Politics The Sonics’ 6th Man: The Taxpayers
The line from Team Nickels on the $200 million Sonics bailout is this: “Hey, if the legislature’s gonna give us the money, we’ll take it.” This is what Dep. Mayor Tim Ceis told the legislature last week.
This is a far cry from Ceis’s tough guy posture last December. Commenting on the same $200 million public subsidy late last year, Ceis told the Seattle Times: “I understand [the Sonics’] frustration, but you have to build some kind of agreement around the right solution, and right now they don’t have that.”
So, what’s changed?
Well, I guess Ceis thinks the legislature is giving the Sonics the money. (Or wants the public to think the legislature is giving the Sonics the money.)
Problem is: The legislature isn’t giving the Sonics the money. The legislature is authorizing King County to give the Sonics the money. Where’s King County supposed to get that money? The same place the Sonics wanted to get it last December—from entertainment taxes in Seattle.
Bottom line: The legislature is set to authorize a $200 million Sonics subsidy, and the Mayor’s office is either pretending you’re not going to pay for it, or pretending it’s a different “solution” than the one Team Nickels opposed last December.
That's our Josh! Sassy! And always on the "contradictions" watch!
You better be buying tomorrow night, Josh!
Is Joel coming?
Discuss.