My wife told me about the poem before I read it here. A co-worker of my wife said his neighbor wrote it and the co-worker lives in Edmonds. Maybe this helps?

Jeannie. Thanks for giving my pooch a shout out. She's so sweet. I spoil her rotten.

I think with some encouragement, Peter Steinbrueck may runfor Mayor. See Weekly article from last month noted he was considering it
http://tinyurl.com/7rmquw

Given all the prior discussion on this thread about the Royers, folks might be interested to know that Jordan Royer, Charley's son, has filed to run for the Seattle City Council.
http://tinyurl.com/7qb4hf

bdk206, you work with "Al in Colman Triangle"?
I have made a small sideline of pointing out, wherever that poem appears and is attributed to "anonymous" or nobody, that it originated in a Seattle Times comment thread and was written by "Al in Colman Triangle" - yet I don't believe Al has been interviewed anywhere, or has he?

charlabob -

funny. My comment was @30.

I want Dow to run.
I've decided - he must.

##32 -- nope, not us. Neither of us would run for anything other than our lives. :-) (I couldn't find the post from dood that preceded this one)

The problem with tossing Nickels out is that he'll just go to work for Paul Allen and make more money than anyone can imagine. I kinda' like that he has to keep this low paying bottom-feeder mayor's job in order to keep his bidness pals afloat.

CB -so far I haven't seen anything that causes me to change my opinion about the viability of the candidates from the City Council. Snowmare being the most recent example.

I can't take credit for the poem, a coworker wrote it but it was quite a hit here at my work so i thought i should share.

Loyalty? LOYALTY? I got yer loyalty right here for ya! :)

bdk206, that is priceless.

Well done.

Fine I changed the post to read loyalty then.

Respect? This is politics, this is about the well-being and critical future of a large city floundering for lack of leadership. We need some dynamic and intelligent soul to step up now and say to Nickels: "oh yeah? respect THIS!"

It is not that Dow is intimidated by Nickels, it is that he worked for him and will not run against him out of loyalty. I am sure when Nickels is done he will run and I am sure Nickels will endorse him too.

"Twas the night before Christmas, and next to the Sound,
not a creature was stirring, all are snowbound.
The Greyhounds quit running, no matter the fare,
And the mail and garbage men said they just
couldn't get there!
The children were driving Queen Anne in their sleds.
While roofs were collapsing on old people's heads.
And mamma in her boots and I in my cap,
were stuck in the snow and the ice and the crap.
When at the Home Depot there arose such a
clatter,
I trudged from my car there to see what was the
matter.
A group of sad souls were waving their cash,
They couldn't buy shovels, those had gone in a
flash.
Tires were spinning and just couldn't go,
And chains lay broken in the old dirty snow.
Then what did my eyes look over and see?
Eight representatives of SDOT,
with a fat politician so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was Mayor "Saint Nick".
More rapid than gun bans his excuses they came,
"To save our environment the roads stay the same!
On Broadway! On Boren! On Yesler and Denny!,
to clear off these roads would cost such a penny!
Sliding down Thomas and over the wall!
The busses hung over and ready to fall!
He still insisted it wasn't his fault,
as the world's greenest mayor he couldn't
possibly use SALT!
Salt is corrosive, could hurt the fish.
(But the Puget Sound's SALT WATER you
ig norant kish!)
So snowy Seattle continued to stew,
and Mayor St. Nick had not even a clue.
While I stood there astonished, on the adjacent TV sets,
I saw the airport was packed, out of de-icer for jets.
And that others couldn't get down the roads to the ferry,
And the city decided to close Denny and Cherry.
An accident closed the I-90 bridge,
And people couldn't drive down Finney Ridge.
Shovels, and salt had just flown off the shelf,
And I laughed when I heard him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He tried to convey we had nothing to dread;
He spoke many words, but did little work,
And Seattle knew they should never have elected
this jerk.
Then thumbing his nose at his citizens plight,
he turned to the crowd and exclaimed "we've
done right!",
and then went to his limo refusing to yield,
And left to get solar panels installed at Qwest Field.
But I heard him exclaim, as he skidded past me
"Happy Christmas to all, heck, I give us a "B"

Bummer...Dow C. sez he won't run against Nickels. If he (McCheez) is that intimidating, there's something wrong in Stepford-ville. I liked it better when we were proud to be rough-and-tumble rugged outdoor individualists. Somewhere somehow we lost our huevos, our chi-chis. Good god, buck up Seattle!

"we need new blood"....2 are brand new and 1 is under 2 years. What do you think of their performance to date?

The City Council hasn't exactly done a banner job either - not sure I would pick any of them as a replacement. We need new blood!

