Mike O'Brien (Seattle politician)

Michael J. O'Brien (born March 2, 1968) is an American politician and former member of the Seattle City Council who represented District 6 in northwest Seattle.[3] He was first elected in 2009 to a different, city-wide council seat.[4] He was the leading proponent of the opt-out list for the Yellow Pages.[5] He was the only opponent of the proposed deep bore tunnel under downtown Seattle on the city council.[6] 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.

For other people named Mike O'Brien, see Mike O'Brien (disambiguation).
Mike O'Brien
Member of the Seattle City Council
In office
January 3, 2016 – January 3, 2020
Preceded byNick Licata
Succeeded byDan Strauss
ConstituencyDistrict 6
In office
January 3, 2010 – January 3, 2016
Preceded byRichard McIver
Succeeded byTim Burgess
ConstituencyPosition 8
Personal details
Born (1968-03-02) March 2, 1968
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
SpouseJulie O'Brien[1]
Children2[2]
ResidenceSeattle, Washington
Alma materDuke University (BS)
University of Washington (MBA)

Early life and career

Mike O'Brien was born in Seattle and raised in the Eastside suburb of Clyde Hill.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[9]

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.[9] 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 proposition, which would have bundled Sound Transit projects with road expansion and was opposed by the Sierra Club.[9] The ballot measure was defeated and a transit-only version, Sound Transit 2, was proposed for the following year with the support of the Sierra Club.[10][11] Mike O'Brien was a representative of the Sierra Club on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee in 2008.[12] 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.[9] O'Brien is currently on the board of directors and is the treasurer of the Sierra Club.[13]

Political career

Position 8

In February 2009, O'Brien announced his candidacy for a city council seat that incumbent councilmember Richard McIver planned to not run for.[14] 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.[15] O'Brien won the general election with 58 percent of votes and was sworn in on January 1, 2010, alongside newly elected mayor Mike McGinn.[16][17]

District 6

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.[18]

During his term as the District 6 councilmember, O'Brien attracted criticism for his positions on transportation, housing, homelessness, policing, and taxes.[19]

At an after-party event following 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.[20]

Facing unfavorable polling results and opposition from groups like the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, in February 2019 O'Brien announced he would not seek reelection to the Seattle City Council.[21][22][23]

Other ventures

After his retirement from the city council, O'Brien and a former legislative aide founded their own HVAC company that focuses on installation of heat pumps to replace heating and cooling systems that use fossil fuels.[24]

Electoral history

2009 election
Seattle City Council Position 8, Primary Election 2009[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 42,619 34.48%
Nonpartisan Robert Rosencrantz 25,602 20.71%
Nonpartisan Jordan Royer 19,207 15.54%
Nonpartisan Bobby Forch 15,444 12.49%
Nonpartisan David Miller 14,644 11.85%
Nonpartisan Rusty Williams 5,602 4.53%
Nonpartisan Write-in 488 0.39%
Turnout 146,568 38.60%
Registered electors 379,721
Seattle City Council Position 8, General Election 2009[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 103,435 57.76%
Nonpartisan Robert Rosencrantz 75,157 41.97%
Nonpartisan Write-in 484 0.27%
Majority 28,278 15.79%
Turnout 216,573 57.73%
Registered electors 375,164

2013 election
Seattle City Council Position 8, Primary Election 2013[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 74,372 58.88%
Nonpartisan Albert Shen 43,053 34.08%
Nonpartisan David Ishii 8,137 6.44%
Nonpartisan Write-in 753 0.60%
Turnout 144,306 34.95%
Registered electors 412,847
Seattle City Council Position 8, General Election 2013[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 117,011 66.84%
Nonpartisan Albert Shen 57,434 32.81%
Nonpartisan Write-in 607 0.35%
Majority 59,577 34.03%
Turnout 215,550 52.50%
Registered electors 410,572

2015 election
Seattle City Council District 6, Primary Election 2015[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 12,403 59.08%
Nonpartisan Catherine Weatbrook 4,680 22.29%
Nonpartisan Jon Lisbin 2,751 13.10%
Nonpartisan Stan Shaufler 1,107 5.27%
Nonpartisan Write-in 53 0.25%
Turnout 21,451 31.74%
Registered electors 67,591
Seattle City Council District 6, General Election 2015[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Mike O'Brien 18,830 61.29%
Nonpartisan Catherine Weatbrook 11,802 38.41%
Nonpartisan Write-in 91 0.30%
Majority 7,028 22.88%
Turnout 33,741 49.42%
Registered electors 68,273

References
  1. Barnett, Erica (24 February 2014). "Mike O'Brien Rising". SeattleMet. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. "About Mike O'Brien". Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  3. "Seattle City Councilmember Mike O'Brien". Seattle.gov. Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  4. "Results - King County Elections". Your.kingcounty.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  5. Krueger, David (2011-05-05). "Seattle cracks down on yellow-pages deliveries | The Seattle Times". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  6. Grygiel, Chris (2011-05-16). "City Council rift over viaduct tunnel resolution - Strange Bedfellows — Politics News". Blog.seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  7. Westneat, Danny (November 19, 2008). "Green fever colors the future of roads". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  8. Spratt, Gerry (October 1, 2009). "City Council candidate Q & A: Mike O'Brien". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  9. Barnett, Erica C. (November 18, 2009). "The Other Mike". Publicola. Seattle Met. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  10. Garber, Andrew (November 7, 2007). "Huge roads-transit plan gets trounced". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  11. Lange, Larry (November 5, 2008). "Sound Transit's package is passing; I-985 falling short". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A14. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  12. "ALASKAN WAY VIADUCT REPLACEMENT PROJECT Final Environmental Impact Statement" (PDF). Appendix A: WSDOT. July 2011. p. A2-4. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  13. "Board of Directors". 18 September 2019.
  14. Heffter, Emily (March 2, 2009). "So far, no major candidate running against mayor". The Seattle Times. p. B1. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  15. Perry, Nick; Heffter, Emily (August 19, 2009). "Bagshaw, O'Brien leading easily". The Seattle Times. p. A6. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  16. "2009 Election Report" (PDF). Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission. SEEC. January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  17. Heffter, Emily (January 4, 2010). "New Seattle mayor takes charge; council hires own lobbyist". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  18. "Low voter turnout for primary elections; Mike O'Brien leads District 6 with 58% votes". My Ballard. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  19. Kroman, David (May 9, 2018). "The most divisive man in Seattle". Crosscut.com. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  20. Beekman, Daniel (May 7, 2018). "Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien shoved out of Nordic Museum after-party". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  21. Barnett, Erica (January 9, 2019). "Campaign Crank: O'Brien Robopolls, Pedersen Hits Delete, and Rufo Writes His Own Company a Check". The C is for Crank. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  22. Kroman, David (February 13, 2019). "Mike O'Brien is the fourth Seattle City Councilmember not seeking re-election". Crosscut. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  23. "O'Brien: Will Not Seek Re-Election". Council Connection. City of Seattle. February 13, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  24. Garland, Alex (August 3, 2023). "From City Hall to Clean Energy: Mike O'Brien's Journey From Climate Legislator to Clean Energy Installer". South Seattle Emerald. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  25. "Elections Results - Primary and Special Election" (PDF). King County Elections. August 20, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  26. "Elections Results - General and Special Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 26, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  27. "Elections Results - Primary and Special Election" (PDF). King County Elections. August 17, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  28. "Elections Results - General and Special Election" (PDF). King County Elections. November 24, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
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