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If the beating on Mayor Greg Nickels’ political corpse is over, perhaps we can devote some attention to a more balanced understanding of his service at the head of Seattle's government. The starting point ought to be a more reasoned look at Mayor Nickels' largely productive time in office.
That record will hold up in history, long after the rather superficial charges during the past campaign, where the Mayor finished an embarrassing third. With rare exception this past year, we were told that Nickels was a “bully.” Worse was the crime of his being in politics all his professional life. Still worse, his transportation department could not clear many streets after a severe snow storm and deep freeze. The list of alleged sins committed by the mayor includes the fact that his good friend, Tim Ceis, was a tough (however effective) deputy mayor who could step on the toes of people who would squeal at the hurt. That, mind you, in polite Seattle.
I remember a fairly typical incident involving Ceis, one that got Councilmember Jean Godden’s nose out of joint. The Mayor had taken the chairman of a City Light citizens review committee to visit with Seattle Times editorial writers. The chairman had made notifying the City Council a condition of his going along to the editorial board, and Ceis said he’d do the notifying. Fair enough. Good protocol. Good Politics. Trouble was Ceis forgot to do it. Godden heard about the visit after the fact and, rightly, was offended.
Okay: Tim Ceis should have made the phone call to Godden. So the mayor’s office did not always observe proper political protocol, which may make for poor relations with council members (a fairly chronic condition in Seattle). And there may be some political hardball in that. But episodes like that do not substantiate the bullying charge — one often alleged, certainly, but not substantiated.
Next, let's look at the criticism that Nickels only knew politics. A short look at his career: manager of City Council candidate Norm Rice’s successful campaign in 1978; hard work and schooling as Councilman Rice’s legislative assistant during his mentor’s distinguished service on the City Council, including the years when Rice chaired the Finance Committee; then Nickels ran successfully for the King County Council, where he earned good marks for his industry and constituent service; a failed race for County Executive and for Mayor; finally, he won a close race for Mayor over City Attorney Mark Sidran in 2001, succeeding the troubled Paul Schell.
All politics since age 17? Yes, but some pretty good training and mentors. All Nickels’ working life in politics? But for what purpose? To line his pockets? No. To run for governor? Likely not. To build a modern rapid transit system? Yes. To enrich and beautify the city by redeveloping its waterfront for all to enjoy? Indeed. To take political risks in the bargain? Of course, as the record shows: Nickels’ push for a more sensible approach to caring for our environment, for “sustainable” policies (recycling, composting), a more effective and accountable police department, prudent stewardship of scarce city resources.
As for Nickels' forceful political style: some of that is due to the politicized, partisan environment of the King County Council, and some of it comes from the nature of the Mayor’s office which is, by charter, a strong one. So is the City Council a strong legislative body. Therefore, by design, serious tension is built into the city’s governing process.
Mayor Schell had weakened the executive prerogatives of the Mayor to the point that Council members boasted openly they were filling the gap — legislators acting as executives, and getting away with it. Nickels came in determined to reclaim the authority of the office, and rightly so. He needed an enforcer and Ceis was the guy.
Hardly new. Norm Rice (Mayor Nice) had the strong and diplomatic Bob Watt. Wes Uhlman deployed the smart and shrewd Bob Gogerty and, later, witty and razor-sharp Ed Wood. None of these deputies were yes men. Each got in his boss’s face, and other faces, when the need arose. But, people loved Bob Watt, and disliked (some intensely) Tim Ceis. So Nickels became known as a bully — at best a venial sin.
The City Council, since it is constitutionally strong, believes it really can do a better job than the sitting mayor. But voters have not seen it that way. Only once since Dorm Braman in the mid-1960s have voters chosen a councilmember to be mayor, the estimable Norm Rice.
Nevertheless, Nickels did not clear the snow and ice off the streets. For a few days, over the course of eight years, he failed to do that. And people got mad — dog mad.
So now we’ll have a new mayor who has not been in politics all his life. Sort of like hiring a plumber to fix a short in your electrical circuitry. Most people would call an experienced electrician.
