Poor Greggy Weggy. Meany Judy Nicastro didn't want to fund his office expansion last year--and didn't cave after the mayor passed that mean note. And she won't rush the mayor's cell-phone legislation; and she voted against his housing levy. Who does she think she is? A legislator? So Greg decided to teach Judy a lesson--he endorsed Nicastro's challenger, Godden, who stands for... well, nobody knows, but that's not the point.
The mayor's Godden endorsement seems not just childish but bizarre when you consider that the Housing and Human Services PAC (the biggest supporters of Nickels' housing levy--who refused to endorse Nicastro in the primary) picked Nicastro over Godden this time. Steering-committee member Alice Woldt says: "There was definite concern about Jean's depth of knowledge. Judy has a track record of supporting housing and human services. She's more progressive."
Nickels' pals in the Democratic Party agree. Nicastro nabbed endorsements from the 43rd District Dems, the 37th District Dems, the King County Dems, and the Young Democrats. "Judy is the member of the council most committed to work for people who don't have a lot of money, but want to stay in Seattle," explains 43rd District Chair Richard Kelley. "People sort of like [Godden], but Godden was not specific about what she intended to do as a council member." Ouch.
Pretending that endorsing Godden is about Godden's qualifications and not about a grudge against Nicastro only makes the mayor's tantrum look sillier. I mean, Jean Godden? You've gotta be kidding. Godden is just consultant Cathy Allen's lazy attempt to field a challenger. (Run a well-known media figure, add money, stir.) All Nickels managed to say about Godden is that she supports his development agenda. That's not even true. Godden didn't support lifting the UW lease lid--a keystone of Nickels' agenda.
Of course, maybe Nickels didn't really want to endorse Godden. Maybe Nickels was simply covering for Godden after she incorrectly blurted out at an October 7 Seattle Times interview that she had already nabbed Nickels' endorsement. Whoops. You might want to ask yourself, Greg: Is this a sign of things to come? Covering for Godden's missteps?
Either way, here's the irony: Team Nickels' Godden endorsement is great for Nicastro. "It's like a gold star from Nickels," Nicastro says. "It validates that I'm a thorn in his side. The public doesn't want a rubber-stamp council. After he endorsed Jean, I got lots of phone calls saying 'congratulations.'"
