Well, in order to find out just whom Nickels was meeting, Fox filed a public disclosure request to get a peek at the mayor's appointment calendar. While it turns out (probably to Fox's dismay) that Nickels hasn't exactly been lunching with the evil perpetrators of cigar-smoking global capitalism, the mayor's schedule (an April 5 meeting with Seattle City Council President Peter Steinbrueck's son's first-grade class notwithstanding) does offer a political portrait.
The Stranger took a look at Nickels' schedule, and we'd like to offer the following summary. (The public disclosure request covered January 1 through April 8, 2002, Nickels' first 98 days in office.)
WHO IS NICKELS MEETING?
First and foremost, Nickels' schedule is tied up with labor unions. (In fact, Nickels was meeting with King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Treasurer Steve Williamson when I called Williamson to comment for this article.) Given Nickels' allegiance to the Democratic Party, this is hardly a surprise. It's also not a big surprise because several labor unions--everyone from the progressive Hotel Employees Restaurant Employees Union Local 8 (HERE) to the mainstream Washington Machinists Council--topped out at the $600 donation cap to Nickels' campaign.
And lefty unions like HERE give Nickels rave reviews. They've had two face-to-face meetings with Nickels and have a third meeting scheduled for May 13. They say Nickels has been responsive to their issues, like addressing the 13,000 substandard-wage jobs in downtown Seattle and getting union jobs at Paul Allen's new football stadium. Indeed, at HERE's request Nickels sent a badass letter to Allen that led to union talks.
"He's involved us from the very start," says Rick Sawyer, secretary treasurer and principal officer of the 5,000-member HERE. "Politicians make commitments and conveniently forget them, but so far Nickels continues to follow through on his commitments. He wants this to be a city for everyone who works here. He's done that, reaching out to us, asking, 'How do your members feel?' It's certainly a bit of a change from previous administrations."
Nickels, of course, has also spent time trying to shore up his standing with the business community, meeting with folks like Steve Leahy (Chamber of Commerce), Kate Joncas (Downtown Seattle Association), Bill Newcomb (Microsoft), Jim Mueller (Vulcan), and high-powered corporate lawyer Judy Runstad-- people who in some instances slighted Nickels during the campaign while donating handsomely to Nickels' rival, former city attorney Mark Sidran. Oh, and Nickels also cozied up to Seattle Times editor Jim Vesely for a January 16 lunch at McCormick's, and to Times owner Frank Blethen for a January 31 lunch at the private Rainier Club. (Blethen's paper idolized Sidran during the election.)
WHO ISN'T NICKELS MEETING?
While the new mayor has clearly put in time doing outreach to minority groups (visiting the Central Area Motivation Project [CAMP] on MLK Day; the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration on February 9; a Chinatown Chamber of Commerce New Year's dinner on February 19; and a Native American Community Outreach meeting on March 6), actual 12th-floor meetings with minority leaders are sparse. African American leaders like Reverend Leslie Braxton, Reverend Robert Jeffrey, King County Council Member Larry Gossett, and up-and-coming community leader Dustin Washington are notably absent from Nickels' face-to-face schedule. Given what a key topic race and police shootings were on the campaign trail, this is disappointing. It's no wonder Rev. Braxton was uncharacteristically defiant toward the city after the latest shooting. Check out what a frustrated Braxton had to say at a Monday, April 22 meeting, a week after the high-profile I-5 march. "[Nickels] said he would look at the videotape [of the march] to see if arrests were warranted. He doesn't need a videotape--he knows who was there. Tell us when to come; we'll march to his office with our hands up. Robert Thomas [Sr.] was shot with his hands up. He can start with me. I'll wear his cuffs like a badge of honor. We'll send more people than they've got jails to hold us."
Nickels has also failed to hold formal office meetings with the three city council members who endorsed him for mayor: Nick Licata, Judy Nicastro, and Heidi Wills. This is not only disappointing because lefties like Licata and Nicastro should be Nickels' natural allies, but also because Nickels has met with every other city council member--none of whom endorsed him. (Nickels did have enviro-wonk vegetarian council member Wills over for a March 3 spaghetti dinner. Having Wills--the Energy and Environmental Policy Committee chair--over for dinner is fine, but some office time would be good too, especially to figure out what the hell's going on over at Seattle City Light. Indeed, Greg, the meetings with City Light Director Gary Zarker to "discuss City Light's financial status" don't seem to be helping.)
WE'RE SURPRISED NICKELS IS MEETING...
Yeesh, how many times does Nickels have to meet with Police Officers Guild leader Ken "De-policing" Saucier? Starting February 19, Nickels met with hyperconservative Saucier on nearly a weekly basis.
Speaking of surprising weekly meetings, we are simply floored that Nickels actually holds weekly half-hour briefings with Council President Peter Steinbrueck. It's not that we think it's a bad idea, it's just that, given how out of sync the mayor's office and the council seem to be (can you say budget cuts?), we can't believe they actually touch base at all. Does anybody take notes during those sit-downs?
