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Monday, July 13, 2009

Politics / City Nickels in the (White) House

Posted by Dominic Holden on Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 9:58 AM

Don't get your hopes up; he isn't leaving for good. In his capacity as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is visiting Washington, D.C. today to meet with Obama and members of his cabinet to talk shop on urban policy. According to a news release sent from Nickels's office:

Last month, in his inaugural address for the USCM, Nickels called for a “New Deal for America’s Cities” that would create a closer partnership between the federal government and metropolitan areas. The nation’s top 100 metro areas generate 75 percent of gross domestic product, and Nickels has advocated for a new investments that would create jobs and make America more globally competitive.

Nickels may be wildly unpopular with Seattle denizens—beholden to developer interests, less than charismatic, aloof to neighborhood leaders—but national relevance may be his saving grace in seeking reelection. Just holding the top post among mayors and having a relationship with the White House makes him seem like more of an asset than his leading competitors, who are fresh faces with similar thinking to Nickels, but are unknown on the national political court.

Comments (5) RSS

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so, the devil you know, and so forth?

Posted by pragmatic on July 13, 2009 at 10:03 AM

Maybe he'll visit the mayor of DC, too, and learn how to remove snow. Or how to fire incompetent managers.

Or, how to build curbs without doing it over and over because you don't have a right sized metal form and can't figure out how to build a form out of two by fours that cost $2 down at Lowe's?

You know, in addition to coming back with his plans to make America more globally competitive with new investments?

Posted by PC on July 13, 2009 at 10:41 AM

He is actually quite good at his job, show me a politician who runs an impeccable government and I will show you the crack you have been smoking.

Posted by Morgan on July 13, 2009 at 11:29 AM

Making this all about Nickels might be satisfying, but it's missing the point. A "New Deal for America's Cities" is a great idea, and I hope something comes of it.

Posted by Cascadian on July 13, 2009 at 12:01 PM