Comments

1
My favorite part about all these SPOG-related articles is the reliably consistent mention of "tweeted, then deleted it". Ready, Fire, AIM!
2
Maybe Harry Bailey will get the job.
3
So these two appointees who completely failed to get any reforms enacted (or even moved forward) are being replaced... and you're trying to tell me this is a bad thing?
4
Murray is the worst kind of politician, but he's perfect for Seattle. He's really good on gay-related travel bans. That helps Seattle. In that all important "feelings and token sentiment" kind of way.

Still fascinated the Seattle Times gives him a free pass on everything.
6
"Anne Levinson for Mayor" has a nice ring to it.
7
Will McGinn run again? Please?
8
The idea that a mayor is an outsider who has real motivation to reform the police force of our city is just silly. The mayor appoints the police Chief. The mayor sets the priorities of the department. The mayor is ultimately one of the primary beneficiaries of oppressive and discriminatory policing.

But go on; wish for McGinn back. Never mind that he sat back and did nothing while police peppersprayed little old ladies. Forget about the time he declared umbrellas to be illegal structures in Seattle Parks and encouraged very selective enforcement of the new rule. Or claimed the police were doing their job when they arrested a woman for possession of an illegal weapon for using a six inch paring knife to chop a zucchini in Westlake Park. The chopping occured on a cutting board in an area where other food was being shared. No threats were made. Pretend McGinn didn't plan to sweep homeless folks out of The Jungle with the help of SPD muscle. Yup, having Mike McGinnis back would be so much better.

Or maybe, just maybe, the whole institution is rotten rather than one person. When modern police forces were formed indoor sanitation was a big new idea, the highway system hadn't even been conceived of, and the quickest way to get a message from Portland to Seattle was telegraph. From earthquake resistant framing structures inside buildings to gigabit Internet we've changed and improved the underlying structure and functionality of most parts of our city. So why are the police still operating essentially like they did in an age when we though mercury was healthy to ingest?
9
@8: 🤔
10
The SPOG are trying out for the Serpico sequel, aren't they? Do they realize how fucked they appear to people from cities with reasonable police forces? Cops like SPD are putrid in their swagger and entitled bullshit, thinking they're too good for oversight. Fine. Don't expect too much sympathy after the next Maurice Clemmons type of episode. Instead of compliance and possibly making the streets safer for fellow officers, SPOG encourages pouting if the public doesn't water their fragile little ego flowers.

And the fucking mayor has difficulty working with women.

This "city" really needs a female mayor.
11
Ansel, the mayor is expanding the search and will be appointing a replacement. The heading for your post implies otherwise.
12
Murray was elected with 29% of the population voting and 51% of them voting for him. That's a pitiful 15% of the total population. Most of Seattle doesn't care or doesn't have the guts to speak up. I say we do it ourselves using video cameras and civil rights organizations. Take back our city and vote these idiots out.
13
@11 sorry reading three sentences is too much trouble for you.

@12 Trump for mayor, amirite?
14
@10: Yeah.
15
Didn't this piece run last week?
16
@3- If there was any indication that the Mayor was looking for more effective people you'd be right, but since the Mayor has given every indication he's working with SPOG to keep the police unaccountable, you're wrong.
17
@5, so did I, but identity politics and anger towards bicycles won out. If you saw any of the debates, you could see how lacking Murray is. Very frustrating.

"Murray spokesperson Jeff Reading said SPOG's antipathy toward Murphy is 'not the reason why' the mayor is opening up the position. 'There might be qualified people out there to hold these newly configured positions,' Reading said. 'It's no reflection on Pierce Murphy or Anne Levinson."

It is no reflect on Levinson but it's a giant reflection on the fact that the City is getting rid of two effective and knowledgeable near-experts (Levinson and Murphy) to be replaced by some unknowns but who will do the mayor's the SPOG's bidding.

Please wait...

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