Spokane7
59°
January 8, 2012 in City
New council already has its feathers ruffled
Airport Board appointment divisive
The honeymoon period for the new Spokane City Council may have ended before its first regular meeting, with a debate about which council member should represent the city on the Spokane Airport Board highlighting the dynamics of the new council.
Voters in November elected four new members to the seven-person council, resulting in a more conservative majority. The number of members affiliated with the Republican Party is now four, compared with one of seven on the previous council. Even so, the council will be led by new City Council President Ben Stuckart, who was backed by the Democratic Party.
Current City Council rules – approved under former council President Joe Shogan – guaranteed a seat for the council president on the Airport Board unless a supermajority of the council votes for someone else to get the job.
Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin has proposed a rule that would strip the City Council president of an automatic seat on the Airport Board.
Stuckart said he’s disappointed by the proposal, which will be considered Monday night.
“I didn’t make the rule. I inherited the rule, and they’re changing it midstream, which is not really in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration,” Stuckart said.
McLaughlin said she decided to request the council’s seat on the Airport Board after the airport’s attorney asked her to consider the position, in part because there are no women on the board. She said the rule guaranteeing the city seat for the council president was made as a political concession to Shogan, who was angered by the council’s decision to change some of the rules governing the body.
“We just want to put it back the way it was,” she said.
Under the current rules, McLaughlin was unlikely to get the five votes needed to win the seat. However, she expects to have the four votes needed to remove the rule and win the appointment.
Controversy over which council members serve on which boards isn’t new. In 2010, after the council shifted to the left, McLaughlin was stripped of her seats on the Spokane Transit Authority and the Spokane Regional Transportation Commission in favor of Councilman Jon Snyder. Last year, after the dynamics of the council shifted slightly, Snyder was stripped of his STA seat in favor of McLaughlin. (Snyder is set to lose his SRTC seat in favor of McLaughlin this year.)
Shogan, who endorsed Stuckart’s opponent in the November election, said the Airport Board seat should be held by the council president. He accused McLaughlin of wanting a seat on the Airport Board to bolster an election bid for the state Senate against Democratic Majority Leader Lisa Brown. McLaughlin has said she will decide in the coming months if she will challenge Brown.
“It’s just one of her ego trips,” Shogan said. “This isn’t a résumé building board.”
But McLaughlin said she approached Stuckart about taking the seat on the Airport Board and he didn’t originally seem to care. She said she believes Stuckart had hoped to use the seat as a bargaining chip to try to keep Snyder on the SRTC board.
“I really don’t want that position used as a bargaining chip,” she said.
Councilman Mike Allen, one of the new council members affiliated with the GOP, said he supports the change because the guarantee for the council president was “bad legislation.”
“It had nothing to do with Ben,” Allen said.
But Stuckart and Shogan say the Airport Board is important enough that the council’s representative should be elected citywide. Only the council president is elected by all Spokane voters.
While the dynamics of the council are likely to be noticeable, the shift may not be as dramatic as the mathematical breakdown between Republicans and Democrats on the council would seem to suggest.
Outgoing Councilman Bob Apple lost much of his support within the Democratic Party in the last few years because of his stance on some issues, including Mayor Mary Verner’s sustainability plan. Outgoing Councilman Steve Corker, though a former chairman of the Spokane County Democratic Party, had a relatively conservative voting record in recent years, voting against development taxes and vehicle tab fees. And two of the new Republicans, Allen and Steve Salvatori, have presented themselves as moderates. Salvatori, for instance, has said he would not support repealing the vehicle tab tax because the city needs the money to help fix the roads.
Closing Geiger: Wise or worrisome? 
ChefGus/ John Olsen on January 08 at 7:32 a.m.
Can’t wait for the first meeting tomorrow night… Oh Boy…John
mikeln on January 08 at 7:47 a.m.
How about appointing people that know something about airports? I’m sure enough volunteers that have experience could be found. They could then give good advice to those who know little to nothing about the issues.
Spokritic on January 08 at 7:56 a.m.
Hey council (new, old and in the future),
Bitching about which boards you get to serve on is the fastest way to turn off citizens to the whole democratic process. And furthermore, if you want to build trust with the citizens, show that you trust each other and split the board appointments up evenly. It seems every council member serves on everything because they can’t trust each other to have an appointment and be in a meeting without being there themselves.
