Richard McIver: He loved being politically incorrect

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.

He was the only Council member ever to become a movie character played by Cedric the Entertainer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Richard McIver: He loved being politically incorrect