(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
Only one guest was truly two-dimensional at tonight’s lively wake for local activist/advocate Cherisse Luxa: The life-size cardboard version of Howard Dean, for whom Ms. Luxa had served as a delegate during his presidential run. a month and a half after her death from cancer at age 62, she was feted tonight by a standing-room-only crowd at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub in Burien, with friends from West Seattle to White Center to Burien and beyond (in both directions) crowding the pub, like the 34th District Democrats‘ King County Committeeman Ivan Weiss:

(Photo by Dina Johnson)
Dina Johnson took that photo while, as she says, he was “speaking about his admiration and respect for Cherisse as an ally, and occasionally adversary. (He) said the only time she was wrong is when she asserted she could get Dave Reichert to flip parties and become a Dem.” Also in that photo, State Sen. Joe McDermott at right, Liz Giba at left. A few more photos, ahead: Read More

While en route to Olympia, we listened to Seattle Channel coverage of the public hearing for the resolution proposing support for the “do not mail” registry that – if approved at the state level – would give people the chance to opt out of unsolicited direct marketing mail. More people spoke against it than for it – including small businesses who said they rely on direct mail to help get the word out about their businesses. When time came to vote, councilmembers supported the resolution 8 to 1 – Councilmember Jean Godden was the only “no” vote. You can read the full text of the resolution here.

Every month, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce invites a local elected official (LEO) in for a brown-bag “Lunch with LEO”; today City Councilmember Jean Godden came to the WSCC’s office for a turn at the table (at left, with Chamber Board president Jerome O. Cohen, one of the half-dozen people who also joined in. The topics usually range far and wide for these roundtables; since Godden chairs the Budget Committee, money talk dominated this hourlong session. This year’s the city’s “big budget year,” as she put it, working toward a 2-year budget, and that’s why the Citizens’ Budget Conference is being held later this month (January 31; here’s the invitation again). She expects the mayor and most if not all councilmembers to be there, and says those who show up will get a chance to have their budget concerns heard long before the actual plan is assembled. She also talked about the council’s reaction to Mayor Mike McGinn‘s proposal for a special election in May on a property tax to fix the Alaskan Way seawall; she was one of 8 councilmembers (all but Mike O’Brien) who sent the mayor a letter this week voicing skepticism about the proposal. She said the measure seemed “premature,” while also stressing she is not questioning the need for the seawall to be replaced. Also discussed: With the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project soon to close off direct access to the West Seattle Bridge from SODO, Chas Redmond pitched for the city to again try to get the Coast Guard to agree to limit openings of the low bridge during rush hours (a previous attempt was rejected in October 2008). Godden, vice chair of the Transportation Committee, said she’d look into it. The topic of White Center annexation came up as well; we’ve reported that discussion on partner site White Center Now.

West Seattle’s new County Councilmember, Jan Drago, paid two high-profile visits to this part of her district on Wednesday: She attended the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting keynoted by County Executive Dow Constantine, whose former seat she’s holding until next November’s election, and then last night’s meeting of the 34th District Democrats – who had energetically opposed seeing anyone appointed to the council seat but State Sen. Joe McDermott. Ahead, what she had to say – and other 34th DDs highlights:Read More

The city’s two-year budgeting cycle kicks off later this month with the Citizens’ Budget Conference. It’s spearheaded by the City Neighborhood Council, which as of last month is led by two West Seattleites – Chas Redmond (from Morgan Community Association) is chair, Jim Del Ciello (from Admiral Neighborhood Association) is vice chair. Mayor McGinn will be there too. January 31, noon-5 pm, Center House @ Seattle Center; more info on the Department of Neighborhood‘s Front Porch website. Hat tip to Chas for an e-mail heads-up; of the event, he says, “This is a real opportunity for the citizens to tag up with various departments and get an understanding of where their tax money actually goes and what programs are supported – and this time, what programs are at risk.” (Even more info can be found on this flyer he forwarded.)

