Marching While Black
"The entire march was racially profiled," says Vanessa Lee.
At 7:00 p.m. on April 12, Lee and about 100 activists--mostly minorities--marched peacefully from Seattle Central Community College to the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct to deliver their demands concerning racial profiling.
In what Lee calls a violation of her right to redress the government, the precinct doors were locked. "It would have been handled differently if the march was led by white people," Lee says.
The SPD did not return our call. JOSH FEIT
Not Marching at All
As of press time, the Seattle Anti-FTAA Coalition still has not gotten city approval to SHOW UP AT THIRD AND YESLER AT 5:00 P.M. ON APRIL 20 AND MARCH TO 815 AIRPORT WAY to protest the latest corporate free-trade treaty being hammered out behind closed doors. The public's right to free speech has been complicated by a Mariners game. NANCY DREW
Quote of the Week
"Break the law. Dance!"
--Anti-Teen-Dance-Ordinance activist and club promoter Dave Meinert, during an April 14 panel discussion at Local 46 (Club Vera).
Fib of the Week
According to a recent campaign update e-mail message from Paul Schell, the mayor would have us believe that his campaign manager, Karen Besserman, ran Maria Cantwell's victorious 2000 campaign against Slade Gorton. "Karen was campaign director for Maria Cantwell's senate race," the "Schell Mail" says.
That would certainly be news to Cantwell. Ron Dotzauer ran Cantwell's campaign. Besserman, by all accounts an excellent campaigner, coordinated Cantwell's volunteers and ran the fundraising efforts. JOSH FEIT
Parade of Candidates
Speaking of candidates, while the latest city council wannabes haven't declared which incumbent they're targeting, there is a new batch of hopefuls: Cary Thomas, a 44-year-old West Seattle resident who pledges "to do nothing"; DAKOTTA (a.k.a. Dakotta James Kanianthara Alex), a 20-year-old Seattle Central Community College student from Houston who says, "Youth are going to be the future of the whole political thing"; and Heath Merriwether, a 32-year-old AIDS activist and Capitol Hill resident who is incensed at Richard McIver for disrespecting the monorail votes.
Is Merriwether running against McIver? "Well, I haven't declared a position, but yes."
Meanwhile, Christal Olivia Wood has declared her candidacy for the "mayoress" position. JOSH FEIT