Following the Conlin "running for council" (not mayor) announcement today, the P-I has posted this story tonight relevant to this thread:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395175_mayor08.html

I have had the chance to work with Dow on a variety of issues through the years. He studies the issues and genuinely cares about how policy will impact the people he represents. His reputation in the larger government arena is as a conscientious politician who comes to meetings prepared and will work on what is needed. He also hires great staff! As someone who has been political/government staff, this is a big issue for me. Who a politician chooses to represent their office to the community is very important.

Rasmussen also is a great councilmember and I am interested to see what he chooses to do next.

Rich, although I generally will vote democrat, I always consider every candidate and will vote for who I think is the best one, regardless of party. I never blindly vote down party lines.

Jeannie, I had a similar experience with Dow Constantine as well and think that he is very approachable - he has posted here on WSB as well from time to time and gets involved. I also had a good experience with Tom Rasmussen - he was speaking at a fundraiser I attended, and I approached him as he was leaving to discuss the work he'd done regarding renters rights in condo conversions - I was being affected by that at the time. Not only did he take the time to talk to me, but he gave me his email and asked me to give him more information, replied to me, forwarded my information to a few people and was able to get me the help I needed. I really appreciated that.

By the way, HMC Rich, I may not agree with your politics, but your dog is freakin' adorable!

I like Dow. Yes, he's the Elliott Bay Water Taxi hero, but he also has been outspoken on issues such as preserving open spaces and saving Maury Island. The guy's got a brain, is highly rated by respected organizations, and is a proven vote-getter. And he's a West Seattle cutie-pie!

On a personal note, I attended a fundraiser about 5 years ago. Most of the politicians I met would look over my shoulder while they were shaking my hand, just to see if there was someone more important and influential they should be talking to. Dow didn't. He took the time to talk with me.

any D but Nickels and Sidran in 2009!

Sidran - oh, that would be a step up - not!

Listening to NPR this morning, there was specualation about Licata, Steinbruck, and Sidran. They also mentioned a few others whose names I didnt recognize. The one that stood out to me was Dow Constantine..... I dont know much about him, and am going to do a bit of review of past papers/issues to see... anyone have any comments?

show me a republican candidate who is forward thinking about anything other than creating and enriching big business and i will give them a second look.

Give me an "R". . . . . . Hello? Hello? Any Republican candidates? Ever feel alone?
Man, it is so quiet! I hear crickets.

My criteria (and what many of us thought Greg fit when we elected him)

Transparency in Government. I mean laws that also effect other city agencies as well as whistle blower protection within city agencies.

Not beholden to developers and large downtown landholders. : Who knew he would torpedo the monorail by removing all good funding and financing options?

Transit focused : We cannot let the County continue making all the decisions for mass transit since it is obvious there is no way to change even a little of the focus to getting from one part of the city to another instead of hauling worker bees from the burbs and back.

We cannot expect someone to put West Seattle first, but just a little less bending over backwards to avoid the appearance of favoritism would be nice.

I like Greg personally and worked for his last two campaigns. If no other strong Democrat pops up I suspect I will be working for him again.

If he follows several other cities in working to bring Instant Runoff Voting to the city races I might have to content myself with the full face criticism I get to give him at district meetings and put him back in the number one slot.

I an not going to the ABN position just because of a snowstorm. Remember there are several layers of incompetence in city and county agencies and no mayor can fix or even identify them until they fail massively.

That said, I have a lot of respect for Tom Rasmussen even if his viaduct plan is even worse the the Mayors.

Any "D" but Nickels in 2009!

BCollins - to clarify, "strong mayor" is an actual description, not my view of this or any administration. I know not everyone is a Wikipedia fan but on quick glance the description here is fairly accurate. I wouldn't know all this except that my municipal-coverage days go back to radio news in California's Solano County in the early '80s (most of the cities there were small and run by full-time city managers, who I spent much more time interviewing than the mayors, who usually got small stipends and had other jobs - around here, Burien has a fulltime city manager and not-full-time mayor, for example).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor-council_government

Aw 'dood! You just brought back a looonnnnnnggggg buried memory, stuffed into a deep, dusty crevice in my brain!

One of the local daily paper columnists of the time, (I'm 99.999999% sure it was the late, great, Emmett Watson) that referred to the fraternal Mayoral team as "Mayor CharlieBob"!

Hmmmm......sounds *suspiciously* similar to a very regular WSB poster......I wonder.......? ;-P

Mike

I would not be too surprised to see Tom Rasmussen throw his hat in the ring. And Peter Steibrueck; has he made any overtures towards running?

Man oh man -

Wistful thoughts of Charlie Royer and his brother, the Deputy Mayor; Wow, that was an era of exceptional local governance.

