Greg Nickels | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 51stMayor of Seattle | |
| In office January 1, 2002 – January 1, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Schell |
| Succeeded by | Michael McGinn |
| 67thPresident of the United States Conference of Mayors | |
| In office 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Manny Diaz |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Kautz |
| Member of theKing County Council from the 8th district | |
| In office January 1, 1988 – January 1, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Greive |
| Succeeded by | Dow Constantine |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregory James Nickels (1955-08-07)August 7, 1955 (age 69) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Sharon Nickels |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | West Seattle |
| Alma mater | University of Washington (attended) |
Gregory James Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51stmayor ofSeattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002, and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August2009, Nickels finished third in theprimary election for Seattle mayor, failing to qualify for the November 2009 general election, and losing his bid for a third term as mayor. He left office on January 1, 2010.[1]
Nickels, the oldest of six siblings, was born in Chicago to Bob and Kathie Nickels. In 1961, his family moved to Seattle, where he graduated from St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School and the JesuitSeattle Preparatory School. He attended theUniversity of Washington but left before graduating to pursue his passion for politics.[citation needed]
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Nickels was legislative assistant toSeattle City Council member and future mayorNorm Rice from 1979 to 1987. Nickels was elected to theKing County Council in 1987, defeating longtime incumbent Bob Grieve, and reelected in 1991, 1995 and 1999. In 2001, he was electedMayor of Seattle (defeatingSeattle City AttorneyMark Sidran) and was re-elected in 2005. Nickels ran for a third term in 2009, but he failed to advance to the general election after coming in third place in the primary election held in August 2009. He had several notable events during his tenure as mayor of Seattle. In 2003, he helped to break ground for the Sound TransitLink light rail project in November, and signed anexecutive order in 2004 giving equal rights to everyone who is married and works for Seattle city government regardless of sexual orientation.
Nickels' popularity began to decline in July 2008, when theSeattle SuperSonics NBA franchiserelocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma after a lawsuit against the team's ownership group was settled out of court – an outcome in which Nickels' administration, as well as Washington State lawmakers were faulted by many Seattle sports fans for not doing enough to keep the team in Seattle.[2]
In December 2008, Nickels was criticized after an unusual snowstorm blanketed the city with the greatest snowfalls it had seen since 1996. The Seattle "snowpack", which began accumulating on December 13, did not melt until December 27, the longest period of time snow had remained on the ground in Seattle since the mid-1980s. Seattle did not use salt to clear its roads, citing environmental concerns, which led to severe problems with the city's public transit system.[3]
Due to disapproval of Nickels' handling of illegal tent cities in Seattle, a tent city community in the Seattle area was known colloquially as "Nickelsville".[4]
A late 2008 poll of likely Seattle voters reflected dissatisfaction with the incumbent mayor, showing that 31% approved of Nickels's performance as mayor while 57% disapproved.[5] Nickels' low popularity numbers did not recover by August 2009, when he was defeated in the primary election in his bid for a third term as Seattle's mayor. In Nickels' concession defeat, he thanked Seattle voters and noted, "Twice they gave me the honor of doing this. They want a new generation of leadership."[6]
Shortly before his defeat in his re-election campaign he had been appointed the67th President of the United States Conference of Mayors earlier in 2009. With his defeatElizabeth Kautz filled the remainder of his term until 2010. Nickels left Seattle to pursue a teaching position at Harvard University.[7]
In2012, Nickels ran forWashington Secretary of State as a Democrat. He received 15.85% for third place in the August 7 top-two primary, behindKathleen Drew (D) andKim Wyman (R).[8]
Nickels is a member of theWashington State Democratic Party and served as the President of theUnited States Conference of Mayors, but left that post on the day he left office as Seattle mayor. Nickels served on the board of directors ofSound Transit. Since 2003, he has also been the chair of the Transportation and Communications Committee of theU.S. Conference of Mayors and served on the Conference's Board of Trustees.
Nickels is a member of theMayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition,[9] abi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by former Boston MayorThomas Menino and former New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg.[citation needed]
He was the key negotiator for the City of Seattle in accepting $45 million up front from the Bennett Group to move theSeattle SuperSonics of theNBA toOklahoma City.[10]
In 2005, Nickels announced an "Environmental Action Agenda" with the goal of protectingair quality andpublic health. The primary goal of the agenda is to reduce Seattle'sgreenhouse gas emissions "to meet or beat" the levels stipulated in theKyoto protocols.[11] Nickels spearheaded the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, an accord between over 600 US cities committed to reducing greenhouse emissions.[12][13] Nickels won the 2006 Climate Protection Award from theEnvironmental Protection Agency, the 2006 Edgar Wayburn Award for Environmental leadership from the NationalSierra Club, and the 2006 National Conservation Achievement Award from theNational Wildlife Federation.[14][15][16]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor of Seattle 2002–2009 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
