo we snapped that captures the tense vibe , especially in the aftermath of Native American wood carver John T. Williams' death at the hands of the SPD, as hundreds of angry citizens heckled the panel which included police chief John Diaz , Mayor McGinn, cop union head Rich O'Neill, and members of the SPD's own in-house accountability office.
The large Native American community at the event was not satisfied with chief Diaz's responses. One man, wearing a yellow jacket with the words "Killerop" and "Mobile Target" painted on his back, spent the last portion of the debate standing in the middle of the room, staring motionlessly at the panel .
3. Fizz got a chance to speak with state Rep. Eileen Cody (D-34, W. Seattle) about the legislation she introduced yesterday to close several corporate tax loopholes , including the $5 million tax break for TransAlta's Centralia coal plant and an estimated $60 million break for banks.
Our question: Could she get the two-thirds vote required to pass tax increases (closing loopholes has been interpreted as a tax increase)? Cody promptly acknowledged that she wasn't going to get the two-thirds. (She also agreed that her proposal would require a two thirds vote.) "I'm just starting a conversation that we need to have [about these tax breaks]," she said.
Cody also said she wanted to highlight how difficult it is to get a two thirds vote (though Fizz pointed out that last year's attempts to repeal the TransAlta break and the bank break couldn't even get a simple majority).
Additionally, noting that her legislation would only save $150 million (the state is facing a $4.6 billion deficit), Cody also said, "This will show all my liberal friends that it's not that easy to find so many tax breaks. Do we want to get rid of the sales tax exemption on food?"
Last year, social service and health care advocates presented a list totaling around $1 billion.
4. State Rep. Dean Takko (D-19, Pacific County) chair of the house local government committee, has offered an amendment to legislation being proposed by state Rep. Joel Kretz (R-7, Ferry County).
Kretz's legislation, anathema to environmentalists , monkey wrenches with the Growth Management Act by allowing a batch of smaller counties to opt out.
The Democratic chair's amendment is a friendly one: It would allow a couple more counties, including Kretz's home base Ferry County (which inadvertently isn't included in the the original bill) to opt out as well.
