plain and simple, murray wants his people in there. he's been cleaning out mcginn's appointees top to bottom, and giving his people big salaries.

apparently, that's his prerogative.

To be fair, Ed Murray is a fucking puppet and probably has no idea why Keblas was fired.

To start off saying "we could have done better with communications" is BS. They were just hoping for not too much blowback. I gotta say - courting people's endorsements and taking their money and then not even asking them their opinion? Shady.

Try to remember all this when you wonder why Kate Becker doesn't have any political capital and nobody in the mayor's office will return your calls.

What the fuck, Ed?

All I'm asking for is a mayor who doesn't immediately make me regret my vote.

Please, demonstrate your responsiveness to the community and fix this.

Haha Ed Murray voters

Remember the part about Murray's misleading and false campaign ads?

What does Dave Meinert say?

@1
It seems like maybe McGinn reappointed him, but he was in that position before McGinn was mayor, so is he really a McGinn appointee?

Pretty much brings to mind the bitching and moaning of my middle school kids when they get a new vice principal that they don't like. (Me: quit being a bunch of fucking whiners. Let the new gal/guy do her/his damn job already.)

Why does anyone think they have an entitled right to an executive position which is appointed by the mayor and serves at the pleasure of the mayor?

When a new mayor assumes office, such appointees must assume they will be gone. If the new mayor decides to re-appoint them, then fine, but if he doesn't, then depart gracefully.

The Stranger: not realizing that the voters said no to McGinn in November and now desperate to make Murray out to be the new "GW Bush of Seattle" whenever they can.

A new mayor appointing his mayoral appointments? The horror.

What a monster.

Not so much that he's appointing his own, #13, but that he's culled the most effective. Murray nearly let the fucking brilliant, and well-connected to (think) tanks of brilliant, director of sustainability get away as well. The people's message is that when there is no better option than the already best option then stand pat.

In this case, Murray replaced a great person with a very similar person. Functionally it will not change the direction or effectiveness of the department. It won't make anything better (or worse). But at least Murray pissed off a bunch of voters. In terms of effectiveness it will be a wash. Politically it was a stupid thing to do.

@13: Murray's not a monster, just a hypocrite. During the campaign he bitched about McGinn letting good talent go and appointing his own people instead. Et tu, Ed?

@16: At least admit that this is only a big deal because of butthurt McGinn voters, and had McGinn won and done the same thing, no one here would care. In fact, it would probably be celebrated as a move to get more females into government roles.

Because to non-butthurt McGinn voters (or just non-McGinn voters I guess), it is really obvious.

@17:

Apparently, you don't know much about the Office of Film+Music, about Keblas, nor about the very strong relationship he has spent the past 9 years cultivating with these respective communities, otherwise, you would probably modify your wildly speculative statement.

So, this isn't about "butthurt McGinn voters", as I would imagine (at least based on talks I've had with members of the industry), that many of the people voicing their frustration over Keblas' dismissal are in point of fact Murray voters; which is why it feels so insulting, because, if nothing else, it's a damned pecular way of showing "support" for a community he actively courted during the election cycle, and which came out to support him in-turn.

As head of the Film+Music Office James Keblas has been, for nearly a decade, a tireless and highly effective advocate for these industries in Seattle, and by extension the State, which has benefitted greatly from his leadership and initiative.. What has upset many in both of these communities is not THAT he was replaced (most of us are quite cognizant of how political appointments work), but rather HOW: no consultation with stakeholders, not even with the one commission charged with direct oversight of the OoF+M; no temperature-gauging of the community; no transparency in the process; and apparently no clue as to the ensuing shitstorm such an action would engender.

On Tuesday evening some 200 members of the local film community packed into Saint Johns on Capitol Hill (my estimate - it was difficult to get an accurate head-count with people packed in so tightly) with two objectives: 1.) to make it clear we do NOT have an issue with Kate Becker - paeans to her have already been sung, and I would only be repeating what others have said far more eloquently than myself were I to add to the chorus - and that we are ready, able and willing to work with her and the remaining F+M staff to continue to grow the industry and opportunities for filmmakers in Seattle, and; 2.) to raise the political awareness of the community overall, and to organize the substantial creative energy within it as a force to leverage growth and positive change. The first goal was clearly accomplished; the second will take longer to bring to fruition, but steps are being taken, even as I write this.

