City Attorney Tom Carr announced today that he has the support of seven of the nine members of the Seattle City Council. Only Richard Conlin and Nick Licata, who are both running for reelection, have not endorsed Carr. Conlin has not yet returned a call for comment about why he’s not supporting Carr.
Licata, meanwhile, notes that although Carr has “been a positive force in supporting community court and other things like that,” he has also “fallen short in several critical areas. I think the club raids [AKA Operation Sobering Thought] were the nadir in his judgment. He was not innovative on coming up with a solution to the [driving with license suspended] situation [a law that allowed the city to impound cars driven by people with suspended licenses]. … He was a reluctant partner, not a leader, in the marijuana reform situation … and lastly, his relationship with the [Office of Professional Accountability, which oversees police-misconduct cases] members was very limiting. He didn’t put in the extra energy to resolve the [legal] liability exposure problem.”
Meanwhile: Attorney James Savitt is hosting a fundraiser for Carr opponent Peter Holmes at his downtown Seattle office on Wednesday, September 30. Savitt is the husband of unsuccessful 2007 city council candidate Venus Velazquez, who was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol shortly before the November 2007 election. (She was later found to be not guilty). Carr recused himself from the case but endorsed Velazquez’s opponent, attorney Bruce Harrell, who went on to win the election.
Carr’s campaign manager Cindi Laws says, “Most of Pete’s supporters seem to be people who have lost cases against the city.” Savitt has not yet returned a call seeking comment on his decision to support Holmes.