Granted, the city bungled the snow-storm mess. But, again, how about some historic context? Mayor Wes Uhlman certainly enjoyed his share of controversy in the ‘70s. But his leadership gave us a revitalized Pioneer Square, Magnuson Park instead of a general aviation airport, city services for seniors, and the Citizen Service Bureau. Mayor Charles Royer withstood the tempests in the ‘80s over his “scattered-site” approach to public housing and pushed through the bus tunnel that now holds light rail. Mayor Norm Rice in the ‘90s presided over the saving of downtown and delivered substantive municipal support for our public schools via the Families and Education levy.
Lasting achievements these, civic benefits with controversy in the moment but that live on to our collective benefit.
The point is not that these were perfect or particularly heroic mayors. None of them even pretended to be. That goes for Nickels too. But perfection, always making the right decision, is the wrong measure. The valid measure is whether these public servants left behind a positive civic record, and some enduring civic goods that enrich our community. All pass that test. Greg Nickels belongs in that pantheon.
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Comments:
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 7:09 a.m. Inappropriate
What legacy?
Yet, again we have a story about Nickels' leadership style with little to nothing about what he actually accomplished. Nickels didn't lose because he's a decider and maybe a bully, he lost because voters didn't like his decisions and the direction he was taking the city in.
The snow storm was, indeed, blown out of proportion (though one along with a neglected pot hole that cost me several hundred dollars to replace a busted wheel on my car) but it became the focus of a great deal of pent up rage over this city's direction. An unhappiness that I've been sensing for a good 18 months to 2 years.
It's hardly been the case, as is often presented, that there is general agreement on the city's direction and all we need is an effective politician to carry it out. As Seattle's politics have become increasingly narrower over the last 20 - 25 years, we hear little dissent, little that questions the assumptions of the city's problems and solutions. If you don't question these things, as apparently few in Seattle media do (Berger would be a notable exception), then, yes Nickels' lose is hard to explain.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 7:44 a.m. Inappropriate
Niclel's administration showed us all that partisan politics, and the games that are played with it, has no business being in local government.Yes Greg is a political animal. And, Ceis was there to make sure he didn't waver from that political partisanship behavior.
Although our local political arena is democratic, Ceis and nickels turned it into partisanship by treating the City Council as the Republicans and the Mayor the Democrat. It is what Grag learned at the County Council and unfortunately brought it to Seattle.
The fact that the voters wanted him gone is a great demonstration that that kind of partisan politics has no place in Seattle, no matter what you think you are doing to make the City a better place than the last administrations efforts.
By keeping a short leash on his staff, Greg was able to dumb-down the Council, making them come to him if they wanted to get something done. It both turned Councilmembers into lackies but also weeakened their chances to be contenders for his office(Steinbrueck &Drago; examples).
So, he is now history and we need to watch the next phase of his career. Since he's ALWAYS been a public employee, who will want him? Or will he retire on a nice pension and watch from the sidelines as his policies and improvements withstand the test of time? Will he see his efforts be continued by the New administration, or thrown out as just a bump in the leadership road.
I can hardly wait!
Art
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 8:02 a.m. Inappropriate
It wasn't the snow storm mess per se that contributed to Nickels' defeat, it was his indifference to, or unawareness of, the City's dismal performance -- the B grade. It was only later, after expensive consultant reports revealed the mismanagement across the Transportation department, that the mayor apologized. Too little and too late.
A politically savvy mayor would've heard the complaints as they were coming in the door and done something about them in real time. This mayor had no one covering his back politically, on this issue or any other controversy. And he paid a heavy price for that.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 9:05 a.m. Inappropriate
To enrich and beautify the city by redeveloping its waterfront for all to enjoy? WTF??? Let's review how the central waterfront has been transformed during Mayor Jowly's watch.
