Ex-Seattle City Councilman Richard McIver, who died at 71 on Saturday night, was the last politician at City Hall who took deep pleasure in being politically incorrect. <\/p>\n
He was the only Council member ever to become a movie character played by Cedric the Entertainer. <\/p>\n
McIver was for years a heavy smoker, joked that the bar at the Four Seas in the International District was his second office and did not relinquish his laid-back style even when putting then-King County Councilman Dwight Pelz on the canvas in his last successful reelection race. <\/p>\n
When legislation outlawed smoking in bars, he joked that the only legal place to smoke would be standing in the middle of the street on the yellow line: Amazingly, though he did eventually quit smoking and never told the staff, said Paul Elliott, who worked 8 1\/2 years as McIvers chief of staff. <\/p>\n
McIver was remembered Monday as a character and a contributor. Richard was warm, funny, well-loved and dedicated to his city, said Mayor Mike McGinn, who will never claim the mantle of political incorrectness. <\/p>\n
City Council colleague Jean Godden, described McIver as a mentor who often stopped by her office, a task made more difficult by the configuration of Seattles arid new City Hall. Segregated space replaced the shared space (conducive to news leaking) of the old city hall. <\/p>\n
Richard never forgot the mistreatment he experienced during the World Trade Organization demonstrations, Godden related. En route to an official dinner, he was stopped by a Seattle policeman who did not recognize him as a council member, refused to believe he was a public official, and insisted on making him stand spreadeagled up against his car. <\/p>\n
McIver is remembered for one central achievement, creation of the $50 million Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, which has loaned more than $10 million to local businesses. He was deeply worried about light rails impact on immigrant- and minority-owned businesses along Rainier Avenue. <\/p>\n
McIver was known for his last two successful campaigns. He was opposed in 2001 by music critic-turned-monorail booster Grant Cogswell. McIver was reelected, but Cogswell campaign manager Phil Campbell immortalized the insurgency with his book Zioncheck for Mayor. It was later made into the movie Grassroots. <\/p>\n
Cedric the Entertainer, playing McIver, reenacted a famous and true coming together story. Richard McIver gave the carless Grant Cogswell a ride to the polls we had polls then on Election Day, and waited while Cogswell voted for Cogswell. <\/p>\n
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\nRichard McIver: He loved being politically incorrect<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"