It is time to expand this issue.
This is more than an argument about the NBA and an Arena.
This battle is very much an indicator of who our politicians listen to and as such, who will be shaping the future of our city.
Reagan Dunn told us clearly who he listens to this week when he voted against the Sodo Arena proposal. He told us clearly that he does not see the supporters of this project as a valuable constituency.
When I took a very substantial ArenaSolution coalition to meet with Dunn just a couple of weeks ago he began the conversation by saying "I'm really not that up to speed on this issue. Tell me what is going on."
In that meeting I personally handed Dunn a list of ArenaSolution supporters. A prominent republican donor who employs thousands of people locally personally informed him of Chris Hansens list of Steering Board including brass from Amazon, Nordstrom, Holland American Lines, and others. We both informed him that our constituencies wanted to see him find a way to make this happen and we both were very clear that we felt he owed us an explanation of his opposition in the event of a no vote.
The next week Reagan Dunn was the only member of either council to simply leave 1/2 hour into public testimony in the first joint city/county council meeting in 40 years.) He did not hear or consider the opinions made at that meeting and he did not offer explanation for his departure.
On Monday Reagan Dunn voted against the arena without further clarification of his position. Each and every person whom I spoke with regarding this matter referred only to Dunn's political calculation in his upcoming Attorney Generals race. None gave any indication that he cared to actually weigh the merits of this deal.
Clearly Dunn's calculation was that the people listed on our endorsement sheet do not matter as much as those lobbyists representing Port of Seattle Interests. So much so they felt that our coalition was not worthy of a phone call back.
I contrast Councilmember Dunn's actions with those of his opponent in the Attorney General's race and there is no comparison. Bob Ferguson took early leadership on our issue. He worked hard both to learn about the deals strengths and to engage with the public to educate us on the issue. He guided the transaction in a way designed to reach a successful outcome, rather than just taking a temperature check of the politics.
Bob Ferguson listens to the people who are interested in the growth of this city. Reagan Dunn seems more interested in entrenched political lobbyists and their employers who prefer restricting growth to hold onto their own status quo.
I urge you all to take to twitter and spread this article. Contact Sports Radio in Seattle and other cities. Let them people know that they should vote for Bob Ferguson for Attorney General of Washington State. #DunnISDone
I endorse Bob Ferguson for Attorney General of Washington State)