Free Speech Seattle, the group pushing a city-wide initiative that would repeal the poster ban, filed a complaint last week with the Ethics and Elections Commission, about the conduct -- or misconduct -- of City Attorney Mark Sidran.
Tim Crowley of Free Speech Seattle says Sidran has violated the Seattle Ethics Code by using his public office to conduct an anti-Initiative 46 campaign. I-46 would legalize the type of telephone-pole guerrilla advertising that blossomed in the late '80s and early '90s in Seattle, which was banned in 1994.
The Free Speech complaint is based on two events: On February 25, the day after Sidran's office okayed I-46 as a ballot measure, Sidran did an interview with Q13 TV that Crowley says was "basically a campaign piece." Then on June 15, Sidran's office sent out a press release about a city lawsuit against Mighty Movers, Inc. The bulk of the press release was a transparent attempt to counter the free speech and pro-music arguments that Crowley's group has been making, Crowley says.
Ironically, Sidran's actions would seem to come under the category of free speech. The difference is that Sidran's speech was on city time. "We welcome opposition to I-46," says Crowley, "but we don't think that taxpayer dollars should be used to pay for that campaign."
I-46 needs around 25,000 signatures by the end of August. They currently have 10,000.