I'll take your word that this is a "strong mayor" city. I haven't seen it. Except for maybe Royer. I think Rice was mayor during good times (kinda) so we don't remener how stupid it was to put the bus tunnel in...that didn't work with new buses or trains...as an example.

Here is one thing I learned while at City Hall last week.

Some agencies/functions report directly to the mayor and the only oversight the council has is indirect, such as financing those functions.

So the council is NOT directly a check/balance on the mayor in all things. This is a "strong mayor" city -- some cities have more ceremonial mayors, and the city is really run by a non-elected City Manager; here, there is no city manager, there is the mayor (and his non-elected deputy, who also has a strong role - Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis is also a West Seattleite, by the way).

Monofail :-)

i seem to recall something about a monotone or a monotail or a mono something or other...

thee
bad memory sometimes...

A fair question, for sure, bcollins. Think of it this way though: What is the point of a President if we have Congress and the Supreme Court?
.
Seattle's mayor plays a critical role in the budget process, emergency management, and future planning (vision). He or she is also the single most important person to build and maintain relationships with officials, businesses, and others outside the community who can benefit the citizens and businesses of his/her community.
.
Seattle is not a world-class city (my opinion only). But it was on its way before Nickels (and Paul Schell) got into office. We have lost more than we've gained on many fronts, and continue to be stuck in planning and studying mode.
.
Who was a good mayor? Depends on your meaning of good, of course. Here's a start:
.
Charles Royer: Three terms, started our nationally-recognized recycling program, named mayor of the year by Urban Coalition in 1989 after Seattle was named both Most Livable and Best Managed, guided us through hardships of the early 1980s.

Norm Rice: Two terms, helped use boom money of the early 90's to improve downtown, was a leader on the City Council before becoming mayor.

Wes Uhlman: Two terms, helped save Pioneer Square, fought to maintain civil rights for gay and lesbian citizens.

As for Greg, at one time or another he has stood for:

* A tunnel nobody can afford
* Charging 20 cents to use a bag
* Letting a liar cheat the city out of a major sports team (love 'em or hate 'em -- we got screwed)
* Letting city streets become impassable during snow, helping to cripple businesses during the largest retail shopping time of the year
* A hodge-podge system of public transit that doesn't connect
* I could go on ...

Maybe someone can do a documentary on the un making of a mayor...the last time I did volunteer work for a candidate for city government was Chip Marshall and I think that must have been 1974? I think I might be up for it again, only this time without so many consciousness altering substances.

Let's write in Charlie Chong. He can do better from the afterlife than what we currently have. This city is so PC, no one would contest the win.

Instead of trying to be green at the wrong time, use your head and do what's right to make our city functional Mr.Mayor. He has such an ego trip about being green its pathetic.

I'll run. What are the issues I should have opinions on?

What is the point of a Mayor when there is a City Council? I think one reason why we don't like our Mayor is that he is pretty powerless and what power he does have...is to take silly positions on issues he doesn't control.

Who was a good mayor?

Irukandji - Does your husband know how to talk out of both sides of his mouth ? That seems to be the predominate requirement.

Looks like a Facebook group was started mere moments ago.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anybody-But-Nickels-in-2009/48246290879

Wish my husband would do it, but he's just not the public figure type.

Looks like one person is running at this point -- David Wolbeck (no contributions to his campaign so far, and no records of who he is yet): http://www2.seattle.gov/ethics/eldata/filings/campaignhome.asp?elcycle=el09a&campuni=153

Primary: August 18, 2009
General: November 3, 2009

Here's how to run:
http://www.seattle.gov/ethics/elpub/Candidate%20Guide.pdf

Just saw the mention of this posting on Twitter - I am a Capitol Hill denizen, so don't read this blog often. I am very, very interested in supporting a viable candidate running against Nichols!

Unfortunatley, I'm up there with BobLawBlaw. There are enough skeletons for their own chorus line...there has to be someone that we can get behind. Does anyone know when the filing dates, etc are or where they can be located?

I know....Jiggers for mayor...let's get the movement roling...and the Westside will continue to be represented ;-)

We of course can't get involved in a political campaign but will certainly be covering whatever happens. Just sent this URL out to Twitter-land, in fact.

However, to Magpie's point, we should note that any successful business name, campaign name, slogan, should have a matching web address. Registration records show somebody registered
http://anyonebutnickels.com
four months ago.
However,
http://anybodybutnickels.com
appears to be available.
Domain registration costs all of ten bucks, by the way.

There is a West Seattleite planning to run for City Council, by the way - we reported in late November that Highland Park Action Committee chair Dorsol Plants, who came forward to take that then-empty job when the jail-site issue erupted last spring, is leaving HPAC to run for council.