Joel Connelly on "McGinn's problem"

Joel Connelly (seattlepi.com):

Asked what advice his colleagues are sending up to Mayor McGinn on the 7th floor, Seattle City Council president Richard Conlin quipped this week, "The word at City Hall is, 'You don't try to storm the Bastille from within'."

It's wise counsel for lead-with-his-chin McGinn to ponder. With provocative letters and wing-it speeches, McGinn has gotten on the wrong side of everybody from city workers, on whom his performance depends, to Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer.

The big question hanging over a two-month-old administration is whether McGinn can grow out of an "Us against Them" attitude that spawns contentious behavior. It's not sufficient to bring new people into your inner circle if all they get asked to do is circle the wagons.

Political barometer readings indicate storms ahead if there is not a course change and steadier hand at the wheel.

Soft spoken Councilman Tom Rasmussen has turned steely in his reaction to McGinn's half-baked proposal for a spring sea wall levy vote and hints at obstructing the deep bore tunnel that will replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

The City Council made news by hiring a separate lobbyist to work with the Legislature. The city's lawmakers have gone on to establish back channels to deal with Microsoft on S.R. 520 bridge issues. Even The Stranger, McGinn's diehard defender, headlined as "testy" Hizzoner's letter to Ballmer.

McGinn spoke of targeting "political appointees" who work for the city. Longtime city employees have targeted him: Look at the leaks to PubliCola. Or visit a council office when "golden pheasants" of the bureaucracy are venting their complaints.

Where is McGinn coming from? O.K., he's a former Sierra Club chapter president. But the club's Northwest office has shown tactical skill in battle plus an ability to negotiate with adversaries. .

The role model goes back further.

"There's a little bit of Weaver in me," McGinn joked not long ago. Hizzoner was referring to fiery former U.S. Rep. Jim Weaver, D-Oregon, for whom he worked on Capitol Hill.

(He was "the late" Jim Weaver in a Seattle Times story last fall, but when reached at his Eugene home, Weaver evoked the Mark Twain observation that reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated.)

Weaver was a fighter, and a prophetic voice. The voice's most frequent exclamations were "Absolutely Outrageous!" and "Mind Boggling!"

He was among the first to question skyrocketing costs of the Washington Public Power Supply System's nuclear plants. He unearthed documents in which the U.S. Department of Energy chose to ignore experts' reservations and push Hanford as having a favorable "political climate" to host a national nuclear waste dump.

Most famously, Weaver charged -- accurately, it turned out -- that the Rajneesh cult in Oregon had planted salmonella at salad bars in The Dalles in order to cause an exodus of non-Rajneeshees from Central Oregon.

Alas, Weaver was a prophet without honor. He was never popular with colleagues. He tried, and failed, to mount a filibuster on the House floor against the Northwest Power Act. He crossed swords with both Oregon's powerful GOP Sen. Mark Hatfield and future Democratic House Speaker Tom Foley.

The Oregonian newspaper ultimately nailed Weaver for investing -- and losing -- campaign money in the commodities market.

The list of Weaver staff alumni includes his successor in Congress as well as a former Oregon State House speaker, a former Oregon Public Utility Commission chair, a prominent county commissioner, a senior New York public relations executive, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport boss Mark Reis.

They've learned how to make friends and influence people, skills not shown by McGinn over the past 60 days.

It's inside stuff, but outsiders are watching. If the 7th floor stays confrontational and cantankerous, the State Legislature will be tempted to roll Seattle on key transportation issues -- denying the city a role in shaping decisions.

Borrowing a phrase from ex-Mayor Nickels' pricey streets levy, the City Council needs to be bridging the gap.

There's a not-too-distant mirror. As WPPSS' nuclear construction program began to implode, new Seattle Mayor Charley Royer was going through a succession of City Light superintendents. (He finally picked a first-rate nominee in Randy Hardy.)

The City Council's energy committee, under chairman Randy Revelle, played a key role in navigating the city-owned utility through the greatest municipal bankruptcy in American history.

City Hall cannot function like a kindergarten class with no teacher present. A vacuum is unacceptable, especially during hard times. The question now: Will it be filled from the 7th floor of City Hall, or the 4th floor?

Howie P.S.: Here's a bonus report from Mr. Connelly about "A powerful House Democrat slips Into Seattle."