The waterfront remains blighted by condo development that got going under Mayor Schell, who was an architect/developer before and after he served as mayor. The Pork of Seattle built some cheesy new buildings for itself including "The World Trade Center, which has a curiously hideous lobby that features Soviet green walls, neon lighting, hulking asian statues and surly staff members. The new Aquarium is magnificent, but this is attributable in large part to the leadership and fund raising success of the Aquarium Board of Directors and the staff, not the Mayor of Seattle. Most of the same tacky tourist traps that lined the waterfront 25 years ago are still there. The "Maritime Museum" was a flop. After several years of moving it back and forth to various piers, the Pork built a cruise ship terminal that--incredibly!--lacks ANY parking space for taxis and buses, so on a daily basis during the cruise season these vehicles simply park on the street, squeezing southbound traffic on Alaskan Way to a single lane and causing traffic backups. The Sculpture Park is a success, but SAM built it, not the city. What the city did do was allow elimination of streetcar barn without any mitigation. I suppose that in Mayor Jowly's mind the SLUT, which practically nobody rides, more than makes up for the loss of the waterfront streetcar, which lots of people rode and even more people loved seeing. The viaduct still roars overhead, but I will concede that our soon to be ex-mayor did his best to replace it with a tunnel. When the viaduct finally comes down, perhaps real transformation of the waterfront can begin but it will pale in comparison with transformation of Bremerton's waterfront into an astonishly pleasant, quiet public space with a beautiful view of Puget Sound and Bainbridge Island.
It would be great if Crosscut's editors could place a temporary moratorium on hagiographic articles about Greg Nickels. He's already quite a large figure, and after he's out of office there will be plenty of time to pump his reputation to even more bloated dimensions.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 10:57 a.m. Inappropriate
Greg Nickels is leaving office and there will be many assessments of his performance. Voters, of course, made the ultimate assessment when they rejected him in the primary election.
There always is a risk when leaders, in the private as well as public sectors, are put in place with little direct experience preparing them for their new responsibilities. We shall see how things work out with a Mayor Mallahan or McGinn.
I was not in Seattle during the early parts of Nickels' career. I arrived at the time when Paul Schell was being brought down by the WTO/Mardi Gras disorders and finished third, as Nickels did, in a mayoral primary.
One could argue that Nickels' handling of the snowstorm was decisive in
his downfall. I would agree with those seeing it as "just one more thing"
that alienated voters after a long string of other actions.
I strongly supported ending Nickels career because of some of the things Sam Sperry cites as his achievements. He devoted huge subsidies to the Vulcan Inc. South Lake Union real-estate development, including a running-on-empty Allentown trolley from Westlake Center to the development,
which were a questionable allocation of public resources to a for-profit
enterprise. In his final days in office he has expanded the scope and cost of the Mercer Project, designed to conform to Vulcan's development plans, while failing to address the traffic-congestion problems of the present Mercer Mess--again, at taxpayer expense.
As mayor, Sound Transit finance chair, and chair he spearheaded efforts to build and expand the Sound Transit light rail system. You can regard this as leadership in creating a regional public-transit system. But I see it
as an unforgiveable payoff to the contractors, sub-contractors, lawyers, lobbyists, consultants and others who will benefit from the eventual $23 billion (or, likely, much higher) expenditure allocated to such a system.
The ballot measure backed by the mayor constituted the largest local-level tax increase in American history to build a rail system which will operate from a few fixed-point stations and will take many years to construct.
Alternative bus and bus rapid transit investments would have created mass transit taking far more people to far more destinations at far less public cost than light rail. I fully expect this decision to be revisited as
construction and operating costs of in-city light rail continue to exceed those promised to voters.
As a West Seattle homeboy, Nickels was expected to look after the interests of Seattle communities and neighborhoods. But his agenda
has been centered on pleasing downtown money and development interests and has generally disregarded neighborhood interests. One small example: Money to finance the unneeded Allentown trolley came not only from tax dollars and levies against businesses along its route but from cutbacks in
regular bus service to outlying neighborhoods. If you talk with representatives of neighborhood groups, you will hear complaints that they
have been shutout and shunned at city hall since Nickels' first inaugural.
Yes, Nickels was unncessarily confrontational in his relations with the City Council. Council members bear responsibility for letting it happen.
