We finally had our professional council portrait taken, now that the council has been finalized. (Previous pictures I posted this year were taken by visitors to the council chambers)

These pictures were taken in a light rain, but you can hardly tell. And rainy day pictures always have the nicest lighting and nice color. (click pictures to enlarge)




Here is council only

Here is council and mayor




We've each had new individual shots taken for the city's website. Previously, the website featured a mix of campaign photos and very old council portraits.

Here's mine.

When we were having the debate about whether the council should review city contracts between 20K and 50K (see my previous posting below), we were covering a lot of ground in our debate. Don Persson explained it was our duty to make sure we knew in advance where money was being committed; I agreed and pointed out we could easily and swiftly approve contracts as consent agenda items if they were provided to us in advance of our weekly council meeting. But Dan and Terry kept insisting that for the fifty annual contracts between $20,000 and $50,000, the council should not see them, and that Don and Denis and Marcie and I must simply be untrusting. I went on to point out that often the issue is priorities more than trust, e.g. when we spend money for new economic development studies it should be for areas of interest to the council....the mayor and staff may not know what we want. The debate went back to Terri, Don, Dan, and Denis a few times, and then I began asking for the floor again but not getting recognized. Then the mayor recognized Toni, who said that our finance director does a good job keeping receipts (which is true, but a bit beside the point), but then she closed by saying something unfortunate along the lines that we must just all be idiots, and she "called for the question."

The mayor smiled and tried to end the debate, but I did not intend to be denied my opportunity to speak or to let the idiot comment go unresolved. So I declared a point of order, and pointed out that "calling for the question" does not stop debate by itself...it is a motion that must pass in order to stop the debate. Dan Clawson, an attorney and council member immediately responded that I was wrong, as did our city attorney. I reached for my guide on Roberts Rules of Order, stood up to present the facts to the city attorney, who could now tell by my demeanor that she must be mistaken. The chambers quieted down as the city attorney read from her copy, while I read along silently on mine; calling for the question needed a "second," and a two-thirds vote to pass. The attorney then declared the motion which called for the question dead for lack of a second. I then asked for the floor, but before the mayor recognized me, Terry Briere called "second", and the mayor recognized her "second" even though the motion was already dead.



While I rightfully should have had the floor, I did not make a fuss because I knew the motion would not get two-thirds of the council's approval after the majority had all just been called idiots.

So, we took a vote on the "call for the question," which predictably received three yes votes, and four no votes...my colleagues were ready to let me finish my comments. But instead of declaring the motion dead, the mayor asked the clerk to determine whether she had the necessary two-thirds vote to end debate! I guess the math got away from her...she was not sure if 3/7 was as high as 2/3! The clerk sighed and said, no, the motion did not get two-thirds of the council's support. At this point my patience was growing thin, and I asked for the floor one more time. The mayor, looking angrily frustrated, panned around the council seemingly looking for some way she could change the situation so that I would not be allowed to speak....I felt like if there were a fire alarm lever behind her she may have pulled it. I asked again for the floor, pointing out I had now counted four times in a row that she refused to recognize me even though the majority of council members would have liked to hear what I had to say five minutes earlier. Crestfallen, she finally recognized me "...Misssterrrr Cooorrrrman..."

I kept my comments brief, pointing out that none of the council were idiots, and that all all seven of us have made valuable contributions to contract language in the past. We can improve these contracts, and give service to the taxpayers, merely by the seven of us taking a look at them in our council packets. This was not an issue of winning or losing power so much as a way to use eight elected officials to the taxpayers full advantage. Toni Nelson then clarified that she had not meant to call us idiots, and Don's motion to review the contracts passed 5 to 2 on a roll-call vote. Yay!

For those of you who watched the council meeting Monday night, where Councilman Persson asked that council begin reviewing and approving all the city contracts between $20,000 and $50,000 in value, here are the RCWs that govern. Marcie Palmer, Denis Law and I all backed Don, as Don pointed out that the mayor's office has been approving 50 of these a year, adding up to anywhere from one million to two and a half million dollars. As chair of Finance, Don wanted direct oversight of this spending, something that councilmembers Terri Brier and Dan Clawson did not want council to have. Warning: Possibly BOR-ING to those who don't like legalese...

Again, here are the RCWs:
( Read more... )

Don found out that his one opponent has withdrawn, so Don has in-effect won re-election to Renton City Council.

This will be great for Renton. This will also save both Don and I quite a bit of work, and allow us to focus on assisting some other Renton races we care about.

I never object to anyone challenging an incumbent for public office per our democratic process, but I feel strongly that Don clearly had earned re-election. He remains completely in touch with the citizens that have elected him twice before, and he is an all-around great guy.

Congratulations Don Persson!

Don Persson has been a very positive force on Renton City Council in his two terms of service. He knows the Renton Community better than just about anyone, thanks to his growing up in our community, raising his family in the Renton area, serving three decades in the Renton Police Department (including leadership as Deputy Chief), and eight years service as a Renton Councilman, all accompanied by extraordinary community volunteer work throughout his life.

Don watches the budget extremely carefully, and works hard to make sure Renton residents get good value for every penny spent by the City of Renton. He does not hesitate to ask very detailed questions to ensure that nothing gets past him, a quality which I'm sure also served him well in his police work.

He serves on numerous regional boards and commissions, and works cooperatively with other jurisdictions to build cohesive regional plans. But the other cities' representatives know that Don is no push-over...he will not agree to any plan that does not give fair value to the citizens of Renton. He won't compromise our city's interests for anyone, and he is quick to keep the rest of the council informed about issues that could negatively impact us.

Even though he can be firm when he needs to be, Don conducts all his work with charm and grace. He has a sparkling sense of humor, and warm compassion for people in need. He's resolved some requests that come to city council by simply reaching into his own wallet and generously supporting the less fortunate.

He is so well loved by this community that he is one of our city's most sought-after volunteers. I suspect that if he didn't have his family and city pulling on him, he would be grilling chicken, salmon, hot dogs, and hamburgers for different community groups every day of the year.

I have the honor of serving as Don's campaign manager, and I enthusiastically ask all my readers to vote for him in November.

At the council meeting a week ago, the Renton City Council debated passing a resolution concerning the Sonics Arena.

( you can read about the debate and the wording of the proposed resolution by clicking here )