Friends of Mike McGinn

Mike’s Friend of the Day

12/09/13

The Seattle Aquarium

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$350

Value of the Seattle Aquarium’s City Funding for 2009 – 2013:

$6,035,755

Sources:

Notes: There’s something fishy about this. (Sorry. Just had to say that.)

What I said about ACT Theatre holds true for the Seattle Aquarium as well. Yes, the Aquarium is great. Yes, it’s a Seattle institution. But . . . I’m not sure why the City has to keep giving money to it every year. Is it not a going concern or something? And if not, then why not? Could it be that they’re paying their director too much money? Or are they merely expanding beyond their means? What are they doing with the money they get from the City? Does anyone even know? What would happen if the money dried up? Would the fish have to dry up, too?

But most important, if it’s true that the Aquarium is something that we should be funding anyway, then I think it’s better for us to be considering that in an environment that’s free from the potential influence of campaign donations, don’t you?

I’m e-mailing a link to this story to everyone on their Board of Directors (see here) and if any one of those folks wants to respond and tell us what the Aquarium does with that money, I’ll be happy to post it.

The Aquarium is apparently a non-profit organization, and such organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer or director of a non-profit makes a contribution, that’s analogous to a donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donor was Robert Davidson, President and CEO of the Aquarium.

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they were acting fully within their rights.

 

More friends . . .

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12/06/13

A Contemporary Theatre

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$1600

Value of ACT’s City Grants for 2009 – 2013:

$313,484

Sources:

Notes: I’m as much into the Arts as the next guy, and frankly, I think the City should support the Arts, including ACT Theatre. But questions of ethics do arise when you see the same Arts groups getting money year after year, and when you see SOME of that money coming back in the form of political donations. It just doesn’t seem right.

Frankly, when I look at ACT’s Web page, and their list of sponsors, I’m not convinced that they need any money from the taxpayers:

That’s in addition to whatever they make on ticket sales . . . I just called their ticket office, and an adult ticket to The Christmas Carol runs as high as $95. Bah! Humbug!

Presumably, ACT Theatre is a non-profit organization, and such organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer or director of a non-profit makes a contribution, that’s analogous to a donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donors were Carlo Scandiuzzi, Executive Director at ACT, Sebastien Scandiuzzi (Video Manager), Kurt Beattie (Artistic Director), and Nicole Boyer (Associate Executive Director).

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they were acting fully within their rights.

12/03/13

Foster Pepper PLLC

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$900

Value of Foster Pepper’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$2,850,532

Sources:

Notes: Foster Pepper is a law firm that does legal work for the City. Presumably this involves mostly research, but I guess there’s a possibility that they provide courtroom support as well. (Don’t know what’s allowed as far as that goes.) McGinn contributors listing Foster Pepper as their employer include three attorneys: John Zahner, Patrick Schneider, and Thomas Walsh. I presume that these three are either partners in the firm or have benefited directly from the City by getting paid for their legal work.

It’s understandable that they would have good feelings toward the City, for providing them work, but their connection to the Mayor’s office is unclear. Did Mr. McGinn have something to do with the City’s decision to hire this particular firm, or these particular lawyers? Or is the relationship more in the character of the “back door” variety.

Or do these guys just happen to like Mike McGinn? (It’s always possible.)

Pay to Play

A lawyer friend of mine once explained something called the “pay-to-play” system, whereby a company has to offer some kind of “donation” or other gratuity just to be considered for a contract with the City. The gratuity is no means a guarantee of a contract; it’s more like a guarantee of consideration.

Going through the list of contributors, I notice that there were many lawyers who thought highly of Mr. McGinn, and they represented several different firms, almost all of which had done some kind business with the City of Seattle over the years. So please don’t think I’m picking on Foster Pepper. Many other legal firms are represented on the McGinn campaign donation roster. I’ll get to some of those as time allows.

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they were acting fully within their rights.

 

11/29/13

Solid Ground

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$875

Value of Solid Ground’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$16,380,813

Sources:

Notes: Solid Ground was formerly known a the Fremont Public Association, and it’s another whale in the sea of low-income housing providers. At least two connections can be drawn between Solid Ground and SHARE/Scott Morrow. The first connection is through Speaker of the House Frank Chopp, who is a paid consultant for Solid Ground and who donated money to the McGinn re-election campaign and listed his employer as “Solid Ground.” Frank Chopp is an old associate of Scott Morrow. Together with Michael Reichert (of Catholic Community Services, another housing whale) and Scott Morrow, Mr. Chopp co-founded the Low Income Housing Institute. The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is now hosting one of the Nickelsville locations in downtown Seattle. There is an additional connection between Solid Ground and Scott Morrow, in the person of Anthony Lee, ex-husband of LIHI’s current executive director, Sharon Lee. Mr. Lee is currently the director of Solid Ground. He made the bulk of the Solid Ground-related donations to the McGinn campaign. If you will scan the document below (page 5), you’ll see that Solid Ground is a major player in Seattle real estate, controlling some $34 million worth of assets.

