From the Dec 16 – Dec 22, 2004 issue

News

In The Hall

by Erica C. Barnett

Former Greg Nickels advisor Edsonya Charles--under fire, most recently, for overseeing a downtown feeding program for the homeless that devolved into a political debacle--won appointment to Seattle's municipal court Monday, though not without the requisite measure of mayor-council friction. At issue is Charles' relative lack of trial experience: The 1995 UW Law School graduate, who has never held a judicial position, spent just four years prosecuting criminal fraud cases for the U.S. attorney's office. On Monday, after approving Charles' appointment, the council adopted a new, "merit-based" judicial selection process, which recommends that the mayor invite bar associations to rate candidates before he appoints them to municipal court positions. Current court standards for pro tem (temporary) judges require "substantial criminal law experience."

You know you're in trouble when the lefties start debating the definition of "progressive." That moment occurred at approximately 8:00 p.m. last Wednesday night, when a meeting of well-meaning activists, charged with the task of brainstorming potential city council and mayoral candidates for 2005, became hopelessly mired in semantics.

Which may be one reason why, despite repeated attempts by hyper-patient moderator John Fox to steer the proceedings back on track, an actual list of viable council candidates proved hopelessly elusive. The most promising possibilities--Alice Woldt, who nearly vanquished longtime legislative incumbent Helen Sommers this year, and state Rep. Sharon Tomiko-Santos, who recently won reelection--have either stated explicitly that they aren't running (in Woldt's case) or haven't actually expressed an interest (in Tomiko-Santos'). The activists had better get busy or their decision could be made for them: During the proceedings, onetime Jim Compton opponent Angel Bolaños--never one to stand on ceremony--leaped up, unbidden, and tossed his own hat in the ring.

One name that didn't come up was Cleve Stockmeyer, the laconic monorail board member and coauthor of the original monorail initiative. Stockmeyer, like his fellow elected board member, Cindi Laws, says he's considering a council campaign, but adds that he's "torn" about whether to run for council or seek reelection to his current position. Laws (and, to a lesser extent, Stockmeyer) has been among the SMP's most vocal proponents of public access, which--as the agency's repeated refusal to hand over public records lawsuits amply demonstrates--has sometimes been in short supply.

Case in point: Last week, SMP's executive committee held a top-secret meeting at which, rumor has it, board members decided to recommend a generous merit raise for SMP director Joel Horn, which, if approved, would bring his salary to more than $185,000. This despite the agency's recent decision to lay off 8 of its 83 employees, with more cuts reportedly on the horizon; and despite persistent rumors that negotiations with Hitachi-led Cascadia Monorail Company are proving much bumpier than expected.