by Mark Gardner

The Free Press

Of course, no thinking person really buys into this view of history. For every enlightened plutocrat there is another pinheaded imbecile blubbering in his soup. For every leader scaling the Nietzscheian pinnacle, there's a gray apparatchik opposing all sensible change. For every act of enlightened self-interest or noblesse oblige, there's a tyrant with his boot on the neck of the citizenry. But even if we grant this theory, here in Seattle, our elites aren't quite performing to world class standards. The visions guiding our future 'round here are pinched and parochial, and fall far short of meeting the challenges we face.

Reflect for a moment on the grand monuments to the human spirit Seattleites have received for ceding power to our betters: a small downtown street opened to the freedom of traffic rather than the tyranny of the pedestrian; a music museum that will resemble a pile of metal out back of a paint factory; a too-long-delayed transit system that won't even go to the Eastside suburbs; grossly unsafe roads that are full of holes. Hell, we can't even get a decent supply of public rest rooms downtown, even though it's illegal to pee outside of proper facilities.

Seattle luminaries, with the help of the Governor and state legislature, paved the way for a stadium package that brings the fewest benefits of any recent deal in the country. When we do get something worth working toward - Mayor Rice's Urban Villages is the prime example - the leadership to build support for it in the communities is nowhere to be found. Seattle slumps toward the future with little more than inertia and smugness to guide it.

Organizing for the Big Shake-up
It's hard to make a dent in Seattle's political system. At-large elections for the City Council force candidates to raise the money to run citywide, raising the cost of many winning campaigns to six figures. Incumbents almost never lose. But every once in awhile, things come together to create small openings in what is an elite-dominated but still permeable system. This year we'll see a large number of open seats, negating the power of incumbency. And, since Charlie Chong breached the defenses of the Council chambers, it is clear that underfunded grass-roots candidates can win. A number of especially promising candidates have stepped forward into this situation with a promise to shake things up.

Seattle slumps toward the future with little more than inertia and smugness to guide it.

Of the challengers to emerge thus far, Nick Licata has the deepest roots in the community, and the highest profile of civic activism. Licata is already making a strong run for Council position number 4, the position held by City Council President Jan Drago. Licata has a resume that most would be proud of, but it is not the "padded" variety chock full of honorifics and figurehead positions. Instead, it shows him to have been "present at the creation" of a slew of organizations and movements that shaped Seattle's recent history for the better: President of CHECC, the campaign organization that shifted Seattle politics toward progressivism in the 60s and 70s; Executive Director of WashPIRG, the UW offshoot of the Naderite consumer and environmental group; founder of the Seattle Sun, the quintessential Seattle "alternative" newspaper in the '70s and '80s; Founder and board member of the Civic Foundation, the political arm of the neighborhood movement; Co-Chair of Citizens for More Important Things, the group that wrote the successful initiative (later invalidated by court ruling) that challenged the Mariner's financing deal, and ran a David v. Godzilla campaign against the Seahawks, coming within a few percentage points of winning against the most well-funded initiative campaign in state history.

Licata ran for the Council in 1979, losing in a four-way race. He's working hard to ensure that won't happen, engaging in a whirlwind of appearances before public meetings and candidates forums. His campaign is emphasizing small contributions from large numbers of supporters, and has thus far raised over $17,000 from over 300 contributors. Licata already has three paid staff, who were hired on the basis of ideals and energy rather than for their grasp of the techniques of electoral manipulation. He promises to translate his grassroots campaign into an accessible style of governance if elected, and will hold open public hearings 10 day before all significant legislation, with public notices to posted in daily newspapers.

Licata calls for funding the basics first - road and park maintenance, police and fire service - instead of draining public dollars for private developments. This emphasis on basic services helped him racked up an early endorsements from the Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local #27, IAFF, which will give another boost of energy to the campaign. And while well-connected to the neighborhood movement, Licata is willing to take a strong stance against reactionary NIMBY-ism. For example, he opposes Drago's actions to block a convenient site for a downtown hygiene center for the homeless.

