Comments on Dirty David Della

"I thought they called you Dirty David for your huge Victorian pornography collection." (Vicar of Dibley, some beloved episode the name and number of which I've long forgotten)

Ugh.

There's a fakeness about Tim Burgess. Something very Mitt Romney-esque. I actually feel less uncomfortable with so-called values politicians, however reprehensible their values, as long as their values don't sway with the winds of political expediency. Burgess sways.

I actually donated money to the Burgess campaign. At the time, I knew full well about his Seattle Times op-ed and thought nothing of it. Actually, I appreciated that here was a Christian who didn't approve of gay marriage and abortion but who at least knew the difference between holding personal beliefs and legislating those beliefs.

But the whole CWA thing made made me see Burgess and his op-ed in a whole new light. The whole "just doing my job" excuse doesn't hold water. If I'd known then what I know now, I never would have given money to the Burgess campaign.

All that said, I'm still going to hold my nose and vote for Tim Burgess. Yeah, it really is a lesser of two evils thing for me. Or rather it's that Della's evil is the more dangerous and imminent evil for this city at this time. With his Karl Rove-style politics, his Lou Dobbs fake populism, his fighting against anything that might improve this city, etc., etc., etc., David Della has done, and can do, a heck of a lot more harm to Seattle than Tim Burgess could dream of doing.

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What's interesting about today's story with the police and firefighters unions is not just that it suggests Della and his people are thugs who threaten people. What's interesting is it suggests he's willing to deny that it ever happened. Is Della lying, or is Della not lying?

Wow. If David Della had shown this kind of passion and determination when pursuing his work on the Council, I might actually be willing to vote for him.

Holy shit! This is an extremely serious allegation with both political/electoral and legal implications for David Della and his staffer, a public employee. For Della, the political/electoral consequences will flow from the inevitable investigation that must occur - it's hard to see how he could win re-election under a cloud like this. The legal implications, of course, only come into play if the allegations can be proven according to whatever standard of evidence applies in such cases. In this case, it's Della's simple denial against the testimony of a sworn law enforcement officer, and a firefighter whose job it is to run into burning buildings to save people. Both witnesses have had the trust of their guild/union membership placed in them to act on their behalf in a labor negotiation process that relies on absolute integrity from all parties. I'm trying to think of an ethics allegation of this severity being made against a Seattle councilmember in the modern era. Some would compare this to Strippergate, but in that case, the actual criminal malfeasance was limited to the individuals who sought to influence the council, not the councilmembers themselves or their staff.

@5: Yawn. This is a typical election-eve political ploy from the firefighters. I doubt we'll ever hear about it again.

amazingly, this is one of the few times cressona and I agree.

The firefighters wanted to play politics this year all of sudden and have a vendetta against Della, I wouldn't be surprised if they're lying. Don't vote for the "Mitt Romney wannabe" regardless.

Unions thrive on intimidation and threats. How can one reasonably take their accusations seriously? (espcecially given the disdain for SPD on this blog)

Della's not a thug, he's just dumb. What he said and did is exactly why groups like the unions give money, but you're not supposed to actually say it out loud.

#3 - Cressona you are an air head.

Hold your nose and vote for a neo con, Carl Rovian Bushie, that your instincts tell you is scum.

Shit, what no sense you make.

Della does not please the Capitol Hill Hipsters who are now self anointed experts about all things political.

You call Dave a false populist , hell, Cresson he is from the real RED side of things, a radical populist who was almost killed because of his labor organizing.

That is the truth, can you get your mind around that? People risking getting killed for organizing for exploited working class Asian cannery people, and you dare to insult his life by calling him a false populist. Get real, lady/man, whoever you are.

By the way, the cops are loosing in this city. They really need one of their own on the council. This story is a plant by the cop shop PR machine. Utter nonsense.

LICATA endorsed Della today, citing his work on police accountability. Now tell us how Licata is a phony too. Nick is like Dave Della, an old time lefty going back twenty years.

Oh, and that black phony, former Mayor Norm Rice endorsed him too, today.

These are very serious allegations. Even though I don't like Della, I think we need to see (or hear) more evidence before we accept the union leaders' claims.

Does anyone see an odd "coincidence" in these allegations? Della signs on to Nick Licata's proposal for stricter oversight over SPD's disciplinary procedures. And then...a week later...surprise!...the Police Guild charges Della with unethical conduct.

Think the Guild's charges might have something to do with Della's position on SPD discipline? Duh. Especially since disciplinary procedures for out-of-control cops have been an issue between the Guild and the City for years!

Wow, I have a new sense of respect for Della. Standing up to the police for supporting the anti-GLBT candidate. He's got balls afterall.

David Namura, Della's Chief of Staff who is mentioned in today's PI article, previously got into trouble with the Seattle Ethics Commission right after he started working for Della. See Seattle Weekly article dated 04-18-07.

I am wondering what Namura was doing at a candidate forum when some of the comments in the PI article allegedly occurred. Normally, a candidate's campaign manager attends those.

Alcinda - what is strange is your insinuation.

I went to Tom Rasmussen's campaign kickoff a few months back, big hall full of people.

Half of city hall was there, Council members, lots of staffing from all the city agencies. Some got up and gave little pro Tom speeches.

I think the rules are no use of city supplies as in phones, computers or paper stock to support any campaigns, and all efforts off the city clock.

And of course every cycle has a few breaches, mostly doing emails on the city/county computer. Not too serious in the larger scheme of things.

