The City Neighborhood Council (CNC) has voted down a request by the South East Neighborhood District Council (SENDC) for a seat at the CNC table.

What the hell does that mean? Well, the SENDC—made up of groups like the Mount Baker Community Club and Othello Neighborhood Association—broke off from the South East District Council (SEDC)—which is a member of of the CNC—in July after several years of heated debates between neighborhood groups in Southeast Seattle over the leadership and membership of the SEDC. Things got so bad, that police were actually called to several SEDC meetings to deal with shouting matches and threats of violence.

Members of the SENDC have claimed that the SEDC's leadership is in league with the city in a grand scheme to destroy the south end, and has been seeking representation at the CNC. SEDC members have countered that SENDC members are crazy racists.

In September, the SENDC applied for an at-large position on the CNC, and on November 24th the council voted to deny the request. Instead, the CNC has asked the SEDC and SENDC open discussions and resolve their dispute. Members of the SENDC have stated that if they were denied membership, they would go "up the chain of state agencies" and take the dispute to the state attorney general's office. Exciting stuff!

In other scintillating City Neighborhood Council news, the CNC has voted in a new chair and Kathy Nyland—of the Greater Duwamish District Council—will replace Chris Leman as the head of the CNC this January.