City Hall
City Spent Tens of Thousands on Council Incumbents' Travel
After former city council member Jan Drago took her infamous $6,300 junket to Dubai (Drago, who had already announced plans to retire, traveled for 44 days during six months in 2008 and 2009), city council president Richard Conlin declared a moratorium on city-funded travel for the rest of the year. That moratorium, however, didn't prevent council incumbents from traveling on junkets from Russia to Finland to Iceland---at tens of thousands of dollars of city expense.
According to a PubliCola records request, the five council members who are currently up for reelection---Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Bruce Harrell, Jean Godden, and Tom Rasmussen---racked up nearly $50,000 in travel expenses over their most recent four-year terms.
Of those five, Bruce Harrell had the highest city-funded travel expenses, with$15,073 in travel costs including $1,362 to attend the Go Green Expo in Los Angeles; $1,435 for a staff retreat at the ritzy Suncadia Lodge and golf resort near Cle Elum; and $3,136 for a study mission to Silicon Valley.
Of the five members up for reelection, Jean Godden spent the least on travel---$5,121, including $637 to visit San Francisco's recycling facilities and $316 for her own staff retreat, held at her house on Lummi Island.
Between 2008 and 2011 (so far), the other three incumbents stacked up as follows:
Sally Clark spent about $9,500 of the city's money on travel, including a $2,460 trip to Austin with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, a $1,811 trip to Seattle's sister city of Perugia, Italy; and a $1,900 trip to Minneapolis for a planning conference.
Rasmussen spent about $14,000, including a $2,227 trip to Reykjavik, Iceland; a $6,126 study mission to Helsinki, Finland; a $375 overnight lobbying trip to Washington, DC; and two trips to Spokane that totaled around $1,500.
Tim Burgess' travel expenses came to about $12,000, including a side trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, after the ($6,168) Finland trip, and a $1,075 trip to Cle Elum for a Seattle Chamber conference.
According to a PubliCola records request, the five council members who are currently up for reelection---Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Bruce Harrell, Jean Godden, and Tom Rasmussen---racked up nearly $50,000 in travel expenses over their most recent four-year terms.
Of those five, Bruce Harrell had the highest city-funded travel expenses, with$15,073 in travel costs including $1,362 to attend the Go Green Expo in Los Angeles; $1,435 for a staff retreat at the ritzy Suncadia Lodge and golf resort near Cle Elum; and $3,136 for a study mission to Silicon Valley.
Of the five members up for reelection, Jean Godden spent the least on travel---$5,121, including $637 to visit San Francisco's recycling facilities and $316 for her own staff retreat, held at her house on Lummi Island.
Between 2008 and 2011 (so far), the other three incumbents stacked up as follows:
Sally Clark spent about $9,500 of the city's money on travel, including a $2,460 trip to Austin with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, a $1,811 trip to Seattle's sister city of Perugia, Italy; and a $1,900 trip to Minneapolis for a planning conference.
Rasmussen spent about $14,000, including a $2,227 trip to Reykjavik, Iceland; a $6,126 study mission to Helsinki, Finland; a $375 overnight lobbying trip to Washington, DC; and two trips to Spokane that totaled around $1,500.
Tim Burgess' travel expenses came to about $12,000, including a side trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, after the ($6,168) Finland trip, and a $1,075 trip to Cle Elum for a Seattle Chamber conference.
