What exactly did Nick Licata do to piss off Seattle firefighters?
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Don’t know specifics, but I do know firefighters usually have a lot of times on their hands hanging out in firehouses and invent new an different ways to annoy elected officials. Perhaps they’ve made him a pet project.
Most of them don’t live in the City and can’t vote in City elections. But they can give money and endorsements and manpower to a City campaign.
Here’s another question:
Who gives a fuck who the Firefighters endorse? Why should their endorsements impact the way I vote in anyway whatsoever?
OK, sorry…two questions.
XXX
I don’t know, but if the wingnut firefighter who posts here is any indication, some of them are rightwing union-haters who like collecting their union pay and benefits and enjoying the benefits of living in a liberal society but hate the idea of acknowledging where all of that came from and who got it for them.
Licata has had a testy relationship with the Seattle’s public safety unions for years. He is seen as a politician who is more then willing to use them as the whipping boy when trying to drive his progressive police accountability agenda. Although police accountability is a important consideration for any city, Licata’s approach is often considered to be too heavy handed by these unions and their leadership because it appears to be more concerned with scoring political points with Licata’s ultra liberal anti police citizen based groups then being a constructive and sincere attempt to get at real police and firefighter abuses.
Licata is often perceived to be quick to join in a rather knee jerk reaction to police brutality accusations only to later have to backtrack when it is determined that the police were acting properly or legally. Other then that. perhaps the firefighters think, as I do, that Licata is passed his shelf-life and parochial when looking at the long term needs of the city. He is a darling of the liberal elite in this city, but he just isn’t a very effective city council member anymore because of his tendency to obstruct progress and sand bag on major issues that face the city.
RR @5
I wonder how our wingnut fireman voted on I-1033.
@7 Probably tried to shoot his own balls off, like all wingnuts do.
@6 “ultra liberal anti police citizen”
I’m pretty sure the only people who are anti-police are criminals, plus a few of their friends and relatives.
Wanting the police to obey the laws they’re paid to enforce and do a good job for the citizens who hire them isn’t being “anti police.”
But go ahead, slap the “ultra liberal” label on anyone who questions acts like that of the Everett cop who fired 8 shots through the back window of a parked car into the head and upper body of a man who was so drunk he couldn’t even sit up straight let alone be a threat to the officer. See how much traction you get with that on a liberal blog. See how much traction you get with it anywhere.
Firefighters tend to be a fairly progressive bunch (especially when compared to cop and jail guard unions).
As such, they recognize that Licata is a populist who sides with cranky Repubs and NIMBY’s – as opposed to getting behind progressive causes to make positive change in this city.
You nailed it, artistdogboy.
How’s about the Aaron Roberts shooting / inquest – where all the witnesses confirmed the police report account…except for one. And, of course, it was Licata who kept trumpeting that one person’s account, and encouraged her to contact the FBI.
6
Licata is often perceived to be quick to join in a rather knee jerk reaction to police brutality accusations only to later have to backtrack when it is determined that the police were acting properly or legally.
um, by whom exactly?
Do you mean by “knee jerk reaction” that he sometimes believes that a person who has been beaten may have been a victim of brutality?
Love that passive voice! When “it is determined” by whom? Police internal investigation? The Seattle Office of Professional Acountability (OPA)? It is my impression that the OPA suffers from significant hindrance when “investigating” police actions. They have never had the kind of unlimited access to police records or the power to conduct independent interviews, etc. that would make their “investigations” meaningful.
In fact, it appears that it was not until LAST MONTH (October 2009) they finally gained “the right to see complete files of Seattle police internal investigations, including the names of officers and witnesses.”
You see, previously, the review board had access only to redacted files. Blacking out names makes them unintelligible and difficult to understand for a board reviewing cases and identifying trends in policing, and the process of blacking out the names of people involved in police-misconduct investigations has been a cumbersome, time-consuming process that “caused considerable delay” — of up to a year in some cases — in getting those files to the review board.
I would say that when “it is determined” that the police were acting “properly or legally” that such determinations have nearly always unreliable.
I always enjoyed the irony of republican firefighters I used to work with in so cal being against any tax increase and taxes in general. But when our contract is up, they are the first to whine that the benefits package and the pay increase is never enough. And who do they target in city council?
Repubs who always try to slash the fire dept budget.
You have to understand that a lot of firefighters believe that they ARE heroes, and deserve every taxpayer largesse.
The cops backed up the firefighters in targeting Della in 2007. The firefighters are returning the favor this year in targeting Licata.
I voted to approve I-1033, like so many of my fellow firefighters!!!! And we do so proudly.
As for what Licata did, your ignorance on Firefighter issues notwithstanding, he’s an ass to the Firefighters and Goldy supports him. What more reason do they need to fight against him?
Firefighters like watching basketball. Licata aggressively participated in driving the Sonics out of town.
And when a fireman saves your spouse or child from a fire you’ll be gushing all over him/her.
What an idiotic progressive tool.
17 – See? Unprompted name-calling.