Grow up.
Serve the people.
Make Spokane better.
Lulubelle on January 08 at 8:02 a.m.
Sorry to see the council go down this path, but not surprised. At least Mclaughlin has exposed herself as the self-serving, influence grubbing politician she’s always been…….no more “little miss public servant” persona she’s tried to sell these past years. I hope the new councilmembers resist being lead around by this opportunist and show some respect for the office to which they were elected.
misjustice on January 08 at 9:11 a.m.
Oh, good grief!
The_Seer on January 08 at 9:50 a.m.
All this non-partisanship in our city politics just makes me wanna squeal!
DickAdams on January 08 at 10:18 a.m.
The story regarding the Spokane International Airport is only 1/10 of what should have been published, IMO. I`ll list a few items I think should have been included. 1) The 2012 budget, with all kinds of red flags. 2) One big red flag is Southwest Airline pulling out of the SIA effective 1/1/2012. That causes a huge drop in there revenue. 3) About the ownership of the airport. Its split down the middle, the city owns 50% and the County owns 50%. 4) The existing agreement regarding a lack of revenue generated by the SIA to service existing loans. The agreement outlines the city and county obligations regarding paying off all loans. Southwest`s leaving the airport 1/1 is a huge loss in revenue which might jeopardize the airports ability to service the loans on the books. And #5 I thrown in as info. 5) For those who know David Clack, he is the past chair of the SIA board and remains as a board member today. *****Clack, was one of the lead cheerleaders in the mid 1990s, and a powerful influence about the public/private partnership that was formed for the River Park Square project. He is a close connection with the COWLES DYNASTY **** And lets not forget his part as a powerful member of the “Momentum” group. The group were fined a sizable amount of money by the PDC, though I think it was not enough, for dirty deeds they committed, by not reporting stuff as required by law.
I hope whoever the city council appoints to the SIA board does their homework. Oh, and BTW, they should chop off all the free junkets and stay in town work on (priorities) city stuff.
The_Seer on January 08 at 11:00 a.m.
dick: The reason the conservative members of the council want their lackey on the airport board is so they WON’T do their homework.
I just booked a flight on Southwest leaving Spokane in June. Are you confused about the date you claimed Southwest is supposedly leaving Spokane? It’s 2012 now, dick, you did get the memo, right?
Dazzeetrader11 on January 08 at 11:52 a.m.
Management of the AIrport is a very big deal. Shogan and Stuckart are fighting for nothing? No…it’s SOMETHING…………and sets the tone for growth. The left is NOT pro growth. The R’s are.
Stuckart doesn’t know enough to be anything intelligent. This is why I didn’t want him i the job. He’s a bike and tree guy…and of course these atrocious “YES ON KIDS” signs cluttering up the city. Still no money for it and not managment plan…and no outcomes defined but they’re trying it anyway.
Dick is correct in his facts. Majority should rule on this.
Ben Stuckart should put himself in a room for 2 months and learn his job. Years ago, I had some lunch with Phil Harris who was on the board. He explained the point of the position. Yes…it’s a complex position and is an interface with the City. SHogan didn’t know what he was doing ( surprised?)…small wonder nothing ever was accomplished.
Clack is about 80 plus nowadays. Why he’s out there is a bit mysterious…I wonder who he reports to????
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 08 at 11:52 a.m.
Ummm Dick Southwest isn’t leaving Spokane at all. They are only cutting their flight to Seattle, which ends on January 8th (today), not the 1st. You can still fly Southwest to go Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland and Portland.
Where did you get your information from? Or are you just being a typical republican and making things up as you go because it sounds good.
Amazing how little research people do before making a fool out of themselves on here.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 08 at 11:54 a.m.
Wow dazzee, that post is worse than most of yours on here…..looks like those Bloody Mary’s are flowing like a river this morning for you.
greenlibertarian on January 08 at 12:35 p.m.
It’s too bad Dick makes such GLARING MISTAKES AND EXAGGERATIONS, since, occasionally, he has a cogent point which gets drowned out by blatant falsehood.
