Greg Nickels
Greg Nickels | |
---|---|
President of the United States Conference of Mayors | |
In office 2009 | |
Preceded by | Manny Diaz |
Succeeded by | Elizabeth Kautz |
Member of the King 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 | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | August 7, 1955
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Sharon Nickels |
Children | 2 |
Residence | West Seattle |
Alma mater | University of Washington (attended) |
Gregory J. Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st
Early life and education
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (January 2018) |
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 Seattle Preparatory School and attended the University of Washington, but left before graduating to pursue his passion for politics.
Career
Nickels was legislative assistant to
Nickels has had several notable events during his tenure as mayor of Seattle. In 2003, he helped to break ground for the Sound Transit
Nickels' popularity began to decline in July 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics NBA franchise relocated 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 the 67th President of the United States Conference of Mayors earlier in 2009. With his defeat Elizabeth Kautz filled the remainder of his term until 2010.
Nickels left Seattle to pursue a teaching position at Harvard University.[7]
In
Affiliations
Nickels is a member of the
Nickels is a member of the
He was the key negotiator for the City of Seattle in accepting $45 million up front from the Bennett Group to move the
Environmental record
In 2005, Nickels announced an "Environmental Action Agenda" with the goal of protecting
References
- ^ "New.Seattle.Gov". Archived from the original on November 21, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
- ^ Jim Brunner (July 6, 2008). "The deal: What was the city thinking?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
- ^ Emily Heffter (January 1, 2009). "After storm of criticism, Seattle mayor reverses no-salt policy for snow". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
- ^ Susanna Pehrson (May 21, 2008). "Here comes Nickelsville". Real Change. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
- ^ Erica C. Barnett (November 3, 2008). "And Now for Some Election News". The Stranger. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ William Yardley (August 21, 2009). "Incumbent Loses 3rd Term Bid as Seattle's Mayor". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
- ^ "Harvard University Institute of Politics - Greg Nickels". Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- ^ "Secretary of State". results.vote.wa.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
- ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members". Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
- ^ "Sonics Leave Seattle, Part I: Bennett's Group to Pay City up to $75M". Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
- ^ "OSE Home - Environment - seattle.gov". www.cityofseattle.net. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Climate of hope: US cities lead the way". BBC News. February 15, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ Mayors Climate Protection Center: The Agreement Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2006 Climate Protection Award Winners - Climate Protection Partnerships - US EPA". Retrieved July 22, 2018.
- ^ Team, Citywide Web. "Nickels and Sims Receive Prestigious Sierra Club Award". www.seattle.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
- ^ "Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels Honored for Conservation Leadership – National Wildlife Federation". Archived from the original on August 25, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
External links
- Seattle Mayor's Office
- Mayor leads crusade against global warming: Seattle's Greg Nickels interviewed about how he got peers to go along, June 20, 2005
- Mayor Signs Executive Order Recognizing Same Sex Marriage
- CityMayors profile
- Weather calms after Mother Nature's firework show
- Appearances on C-SPAN