But Nickels gratuitously crossed lines that should never be crossed by
instructing city department heads and employees to withhold information
from council members and staff which should as a matter of course be provided to them. A U.S. President attempting similar treatment of the U.S. Congress would be subject to impeachment proceedings.
I do not regard Greg Nickels as an evil person. But his long political experience was not of the kind to prepare him for governance of a major city. He absorbed much small political knowledge---that is, how to attract money and votes by pleasing single- and special-interest groups----but was not prepared for his first responsibility. That was to serve, as Harry Truman once put it, as "the people's lobbyist" in putting uppermost the larger interests of the ordinary citizens of his city. That is why he is leaving and Seattle voters are willing to take a chance on alternative candidates they do not really know.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 11:15 a.m. Inappropriate
one word: unemployed
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 11:55 a.m. Inappropriate
I do not believe that the majority of people who voted in the primary election were concerned with the insider views of Nickels' style. I think the average person looked around them and made a personal choice.
Whether it was being trapped at home during the snowstorm, when even local bus service was suspended, or observing the developer-friendly building going on in their neighborhood, watching the empty streetcar, driving in the Mercer Mess, etc.
Throw in the stories about Nickels protecting incompetent managers, and creating a bag tax and banning water bottles in city buildings when there are more pressing issues, and you have an election result which can be summed up as "anyone but Nickels", and by extension, anyone but a professional politician.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 12:08 p.m. Inappropriate
I agree with Silvia - but would like to add to that. I don't know why the media refuses to point out that the DOT management mess is indicative of larger messes within City Hall. Take the snowstorm, for example: if we'd have a bigger city-wide emergency, like The Big One or a Katrina-type disaster, the city would be in shambles based on the way it dealt with the snowstorm.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 1:03 p.m. Inappropriate
Not quite sure what city Mud Baby is mistaking for Seattle. I know Seattle hasn't done everything right along the waterfront, but the existing Seattle waterfront is light years ahead of the 2-3 city blocks redeveloped in Bremerton that Mayor Bozeman was so good at being self-promotional about.
We have Myrtle Edwards, the Port of Seattle park to the north and the Sculpture Park to the south, a redeveloped Central Waterfront by the Port including a hotel and conference center, the renovated Edgewater Hotel and renovated Aquarium and the coming renovation of Colman Dock, all with spectacular views. With the Viaduct gone and traffic diverted into a tunnel (as opposed to a mega-highway along the waterfront as surface proponents want) it has potential to truly become one of the most amazing urban waterfronts in the world, a mixture of public amenities with a front seat view of a diverse and fascinating industrial and maritime economy.
I didn't vote for Mayor Nickels re-election, but I do hope that it someday will go out of fashion to be a cranky old naysaying Seattleite.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 1:41 p.m. Inappropriate
I find it disappointing that Ted hates the mayor so much and lets it ruin his writing. To think the mayor is so out of touch when Ted is the one out of touch in most of his takes on issues. What was your position on Light Rail again? Oh yea, the opposite of what 70% of the voters wanted.
I think getting things done is more important than being popular and agree that Nickel's follows this mantra as well. And that garbage of him not caring about neighborhoods? It's one thing to support neighborhoods, it's another to not move anywhere on any projects because of a few vocal NIMBYs - take the expansion of Children's Hospital. Are we really going to force that establishment, that has helped so many people, out of a rich north neighborhood because they have money? No and No.
And South Lake Union is now a neighborhood complete with people and jobs - a vast improvement then the nothing that was their before. Creating dense living in the inner city, wow how can you even bash on that? How many jobs were created? Aren't we in an economic downturn where jobs are being lost? How are the cities finances compared to other big cities..states?
Ted, you are wrong and your personal bias is showing in your comment.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 2:51 p.m. Inappropriate
Interested in ClaraM's comment. I do not hate the mayor or anyone else in politics. It is not in my nature. My concern, always, is that our elected officials pursue policies that promote the well being of the citizens they represent. I have no objection, for instance, to Vulcan's desire to commercially develop the South Lake Union area. Moreover, I would hope it would reap profits while doing so. I do object
when public policies are skewed and public resources misallocated to get that done.
