Two sisters have now acknowledged to city election officials that they violated the law earlier this year by concealing the true source of their political contributions to Seattle City Council members. The sisters owned up to laundering someone else’s money but claiming it was their own, an elections violation that strikes at the core of our public-disclosure laws.
Now, Council President Peter Steinbrueck should move quickly to protect the integrity of the council, and the whole of Seattle city government for that matter, by ordering an immediate stop to any further consideration of the land-use rezone sought by the owners of Rick’s strip club in Lake City until the ongoing investigation of Strippergate is complete.
Last summer, when the so-called Strippergate affair moved out of the darkness into the bright light of media scrutiny, some in our public snickered. Others wondered what the fuss was all about. Two council members who received thousands of dollars in campaign gifts from the owners of Rick’s, and many of their associates, dismissed the brouhaha as overreaction to contributions from “a legal business.”
But this whole affair is much more than the underlying rezone issue before the council. And it’s not about topless dancing, either.
From the beginning, Strippergate has been about influence. It’s about people recruiting influential surrogates — like former Gov. Albert Rosellini — to do their illicit bidding. It’s about working the system, massaging the decision-makers. It’s about private meetings, secret discussions.
Strippergate is about how council members missed the danger signs, and then allowed themselves to get sucked in by the influencers who plied them with tens of thousands of dollars in political gifts.
Now, the rest of the ugly story is beginning to come to light. The admission by the sisters that they were part of an effort to deceive points to a broader, more sinister scheme — an attempt at corrupt influence.
The old adage “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” applies here. And that’s why Steinbrueck must act forcefully and unambiguously to stop any further consideration of the rezone petition until the full story is known.
State criminal statutes prohibit giving anything of value, including campaign contributions, to a public official if the intent is to corruptly influence. Other laws make it a crime to recruit others to act as conduits for such illegal gifts. Perhaps the concealment admissions in this case are just what investigators have been waiting for.
It would be a terrible mistake for the council to continue its consideration of the rezone petition — a final vote is scheduled today — until the full story of this mess is uncovered. There is sufficient evidence in the public record now to warrant great caution. The council should wait until the investigation is fully exhausted, no matter how long it takes or where it leads.
Why does this matter anyway?
It matters because our government has nothing as valuable as its reputation for integrity and fairness. Tarnish that reputation and our trust and confidence in city leaders are shattered. In this day and age, when confidence in the council is already so low — witness the election results — we can’t afford another blow.
It matters because Seattle’s history clearly warns us to be wary of corrupt practices and those who prowl the corridors of power seeking whom they can capture. Seattle’s history is replete with examples of how what seemed to be innocent gestures, simple favors, ballooned into pervasive bribery that destroyed careers and reputations. This history — and the hundreds of lives ruined by it — screams for our attention today. We dare not forget that history.
The good news in all this is that Seattle is one of few cities to give a truly independent citizens’ commission the tools and authority to stand watch against unethical practices and corruption. Seattle’s Ethics and Elections Commission was created as a direct result of the bribery scandals uncovered in the early 1970s. Still today, this group of citizen volunteers and professional staff are diligently doing their jobs. We are very fortunate.
So, let’s hope the City Council got the message delivered loud and clear on Election Day. Work for the common good of our city, not special interests that subvert and undermine our system of open and fair government. Repudiate those who would violate all of us with their deception and illicit influence.
This post was first published in The Seattle Times on November 10, 2003.
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