Greg Nickels

Last updated

Greg Nickels
Mayors of Seattle, 2003 Nickels.jpg
51st Mayor of Seattle
In office
January 1, 2002 January 1, 2010

Nickels, the oldest of six siblings, was born in Chicago to Bob and Kathie Nickels.

In 1961, his family moved to Seattle, where he graduated from Seattle Preparatory School and attended the University of Washington, but left before graduating to pursue his passion for politics.

Career

Nickels was legislative assistant to Seattle City Council member and future mayor Norm Rice from 1979 to 1987. Nickels was elected to the King County Council in 1987, defeating longtime incumbent Bob Grieve, and reelected in 1991, 1995 and 1999. In 2001, he was elected Mayor of Seattle (defeating Seattle City Attorney Mark Sidran) and was re-elected in 2005. Nickels ran for a third term in 2009, but he failed to advance to the general election after coming in third place in the primary election held in August 2009.

Nickels has had several notable events during his tenure as mayor of Seattle. In 2003, he helped to break ground for the Sound Transit Link light rail project in November, and signed an executive order in 2004 giving equal rights to everyone who is married and works for Seattle city government regardless of sexual orientation.

Nickels' popularity began to decline in July 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma after a lawsuit against the team's ownership group was settled out of court – an outcome in which Nickels' administration, as well as Washington State lawmakers were faulted by many Seattle sports fans for not doing enough to keep the team in Seattle. [2]

In December 2008, Nickels was criticized after an unusual snowstorm blanketed the city with the greatest snowfalls it had seen since 1996. The Seattle "snowpack", which began accumulating on December 13, did not melt until December 27, the longest period of time snow had remained on the ground in Seattle since the mid-1980s. Seattle did not use salt to clear its roads, citing environmental concerns, which led to severe problems with the city's public transit system. [3]

Due to disapproval of Nickels' handling of illegal tent cities in Seattle, a tent city community in the Seattle area was known colloquially as "Nickelsville". [4]

A late 2008 poll of likely Seattle voters reflected dissatisfaction with the incumbent mayor, showing that 31% approved of Nickels's performance as mayor while 57% disapproved. [5] Nickels' low popularity numbers did not recover by August 2009, when he was defeated in the primary election in his bid for a third term as Seattle's mayor. In Nickels' concession defeat, he thanked Seattle voters and noted, "Twice they gave me the honor of doing this. They want a new generation of leadership." [6]

Shortly before his defeat in his re-election campaign he had been appointed the 67th President of the United States Conference of Mayors earlier in 2009. With his defeat Elizabeth Kautz filled the remainder of his term until 2010.

Nickels left Seattle to pursue a teaching position at Harvard University. [7]

In 2012, Nickels ran for Washington Secretary of State as a Democrat. He received 15.85% for third place in the August 7 top-two primary, behind Kathleen Drew (D) and Kim Wyman (R). [8]

Affiliations

Nickels at a 2008 rally for Barack Obama Nickels obama rally 20080208.jpg
Nickels at a 2008 rally for Barack Obama

Nickels is a member of the Washington State Democratic Party and served as the President of the United States Conference of Mayors, but left that post on the day he left office as Seattle mayor. Nickels served on the board of directors of Sound Transit. Since 2003, he has also been the chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and served on the Conference's Board of Trustees.

Nickels is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, [9] a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by then-Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

He was the key negotiator for the City of Seattle in accepting $45 million up front from the Bennett Group to move the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA to Oklahoma City. [10]

Environmental record

Mayor Nickels with former Vice President and environmentalist Al Gore Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and Al Gore, circa 2006.jpg
Mayor Nickels with former Vice President and environmentalist Al Gore

In 2005, Nickels announced an "Environmental Action Agenda" with the goal of protecting air quality and public health. The primary goal of the agenda is to reduce Seattle's greenhouse gas emissions "to meet or beat" the levels stipulated in the Kyoto protocols. [11] Nickels spearheaded the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, an accord between over 600 US cities committed to reducing greenhouse emissions. [12] [13] Nickels won the 2006 Climate Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Agency, the 2006 Edgar Wayburn Award for Environmental leadership from the National Sierra Club, and the 2006 National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation. [14] [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Inslee</span> Governor of Washington since 2013

Jay Robert Inslee is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012, and was a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He is the longest-serving current governor in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Chávez</span> American politician

Martin Joseph "Marty" Chávez is an American politician, businessman, and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate from 1987 to 1993 and as the 26th and 28th mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He served as the Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA. and Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for Green Schools at U.S. Green Building Council. In 2012, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the Congressional seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich, who retired from the House to run for Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate Pledge Arena</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the 74-acre (30 ha) entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was originally developed. After opening in 1962, it was subsequently bought and converted by the city of Seattle for entertainment purposes. From 2018 to 2021, the arena underwent a $1.15 billion redevelopment; the renovation preserved the original exterior and roof, which was declared a Seattle Landmark in 2017 and was listed on the Washington Heritage Register as well as the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The renovated venue has a capacity of 17,151 for ice hockey and 18,300 for basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tent city</span> Temporary housing facility

A tent city is a temporary housing facility made using tents or other temporary structures.