So, rather than turning into a long, embittered kvetch over some vague "butthurt" as you suggest, this change is being embraced as an opportunity to empower the community, to make it stronger and more effective in the political realm, and to send a clear message to Murray (and any future executive) that while we may be easy to work with, we're going to become damned hard to fight, if a fight is called for.

Elections have consequences. No one doubts the abilities or qualifications of the new appointment. It's an appointed position, not a civil right that Keblas is entitled to.

And yes, Ed is giving his appointments higher salaries than McGinn, but he's appointing fewer staff than McGinn did, so it's a wash. Get over it.

@19

What does "Elections have consequences" actually mean? My sense is that people say that to explain shifts in policies. So, for example, if Murray decided he wanted to appoint someone who would work toward levying "performance" taxes on filmmakers and bands, you could call it a consequence of the election. Simply hiring your cronies isn't about elections having consequences in the same sense.

The qualifications of new appointee is besides the point, only because enough people know her from the music community to be mollified about the outed Keblas, and the film community will work with her. However, if there had been any consultation with the film community, it's likely another candidate may have prevailed. Maybe not. The point is, all of this was done under the cover of night.

For a Mayor who is annoyingly all about "process" and "convening", there was a shocking lack of consideration or consultation with actually "stakeholders." Is this the kind of governing we can come to expect from him? Given the much higher salaries his staff is taking, this isn't the type of amateur politics anyone will suffer for long.

McGinn's actions proved his support for the creative community. Keblas had direct access to the Mayor's office and was able to make things happen. Becker was also part of the McGinn administration, which is a bonus, but it makes you wonder why someone as accomplished as Keblas was switched out for someone similar, but lacking in film industry experience. Sounds like petty politics.

Already looking forward to the next election...

@17, can you elaborate? To be clear, I don't have a dog in this fight but what does the F+M Office do, or what did Keblas during his tenure that made him a star?

oops, I meant @18

When McSchwinn cleaned house, no one here cared.

@18:

Aside from being one of the co-founders (along with Kate Becker) of The Vera Project, James' tenure with the City has entailed a number of major accomplishments: coordinating and consolidating the City's film production resources into a "one stop shop", in addition to greatly streamlining the permitting process for both local and out-of-state filmmakers; was one of the prime movers behind the "Seattle: City of Music" initiative and the annual Seattle Music Awards program; spearheaded the creation of the Seattle Music Commission; has worked in close conjunction with Washigton FilmWorks to develop and expand the State Film Incentives program; implemented the monthly Seattle Film Happy Hour industry networking event; developed and implemented the Seattle Content Technology Initiative; worked with industry partners to create the "Commercialize Seattle" outreach initiative; and has been an unflagging advocate for the City's film and music communities, serving on innumerable panels, hosting industry events, giving presentations; in addition to personally mentoring scores of local independent filmmakers through the sometimes labyrinthian maze of government bureaucracy in order to get their projects off the ground. I'm sure there's more, but these are just what I can come up with off the top of my head.

As a direct result of his leadership, Seattle has emerged as one of the top U.S. cities for independent film production, and has garnered an international reputation as a nexus for creative talent. Although I suspect James himself would downplay his significant contributions, the simple fact is that, without him, his drive, his accessibility, and his willingness to listen to the needs of the communities he has so ably represented, I for one firmly believe that few, if any of these would have achieved anywhere near the level of success they enjoy today.

Sorry, meant this as a response to @23...

@26 Thanks, that's helpful

damnit, i meant @25

Because of the unexpected firing of James Keblas as Director of the Seattle Office of Film and Music on Feb. 6th, Seattle film industry members are meeting to discuss our future here in Seattle. We are holding a number of caucuses/discussion groups on Feb. 25th. To join in the discussion and be informed about where we are going and what we are doing please check out:

Seattle Film Industry Caucus:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/578226312…