That’s one of the photos sent by Mayor Mike McGinn‘s staff via Twitter (@mayormcginn) during the City Hall open house this afternoon, with a caption saying he was working on his inaugural speech at the time. A few hours later, he gave that speech at City Hall, and now the video’s available from Seattle Channel online. (Rather just read about the speech? Here’s coverage from our partners at the Seattle Times.) P.S. Voted yet for your favorite citizen proposals on what the mayor’s priorities should be? No? You can do it here. (Among them: This one proposing an off-leash dog area at Lincoln Park.)

Thanks to West Seattleite Bill Schrier – also the city’s Chief Technology Officer and the 34th District Democrats‘ webmaster – for sharing photos from this afternoon’s swearing-in ceremony at City Hall; we were a few blocks away at the County Council appointment vote. Mayor Mike McGinn was sworn in by two of his children, Cian and Miyo; City Attorney Pete Holmes was sworn in by his wife, Ann M. Holmes:

You have two new councilmembers too – Mike O’Brien, sworn in by Carolyn Cairns:

And Sally Bagshaw, whose oath was administered by Rev. Dr. Sanford W. Brown:

Seattle Channel video is here; also taking the oath of office today, re-elected councilmembers Richard Conlin and Nick Licata. If you couldn’t make it to this afternoon’s event either, the mayor’s inviting you to a City Hall open house this Saturday, 1-5 pm; he’s planning a speech from the building’s Grand Staircase at 3.

(Councilmember Drago sworn in by Superior Court Presiding Judge Bruce Hilyer, official county photo added 5:15 pm)
2:47 PM: As noted toward the end of our earlier report, the King County Council is back in session. It is now moving back to the item regarding appointment of a new councilmember to fill the seat left open when Dow Constantine became County Executive. Larry Phillips has suggested reconsideration of former Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago – procedural points are being discussed. (A motion to appoint Drago failed three weeks ago in a 4-4 deadlock, as did a motion to appoint State Sen. Joe McDermott, who is supported by the 34th District Democrats, which has a contingent of supporters here as was the case during the 7-hour meeting three weeks ago.) Councilmember Patterson says she’d vote no on Drago; she’s in favor of appointing McDermott. (Drago is not here.) Phillips says he supports McDermott too BUT he doesn’t see another way for the 8th District to go ahead and get representation, aside from the Drago move. Councilmember Larry Gossett says he’ll vote no on Drago – saying he got three more pro-McDermott e-mails just since the council meeting resumed. Gossett says it seems clear McDermott will get voters’ support later this year, so why postpone the inevitable and appoint someone else in the interim? Chair Bob Ferguson says he will vote against reconsideration, too. 1st vote, to reconsider: As he said he would, Phillips goes with the 4 Republican members, and the motion to reconsider passes 5-3. Phillips then defended his move, saying that there is no other way to break the impasse, and saying Drago had an excellent career and will be a good councilmember.

3:12 PM: Councilmember Reagan Dunn says Phillips is doing “a noble thing”; several in the McDermott-support group in the chamber groaned at that. He says, “It may take 12 months but everybody will get what they want here.” He also suggests that maybe it’s better that McDermott not be representing the district while running for the office because campaigning is a “big job.” He says it’s not good for democracy to put somebody in who is “anointed. … But I just want to remind folks, these are all solid Democrats who are here … we followed a process, we worked hard not to hold it up, we haven’t put a Republican name in there … I hate to say it but I think we are being very fair in this process … in the end of the day, democracy wins.” Now there will be a vote to amend the legislation to add Drago’s name. That passes 5-3, the Republicans plus Phillips. And that leads to one more vote.

3:21 PM: Patterson says “it’s a done deal so I’m switching my vote to aye.” McDermott supporters from the 34th District Democrats have gotten up and left the council chambers. Ferguson says he also will vote yes on final passage. And the appointment of Jan Drago passes unanimously. She is not in the chambers but reportedly will be tracked down to be sworn in (not clear at this point if that will happen today).

4:01 PM: We talked briefly with Sen. McDermott afterward. Here’s his short comment on video:

We’ll also be adding video of Councilmember Phillips explaining why he broke ranks. (5:52 pm – here’s the clip):

4:26 PM UPDATE: Drago has been sworn in. Photos at Publicola.

