Slog
News & ArtsSunday, March 10, 2013
City Richard McIver Died Last Night
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sun, Mar 10, 2013 at 9:04 PM
- Seattle City Council
- Richard McIver
Here's the official statement on his passing from Seattle City Council:
It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of our friend, the Honorable Richard McIver. Richard committed his life to improving the lot of others. His community development career, including his years as a member of the Seattle City Council, was grounded in a quest for equity of opportunity, justice, and elevating quality of life for people in need.
Richard’s deep knowledge of economic development strategies and belief in the positive power of government action made him a valuable ally not just for people of color and small businesses, but for a just and equitable future for the city as a whole.
Richard employed terrific dignity, a wicked sense of humor and a sharp ear for equivocation in pursuit of a better city for all. We will miss him greatly.
We'll have some analysis of McIver's time on the city council tomorrow.
2
I never paid any attention to the City Council until I started reading Slog back in the Erica Barnett days. I still don't really, but have heard this McIver name. The statement above by City Council is class and Mr McIver sounds like an asset to the city. Just wanted to pay my respects now, since tomorrow's "analysis" is bound to be a popular post.
3
Do your homework, Christopher. According to the City website, "McIver was appointed January 27, 1997" to fill out a council vacancy created by resignation. His successor took office in January 2010, so McIver served almost 13 years on council, not 20.
4
@3
Well, I guess you're supposed to verify everything, but to be fair, that was Christopher quoting the Seattle Times' statement that McIver had served for 20 years. We can get snarky about what a lame paper the Times is, but since it's a "reputable" paper, one would usually consider its facts to be reliably correct.
Well, I guess you're supposed to verify everything, but to be fair, that was Christopher quoting the Seattle Times' statement that McIver had served for 20 years. We can get snarky about what a lame paper the Times is, but since it's a "reputable" paper, one would usually consider its facts to be reliably correct.
5
@3 -- I could be wrong, but I believe the Seattle Times is referring to the work McIver did for the city council before becoming a council member himself.
7
Well, besides the wife beating arrest, there was this…
Richard McIver was sanctioned for an ethics violation:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/M…
That story describes the charges – the sanction came later.
The scam worked like this: Griffin, Hill & Associates was given a $42,000 contract by the city, then McIver got no-cost vacations to a place in the Virgin Islands owned by a G.H. employee.
Thing is though, McIver steered FAR bigger contracts to G.H. when he was a boardmember of Sound Transit, and he wasn’t sanctioned for ethics violations in connection with those.
Sound Transit had about twenty contracts with the Griffin, Hill & Associates, presumably set up by McIver. They included these:
P.O. #93728 - $25,000
P.O. #94252 - $2,500
P.O. #94306 - $2,500
P.O. #94379 - $2,500
P.O. #95326 - $14,600
P.O. #96540 - $1,467,000
P.O. #97367 - $39,000
What’s up with that big one? A million and a half bucks was funneled by Sound Transit to Griffin, Hill just via that one contract. A cynic would think G.H. provided nothing of value to Sound Transit in exchange for that.
McIver made sure his fried Joann Francis at GH got LOTS of public money. For three years prior to the time the checks started going to GH Francis was Sound Transit’s Chief Administrative Officer, where she was in charge of that municipality’s Administrative Services Department. Before that she was a member at Foster Pepper, working in the public finance group (part of the muni bond team).
By 2005 GH had been paid about $1.5 million by Sound Transit. Any big Sound Transit fans read the Times? Try explaining what did Griffin, Hill & Associates actually did for that $1.5 million ST paid it. Obviously Joanne Francis let McIver use her place in the Virgin Islands, but did GH provide any services to Sound Transit in exchange for those payments?
More...
Richard McIver was sanctioned for an ethics violation:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/M…
That story describes the charges – the sanction came later.
The scam worked like this: Griffin, Hill & Associates was given a $42,000 contract by the city, then McIver got no-cost vacations to a place in the Virgin Islands owned by a G.H. employee.
Thing is though, McIver steered FAR bigger contracts to G.H. when he was a boardmember of Sound Transit, and he wasn’t sanctioned for ethics violations in connection with those.
Sound Transit had about twenty contracts with the Griffin, Hill & Associates, presumably set up by McIver. They included these:
P.O. #93728 - $25,000
P.O. #94252 - $2,500
P.O. #94306 - $2,500
P.O. #94379 - $2,500
P.O. #95326 - $14,600
P.O. #96540 - $1,467,000
P.O. #97367 - $39,000
What’s up with that big one? A million and a half bucks was funneled by Sound Transit to Griffin, Hill just via that one contract. A cynic would think G.H. provided nothing of value to Sound Transit in exchange for that.
McIver made sure his fried Joann Francis at GH got LOTS of public money. For three years prior to the time the checks started going to GH Francis was Sound Transit’s Chief Administrative Officer, where she was in charge of that municipality’s Administrative Services Department. Before that she was a member at Foster Pepper, working in the public finance group (part of the muni bond team).
By 2005 GH had been paid about $1.5 million by Sound Transit. Any big Sound Transit fans read the Times? Try explaining what did Griffin, Hill & Associates actually did for that $1.5 million ST paid it. Obviously Joanne Francis let McIver use her place in the Virgin Islands, but did GH provide any services to Sound Transit in exchange for those payments?
8
Richard McIver was a good man, although pretty much an average Councilmember. Dude like a cig and a drink, usually in combo, so Stranger readers should be more easily able to identify with him than, say, Jean Godden.
9
"Richard McIver was a good man"
You mean besides the wife beating and corruption? Yeah, real standup guy.
You mean besides the wife beating and corruption? Yeah, real standup guy.
10
But was black and helped people of color, so we have to look past the domestic violence and corruption I guess.
11
@8, wait... i thought it was Conlin, Rasmussen, Bagshaw, Burgess, Clark that The Stranger hated with such unaccountable glowing passion? (unless... Dominic has made up with Erica? nah...that's crazy talk, that is)
12
conservative, apologist for corporate takeover of government, weak on civil rights. sorry for speaking ill of the dead. All I remember was his holding a press conference during the WTO (where hundreds of protesters were beaten, gassed, shot with rubber bullets) that he was spoken to harshly by police at a security check point, thus some kind of racist civil rights violation had occurred.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
Did You Steal Our Unpaid Intern's Camera? by Goldy
-
The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax by Goldy
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
Star Trek Releases Deleted Scene of Benedict Cumberbatch Showering to Counter Claims of Sexism by Cienna Madrid
-
Boy Scouts Lift Ban on Gay Members by Paul Constant
-
SL Letter of the Day: Not A Prude... And Not Just Not That... by Dan Savage
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (14) RSS