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McGinn: Conlin Has Violated the City Charter

City Hall, Politics   September 24, 2010 at 11:09 am Josh Feit

Erica will have a full report later, but here are some choice quotes from Mayor Mike McGinn’s press conference this morning where he condemned city council president Richard Conlin for signing off on the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) agreement with the state on the controversial billion deep bore tunnel.

McGinn said: Conlin’s action is “a serious violation of the city charter,” citing article five which says all laws must be upheld by the executive, adding “this is an executive branch action to approve an eis … it is not within the authority of the council president.”

“We are a nation of laws and the city charter is our constitution,” McGinn said. “This is just really fundamental. It doesn’t work that if you really really love a project [Conlin is a tunnel fan], that you get to just ignore the law. The charter is still the charter.”

McGinn said because yesterday was the deadline to sign and Conlin’s signature is not valid, the city is no longer a co-lead on the tunnel project.

Erica is waiting for Conlin, who is holding a press conference of his own this morning.

Watch McGinn’s press conference here.




  • Fgruben

    It’ll be good when he isn’t mayor any more.

  • Bmaryman

    who, Conlin?

  • Guest

    I voted for Nickels

  • Reasoned

    I’m gonna guess Conlin will describe how City Attorney Pete Holmes described why it was OK for him to sign. Thank goodness we have an independently elected City Attorney.

  • Outsider Insider

    Playing this out by yelling at each other in dueling press conferences is an utter embarrassment to the City of Seattle. Tim Ceis would never let this kind of unprofessional behavior happen.

    It’s time for the McGinn administration to grow up. This whole thing is a big blunder for him. Mishandled the Council, mishandled WSDOT our partner agency, and mishandled the response. He is acting like a Sierra Club activist not a Mayor.

    Today, the City looks foolish. Council & Mr. Mayor, please get your shit together.

  • Anonymous

    I have a hard time seeing how a rush to get the tunnel done is going to play well with Seattle, which rejected a tunnel in the March 2007 vote. McGinn is right to take his time. Conlin has his strong views on this, obviously, but I can’t see the public siding with the council on this. If anything it makes McGinn look good for supporting a process instead of a rush to judgement.

  • Jakers

    He’s too busy holding press conferences to get stuff done (or read a SDEIS). Yay for WSDOT for not putting up with his crap!

  • Jakers

    You rejected a different tunnel (which was also rejected by the state) in an advisory vote.

  • kurisu

    What is an appropriate amount of time to properly evaluate an SDEIS?

  • Guest

    Robert…Not all tunnels are created equal

  • Blue Light

    “We are a nation of laws…”

    You are a sanctuary city.

  • Kruegerp

    He’s had months to review this document.

  • Anonymous

    I’m kinda liking the new Mayorless Seattle.

  • PTS

    “McGinn said because yesterday was the deadline to sign and Conlin’s signature is not valid, the city is no longer a co-lead on the tunnel project.”

    Which should have been an even more important reason to sign on time given the city now loses its seat at the table for further input.

    McGinn’s office saw the draft version of this, he knew exactly what was in it. Another blunder from a man in way too far over his head.

  • tpn

    Sound to me like McGinn is playing the classic, yet worn out card, of the game called “the executive director” vs. “the board”.

    The trick is to obfuscate the process and bog down the agenda in micro-issues over (by)laws, so as to split the board, empowring the executive to wield supreme power over the organization, emerging as a “leader” out of chaos– chaos of his own creation, mind you. I’m sure everyone that has been around the block has either been involved or at least have had the pleasure of witnessing this fiasco in various situations.

    There are two endgames: the legislative body implodes and there is a turnover in leadership that will kowtow to the executive; or, the legislative body unifies and ousts the executrive authority either directly or thorugh some kind of election or recall process.

    Anyone want to make any wagers on the outcome?

  • A Call for Leadership

    I would be impressed if this was an actual strategy (“the executive director” vs. “the board”) but I think instead that McGinn only knows one tool for getting what he wants.

    His toolkit does not include an understanding of the art of compromise, negotiation and insider politics. He is still playing this like he’s a representative of a stakeholder group trying to press conference his way to sway public opinion. Unfortunately this does not make him look like a ‘leader’. This makes him look bad. He’s playing an ‘outsider’ hardball game and it won’t work. We need progress on this issue.

    More city staff will be getting layoff notices in the next few weeks. New numbers will be announced that will further demoralize us all and will have major impacts on city jobs, city services, and the good people of Seattle, etc. Our city leadership needs to be coming together now to help the City through this time. Instead they are holding a public catfight. Embarrassing.

    In other news former Mayor Nickels is at the UN General Assembly talking with world leaders about how we tackle issues such as sustainable development, trade, the world economy, disarmament and other important issues that grownups talk about.

  • Punk Ass Bitch

    Yes it is much better because the person Conlin chose not to consult was elected.

  • Punk Ass Bitch

    Yes it is much better because the person Conlin chose not to consult was elected.

  • Fgruben

    I laugh. Ha Ha!

  • Fammer

    No, he’s advising them on snow removal and how to train police officers to reduce shootings.

  • Fammer

    No, he’s advising them on snow removal and how to train police officers to reduce shootings.

  • Barleywine

    “We are a nation of laws…”

    Or it could have been “We are a nation of flaws”, or “We are a nation of loss…”

    If McGinn has one flaw, it’s that the more serious and worked up he is, the slower and softer he speaks (my Dad suffers from this, too. Drives my Mom nuts.)

    I thought it was a good speech, and I liked the fact that he pointed out we were never really co-leaders on this; and that Conlin had no right.

  • kurisu

    Only relevant where the board controls the executive. When “the board” is actually the Seattle electorate and not the Council it’s not apt.

  • Jakers

    I don’t know, but McGinn referred to it as the latest draft, so does that mean that he already saw the jist of it before that “latest draft?”

  • Jakers

    I don’t know, but McGinn referred to it as the latest draft, so does that mean that he already saw the jist of it before that “latest draft?”

  • tpn

    The frightening thing about your analysis, which is spot on, is that when people like this have objective power, they are very dangerous. And I don’t mean dangerous as in “cool” dangerous.