Mike O'Brien (Seattle politician)

Mike O'Brien
Member of the Seattle City Council
from District 6
Assumed office
January 1, 2016
Member of the Seattle City Council,
Position 8
In office
January 1, 2010 – January 1, 2016
Preceded by Richard McIver
Personal details
Born (1968-03-02) March 2, 1968
Seattle, Washington
Residence Seattle, Washington

Mike O'Brien (born March 2, 1968) is a member of the Seattle City Council representing District 6 in northwest Seattle.[1] He was first elected in 2009 to a different, city-wide council seat.[2] He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages.[3] He is the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council.[4] He was chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club before running for office. In this capacity, he was one of the leading opponents of the 2007 Roads and Transit ballot measure.

Early life and career

Mike O'Brien was born in Seattle and raised in the Eastside suburb of Clyde Hill.[5] He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University and a M.B.A. in finance from the University of Washington, where he also earned a certificate in environmental management.[6][7] O'Brien joined Seattle-based corporate law firm Stokes Lawrence as chief financial officer in 1998, where he met lawyer and neighborhood activist Mike McGinn, who would become O'Brien's friend and mentor.[7]

Political activism

O'Brien was invited by McGinn to the Seattle chapter of the Sierra Club as a volunteer treasurer, despite his previous lack of interest in politics.[7] O'Brien became politically involved with the group and was elected as political chair of the Seattle chapter and chair of the Washington state chapter. During the 2007 election, O'Brien served as the group's spokesperson in the debate over the Roads and Transit initiative, which would have bundled Sound Transit projects with road expansion and was opposed by the Sierra Club.[7] The ballot measure was defeated and a transit-only initiative, Sound Transit 2, was proposed for the following year with the support of the Sierra Club.[8][9] During the 2008 campaign, O'Brien left Stokes Lawrence to be a full-time volunteer for the Sierra Club and was encouraged to run for office by McGinn and others in the environmental community.[7]

Political career

2009 election

In February 2009, O'Brien announced his candidacy for a city council seat that incumbent councilmember Richard McIver planned to not run for.[10] During the August primary for Position 8, O'Brien advanced with 35 percent of votes and was set to run against second-place finisher Robert Rosencrantz.[11] O'Brien won the primary election with 58 percent of votes and was sworn-in on January 1, 2010, alongside mayor Mike McGinn.[12][13]

2015 election

O'Brien ran for the newly created District 6 position for the Seattle City Council, primarily covering Ballard, Fremont and Green Lake. He won the primary and defeated Catherine Weatbrook in the November general election.[14]

During his term as the District 6 councilmember, O'Brien attracted criticism for his positions on transportation, housing, homelessness, policing, and taxes.[15]

Personal life

At a gala for the Nordic Museum on May 5, 2018, O'brien was reportedly asked to leave and subsequently forcibly removed by members of the Pacific Fishermen Shipyard (where the event was being held). O'brien has attracted criticism from the group for his position on the extension of the Burke-Gilman Trail in Ballard.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Seattle City Councilmember Mike O'Brien". Seattle.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  2. ↑ "Results - King County Elections". Your.kingcounty.gov. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  3. ↑ Krueger, David (2011-05-05). "Seattle cracks down on yellow-pages deliveries | The Seattle Times". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  4. ↑ Grygiel, Chris (2011-05-16). "City Council rift over viaduct tunnel resolution - Strange Bedfellows — Politics News". Blog.seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  5. ↑ Westneat, Danny (November 19, 2008). "Green fever colors the future of roads". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  6. ↑ Spratt, Gerry (October 1, 2009). "City Council candidate Q & A: Mike O'Brien". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Barnett, Erica C. (November 18, 2009). "The Other Mike". Publicola. Seattle Met. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ Garber, Andrew (November 7, 2007). "Huge roads-transit plan gets trounced". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  9. ↑ Lange, Larry (November 5, 2008). "Sound Transit's package is passing; I-985 falling short". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A14. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  10. ↑ Heffter, Emily (March 2, 2009). "So far, no major candidate running against mayor". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. ↑ Perry, Nick; Heffter, Emily (August 19, 2009). "Bagshaw, O'Brien leading easily". The Seattle Times. p. A6. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  12. ↑ "2009 Election Report" (PDF). Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. January 21, 2010. p. 20. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  13. ↑ Heffter, Emily (January 4, 2010). "New Seattle mayor takes charge; council hires own lobbyist". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Low voter turnout for primary elections; Mike O'Brien leads District 6 with 58% votes". My Ballard. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  15. ↑ Kroman, David (May 9, 2018). "The most divisive man in Seattle". Crosscut.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  16. ↑ Beekman, Daniel (May 7, 2018). "Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien shoved out of Nordic Museum after-party". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 7, 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.