Masters of Puppets
Why are progressive city council hopefuls like Jean Godden and Kollin Min running against a progressive city council member like Judy Nicastro? If Godden or Min were serious about changing the direction of the council, as both claim, they'd be setting sights on conservative incumbents, like Jim Compton or Margaret Pageler, or even on an unreliable progressive like Heidi Wills. Unfortunately, there's a simple explanation. Min and Godden, like many politicos, are managed by paid consultants. So, rather than having a municipal election reflect a true scrap over political ideology, the public gets string-pulling that's governed by interests of behind-the-scenes consultants--who have turf and clients to worry about.
Let's look at this year's election. Of the five council members up for reelection, Nicastro is the most progressive, combining a proletarian sensibility with an urban eye for revamping Seattle into a dense, smart-growth city. She's also good at publicly standing up to Mayor Nickels--something the council needs a lot more of right now. Nicastro, for example, is the council member who torpedoed Nickels' 2003 budget, initiating a vote for more social services money and forcing Nickels into his now-infamous fire engine ploy, which caught pushovers Compton and Wills desperately flip-flopping.
When I asked Min why he wasn't going after a more conservative incumbent, here's what he said.
Min: "There isn't anyone on the council who is doing a particularly effective job working for communities of color."
Me: "Judy voted to repeal the impound ordinance, which was one of the main issues in front of the council that affects communities of color. Heidi flip-flopped and voted against the repeal, and Pageler was against it too."
Min: "Well, if you look at the Hedreen vote [a developer giveaway that sacrificed low-income housing], Margaret voted the right way on that one. Judy didn't."
Me: "Heidi voted wrong on that one too."
Min: "That's true."
Me: "So why aren't you challenging Heidi? She's zero for two."
I'll tell you why Min isn't challenging Wills. Min's political consultant is Moxie Media, and Moxie Media is also Wills' consultant. (Min, by the way, will tell you he's not challenging Wills because he shares her Green agenda. But so does Nicastro.)
And why isn't Godden, who acknowledged to The Stranger that she's politically in synch with Nicastro (pro-districts, pro-density, anti-impound-ordinance), running against a conservative like Pageler? I'll tell you why. Godden's political consultant is Cathy Allen, and Cathy Allen is Pageler's consultant.
Allen says I'm wrong. She told me that Godden's race isn't about issues, it's about style. She describes Nicastro as "reckless" and hypes her candidate's image, saying Godden has "stability and maturity."
Unfortunately, Allen's right--this race isn't about issues. It's about political jockeying manipulated by pollsters and consultants. That's nothing new, of course, but it's still a bad way to elect a city council.