Job creation is another matter. A huge number of jobs could be created by tearing down, and then replacing, perfectly serviceable buildings in the city. They also can be created by digging huge holes in the ground, and laying track, to create a light rail system. (70 percent of voters did not approve light rail; the initiative to create a regional system was defeated in 2007 and barely passed in 2008). But if these things constitute a huge misallocation of public resources---resources which could be devoted to other, more useful purposes---then they are not a good idea. Nor are they a good idea if they put city finances deeply into the red.
If someone disagrees with you, Clara, it does not constitute bias on the other person's part. It might even involve mistaken views on your part.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 3:50 p.m. Inappropriate
It may well be that Nickels biggest sins lie not in himself, but in his closest allies. The effect upon the City is the same, the cure though is not simply Nickels removal.
The networks that make a city run are complicated things that take years to build - and Nickels and co did their best to tear apart any competition not rise above it.
Seattle still has a lot going for it - tops of the list the deluded folks who believe in the vision of Seattle rotten at the core as it is. Let's hope some of these people are allowed to grow up.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 3:55 p.m. Inappropriate
If Constantine is elected, what recently unemployed former mayor, council member from West Seattle would be available to continue his public service career by appointment? Yet another reason to vote no on Dow.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 5:23 p.m. Inappropriate
I hate to break it to you, Sierra-Girl, but Myrtle Edwards and Pier 91 Parks were created more than 20 years ago, long before Mayor Jowly took office. The Bremerton waterfront revitalization may only be a few blocks long, but it is a haven of peace and quiet and includes beautifully designed exterior spaces where it is possible to relax and have a conversation at normal voice levels, as opposed to having to shout as one is forced to do in close proximity to the viaduct. Another magnificent example of waterfront revitalization can be seen in Tom McCall Park on the Willamette River in downtown Portland and recent extensions of green space upstream and downstream from the park where blighting industrial land uses formerly existed.
After the viaduct is dismantled, traffic on Alaskan Way will actually increase due to construction of additional lanes. The Edgewater may have been remodeled, but it is still a hideous monstrosity whose construction helped trigger legislation that enabled the state Shoreline Management Act, which prohibits construction of non-water-dependent buildings on shorelines of the state.
Even after the viaduct is gone, Seattle's waterfront will never develop into a grand public space because widening Alaskan Way will bring more traffic that will creep along in stop and go fashion because heavy foot mandates numerous crosswalks.
Seattle's waterfront has pretty much been given over to condo developers and the Pork of Seattle. Outdoor concerts one the one remaining large public pier have been banished, and the pier itself remains barren and uninviting. The streetcar is gone forever and will not be replaced by the planned new streetcar on First Avenue that is almost unanimously opposed by local businesses.
Posted Mon, Aug 31, 10:26 p.m. Inappropriate
I agree that Ted Van Dyk is so anti-Nickels he's not credible to speak on any issue about him any more.
Mr. Van Dyk- you my friend are NOT UNBIASED.
Thank your for this article on Mayor Nickels.
I am frightened to see what a grown up 60's Sierra Club activist would do as Mayor as well as a guy who bought his place in the primary.
Interestingly- out of two worse choices than Nickels, I'm leaning toward the $200K man because he's not a whacky enviro wing nut and is not going to disrupt the tunnel decision.
We may be looking back at the Nickels era with great fondness after this election...
Posted Tue, Sep 1, 12:47 a.m. Inappropriate
Seattle had better recalibrate its compass today as it hopes to steer a course into the future where it can look back upon a legacy Mayor Nickels leaves behind with admiration.
Mayor Nickels' prominent historical legacies are (and will be) Link light rail, streetcar lines, and the AWV replacement. These critically important projects are managed so incompetently, Hizzoner's ouster was necessary.
Link ridership through Capitol Hill and UW is based almost solely on bus riders becoming Link LRT riders. Many new transit users will take Link to UW, but that number is insufficient to justify the cost and years of construction to reach at least Northgate. The more productive extensions are south to Federal Way, east through Bellevue and a spur to Southcenter. Seattle's worst freeway traffic is generated in the suburbs, not the inner-city.
