Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Deputy Director Maritza Rivera, pictured here, denies the accusations. ARTS Director royal alley-barnes did not respond to a request for comment.
Courtesy of the Campaign
Why is the sole specifically named thing she actually did wrong here "delayed contract approval and payments to programs that serve marginalized communities"? Some nonspecific stuff abpit how she "respected heirarchy"? Is it not obvious she was a bad fit for the position because the "workers" at the Office of Arts and Culture thought she wasn't giving away money to their friends fast enough?
I think everyone at The Stranger should stop using initial capital letters in their names. The fact they do not already do so seems like a missed opportunity to take things to the next level.
“The staff members see their letter as a success, given that the Mayor held an open search process for the newly appointed permanent director,”
Interesting they see it that way. As the linked article at PubliCola makes clear, the interim director was appointed by then-Mayor Durkan in September 2021, so now would seem time for a permanent director. As that same article also makes clear, the search process for a permanent director is more open than that of an interim director. (I wish the Stranger had itself made these points as clearly.) Was there any evidence Mayor Harrell was dragging his feet on this, or did the letter simply remind him to attend to this matter? (I imagine the Mayor of Seattle would have a large number of higher priorities.)
“Under the first 15 months of alley-barnes and Rivera’s leadership, 15 workers, or about one-third of the staff, left the ARTS department.”
“According to emails obtained in a public records request at least 13 workers left the department in 2022.”
They may simply have tired of waiting for a permanent director.
So you didn't link to the actual letter to let readers decide for themselves whether the complaints have any substance. Is it so shallow & petty we'll all see right through it immediately?
Looking forward to your hit piece on Ron Davis. Oh wait, since the Seattle Times didn't endorse him, you saved up all your ammunition for Maritza. You must be worried that she's building momentum and actually looks like a much better city council candidate than Ron - the insufferable tool who's on Twitter all day while his wife works.
So far TS's crack investigative unit has turned up one candidate who may or may not have voted for Trump, one candidate who did not vote and now a candidate who has some unspecific claims of being toxic. It's probably worth a mention that often women are criticized for behaviors that men are not so great to see TS embracing the misogyny in order to tear down a women of color. In fact all of their hit pieces have been on female candidates and two on BIPOC women at that. Pretty racist. If this is the best they can do against candidates who are advocating for non extreme positions then its going to be a tough campaign for TS's progressive slate this cycle.
Sigh. I"m sure this will come across as more nitpicky stuff that is all too common here, but the first paragraph stopped me. if the abbreviation for "Seattle Arts and Culture Department" is ARTS, then wtf does ARTS stand for? #Journalismism
@14: The Stranger endorsed Sawant knowing full well she’d hired and fired staffers at City Hall solely on orders of Socialist Alternative, not job performance.(https://sccinsight.com/2019/01/07/sa-sawant-tldr/)
Why is the sole specifically named thing she actually did wrong here "delayed contract approval and payments to programs that serve marginalized communities"? Some nonspecific stuff abpit how she "respected heirarchy"? Is it not obvious she was a bad fit for the position because the "workers" at the Office of Arts and Culture thought she wasn't giving away money to their friends fast enough?
I think everyone at The Stranger should stop using initial capital letters in their names. The fact they do not already do so seems like a missed opportunity to take things to the next level.
Oh look, another Stranger hit piece just as she got the Times Endorsement. Little worried about Rod D crashing and burning, eh?
"Ron D"
Trying to lead artists is a fool's mission.
Best to just shine the laser pointer in the direction you want them to go
At this point "toxic workplace" is such a cliché that I instantly mentally translate it to "there is no substance to these complaints."
“The staff members see their letter as a success, given that the Mayor held an open search process for the newly appointed permanent director,”
Interesting they see it that way. As the linked article at PubliCola makes clear, the interim director was appointed by then-Mayor Durkan in September 2021, so now would seem time for a permanent director. As that same article also makes clear, the search process for a permanent director is more open than that of an interim director. (I wish the Stranger had itself made these points as clearly.) Was there any evidence Mayor Harrell was dragging his feet on this, or did the letter simply remind him to attend to this matter? (I imagine the Mayor of Seattle would have a large number of higher priorities.)
“Under the first 15 months of alley-barnes and Rivera’s leadership, 15 workers, or about one-third of the staff, left the ARTS department.”
“According to emails obtained in a public records request at least 13 workers left the department in 2022.”
They may simply have tired of waiting for a permanent director.
So you didn't link to the actual letter to let readers decide for themselves whether the complaints have any substance. Is it so shallow & petty we'll all see right through it immediately?
C'mon Hannah, show the receipts.
Looking forward to your hit piece on Ron Davis. Oh wait, since the Seattle Times didn't endorse him, you saved up all your ammunition for Maritza. You must be worried that she's building momentum and actually looks like a much better city council candidate than Ron - the insufferable tool who's on Twitter all day while his wife works.
So far TS's crack investigative unit has turned up one candidate who may or may not have voted for Trump, one candidate who did not vote and now a candidate who has some unspecific claims of being toxic. It's probably worth a mention that often women are criticized for behaviors that men are not so great to see TS embracing the misogyny in order to tear down a women of color. In fact all of their hit pieces have been on female candidates and two on BIPOC women at that. Pretty racist. If this is the best they can do against candidates who are advocating for non extreme positions then its going to be a tough campaign for TS's progressive slate this cycle.
Sigh. I"m sure this will come across as more nitpicky stuff that is all too common here, but the first paragraph stopped me. if the abbreviation for "Seattle Arts and Culture Department" is ARTS, then wtf does ARTS stand for? #Journalismism
Is that the rate of people of color in the department, higher, lower? How did the leaders of color drive out the staff of color?
If people wrote an identical letter about Kshama Sawant, does anyone believe that The Stranger would have published a post like this one?
@14: The Stranger endorsed Sawant knowing full well she’d hired and fired staffers at City Hall solely on orders of Socialist Alternative, not job performance.(https://sccinsight.com/2019/01/07/sa-sawant-tldr/)