Hot Threesome

Their votes don't count for another two months, but the newbie Seattle City Council members are already in play. Council Member Jan Drago courted Jean Godden and Tom Rasmussen last week, trying to line up their votes. And Nick Licata is currently scheduling meetings with the new folks as well. Drago and Licata, you see, emerged last week as the veteran council members vying for the council presidency--and they need those votes. (The third new face, David Della, has been on vacation.)

Drago vs. Licata isn't the only battle that's likely to hinge on Godden, Rasmussen, and Della. Legislation emerged last week--Richard Conlin's counterproposal to Mayor Nickels' Northgate plan--that also depends on the new trio. The plan, which Conlin unveiled at a November 12 press conference, has the requisite five votes to pass, but two supporters (Judy Nicastro and Heidi Wills) are lame ducks. So Conlin, like Drago and Licata, needs the new council members to back him.

While all of this might sound like inside baseball, the two issues that came into play last week (the council presidency and the Northgate legislation) are actually bellwethers for the council, its new members, and the city.

The choice between Drago and Licata is dramatic. Drago is a longtime defender of the status quo who is likely to line up with big developer interests, while Licata is a People's Democratic Republic of Seattle type who fights for progressive and neighborhood causes. Given the current agenda at city hall (i.e., Paul Allen development plans), the choice between Drago and Licata is significant. I should add that whoever gets the gig, both members command the respect of their colleagues. (I should also add that Council Member Jim Compton has reportedly been calling around to put his hat in the ring, too--he called Godden, for example. But given his recent ethics mishaps, the council would have to be insane to make him prez.

As for Conlin's Northgate proposal, it highlights a fundamental issue for the council: Can they actually take on Team Nickels? Basically, last September Nickels instructed the council to approve a Northgate expansion deal that his office penned with Simon Property Group. Conlin's alternative--which calls for a proposal that's in synch with neighborhood plans--empowers the fractured council.

The positions that Della, Godden, and Rasmussen take on both the council presidency and Conlin's Northgate plan will shed some light on three otherwise ill-defined incoming council members. Is Godden a Nickels lackey? Is Rasmussen the solid progressive he claimed to be? I called Rasmussen and Godden to find out where they stood. (Della didn't take my call, as he was on vacation.) Re: Northgate: Rasmussen hinted that he's "talked" with the Northgate neighborhood folks who back Conlin's plan, while Godden told me it would be "sad to miss the opportunity" set up by the mayor's deal. Re: the council presidency: Neither is saying much.

Keep your eyes on these issues. Come January, you may know if your vote earlier this month changed much at city hall.

josh@thestranger.com