The SLU Streetcar needs only a simple extension west to 1st Ave to reach Pike Place Market and the commercial district while crossing major transit lines. This would triple ridership overnight. A line on 1st Ave would have operational conflict with buses and traffic. The Waterfront Streetcar line can and should be reinstalled with the maintenance barn located somewhere other than Occidental Park.
The Deep-bore tunnel's "Fatal Flaw" is not maintaining access at Western/Elliott. That traffic, 40,000 vehicles daily or about 2500 per hour will be directed to the new (6-lane) Alaskan Way and produce bumper-to-bumper gridlock all day long. (Losing the access ramps at Columbia and Seneca will reduce traffic on 1st Ave and the dangerously steep cross-streets leading to those ramps.)
The best tunnel option is WsDOT's 4-lane Cut-n-cover, a redesign of their 6-lane version which voters rejected in March 2007. The 4-lane has less construction disruption because it can be built while leaving the AWV in place for the most part. It's better in the long-run to bite the bullet and dig up the Waterfront to maintain the Western/Elliott access. Coincidentally, the 4-lane Cut-n-cover is about $900 million less than the Deep-bore. Works better. Costs less. "Boo hoo, those dear cruise line patrons might see some dirt."
A mayor's duty is to assure a fully informed public. Mayor Nickels seemed generally indifferent to public concerns, more like a callous CEO than a public servant. Seattle's big transit and transportation projects were ripped off the drawing boards too soon. Why they remained far too long on the drawing boards is another question he must take responsibility for.
Posted Tue, Sep 1, 9:43 a.m. Inappropriate
Sam, thank you for a thoughtful piece.
In our public discourse, there is reality and there is caricature.
If you think about the Housing levies (2002 & 2009), breaking ground for light rail (2003), the Family and Education levy (2003), the Fire Facilities levy (2004), the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement (2005), Bridging the Gap (2006), Sound Transit 2 expansion (2008), the ultimate agreement with the Governor to replace Viaduct (2009), progress at Northgate, Broadway, the U District & SE Seattle; dealing with two severe recessions (2002 & 2008) and many other issues, collaboration was the key.
The media cannot convey that kind of of complexity and so a one-dimensional caricature is created. And style replaces substance in our public debate.
Thank you for trying to bring some balance.
It has been an honor to serve the people of this fine City and I thank all for giving me the opportunity.
Best wishes --
Greg Nickels
Posted Fri, Sep 4, 7:21 p.m. Inappropriate
From my point of view, it was not the snowstorm, but the selling of the city to developers and the seeming indifference of his administration to the citizens in general, as well as to the homeless. His apparent bullying of the City Council - or at least his poor relations with the Council- also seemed really unfortunate. Even the green tendencies of the administration did not seem quite real. There was also the controversy over Occidental Park, where he clearly cared little about the opinions of neighborhood people - many talented and intelligent - who actually make Pioneer Square come alive in a good way. There are also too many stories,( which could always turn out to be unfair gossip, but seem to be true), that indicate that his administration bullied competent department heads and city workers. Tellingly, many of these jumped ship, because his administration was just too hard to work under and have gone to work elsewhere - sometimes in other cities. I am/was impressed by leadership on the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement (2005), but the relations with citizens at home seems to be tenuous at best.
Posted Wed, Sep 9, 1:19 a.m. Inappropriate
Don't take the snow disaster so lightly. I had to drive my invalid to Northwest Kidney Center at 700 Broadway four times during this nightmare. It was impossible. We walked, he in his electric wheelchair, from the Convention Center to the Swedish Cafeteria on Minor (which connects by tunnel to the Kidney Center), and also got stuck several times in twenty degree weather, with his blankets all soaked. One dialysis patient died on account of not being able to come in. And Hopelink contractors could not get patients in and out. The hospital district was shut down by the snow. At least one death, I don't know how many more. Nickels should be charged with homicide.
John Crosby
Fremont