Statist Establishment Democrats, who could count on a chain of command to oversee their stranglehold on our tax dollars, are facing a localist challenge...for the first time in nearly a century.

The machinery is creaking. The valves popping. The gears grinding.

They've never dealt with another party in power before.

Because McGinn is from another party. The Tea Party. The first of many to take office.

4:20!

It's called brinksmanship.

He knows that it gets the news cycle and makes the anti-tax voters call the stations over and over and over.

Cause the hard reality is the majority of the Citizens of Seattle, and of King County, and of Washington - this majority does not WANT this overpriced tunnel that solves nothing for nobody.

@1 lol, that was funny.

Good thing I didn't read it while I was drinking my organic fair trade latte.

@1: McGinn is a Teabagger? you've outdone yourself with that stretch. McGinn is LEFT of the democratic party if anything - and that's why he got my vote. He's a 1-term mayor, but if all he accomplishes is stopping the deep-bore tunnel, it will be a term of legend.

the problem here is WSDOT.

WSDOT seems to think their job is to screw Seattle, and sadly, so does our Council.

Has the Stranger published a piece yet about *why* the relationship between the Council and mayor has gotten so toxic? How we got here?

@8 not yet. There's the beginning of something in a recent piece put up by the Seattle PI (no, spaced the link), though.

McGinn better get used to never leaving town if he wants to start a feud with the Council. Article V Section 9 of the City Charter provides as follows:

In case of the absence of the Mayor from the City, or if he or she from any cause be incapacitated from acting, the President, or in case of his or her disability or absence, the acting president of the City Council shall act as Mayor, and for the time being exercise all his or her powers.

If Gregoire agrees with McGinn's position on this, he can tell the City Council the State backs him up and the Council's action is moot. If she balks, McGinn can use that too, as a further sign the State is Seattle's adversary, not partner in this project.

He'd be fortunate to get one of these meetings with the Gov every week. They're catnip to him.

@8: The Stranger predicted that all this sort of stuff would happen by painting Conlin as a petulant and stubborn man, power hungry and with his own interpretation of his new power in the November 3 article, Meet Your New Mayor. You might recognize the reference from earlier in the day now.

Choice quotes:

With an untested and relatively inexperienced new mayor, Burgess continued, "the council's role will be more noticeable and more dominant." In other words: While the new guy tries on his new raiment, the nine-member council, led by Conlin, will be pursuing an agenda that will shape the city's bridges, waterfront, and transit network for years to come.

Conlin himself put it this way: "The mayor administers, but he can't do anything with legislative authority. That is where the council is strong. The mayor has the power to propose things. The council has the power to assert."

"If the mayor is learning where the bathrooms are and how the phone works, naturally the council's influence will be ascending," said Burgess.

"If the council feels strongly enough and the mayor feels strongly enough, we go back to the parks-levy scenario," he said. Meaning: The council can always force its agenda after an attempt at cooperation has failed.

The mayor, Conlin reminded, "can't change anything without the council actually making it possible."

In short, if the Council says it's so, it's so. This is the basis for the aggressive panhandling ordinance -- they stood out against the objections of social activists, the human rights commission and hundreds of citizens, and they were only fucked over by a scheduling fuck-up.

Any social justice and environmentally minded person needs to get up and nip this in the bud now. The city is increasingly run by the council, its sponsors and anyone that opposes the same things they do.

@11: Every week? I'll bet the Guv puts him off for at least a couple months, then grants him a phone conversation instead.

It'th a conthpirathy.

2: I'm not sure...I doubt Gregoire is running again, so after the Legislature decides the biennium budget next year, she'll be heading quickly to lame duck status. I'm wondering if McGinn is trying to delay until the next administration and either get the tunnel scrapped completely or get a much better deal. However, I freely admit this is wild speculation on my part.

@ 12 - Very silly analysis. Here's how it actually works: after years of working with an experienced politico (Nickels) who could ramrod anything he wanted through a rubber-stamp Council, the electeds on the Council recognized when Nickels couldn't get out of the primary that they'd be dealing with a rank amateur no matter who won. The 9 Council politicians all know where the bodies are buried at City Hall, while McGinn knows nothing. Until McGinn learns or until he figures out how to charm 5-6 of the 9, he'll be completely powerless. Our Mayor/Council form of government requires cooperation for a city to flourish. If there's no cooperation we get constant bickering (what's happening now) with the executive branch running the bureaucracy and the legislative branch micromanaging through ordinance. With a smart mayor the executive "leads" the Council by building consensus, casting a compelling vision, and stroking egos. If the Mayor is too prickly or too proud (or too dumb) he/she will never master the art of mayoral leadership and city government will flounder. Because of McGinn is fixated on one issue beyond all the mayor/council relationship is poisoned. No cooperation. No leadership. No persuasion. Just dueling press conferences. We can survive a year or two this way, but unless McGinn figures out the art of governing he'll fail in his objectives and, worse, the city will suffer from a lack of executive leadership.

In my opinion if Mayor McGinn is sabotaging the tunnel deal he's doing his job.

@16: The council, then, will be fiddling while Rome burns. But at least we'll get a Space Shuttle!