That's exactly what happened to council member David Della last week, when both his legislative staffers, Loan Nguyen and Teresita Batayola, told him within days of one another that they planned to leave. Neither Nguyen nor Batayola would give a reason for their synchronized departures, which apparently came as a mutual surprise. Their colleagues up and down the hall, however, were more than happy to speculate. Some suggested that neither aide was prepared for the political hot seat. Others have speculated that working for a political novice like Della might in itself have presented a challenge. There's no question that Della has a short fuse: In a recent early-morning voice mail, Della furiously (and inaccurately) accused me of "misquoting" him in a story about his commendable efforts to amend the mayor's parsimonious Families and Education Levy. The impetus for calling me, according to Della? A conversation with Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis.
Families and Ed isn't the only hot council issue the mayor's office has taken a keen interest in of late. Last week, the mayor--whose own poison-pill amendments to the monorail's right-of-way agreement nearly killed the monorail last month--was at it again, inserting new amendments into the agreement despite an explicit pledge that his office wouldn't get mixed up in the process. "I found it rather frustrating to have [the mayor] intervening at the last minute," Peter Steinbrueck says. Monorail board member Cindi Laws, a longtime financial backer of the mayor, had a chillier assessment of his involvement: "I would rather vote for George Bush than vote for Greg Nickels," she says.
The King County Labor Council (KCLC), which made one final, pro-monorail pass down the council hallway before last week's vote on the agreement, says labor's still backing the mayor despite his recent anti-monorail politicking. "The mayor's office was not out to kill this thing," KCLC leader (and monorail board member) Steve Williamson says cagily. "They were trying to protect the city's interests."
Is it also in the city's interest to support the mayor's $45 million streetcar? Council president Jan Drago thinks so. In fact, Drago supports the fledgling streetcar so much, she's hosting a fundraiser for the private, Vulcan-backed Build the Streetcar campaign, which lobbies the council to--you guessed it--build the streetcar. Seattle Ethics and Elections spokesperson Polly Grow says while hosting the fundraiser isn't "an ethical violation, per se" council rules might require Drago to recuse herself from voting on the streetcar. Grow's impromptu assessment of Drago's lobbying: "Weird." If you agree, call Ethics and Elections at 684-8500; or stop by the fundraiser on Wednesday, July 7, at the Outback Steakhouse, 701 Westlake Avenue North, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
