Seattle City Council member Mike O’Brien joined Occupy Seattle protesters at Westlake Park today at noon to slam Bank of America, a company he says makes “over $6 billion dollars” every 90 days, yet instead of hiring people, “is planning on laying off 25,000-30,000 people.” O’Brien then publicly announces that he’s dumping BofA: “My intent is to go to BECU,” O’Brien says.

O’Brien also warned that Seattle city government needs to take heed: “It’s important that we don’t fool ourselves into thinking we’re not part of the problem,” he said, noting that the council should be challenging itself to re-examine city policies.

Council member O’Brien is a goddamned hero.

15 replies on “City Council Member Leaves BofA for Credit Union”

  1. Hey, it’s not like they’re the 4the largest credit union in the nation and their assets are invested in the local job-creating small business economy …

  2. And why not the Metropolitan Credit Union? (nee the Seattle Employees credit union)

    I’m all for being stylish. But you should know what looks good on you.

  3. I have accounts in both. SMCU gives great rates but is a total pain in the ass to deal with. BECU gives great rates and great customer service as well.

    Mike O’Brien brings to the City Council what I’d hoped Mike McGinn would bring to the Mayor’s office.

  4. You can actually get a higher rate of return from SECU WA on your first $750 deposited.

    The nice thing about credit unions is you can use all the ATMs everywhere.

  5. There’s nothing heroic about common sense or jumping on a bandwagon.
    Perhaps something heroic about common cents, though. Check out North Dakota, the one state with a state bank. Look at its home foreclosure statistics, read how its senator Byron Dorgan, retired this year, voted against Bill Clinton’s 1999 Bank Deregulation Act.
    Local is green, putting your green to work in a local economy should be automatic for someone like Councilmember Mike O’Brien.
    Mike O’Brien is correct, but American politics should not be so far down in the shitter that it’s a reason to celebrate and apply hyperbolic plaudits when an elected representative announces something sensible.

  7. But @5, American politics *are* that far down the shitter these days.

    It’s a pretty short list we can make that has all the politicians (at any level) going down to a 99% rally and telling it like it is, especially when banks are on the other end.

  8. Argh, you stepped on one of my pet peeves. He may be a role model, his actions may be admirable, but he is not a goddamned hero. I hate the cheapening of the term hero. It should be reserved for very specific circumstances. Anymore, every mom is a hero! Every servicemember and cop is a hero! Anyone who remembers to signal before a left turn is a hero!

    OK, rant over. Sorry about that, you just hit on a hot button.

  9. Bank of America contributed to Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE). Let’s see who CASE endorsed this election:
    Position 3: Bruce Harrell
    Position 5: Tom Rasmussen
    Position 7: Tim Burgess
    Position 9: Sally Clark

    Who of the above has shown up at Occupy Seattle? Mike O’Brien can afford to show up because he’s not running for re-election. So can Nick Licata.

  12. I pretty much agree with you, Genevive dear, but if you are going to make a broad political gesture as an employee of the city (which council people are) wouldn’t it be pretty to show some sort of solidarity?

    In the larger political sense, BECU is not the only game in town. Indeed, from a familiarity standpoint – and only a familiarity standpoint – they are sort of the SeaFirst of the credit union scene. And we all know what happened to SeaFirst.

  13. Beloved intern, I like O’Brien too, but his words make clear he hasn’t quite got around to moving his money just yet. Why the headline giving him credit for already doing it? I guess I am still holding out for a hero.

    Aside from that quibble, you are the wind beneath my wings.

  14. It can take awhile to move all the autodebits, etc.

    Meanwhile, if BECU isn’t your thing I can happily endorse Prevail Credit Union, formerly King County CU. They’re a fine outfit, even if they have a silly name.

  15. Genivieve, this is exactly the kind of feeback we love to get from members to make our co-op better. If there is a situation we can fix for you, please email us at voice@smcu.com.

    In cooperation,
    Your friends at SMCU

Comments are closed.