2012 Solid Ground Audit

You will also see (Page 23 – 28) that Solid Ground gets money from sources as varied as the Washington Department of Agriculture to Homeland Security. For the record, I want to the note that both Solid Ground and Mr. Chopp were very forthcoming when I asked them about Solid Ground’s finances. I don’t believe they’re hiding anything or doing anything illegal. I also believe that Solid Ground, like LIHI, does much good in the world and has housed many people who would otherwise be homeless. In posting this material, I’m simply trying to give readers some idea of how much money Seattle-based housing organizations control, how these organizations are related to each other, to Scott Morrow, and to Seattle politics.

* * * * *

Non-profit organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer of a non-profit makes a contribution, that’s analogous to a donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donor was Anthony Lee, the Director of Solid Ground.

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing these organizations or any of their employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they were acting fully within their rights.

11/25/13

Amazon.com

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$250

Value of Amazon.com’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$476,567

Sources:

Notes: I shouldn’t have to tell anyone in Seattle how much weight Amazon.com pulls around here, should I? Regardless of who is in office. Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, and their world headquarters is right here. Most of Amazon’s city money came from two departments: Personnel/CBO and Seattle City Light. I can’t imagine what service the company supplied to City Light. Maybe everyone there has a Kindle. Lots of software developers at Amazon.com contributed to the McGinn campaign. I didn’t count their donations, although, by rights, I could have, since they have probably benefited immensely by all the goodies they got from Seattle’s investment in the South Lake Union redevelopment effort. See article here:

As Amazon Stretches, Seattle’s Downtown Is Reshaped

Rather, I counted only the donation I saw listed from one Daniel Kastoryano, an Amazon employee who lists his job as “Urban Planning.” I think it’s fair to say that this guy has had some direct input into Seattle’s planning for South Lake Union. And he was just trying to show his love for the Mayor. To the tune of $250.

Cheap date, huh? Too bad it didn’t work out. For the Mayor, I mean.

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing these organizations or any of their employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, this company was acting fully within its rights as a corporate person.

11/20/13

All-City Fence

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$700

Value of All-City Fence’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$713,311

Sources:

Notes: It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing these organizations or any of their employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, this company was acting fully within its rights as a corporate person.

 

11/14/13

Forterra

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$425

Value of Forterra’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$1,253,677

Sources:

Notes: It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing these organizations or any of their employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, Forterra is acting fully within its rights as a corporate person. Forterra is one of the many start-up eco companies that are, how shall I say it . . . making green by doing green. You can study their Web site for hours and still not know just what it is they do. Do they buy land for conservation? Do they clean up oil spills? Do they plant trees in parks? Or do they really just talk a lot? Here’s their mission statement:

Forterra is advancing an innovative new approach to conservation that encourages collaboration across all sectors and balances environmental, social and economic needs. We emphasize the link between vibrant cities and healthy rural lands and use creative new ways to protect land on a scale never seen before. Our efforts include conserving land, building better communities, advancing new policies providing a spectrum of professional services.

–Advancing policies –Building communities –Collaborating across sectors –What-the-fucking in the whatchamacallit doo-dad

Well, I can see they’ve got the right PR person working their mission statement anyway. And I notice that they rub shoulders with the right people, too.

[Go here and watch this]

Forterra itself is not a member of Homeless, Inc. But Ron Sims sure as hell is. Big time.

* * * * *

As you can see from the Forterra summary report below, Forterra gets paid out of many accounts at the City. Some of this info make sense (sort of), but some is mystifying. Parks & Recreation: 253K . . . Yeah, I can see where Parks & REc might be paying these guys to rustle up some kids to plant trees and pull weeds. (Wonder if they’re paying those kids anything.) City Light and SPU: 913K . . . Yeah, if those kids are out there pulling weeds around utility easements. But Arts & Cultural Affairs? Transportation? Executive Department? Executive Department. Let’s see . . . that’s really the Mayor’s Office, right? Just wanna be clear on that. Money goes in and out of that place a lot, and it’s easy to lose track.

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing these organizations or any of their employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, this company was acting fully within its rights as a corporate person.

