City council members Jan Drago and Richard McIver—both of whom
are retiring when their terms run out in November—are headed for
Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, this week as part of an
85-person trade mission for the Trade Development Alliance of Greater
Seattle. McIver’s flight, hotel, and other expenses will cost the city
$7,595; Drago’s will cost somewhat less, $6,286, because she found a
ticket herself and will share a room. Both of the council members’
trips were planned last year and paid for out of the council members’
office budgets for 2008.

Drago’s office says missions like the one to Dubai are worthwhile
because they enable participants to build relationships with officials
in other cities and can create financial benefits for Northwest
companies. For example, her office says, the most recent trip Drago
took—to Chongqing, China—resulted in a $30 million contract
for the Robbins Company, a firm with an office in Kent that builds
construction machines. Boeing, which is a sponsor of the trip, does
business with two huge UAE-based
airlines, Emirates and Etihad
Airways. Other Northwest companies, including Microsoft and Starbucks,
do business in Dubai.

Trade missions are common—council members go on them every
year. It’s the specifics of this junket that raise eyebrows. Spending
thousands of dollars to send two council members to one of the most
expensive places in the world during a severe recession may be a
judgment call. However, choosing two council members who won’t be
around to implement any policy ideas they may learn about in the UAE,
or to actually capitalize on any relationships they may form there, is
a highly questionable use of public dollars.

At a time when council president Richard Conlin is freezing the
council’s travel budget for the rest of the year, and perhaps
permanently, the image of council members jet-
setting off to Dubai
just months before they retire is more than a little unseemly.
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4 replies on “Your Tax Dollars at Work”

  1. Pathetic. If Conlin had any balls, or real power, he would yank the trip. I guess since the City does not give golden watches, these two oh so fine departing councilmembers will be giving the city a golden shower…..

    Another example of how there is zero leadership in Seattle.

    Makes me sick…

  2. Wow this is silly. What about these people retiring says that they shouldn’t go on these trips? They will be building relationships for future city council members and representatives from our area that will take their place. These trips serve a purpose, which is stated plainly in the article. Just because these two are going to be retiring doesn’t mean that we don’t need the connections that they were elected to go out and make. The real crime would be them sitting around twiddling their thumbs not making those important connections. Which, i might add would hurt our economy much more than the incredibly piddly 13,881$ spent on their trip.

  3. I agree with Anderoo. Councilmembers should be out doing what they can to stimulate the economy. Would you rather they sit in a cubicle and push papers around?

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