Accounting
In an interview with The Stranger‘s editorial board, state
senator Margarita Prentice (D-11) took exception to the
implication that most of her support comes from business and political
interest groups. “I get $10 checks, $20 checks—that’s all the
people who live in my district can afford to give,” Prentice, who
represents the suburbs south of Seattle, told the board.
Checking over Prentice’s campaign-disclosure records from this year,
when she has a viable challenger in Juan Martinez, it would appear
Prentice is right—in addition to the usual big checks from tribal
groups, drug companies, and banking PACs, her contributions include
numerous $20, $40, and $50 donations from individuals in her district.
Look back to 2004, however, and the numbers tell a different story.
That year, just four of Prentice’s contributions were from residents
of her district—a total of $175.
Appealing
On July 18, a King County Superior Court judge ruled against Capitol
Hill neighborhood activist Dennis Saxman, who had sought to prevent a
six-story apartment building on Pine Street and Belmont Avenue from
moving forward. Saxman argued that guidelines for the area required all
new construction to match the old brick buildings in the
neighborhood.
Saxman’s unsuccessful suit did manage to stall the project for
months. Since the block was razed this spring—removing
several established neighborhood businesses—it has been used as a
parking lot.
Saxman is appealing another building proposal on Pine Street.
Land-use attorney Peter Buck, who argued on behalf of developer Murray
Franklyn in the Pine-Belmont case, says the developer has traction this
time, “because both a hearing examiner and the trial court have decided
against [Saxman] on key points that he is trying to raise again.”
DOMINIC HOLDEN
Acronyms
After two years of infighting on the Southeast District Council
(SEDC), a group of community organizations in southeast Seattle, the
Mount Baker Community Club (MBCC) has resigned from its position on
the council to protest an “imbalance of voting power” in the SEDC
and formed its own district council, the Southeast Neighborhood
District Council. Now it’s asking for official recognition from the
city.
MBCC has complained for years about the number of social
service agencies that have voting power on the council, and tension at
SEDC meetings has led to screaming matches, accusations of racism, near
fistfights and threats from city council members to revoke SEDC’s
membership in the City Neighborhood Council (CNC), the umbrella group
for neighborhood organizations. At a July 29 meeting, members of the
CNC told both South Seattle groups they needed to try and work things
out. JONAH SPANGENTHAL-LEE
