Repeal the TDO
The Teen Dance Ordinance is still on the books.
I'm not sure what more I'm supposed to do for you, Greg. Last week, I lined up the five TDO repeal votes you need, didn't I? ["Five to Four," Josh Feit, Feb 14.] But the following week your spokesperson Marianne Bischsel told me there was no legislative timetable. "We're working with the city attorney's office on it," Bischsel said. What's to work on? You've got the votes to repeal it.
Lining up the votes for you was my good faith "Seattle way" approach. Since nothing got done (did someone say "Seattle way"?), I'm going to try a different approach. I'm going to embarrass the hell out of you--because I know exactly why you're sitting on your hands and, quite frankly, it's embarrassing as hell. You're afraid of The Seattle Times and the Post-Intelligencer.
Despite the fact that the two daily newspapers disparaged you throughout the election, enthusiastically promoted your opponent Mark Sidran in November, and condescended to you in the primary--you're still kissing up to the dailies, aren't you? The daily columnists support the TDO, and you're scared they'll ridicule you just like they ridiculed the wacky left-wing city council for trying to repeal the TDO two years ago.
What a chicken you are, Greg. First of all, the P-I and Times are nothing to be afraid of. Case in point: They endorsed Sidran, and you won. The people (not the P-I or Times) elected you--just like the people elected wacky lefty anti-TDO council members Nick Licata, Judy Nicastro, and Heidi Wills, not to mention Richard Conlin (sponsor of the original TDO repeal). P-I cartoonist David Horsey lampooned Conlin, depicting him as a hippie parent, yet Conlin just won reelection by 62 percent.
But you're still scared, aren't you? Your plan--because you are actually against the TDO, but you're scared to do anything about the TDO--is to let JAMPAC knock the law down in court. That way, the dailies can't ridicule you. It'll be JAMPAC's fault.
The idiocy of your approach is blatant: Taxpayers are losing money right now as the city attorney's office works to defend a law the mayor and a majority of the city council don't even support. Meanwhile, if JAMPAC ultimately wins, the city is going to have to pay JAMPAC's attorneys' fees. Why should the taxpayers hand out tens of thousands of dollars to kill this thing in court when their mayor of choice and a majority of the city council is against this ordinance?
Repeal the TDO, Greg. To hell with Susan Paynter. You've got the five votes. You're the goddamned mayor. You owe the dailies nothing. I dare you, despite the P-I and Times, to stand up for something you believe in. Or say you believe in, anyway.