Richard Lee is an independent journalist from Seattle, Washington. He is best known for his conspiracy theories regarding the 1994 death of Kurt Cobain which he states that he believes was a homicide. Lee was the first to make this claim. Lee is also known for his attempts at various political offices and using related events to question political figures about the investigation into Kurt Cobain's death.

Douglass B. Sutherland, is an American politician who served as 14th commissioner of public lands of the state of Washington from 2001 to 2009. Sutherland was first elected to this statewide position in 2000, when he defeated former Governor Mike Lowry. He was re-elected in 2004, defeating challenger Mike Cooper. In 2008, Sutherland ran for a third term, but lost to Peter J. Goldmark, a rancher from Eastern Washington. He was mayor of Tacoma from 1982 to 1989.

The Mayors Climate Protection Center, founded in 2007 as a subgroup of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is dedicated to providing mayors with "the guidance and assistance they need to lead their cities’ efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are linked to climate change."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle</span> Largest city in Washington, United States

Seattle is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2023 population of 755,078 it is the most populous city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the country's fastest-growing large cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dow Constantine</span> American politician

James Dow Constantine is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in the state of Washington who is serving his third term as King County Executive, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the state legislature and on the King County Council, chairing the latter before his election as executive. Constantine is a self-identified Democrat, though the executive's office is "officially" nonpartisan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City</span> NBA franchise relocation

The Seattle SuperSonics relocation to Oklahoma City was a successful effort by the ownership group of the Seattle SuperSonics to relocate the team from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–09 NBA season, after becoming the third National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise to relocate in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 United States elections</span>

2009 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 3. During this off-year election, the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections held throughout the year. In total, only the seat representing New York's 23rd congressional district changed party hands, increasing the Democratic Party's majority over the Republicans in the United States House of Representatives, 258–177.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Seattle mayoral election</span>

The 2009 Seattle mayoral election took place November 3, 2009. Incumbent Seattle mayor Greg Nickels sought reelection but finished third in the August 18, 2009 primary election. The general election was instead between Joe Mallahan and Michael McGinn. McGinn beat Mallahan in the election with 51% of the vote share, becoming Seattle's next mayor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Harrell</span> Mayor of Seattle

Bruce Allen Harrell is an American politician and attorney serving as the 57th and current mayor of Seattle, Washington. He was a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. From 2016 to 2020, he was president of the city council. He was acting mayor of Seattle from September 13 to 18, 2017. He was elected mayor in his own right in the 2021 Seattle mayoral election, becoming the city's second Black mayor, and its first African-Asian American mayor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael McGinn</span> American politician

Michael McGinn is an American lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Seattle, Washington, and is a neighborhood activist and a former State Chair of the Sierra Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 United States elections</span>

The 2013 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. This off-year election cycle featured several special elections to the United States Congress; two gubernatorial races; state legislative elections in a few states; and numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races, and a variety of other local offices on the ballot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike O'Brien (Seattle politician)</span> American politician

Michael J. O'Brien is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council who represented District 6 in northwest Seattle. He was first elected in 2009 to a different, city-wide council seat. He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages. He was the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council. He was chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club before running for office. In this capacity, he was one of the leading opponents of the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure.

Mark Sidran is a former Seattle City Attorney, serving three terms from 1990 to 2002. He is remembered most for his controversial "civility" laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Washington gubernatorial election</span>

The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed a top-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent governor Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial term limits, initially launched a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers, he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race. Republican Loren Culp, the police chief of Republic, Washington, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Seattle City Council election</span>

The 2019 Seattle City Council election was held on November 5, 2019. Seven seats of the nine-member Seattle City Council were up for election. Four incumbent members of the city council did not run for reelection, while the remaining three incumbents all won reelection.

The mayor of Alexandria is elected in November every three years.

References

  1. "New.Seattle.Gov". Archived from the original on November 21, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  2. Jim Brunner (July 6, 2008). "The deal: What was the city thinking?". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  3. Emily Heffter (January 1, 2009). "After storm of criticism, Seattle mayor reverses no-salt policy for snow". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  4. Susanna Pehrson (May 21, 2008). "Here comes Nickelsville". Real Change. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  5. Erica C. Barnett (November 3, 2008). "And Now for Some Election News". The Stranger. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  6. William Yardley (August 21, 2009). "Incumbent Loses 3rd Term Bid as Seattle's Mayor". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  7. "Harvard University Institute of Politics - Greg Nickels". Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  8. "Secretary of State". results.vote.wa.gov. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
  10. "Sonics Leave Seattle, Part I: Bennett's Group to Pay City up to $75M". Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
  11. "OSE Home - Environment - seattle.gov". www.cityofseattle.net. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. "Climate of hope: US cities lead the way". BBC News. February 15, 2007. Archived from the original on February 26, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  13. Mayors Climate Protection Center: The Agreement Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. "2006 Climate Protection Award Winners - Climate Protection Partnerships - US EPA". Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  15. Team, Citywide Web. "Nickels and Sims Receive Prestigious Sierra Club Award". www.seattle.gov. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  16. "Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels Honored for Conservation Leadership – National Wildlife Federation". Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Seattle
2002–2009
Succeeded by