City Council is livid after Nickels cancels briefing

A planned public briefing on Seattle's emergency preparedness following Hurricane Katrina was suddenly canceled by the mayor, prompting an angry City Hall spat that revealed a deepening rift between Greg Nickels and the City Council.

The argument was also a troubling example of government dysfunction just over a week after a lack of coordination and communication paralyzed city, state and federal officials on the Gulf Coast in the days after the hurricane.

Councilman Nick Licata said that in light of concerns raised by the Katrina disaster, he asked Barb Graff, the city's director of emergency operations, to update his public safety committee on the Seattle preparedness plan.

She initially agreed. But later Graff e-mailed back, saying she had been told by the mayor's office to postpone the public appearance and provide individual briefings to council members instead.

A Nickels spokesman, Martin McOmber, said it was a busy time and two days wasn't enough notice to prepare. He added that Licata hadn't gone through the proper channels to schedule the briefing.

That didn't go over well with Licata.

"If the mayor has this much difficulty communicating with the council, then how well is he going to communicate with the public in an emergency?" Licata asked.

Council members said it is one more example of Nickels' pattern of withholding information from council members.

"This is a situation where the public should be aware of what the city is doing. Maybe the mayor felt they weren't prepared to answer those questions," Licata said.

McOmber said: "We are very busy, and it was a last-minute request."

"We are happy to sit down with the council, we told them that," McOmber added. "It's a better use of our time now to be working on our response to Katrina."

The mayor was in meetings and unavailable for comment, McOmber said.

Licata said that if Nickels continues to block Graff from briefing the council, he will use the council's powers of subpoena to compel her to appear.

That appears to be unnecessary. After council members made their outrage public, the mayor's office announced that Graff and Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis will give the full council a briefing Monday.

Licata said he called Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske on Tuesday and asked for a briefing. He said the police chief told him Graff would be the right person. Licata contacted her that same day.

But Thursday afternoon, Graff e-mailed Licata's office and canceled the briefing, saying she was instructed to do so by Jordan Royer, the mayor's senior policy adviser. She said she could provide individual briefings to council members.

"I feel awful and apologize," Graff said in the note. "I would like to get the requested information to council members in whatever format works for everybody."

Councilman Peter Steinbrueck was infuriated by what he says is an ongoing pattern.

"We are routinely denied information and I am at the end of my rope on it," he said. "It seriously hampers our ability to do our job and I am fed up with it."

He said he has regularly been denied information from city departments under the mayor's orders, or stymied in his effort to research city issues.

He said he was blocked from information he needed on green building performance and basic details on what had been done to buildings to make them meet environmental certification requirements.

"There was no cooperation from the departments, later I found out that they were under orders from the mayor's office," Steinbrueck said. "Information is power, and by controlling information, the mayor controls power."

He said the public emergency preparedness briefing is critical.

"Public safety is at the core of what government does for its citizens," he said.

Licata said the council is looking for information on issues underscored by the Katrina disaster, such as plans for assisting high-risk populations, including the disabled, homebound or people without transportation.

In an interview with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Thursday evening, Graff said her office is coordinating sending people with special training to assist in the disaster.

The city is also still making plans to accept displaced hurricane victims, although no one is expected to arrive as part of the coordinated evacuation effort before Wednesday.

The City Council has routinely reviewed emergency preparedness plans, including the All-Hazards Mitigation Plan 18 months ago, and the Disaster and Readiness and Response Plan two years ago.

While city officials at the time praised the participants, reports later revealed widespread communication problems and confusion during the drill.

"Citizens have been contacting us all week to inquire about the city's planning efforts. It is absolutely critical that the information be broadly available to all members of the public, not just the council," Licata said.

LOCAL RESPONSE

Washington state still doesn't know if it's any getting any evacuees. But if they do come, they would land at Sea-Tac Airport and spend their first few days in Thurston County, officials said Friday. They would be screened for medical problems at Sea-Tac, taken to a welcoming center in Tumwater and be put up in motels in Olympia and Tumwater. Even without an airlift, more than 200 evacuees have turned to the Seattle area chapter of the American Red Cross. So far the Red Cross office here has raised more than $19 million in King and Kitsap counties, including $11.25 million from an online Amazon.com fund-raising drive, The total does not include individual donations.

More than 100 Seattle police officers responded to a departmentwide e-mail earlier this week asking for volunteers to help the beleaguered Gulf Coast region. Friday, Seattle police spokesman Rich Pruitt said the details of how many will go, where they'll go and when they will leave are still being worked out. The department, he said, is trying to coordinate the response with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But high on the list of commanders likely to lead the team is Assistant Chief Harry Bailey, currently overseeing Seattle's South, East and Southwest precincts. Bailey has been with the department more than 35 years.

Thirteen local restaurants have pledged to donate 20 percent of profits from the weekend of Sept. 17-18 to the American Red Cross. The restaurants are: Belltown Bistro; BluWater Bistro on Lake Union, Green Lake and Leschi; Buckley's on lower Queen Anne; Del Rey in Belltown; High Dive in Fremont; Luau Polynesian Lounge in Green Lake; Nickerson Street Saloon in Fremont; Ohana in Belltown; Paragon on Queen Anne; the Red Door in Fremont; and Slo Joe's Big Time Backyard BBQ on South Lake Union, which is closed that weekend and will donate profits from Sept. 15-16.

Restaurants nationwide are participating in a "Save New Orleans Cocktail Hour" from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday. "New Orleans classics" will be available for $10 apiece, and receipts will be donated to a tax-deductible relief fund established by the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. Participating area restaurants include: Calabria Ristorante Italiano, 132 Lake St. S., Kirkland; Mona's Bistro & Lounge, 6421 Latona Ave. N.E.; Oliver's at the Mayflower Park Hotel, 405 Olive Way; Suite 410, 410 Steward St.; The Great Nabob, 819 Fifth Ave. N.; Volterra, 5411 Ballard Ave. N.W.; and Zig Zag Cafe, 1501 Western Ave. Zig Zag also will have a jazz benefit concert for New Orleans hurricane victims featuring the Brian Kent Trio, $10 suggested donation benefits the American Red Cross, Tuesday, 8-11 p.m., 1501 Western Ave., Seattle.

Every Thursday in September, the Attic Alehouse and Eatery will match patrons' contributions (up to $500 per week), with donations going to Mercy Corps. Customers who donate $10 or more will get a free T-shirt. The restaurant is at 4426 E. Madison St.

The Pink Door has created a fund-raising cocktail called "Frankly My Dear, We Do Give A Damn!" It includes dark rum, orgeat syrup, fresh orange and pineapple juices. It costs $7.50, and half of its sales during September will go to the American Red Cross. The restaurant is located at 1919 Post Alley.

Ray's Boathouse will donate $1 to America's Second Harvest for every salmon entree sold September, including sales at the main restaurant, the cafe and catered events. The restaurant is at 6049 Seaview Ave. N.W.

-- Hector Castro, Rebekah Denn

P-I reporter Hector Castro contributed to this report. P-I reporter Kathy Mulady can be reached at 206-448-8029 or kathymulady@seattlepi.com.

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