Political life
Rice was first elected to the Seattle City Council in 1978 to fill a vacancy. He was reelected in 1979,1983 and 1987,serving eleven years in all. He served as chairs of the Energy,Finance,and Budget committees,and was Council President for one term. Rice facilitated the development of more equitable cost allocation and rate design procedures for Seattle City Light as part of his work on the Energy Committee.
His accomplishments on the Finance and Budget Committee included the passage of the Women and Minority Business Enterprise Ordinance,and from 1982 to 1987,the elimination of City investments in firms doing business in apartheid-era South Africa. [1]
He ran for mayor in 1985,but lost to Charles Royer. Rice ran again in 1989 in a crowded field and won 99,699 to 75,446. He was re-elected in 1993.
During the technology boom of the 1990s,Rice led the rejuvenation of Seattle's downtown. [2] He also served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. [2]
In 1995,Rice served as a committee member for the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. [3]
In 1996,Rice ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Washington,but he was defeated by then-King County Executive Gary Locke.
Rice championed a project to revive downtown by purchasing a garage adjacent to Pacific Place mall. The purchase was made using a $24 million loan from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. However,the mayor's office was accused of misleading HUD about how the funds were being used. HUD later found no "criminal violation." This complaint likely played a role in his failed bid to become HUD Secretary under Bill Clinton. [4] [5] [6]
In 1997,Rice made a guest appearance as himself on an episode of Frasier ,entitled "The 1000th Show."
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