Despite Licata's energy and connections, slaying the Drago won't be easy. The Council President epitomizes the Seattle formula of corporate liberalism, glossed over with political correctness. But when not busy rubber-stamping the corporate agenda, Drago has been racking up critical allies through constituent service. Most critical has been her pro-union stance on both prevailing wage and apprenticeship issues. This will probably lock up most union endorsements.

So, while Drago is about as charismatic as a dead fish, she has some powerful allies who may be reluctant to switch over to an energetic newcomer. And Licata will buck up against the tendency of local Democratic constituency organizations to rubber-stamp incumbents. Licata's position as a precinct officer in the 43rd district for 12 years may help him some there, and a stint as head of the Metropolitan Democratic Club gives him good entre with the downtown progressive wing of the party.

Green and "Green" Candidates
In contrast with Licata, Patrick Kylen is a political neophyte who makes up for his lack of experience with enthusiasm and creative ideas. Kylen has an interesting profile: he is a "Generation X"-er who is also the part owner of a Pizza store; a drummer in a band who also spent his spare time raising money for wartime Bosnia. The 30 year-old Kylen calls for "generational representation" on the Council, while at the same time debunking the prevailing imagery of his generation. He is the antithesis of the "slacker" stereotype, throwing himself into a long list of volunteer activities both here and abroad. His volunteer work in the south end of the city has earned him a glowing endorsement letter from Bruce Bentley, president of the Rainier Chamber of Commerce.

Rather than a political track record, Kylen brings to the race some refreshing ideas for reconnecting the governors to the governed. Like Licata, he plans to use his supporters to gather 1000 signatures rather than pay the city's filing fee, which he likens to "having to pay for democracy." Kylen has responding to the current fad for "rebuilding community" with some substantive ideas. He wants to help stem the flight of citizens out of the public schools by leading work sessions to paint and refurbish the more run-down campuses, with supplies to be garnered from donations he'll help solicit. He promises to spend time canvassing recipients of city services to assess how well government is working, and to use the views of citizens to improve city services.

Like Licata, Kylen decries the lack of spending on basic services and infrastructure, and promises to triple the amount of the city budget spent on road maintenance and safety. Kylen notes that if elected he'd not only be the youngest council member, but the only renter as well, and promises to be an advocate for tenant's rights.

Kylen filed to run against Cheryl Chow, believing that ousting an incumbent rather than filing for an open seat would result in the greatest change. Chow decided to run for Mayor, leaving the seat open. This seat has already attracted one candidate besides Kylen, and there will likely be others. Kylen will have a hard run ahead of him, but has been making some impressive strides for a newcomer. He is not a known quantity, and his independence may lead him to buck anyone's party line. But his energy and ideas make him a candidate likely to bring creative solutions to a city sorely in need of them.

Richard Conlin, contesting for the seat vacated by Jane Noland in her mayoral bid, is clearly the card-carrying "green" candidate among those running in this year's Council elections. Conlin is the past-publisher of Yes! magazine, formerly In Context, the nation's foremost magazine for ideas on social and environmental sustainability. Conlin also co-founded Sustainable Seattle, a vehicle for ideas and organizing around sustainability issues. For ten years, he was the Director of the Community and Environment Department of the Metrocenter YMCA, the Y's community development arm. Conlin earned a place earlier this year as one of the five finalists for the appointment to fill John Manning's seat after Manning resigned in scandal.

Like Licata and Kylen, Conlin is also running on a "back to basics" theme, but goes beyond basics to strongly advocate a more democratic form of city planning. In contrast to current Council members, Conlin's vision of downtown is one that is "....more like Pike Place Market and less like Planet Hollywood." Conlin is committed to bringing equity to city services, and facilitating access to government for less affluent city neighborhoods. For example, he argues that it is critical for residents of the Rainier Valley to become involved to prevent the RTA from bringing gentrification and destruction of affordable housing.

Conlin needs to work on his stump speech, which seems canned. But if ideas count for anything, Conlin should draw attention and a lot of support to his candidacy, and to the issues he has worked steadily for over the years.

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Contents this page were published in the July/August, 1997 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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