Ceis Incensed by Licata's Attack on Nickels' New Flack Mak

Ceis was irritated by Licata's criticism. "I don't poke around and ask questions about Nick's personnel and the council's personnel. I don't think it's any of their business about how we deal with personnel issues in the mayor's office."

That's Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, not sounding as nearly agreeable as Michael J. Fox, as quoted in the Seattle Times story on the kerfluffle over new communications director Robert Mak's salary.

At the risk of stirring the pot, if Ceis doesn't think a member of the Seattle City Council can weigh in on a $60,000 pay increase--while implying that the Mayor's Office is willing to look the other way at any Council staff salary-plundering so long as Hizzoner gets the staff he wants--we will personally sit down with Ceis and explain why we think that's a terrible, terrible precedent to set. You could argue that it's the polar opposite of the example we might hope from city leadership, though ironically, his quote does point to the need for a good communications director. (This mutual respect for autonomy seems to apply only to personnel decisions, given the city's attempt to raid the Council's tenant relocation fund.)

The situation is this: the last two communications directors for the mayor have made $94,000 and $104,000 per year, respectively. So sure, as generators of patterns, we were primed for $114,000. The locally famous KING 5 reporter Robert Mak will be making closer to $160,000. Now we don't have all the facts: this may include a gas allowance. But still, it seems super-sized. As the Times points out, Mayor Nickels makes $159,000, and Mak's colleagues are in another tax bracket:

Pearse Edwards, communications director for Gov. Christine Gregoire, gets $125,000. Carolyn Duncan, communications director for King County Executive Ron Sims, makes $120,000. George Howland Jr., spokesman for the Seattle City Council, gets $81,000.

Seen in that light, Mak's salary is indefensible; we don't care if he does plan "to earn every dollar." However, in a spirit of compromise, we would be willing to allow a one-time hiring bonus to come out of Ceis's $187,000-a-year paycheck.