Swinging from the Chandeliers
Here at Marler Clark, we like to take swinging from the chandeliers to a whole new level, especially when the swinging is for a good cause like the BRIBE committee.
Like Tennessean Andrew Jackson's drunken supporters swinging from chandeliers at the rowdy 1829 White House inauguration bash that signaled the defeat of the snobbish East Coast Whigs, Seattle's rabble took over the 66th-floor law offices of Marler Clark on Wednesday night, January 28.
Bringing Real Integrity Back to Elections, or BRIBE, a committee founded by the Stranger news squad, hosted the shindig to raise money for bus ads that will publicize Mayor Greg Nickels' heavy-handed efforts to influence new city council members Jean Godden and Tom Rasmussen. The Stranger broke the story about Nickels' December 10 fundraiser, where the mayor rounded up nearly $10,000 to pay down Godden's and Rasmussen's campaign debts. Nickels erased nearly 20 percent of Godden's debt. You've gotta wonder if Godden's subsequent performance, running rubber-stamp confirmation hearings for Nickels' Seattle City Light nominee, was influenced by the mayor's generosity.
BRIBE's bash was held in the same Bank of America Tower law office as Nickels' fundraiser--attorney Bill Marler's wood- paneled spread, with its wide-screen TVs and panoramic city views. (The fun-loving Marler offered the digs after we started bashing Nickels' fundraiser and threatening to hold our own.)
