Moving forward with King County Executive Dow Constantine

On Wednesday, September 8th, at the invitation of our super friends at Sonicsgate.org, a few of us had the good fortune of meeting with King County Executive Dow Constantine and his Director of Government Relations Sung Yang.

After some handwringing over the past, and well deserved compliments of the film Sonicsgate, Camp Jones brought us back to the present by asking what can we do now, and Brian Robinson asking Dow if he was willing to be proactive in working towards a new team.

Adam Brown, Jason Reid, Camp Jones and Brian Robinson provided Dow with smart answers to good questions. I think our conversation kept returning to our desire to get something, anything, moving in the future.

My favorite question was the "why me" question.

I'll answer that now as I think all of us did then, we need political leadership. Turning to the City of Seattle just hasn't worked out so well in the past (it's true). And... a solution anywhere in King County is a solution.

To me, turning to the city now this is what I see:

rumor: Things are so testy between certain council members and Mayor Mike McGinn that certain council staffers are not allowed up on the 7th floor.
Publicola.net, Moring Fizz, 9/14/2010

Seattle may not be the solution in the end, and they just do not look like they can agree and lead on who presses the button in the elevator, or signs a draft document. I am sure they will sort things out, soon.

When I look at King County, and in particular Dow Constantine, this is what I see:

“There’s simply no substitute for being there when it comes to getting a feel for a community, its people, and its issues,” Constantine said in a news release. “I met every mayor in King County on their own turf and let them set the agenda for our discussion.”
, IssaquahPress.comKing County executive completes sojourn to 39 cities, 9/15/2010

I am the mayor of my own opinion, and that's about it. But, you know, he was that way with us too.

Back to the answer to Camp's question; what we can do now is work with all of our friends in getting legislation passed at the state level that would bring home our tourism taxes.
I know that this makes people crazy.
We all have to try to keep an open mind and look at different ways to get something accomplished.

With Husky Stadium no longer in the picture, and our friends at 4Culture looking at "evaporating" if something does not pass this legislative session, it is in King County's best interest in helping all of us get a bill passed this legislative session.
As we know more, you will know more.

Let's move forward together.

Thanks,
Mike Baker

(originally posted at Sonicscentral.com)

Seattle Times: Panel backs Chihuly exhibit at Seattle Center

If we are going to be handing over public land to the tourism industry then they can fork over some of that hotel tax money, right now.
This stuff aint free, and I am getting tired of paying a levy for maintenance and capital investment for these "sites" if its intended audience are out-of-towners.

Who are we building the city for?
Where is the tax-benefit nexus?

No more levies for tourist traps. Let the hotelier's new Public Facilities District and the 7% hotel tax start paying for the upkeep of these Seattle-ish "public" parks.
The entire Seattle Center site, if this is the direction they really want to take that site, should get its capital money from the 2% sales tax credit on Seattle hotels that is part of the Convention Center tax revenue.
No more "park" money if this is the direction they want to go. Go ask the tourism industry for our tax money back while you are kissing their asses.

A citizens panel selected Dale Chihuly's glass-art exhibit Friday for a much-prized site at the foot of the Space Needle. The panel's conclusion, after months of meetings and debate, is the same as the one Seattle Center officials reached last spring.

Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams will study the panel's recommendation and present his choice to Mayor Mike McGinn. The City Council will make a final decision this fall.

The committee expressed skepticism about seven other proposals for the 1.5-acre site, and said the commercial and privately owned Chihuly exhibit would not cost the city any money and would attract tens of thousands of tourists in time for the 50th anniversary celebration of the World's Fair in 2012.

With city budget cuts coming, an unfunded master plan for the Center and a basketball arena that is missing its NBA team, Seattle Center will need something to celebrate in two years.

Panel backs Chihuly exhibit at Seattle Center, Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Times: State predicts another big shortfall, will cut spending 6%

House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, and Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, released a statement saying: "The fact is, the current budget situation clearly demonstrates that state government must be rescaled to fit the new fiscal reality. It will take more than just a quick special session to do that right."
State predicts another big shortfall, will cut spending 6%, Seattle Times Newspaper

Peter Callaghan of the Tacoma News Tribune asked the policy makers who are are part of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council what the government would look like in the future; either the state is an education, health, and safety agency, or does the state shave chunks out of the areas of spending?
In answering that question Hunter said, in part, "we are going to have to decide what we do that are important to that economy... what we are responsible at the state level, what we are responsible at the local level, do we need to move some things across those boundaries. I think it is going to be a wrenching process." (tvw.org, 9/16/2010, 48.20 min., Economic & Revenue Forecast Council quarterly review.

Please click here to watch the TVW.org video.

The state will get out of the business of providing state-wide solutions. That begs the question for the counties and municipalities be in the business of providing? Will the state pass the power and authority for the counties that have when they can no longer deliver for the have not's?

I am going to repeat this from the prior post:

"Should we get out of the business of those things that we never heard a word in four public meetings or on a website with thousands of hits?" she asked. "Should we be funding it?"

When asked for an example, Gregoire said, "As hard-hitting as this may sound to people I very much respect, we heard nothing about the arts. If you put that into print I bet I'll hear something."

State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, isn't sold on the idea of cuts to the arts. "One of the things we know is the arts is a major jobs generator," he said. "There are 8,000 related art jobs in my legislative district alone. We have to be careful, if we're going to cut programs, that we don't create the anti-stimulus budget."

The state spends about $6 million every two years on the arts. While that might not sound like much money compared with the overall state budget, "We can't afford anything right now," Gregoire said. "Every time I get a call, I get 'Well, it will only cost X.' It's every call. I get this from legislators. I tell every single one of them ... I don't have X."

Local News | State budget likely to go from bad to much worse | Seattle Times Newspaper

Ed Murray is right, our economy in THIS area depends on arts funding. It also depends on Safeco Field being able to keep its parking fee as a means to fund capital maintenance. It also depends on a great variety of arts and entertainment to attract tourists, business, and in turn increase tax revenues, that in turn increase the general fund.
These "tourist taxes" are set to start expiring next year if the state does not take any action. To keep the taxes going takes a majority vote in the state legislation. Attempting to recreate these taxes later would take a 2/3 majority vote in the state legislature. Quite frankly, if the rest of the state does not see our business directly benefitting them then they are not likely going to be interested in supporting it on a purely ideological way.