Are you aware that the biggest political scandals on bribery were a mix of a corrupt police chief, dozens of cops, and it all crumbled because gay bars quit paying off, which they had done for years.

The collapse of the major bribes machine is one reason the cops hated the queers so much for years. Check it out, an interesting and REALLY big bribery scandal. Cops, police chief, etc., yes Seattle with a corrupt police force. 20 years ago.

In the past week the deaths of Spc. Vincent G. Kamka, 23, and Lance Cpl. Jeremy Burris, 22, marked the 100th and 101rst Washington state related deaths in the Bush/Savage war on Iraq.

Excerpt from "Say Yes To War" by Dan Savage October 2002:

In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves.

@16
Actually, the PI article makes it sound that Namura may have violated the ethics rules.

The big police bibery scandals here that led to grand jury investigations occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 40 years ago.
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3289

What exactly happened 20 years ago that you are referring to? Or if you are referring to what happened 40 years ago, how is that relevant to today? Seems like most of the police involved in this 40 years ago would have long ago retired or perhaps even be dead from old age.

sorry 40 years ago

Memories are long. The Gay bars united and refused to pay - then the criminal trials and all the shame.
And loss of income, salaries were doubled by the payoffs.

The host of antagonisms from the cops to Seattle fags isn't just lack of training.

Chief Stamper wrote a new chapter in police gay relations and was hated in the Dept. for it. And that is not 40 years ago.

The Police Guild's vision of a well run Seattle does not include an Asian leftist troublemaker named Della who is very pro gay.

I can't believe people are so friggin gullible -- TALKING TO YOU, DAN SAVAGE -- as to take the allegations of the police union and firefighters' union at face value. You wanna talk thugs, talk about the "public safety" unions. Remember the guys who protested the investigation of cops who shoot up black guys? Yup, you got yourself a winner if you said "Police Guild!" As Mike noted in #13, there is NO COINCIDENCE whatsoever in the actions of the police union. These sleazeballs are just trying to advance one of their own, Tim Burgess, who won't provide the kind of tough oversight that Della has fought for.

Della's staffer, Dave Namura, is just getting targeted by the union for the same crap. These union thugs will make up any lie necessary to get their way. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a reason to vote for Tim Burgess. Burgess is still the same guy who took millions from the right wingers he worked for and is now trying to say he's on our side. Puhleez. Next thing you know, you'll believe Nickels really wants a new Viaduct.

If these accusations turn out to be lies, then I'm definitely voting for Della. He may be an empty suit, but I'd rather have a placeholder on City Council than a man bought and paid for by the cops.

Della fought for tough oversight? Really? A letter? Wow.

And I thought Della was a union/labor guy. Even he isn't calling the cops and firefighters liars.

You guys aught to be ashamed of yourselves. Calling hard working people liars just because they support a different candidate than you. If you'd read the article, you'd see that Namura admits having the conversations. He says he never implied a threat. That's a far cry from calling public safety people liars.

Firefighters and cops come to help people when they most need help. They are held to a higher public standard and they regularly meet and exceed that standard.

When is the last time you exposed yourself to danger to help someone? When is the last time you volunteered to stand on a street corner to raise money for someone? When is the last time you were patient, understanding and professional with someone who wanted to hurt you?

@20 -- You wouldn't hesitate to allow these people into your home. You'd call 911 and ask them to take care of you when you were injured, sick, or in danger. But you disagree with their politics so now you're calling them liars?

Adam Kemper -- You can't be "on the red side of things" and sup from Susie Burke and the Alki Association at the same time. Della may have been red 20 years ago, but today he only sees green.

Cops and firefighters take certain allegations very seriously. Liar is not a casual epithet. Threats are not easy overlooked.

Unlike the Port of Seattle Police and the King County Sheriff's Department, Seattle's Police Guild used to be proudly UNAFFILIATED with the labor movement. It was only only during their last contract negotiation with the City that they joined the CWA in an attempt to buff up their thuggish image and gain some political credibility.

Now they can call themselves "workers" and "union members" when they want to -mainly when they want to avoid stricter disciplinary procedures - and otherwise dispense with any pretence of basic labor solidarity. When was the last time anyone saw the Police Guild turn out to support any labor action?

It's a shame to see the SPD use the labor movement as camouflage to cloak their continued desire to be free of any accountability to the public.

Buy any off-duty firefighter a beer and ask them why they want to "play politics." They're likely to answer:

Kevin Locke
Dave Jacobs
Marc Jones
Dave Potter

or any number of other professionals who now have to "play politics" with their lives.

Union Thug, don't try to change the terms of the debate. I didn't say anything about the Firefighters. I was talking about the Police Guild - and their attempts to claim "union" when it suits them.

If you want to believe their accusations, fine. I don't. It seems way too fishy - Della co-sponsors legislation to tighten up SPD discipline and all of a sudden there's a "startling revelation" from the Guild.

The firefighters are saying the same thing about Della's campaign manager.

The SPOG isn't a union? Is this because they don't follow the WLC? Or is it because they don't follow the AFL?

I'm pretty sure what they do fits into almost all definitions of union.

Or does Della only support labor when labor supports him?

The Police Guild is currently a CWA local. They affiliated with the CWA to improve their image and political position during their last contract negotiation with the City. I'm not questioning whether they ARE a union, I'm questioning (a) their commitment to the labor movement, and (b) their motives in making these accusations against Della

Della has a long long history with the labor movement. He was involved in the reform movement in the ILWU cannery workers local (in which his friends Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes were murdered). I have yet to meet a cop who was involved in a labor struggle ON THE LABOR SIDE of the fight.