5:15 PM UPDATE: The county shared its official photo, which is now atop this report. With Councilmember Drago, from left, are Councilmembers Dunn, von Reichbauer, and Phillips.

5:47 PM: Congratulatory statement from County Executive Dow Constantine:

“I know that Jan will do a great job as the caretaker in this important office. We have had the opportunity to work together on a number of issues, including the viaduct replacement. I look forward to working with Councilmember Drago to serve the people of the 8th Council District.”

It’s not on the city website last time we checked but a news release came in from Mayor Mike McGinn‘s office in the hours before his ceremonial swearing-in (which you should be able to watch live via Seattle Channel in about 10 minutes) – he’s making moves to tighten the financial reins on city bureaucracy – with possible job cuts to come. Read on for the announcement (plus a 5:31 pm addition – other info sent today regarding mayoral staff salaries and org chart):Read More

We’re back at King County Council chambers downtown, where we spent seven hours three weeks ago, the night councilmembers kept deadlocking on who to appoint to the council seat (representing West Seattle, White Center, Vashon among other areas) left open when Dow Constantine became County Executive. The meeting is scheduled to start at any time; we’ll publish updates as they happen – once it starts, you also should be able to watch live on cable TV or online (here’s the link). As happened three weeks ago, a contingent from the 34th District Democrats (photo above) is here to show support for State Sen. Joe McDermott; he too is here. More as it happens; here’s our running coverage from the meeting three weeks ago. 11:28 AM UPDATE: The meeting just started. 11:48 AM: Chair Bob Ferguson says the item will be held till this afternoon – last item on the agenda – and that means after the lunch break they’re about to take. 11:55 AM: The afternoon meeting is scheduled to start at 1:30 pm; we expect to report other news between now and then, so we will start a new item once the meeting resumes. 1:36 PM: We’re back in the council chambers and the meeting has yet to restart. 1:56 PM: The meeting has resumed. The appointment is the last item. We still expect to start a new item atop the page when that discussion begins.

A followup today to Mayor-elect Mike McGinn‘s decision to restart the search for a new Seattle Police Chief – he’s announced the members of the new search committee. We recognize at least one West Seattle name: former deputy mayor and Seattle Storm co-owner Anne Levinson. Here’s the full list; the McGinn team says the group’s first meeting is set for January 13.

While the West Seattle-resident mayor and deputy mayor will soon be leaving City Hall, an announcement today means there’ll be at least one high-ranking West Seattleite in the office soon: Mark Matassa, a veteran journalist who most recently had worked as deputy editor for Crosscut, has just been announced as Mayor-elect Mike McGinn‘s communications director. Here’s a report from Seattle Weekly. 4:50 PM UPDATE: The appointment is now posted on the transition website at new.seattle.gov, along with some other McGinn staff announcements.

(the meeting is now adjourned – as-it-happened updates below)

(photo added 8:42 – all eyes on the door to one of the areas where council members strategized)
ORIGINAL 3:34 PM REPORT: We’re at the King County Council‘s chambers on the 10th floor of the County Courthouse downtown, where county councilmembers are about to move on to the agenda item that will result in their vote on a new councilmember to represent West Seattle and other areas of the 8th District, now that Dow Constantine has become County Executive. You can watch live on Cable Channel 22 or online at the county website; councilmembers have just called a recess until 3:50, at which time they will take up this agenda item. We will publish word of the decision as soon as it’s made, as well as any in-progress toplines, depending on what happens before the vote is taken. 3:53 PM UPDATE: It’s just been announced the recess will continue till 4:30 – they’re waiting for an absent councilmember to arrive. 4:35 PM: And the recess is extended to 4:45. A sizable 34th District Democrats contingent is here to show support for State Sen. Joe McDermott, who the group supports for the job – they’re handing one of these buttons to everyone who arrives to join the show of support:

