news»The Daily Weekly The Daily Weekly » FROM PAGE 7 draft. Mr. Bobb’s plan indicates that he will delay approval of many policies and training curricula for 5 to 9 months, or more.” It’s hard to know who’s right here. Is quicker better, or is time needed for a more thorough job? But it’s easy to see how the SPD, which has become used to the city attorney taking its side, would think Holmes would do so now. Instead, Holmes seems to be at a turning point, perhaps prompted into soul-searching by this landmark process in the city’s history. Unwilling to be interviewed, he has not yet explained his thinking. NINA SHAPIRO
It Won’t Be Sims’ City
What’s Passing as a Gun Law These Days
In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, many hoped to see real gun-control legislation come from Olympia this session. Instead, the state Senate has given us a recommendation for the NRA’s Eddie Eagle. Eddie is the NRA’s gun-safety mascot, a character that helps teach kids about the dangers of guns and the responsible use of weaponry. Eddie’s advice to youngsters who encounter a gun includes, “Stop. Don’t touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult.” On Friday, by a vote on the Senate floor of 40–8, Senate Joint Memorial 8006 passed with flying colors, encouraging (but not requiring) the state’s schools to teach the Eddie Eagle gun-safety program. The eight votes against the measure, sponsored by Shoreline’s über-liberal Democrat Maralyn Chase, came from fellow Democrats who just couldn’t stomach the idea of signing off on purely symbolic legislation while nothing of substance was even being considered. And although she championed the bill, Chase—who also sponsored a bill that would
Sims was the race’s “800-pound gorilla . . . An 800-pound gorilla cut seven ways is still pretty light.” have required Eddie Eagle to enter the state’s classrooms—wasn’t wild about the lack of meaningful legislation either. According to a statement issued after the vote, Chase said she was “deeply disappointed” that committees controlled by the Republican majority had not allowed truly meaningful gun-violence prevention legislation to advance. “If we are serious about stopping gun violence and tragic accidents involving kids and guns, then we must advance legislation that requires universal background checks and address the issues within our mental-health system,” says Chase. “I had hoped that we would take a sensible approach to gun violence. There’s no good reason to not require universal background checks. There’s no good reason to allow violent people access to assault weapons.” Seattle’s Sen. Dave Frockt was one of the eight legislators who voted against the bill. Frockt told the Tacoma News Tribune, “While I acknowledge the benefits of this program . . . in my view, I think that we are missing the ball here a little bit with the overall picture. . . . I think we should be moving forward with other measures that are more important than this one. I think that we have an obligation to make a statement with our vote.” According to Senate Democrats Communications Specialist Aaron Wasser, Chase has “no illusion that [the Eddie Eagle legislation] is some sort of cure-all,” and she “understands why [the Democrats who voted against it] voted the way they did.” MATT DRISCOLL E news@seattleweekly.com
SE ATTLE WEEKLY • MARCH 13 — 19, 2013
After speaking with a slew of local political types over the past month, it became obvious that many in Seattle were waiting intently to hear whether former King County Executive Ron Sims would run for mayor this year. Now we have our answer. As he announced on KUOW on Monday, Sims—a mainstream Seattle liberal with Obama-administration credentials and instant name recognition—will not enter the mayoral fracas, despite a recent Survey USA poll indicating that he and incumbent Mike McGinn were early (very early) frontrunners. The question now becomes: What does this mean for McGinn and the rest of the crowded field of hopefuls? Local political movers and shakers all seem to agree that the race heading into August’s primary is wide open (and would have been even with Sims in the fray). But whom exactly a Simsfree race benefits most is up to interpretation. As longtime political consultant Cathy Allen, now working for Peter Steinbrueck’s campaign, puts it: Sims was the race’s “800-pound gorilla.” But, “An 800-pound gorilla cut seven ways is still pretty light.” The Survey USA poll indicated—albeit strangely and inconclusively—that McGinn picks up about three percentage points with Sims out of the mix, bumping the incumbent up to 18 or 19 percent support. In a crowded field with or without Sims, and with experts speculating it will take anywhere between 20 and 25 percent of the vote to advance in the primary, everyone seems to agree there’s a path for McGinn to move on. It will come down to who campaigns best. Luckily for the mayor, that’s one of his strong suits. “This is still a wide-open race,” says McGinn campaign consultant John Wyble. “We are excited to talk about the Mayor’s accomplishments. [Sims’ decision] did not change it in any real way.” Most observers agree that besides McGinn, the candidates whom Sims’ decision will most benefit are Steinbrueck and Bruce Harrell. While Steinbrueck, at least so far, has rarely been mentioned among big-name players like Ed Murray, Tim Burgess, and McGinn, many insiders tell Seattle Weekly there’s room for him to stake a claim, and Sims’ decision likely makes it a bit easier. The Survey USA poll indicates that Steinbrueck stands to pick up about 10 percent of Sims’ supporters. Insiders also suggest that Sims’ decision could benefit the race’s only other minority candidate, Harrell, the son of African-American and JapaneseAmerican parents. (Sims is African-American.) But that’s all still speculation. About all that
everyone seems to agree on is that, inching toward August’s primary, the race remains wide open. MATT DRISCOLL
9