11/13/13

T-Mobile

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$825

Value of T-Mobile’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$745,162

Sources:

Notes:  T-Mobile is a Bellevue, Washington-based corporation that provides wireless telephone service nationwide. At first I assumed that Seattle’s contract with them was for mobile phone service for City employees. However, when you look at the contract summaries, you’ll see that T-mobile is getting payments from only a few departments, and the biggest of those by far is Seattle City Light. That suggests a couple of possibilities. One is that City Light is managing wireless phone service for all Seattle employees (doubtful). Another is that City Light is contracting with T-Mobile for some service that City Light cannot provide on its own. And speaking of Seattle City Light. . . It’s worth noting that City Light’s director, Jorge Carrasco, is the highest paid City employee. Although City Light directors are hired and fired by the Mayor, the salary for this position is much higher than that of the Mayor, himself, or of any other elected official. Mr. Carrasco was earning $225K a year in 2011, and he’s probably well over a quarter of a million by now. Mr. Carrasco donated $700, the full amount allowable, to Mr. McGinn’s 2013 re-election campaign. And finally . . . It’s worth noting that T-mobile has recently been subject to some negative publicity in relation to their previous policy of locking phone service customers into long-term contracts. See here for example. And here. Hmm . . . look what just popped up on my browser as I was writing this piece:

I’m sure that’s just a coincidence . . .

It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, T-Mobile was acting fully within its rights as a corporate person.

 

11/11/13

Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$700

Value of Capitol Hill Housing Improvement Program’s Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$13,496,767

Sources:

Notes: On its Web site, Capitol Hill Housing says it was organized by the City of Seattle and describes itself as a “political subdivision of the state [of Washington].” Whether it is a subdivision of the state (whatever that means), I can’t say. But I do know that it is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, and therefore it has a director whose salary is almost certainly NOT subject to voter approval and is probably also very high. I consider this organization a bona fide member of Homeless, Inc. and will be publishing their tax return (Form 990), along with the the director’s salary, in due course. –Non-profit organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer of a non-profit makes a contribution, that can reasonably be interpreted in the same way that a similar donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donor was Christopher Persons, the Executive Director of Capitol Hill Housing Improvement. It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

11/08/13

Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$900

Value of LIHI’s City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$3,930,852

Sources:

Notes: –The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) is one of a dozen or more local non-profit organizations that, between them, control hundreds of millions (or billions?) of dollars worth of real estate. These groups, which I refer to collectively as Homeless, Inc., take in hundreds of millions of additional dollars each year in city, county, state and federal grants. –Non-profit organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer of a non-profit makes a contribution, that can reasonably be interpreted in the same way that a similar donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donors are Sharon Lee and Lynne Behar, Executive Director and CFO of LIHI, respectively. –LIHI was co-founded in 1991 by state representative Frank Chopp, Michael Reichert (head of Catholic Community Services) and Scott Morrow, of SHARE. –LIHI has refused my request to produce records showing that it received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payment for winter shelter space it was supposed to have rented to another non-profit (SHARE) run by LIHI co-founder Scott Morrow in the winter of 2011-2012. That’s money the City gave SHARE to pay LIHI for shelter services . . . but nobody can show that the money arrived at its intended destination. It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

11/07/13

Exeltech Consulting

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$700

Value of Exeltech Consulting’s Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$4,145,858

Sources:

Notes: It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing this organization or any of its employees or directors, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

11/05/13

Clise Properties

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 1, 2013:

$420

Value of Clise Properties Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$197,811

Sources:

Notes: It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing Clise Properties or any of its employees or directors, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

1/04/13

CleanScapes

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 2, 2013:

$1550

Value of CleanScapes Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$159,794,000+

[click to enlarge image]

Sources:

Notes: It is very important to understand that I am NOT accusing CleanScapes or any of its employees or directors, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

11/02/13

YouthCare*

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of November 2, 2013:

$350

Value of YouthCare Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$8,776,000+

Sources:

Notes: *Non-profit organizations are generally not allowed to make campaign contributions directly. However, when a corporate officer of a non-profit makes a contribution, that can reasonably be interpreted in the same way that a similar donation coming from an officer of a for-profit corporation. In this case, the donor is Melinda Giovengo, Executive Director of YouthCare. It is also very important to understand that I am NOT accusing YouthCare or any of its employees or directors, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

11/01/13

McKinstry, Inc.

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of July 4:

$650

Value of McKinstry Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$14,301,293

Sources:

Notes: McKinstry, Inc. goes by several different names in the contracts database. In the source file above, McKinstry, Inc. and McKinstry Essention are essentially the same company. It is also very important to understand that I am NOT accusing McKinstry, Inc. or any of its employees or owners, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

 

10/31/13

Emerald Services

Contributions to McGinn 2013 Re-election Campaign as of July 4:

$3,050*

*Includes contributions made by Emerald Services, Inc. proper and individually, by executive officers/owners of the company.

Value of Emerald Services City Contracts for 2009 – 2013:

$496,244

 

Sources:

Notes: Emerald Services, Inc. apparently shares directorates/ownership with other companies that also do a large amount of business with Seattle. If you combine the total value of donations given (and contracts received) for these companies, the numbers are far larger than the ones I’ve quoted for Emerald Services alone. It is also very important to understand that I am NOT accusing Emerald Services, Inc., or any of its employees or owners, of doing anything illegal or unethical. In making donations to Mr. McGinn’s campaign, they are acting fully within their rights.

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