5:25 PM UPDATE: They’re now out of recess. Joe McDermott‘s name has been proposed as the appointment, for starters. Councilmember Julia Patterson is saying, “This was a difficult choice.” She says that one of the things that made the difference for her is the fact that Sen. McDermott has lived in the 8th District for his whole life, and “the people of the district have leaned on (him) to represent him” over the past 9 years (in his legislative roles). She describes McDermott as a skilled consensus-builder. Now Councilmember Larry Phillips says he concurs with Patterson regarding Sen. McDermott, and appreciates everyone who came forward “to help us sort through this.” Councilmember Larry Gossett expresses appreciation for McDermott’s advocacy for racial and sexual minorities. Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer is now speaking and says he’s been very impressed by Sen. McDermott and even more impressed by all the people who have expressed support for him. But he says he will vote for the caretaker position (which would mean either Drago or Nelson), not “against” McDermott. And the vote to appoint McDermott failed – 4-4 tie (no one spoke against his appointment before the vote).

(that’s video of the first vote, the first deadlock re: appointing McDermott)
There is now a recess (with several councilmembers having gone behind closed doors). In addition to Rep. Nelson and Sen. McDermott, Councilmember Drago is now here.

5:56 PM: It’s just been announced the recess will continue till 6:15. Several other journalists are here; from the politics-watching-specialty world, Erica C. Barnett from PubliCola says the 4 Republican-leaning councilmembers (though the positions are now technically nonpartisan) want to give the job to Drago as a one-year caretaker. We talked with Drago for a few minutes after the recess started; she had just completed her last meeting on the Seattle City Council, after 16 years (she ran for mayor instead of running for re-election). The gallery’s abuzz with how a tie will be broken if the councilmembers stay deadlocked.

6:21 PM: They just announced the recess will continue till 6:45. The lone TV photographer here is packing up.

6:30 PM: Now they are out of recess, and they are nominating Jan Drago. Reagan Dunn says he is leaning toward the caretaker role and believes Drago has the experience. Councilmember Larry Phillips restates his support for Sen. McDermott. The Drago vote deadlocked again. No one proposed an amendment so they’re going to recess again. “Has anyone talked to Greg Nickels?” someone quips, stirring laughter from the otherwise somewhat nerve-wracked audience.

6:54 PM: Still in recess – here’s our video of that second vote, in which the councilmembers deadlocked on the Drago nomination:

7:13 PM: They are out of recess. Dunn is now nominating Dr. Arun Jhaveri , former Burien mayor, “one of the applicants who went through the committee process.” There is a call for another recess, to confer. Someone in the back row suggests frequent candidate Goodspaceguy.

7:22 PM UPDATE: They’re out of recess to discuss this, the third nomination motion. Councilmember von Reichbauer is asking if Rep. Zack Hudgins had ever said definitively whether he would run for the permanent job. “That opens a whole new view of the candidates,” he said. They’re taking a quick break to call him to clarify whether he’s interested in the caretaker role or not. Meantime, here’s more context on Dr. Jhaveri. Much buzz in the gallery about whether pizza should have been ordered for delivery – some of the 34th District Democrats members here to support Sen. McDermott have been here since the council meeting began at 1:30 pm (McDermott was here at 9:30 when the council Committee of the Whole first took up the motion).

7:41 PM: Councilmember Dunn came out to the Chambers and muttered loudly, “They’re going down the list.” (Here, by the way, is the original list of 11 nominees, culled to 4 by a panel of community members – Rep. Nelson, Sen. McDermott, Rep. Hudgins, Councilmember Drago, all of whom were interviewed by the council last Monday.

8:03 PM: Still in recess … 8:11 PM: Most of the council came out of the door to the right of their half-moon dais, and trooped over to go into the door at the left. … 8:26 PM: After 7 hours, Rep. Nelson just left (has to catch a ferry home). No hint of how much longer the recess will last. Meantime, Councilmember Drago has just gone into the closed-door gathering. 9:02 PM: Members are trooping back and forth between the left and right doors. Dunn just strode from left to right smiling, wagging his finger and proclaiming “I got an idea!” … 9:35 PM: Hour 7 now. Still in recess. Conserving remaining battery power so check @westseattleblog for updates till they reconvene (the iPhone’s not dead yet).