SWA has a pretty savvy and successful business model. They know their costs and they know their competition and potential pricing. They’re digesting a major merger, Air Trans, and for most airlines, mergers have been a big bust. So SW has their hands full with that, but it’s about wrapped up.
Alaska/Horizon has doggedly provided MAJOR competition to SWA on the Seattle/Spokane route, which, at best, is a barely stable market, probably declining and not expected to grow when the economy picks back up.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 08 at 12:41 p.m.
Mr Tutu….sorry but if you cannot understand, it’s YOU….and your obvious limitations. Noticing you didn’t refute my post but, as usual, a personal attack was launched. Sorry, tiny dancer, you’re not dealing with issues.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 08 at 12:51 p.m.
Dazzee, i cannot refute your post if I cannot understand what the drunken dribble is saying.
But, as with most of your posts, I am sure it reads something along the lines of - Liberals bad, conservatives good.
reservedparking on January 08 at 1:31 p.m.
Muse - thought you were leaving? As in never to return?
You lyin’ to us?
selkirks on January 08 at 3:17 p.m.
Observations:
-Southwest is not leaving Spokane. I can guarantee this as fact.
-Dazzee continues to offer opinion as fact.
-Dazzee continues to issue personal attacks that dilute attention away from the topic of conversation (i.e. “tutu boy”…really?!).
So, in reality, nothing’s changed.
Lulubelle on January 08 at 4:01 p.m.
Is anyone really the least bit interested in what Dazzed has to say? Geez, that old troll doesn’t even live here.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 08 at 4:08 p.m.
Yea “really” Selkirks…see what tut had to say prompting my response. Perhaps your fairness doctrine might perk up son.
Have at it. You and your “friend” both of you have at it.
Back to the article though…try that and stick to the article…you might actually get a conversation going. Go back and read….
When a new addition with NO experience becomes president of council (or the US…like now) he’d best be learning his craft as council president instead of arguing about ANOTHER job he’s never done before.
You need a smart, informed person working for the people and the city…not someone who wants his nose in the middle of business he really doesn’t control. This kicks off the Stuckart doctrines.
He should go join “YES ON KIDS!!” like he failed at before. New name, same bill. It’ll fail…raising taxes because a poorly though out useless levy won’t be welcomed in Spokane. Fix the infrastucture and things like streets should be his focus as to how he can help the new and wonderful Mayor. A big thing in SPokane is the union “staff” which obstructs and delays everything. When council meetings are driven by “staff” reports, remember who the staff is. Stuckart should learn the structure he should be improving.
Verbal on January 08 at 6:36 p.m.
Majority rules.
Seems that Stuckart has that sense of entitlement. We knew Shogan had it - that and more than a little crazy- but Stuckart was supposed to be above this kind of petty bickering.
He says all of the reasons why McLaughlin wants the position (and discounts them), but does not say why he thinks he would be better for the position, other than “WAHHH IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE”.
Sorry Ben. Majority rules. Just as it did for McLaughlin when Snyder was handed her assignments.
greenlibertarian on January 08 at 6:46 p.m.
McLaughlin wants the appointment because publicly funded transit buses are evil incarnate and satanic. Jesus would never approve of public transit. It’s an immoral “taking” by “statists”. Who are controlled by the U.N., she’s seen the blue helmets herself.
She just wants to set things right as God commanded, no big deal.
mistykira on January 08 at 7:04 p.m.
Seems rather petty of Nancy. Neither of them have SIA experience and why poke the new Council President in the eye to try to settle old scores–unless Joe Shogun is right.
westerly on January 08 at 9:08 p.m.
They are under paid, will perform better with more..
The Snohomish County Council’s pay is set every two years by a citizen commission. Council pay has been frozen since 2010 at $102,779.
In Pierce County, council members voted last year to eliminate 3 percent annual raises, leaving their salaries at $107,602. Votes by a citizen panel and the council will be required to re institute raises.
At the Seattle City Council, members’ terms are staggered and so are their salaries. Five members this year will get $119,976; four members will earn $117,534. Four years after their election or re-election, council members receive raises based on the local inflation rate. Those increases are projected to average about 2 percent annually over the next four years, according to council forecasts.
DickAdams on January 08 at 10:30 p.m.
seer: In my post, I say in 2), “One big red flag is Southwest Airline pulling out of the SIA effective 1/1/2012.”