Shit, I guess I missed you lurking out in the hallway after the meeting, Dom. Would have said "hello!"

@2: I'm not sure you're aware of this, but unemployment in Seattle is going to be over 10% soon. We're nowhere near "full employment" for the working class, or anyone else, nor have we ever been while Nickels has been in office.

I don't blame Nickels for that. I'm just saying: don't have to overstate your case. Nickels isn't great. But none of his challengers even seems to understand class, let alone organized labor. That surely played a role in the endorsement process.

Operation Sobering Thought was a political ploy. Not enforcing the law. Just a photo op for BFF Greg. We need an attorney who will play it straight. Holmes!

@7:

Meanwhile, Carr will do - what exactly? His pathetic bungling of boondoggles such as Operation: Sobering Thought, his ham-fisted prosecution of minor, low-level offences, and his general Keystone Kops approach to doing his job, were all factors the Labor Council considered when voting on whether to ratify the COPE endorsement. When even long-time supporters of Carr could speak only begrudgingly in favor of his endorsement, you know the guys got a credibility problem.

While Holmes may not have the prosecutorial or litigation experience Carr has, given Carr's abysmal record on both of these counts, he certainly couldn't do worse.

@7 The Liquor Board is responsible for enforcing liquor laws - Not Carr, not Nickels and not the city. Operation Sobering Thought was a misuse of funds, clearly for political purposes. The strategy was flawed from the beginning and ended arresting the wrong people and harrassing low level folks who aren't even the ones up responsible for enforcing id's. It resulted in 17 arrestes and NO convictions. It cost these people thousands of dollars to defend themselves for no gain, except a photo op. And Carr and the city are PROUD of that? Misuse of funds, both at the police level and the prosecutorial level. Draconian prosecution isn't what Seattle deserves.

And, I'm pretty sure that cancer, blindness, and genital warts are not in the City Attorney's span of control. But, if those are your personal concerns, the funding at city level and the county level can address that. I do sympathize on the genital wart problem, though, I hear they are a bitch.

". . . the local union council hadn't officially sanctioned the picket, so Nickels was off the hook." He's not off the hook with our family! According to the Providence Firefighters Local Union 799 he crossed their union picket line. Enough said. Our familiy does not cross union picket lines - ever!