9:39 PM: Had to turn the computer right back on – now they’re reconvening. Dunn withdraws amendment for Hudgins, saying that while he was willing to be a caretaker, it might affect his legislative status. Now Pete von Reichbauer is proposing consideration (hasn’t moved this yet, just suggesting) of a cooling-off period while the council is in recess. He explains the impasse, saying there are technicalities that would keep them from bringing up McDermott or Drago again. Councilmember Larry Phillips says, “We are deadlocked at this point … we will go on to deliberate another day … I hope everybody has a good holiday.” Reagan Dunn suggested that they ask the review committee for two more names to suggest. The council does not reconvene till January 4. Bob Ferguson says he’s “optimistic” this will be resolved then. “Sometimes in government and politics there are deadlocks, and for tonight there’s a deadlock, ultimately we will reach a consensus on a deadlock.”

9:53 PM: 34th District Democrats chair Tim Nuse says, “It’s very disappointing. The district needs representation. We’ve got the right choice with Sen. McDermott … (for now) they’ve clearly put politics ahead of the interests of the public. But we stayed here all night, we’ll be working for the next two weeks, and when they reconvene, this room will be packed.”

After interviewing the four community-committee-recommended finalists for appointment to the King County Council seat left vacant by Dow Constantine‘s election as County Executive, councilmembers are scheduled to decide today who will hold the job for the year remaining in his term. It’s a two-step process today, starting with their meeting as the Committee of the Whole at 9:30 am, then finalization during the official council meeting this afternoon. The four finalists are 34th District State Sen. Joe McDermott of West Seattle and 11th District State Rep. Zack Hudgins of Tukwila, both of whom have said they would run for the job next year, and State Rep. Sharon Nelson of Maury Island and Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago of Pioneer Square, who have said they would not. You can watch live on cable channel 22 as well as online. 9:43 AM UPDATE: The Committee of the Whole meeting has just begun. Councilmember Reagan Dunn has just announced they won’t make a recommendation till the full Council meeting this afternoon.

Just published at the transition website: The department heads who are staying include Stella Chao from Neighborhoods and Diane Sugimura for Planning and Development, plus West Seattleite Bill Schrier from Information Technology. Will Grace Crunican (also a West Seattleite) keep her job running Transportation? No announcement today; the McGinn team says more decisions will be announced next week. ADDED 5:44 PM: A state appointment to note tonight too – Governor Gregoire announced a new communications director today, J. Cory Curtis, and we just got word that Curtis is a West Seattleite.

Just out of the WSB inbox:

West Seattle members of the League of Women Voters of Seattle will host a public conversation with the three 34th District legislators: Sen Joe McDermott, Rep. Sharon Nelson and Rep Eileen Cody. The event will be held at 7pm on Tuesday, Dec 8th in Fellowship Hall at Fauntleroy UCC church at 9140 California Ave. The Legislators will meet in January, so now is the time to talk to your legislators about important issues facing the people of this state. The public is welcome and coffee and cookies will be served. For more information, contact Lucy Gaskill-Gaddis at 938-3040.

January 11 is the start date of the legislative session – follow along at the state’s official site. Meantime, Sen. McDermott and Rep. Nelson are in the “final four” for the County Council seat that County Executive Dow Constantine left; council members interview all 4 tomorrow.

Just this morning, we were talking about the maps showing who voted for who, where, around the city in last month’s election – and noting that West Seattle had something of an east-west split between Joe Mallahan support (most of the western side of the peninsula) and Mike McGinn support (most of the east). Christi Stapleton just sent us a photo of Mayor-elect McGinn at the biggest event in eastern West Seattle tonight (actually probably the biggest event on the whole peninsula), the holiday party at the Duwamish Longhouse for progressive groups including Sustainable West Seattle, CoolMom and the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. Earlier this week, the mayor-elect held his first three town halls; videos for all three are now viewable from this page on the transition website.