City Dumps Controversial East Precinct Attorney

A longtime opponent of the nightlife industry on Capitol Hill has been cut loose by the city in a move that's sure to appease some of City Attorney Pete Holmes' biggest supporters during the campaign season.

Attorney Tienney Milnor—who worked with police to target problem areas on Capitol Hill and the Central District—sent out an email to neighbors before New Years, announcing that her position had been cut, and that she would no longer be working in the City Attorney’s office.

“Mr. Peter Holmes and his transition team decided to go in another direction with the liaison program and the office,” Milnor wrote. “As an Assistant City Attorney this is something you recognize as a possibility any time there is change in leadership.  At the same time you hope it doesn’t happen to you or other members of the office you have grown to know and respect.”

The four other precinct liaisons are apparently staying where they are. Milnor's duties will be handled, at least for the time being, by West Precinct liaison Jim Kenny.

Milnor's removal shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who's been following the ongoing battle between nightlife and law enforcement in Seattle over the last two years. Milnor had been a source of controversy amongst members of the nightlife industry for some time.

Although the city’s war on nightlife has been tough on club owners all over Seattle in the last few years, Nightlife and Music Association Vice President Quentin Ertel—who also co-owns the Havana nightclub on Capitol Hill—the relationship between the city and business owners was especially strained in the East Precinct.

“For a while, no matter where you went in the city, you'd be hard pressed to find a bar or club owner who was having a good time dealing with the city,” Ertel says. “It's no secret that things were tough. I think that in a lot of ways, the problems were really magnified in the East Precinct.”

Milnor took over in the East Precinct in April 2007, and Club owners in the East Precinct have complained fabout overzealous police enforcement of regulations—which was never more evident than when police leaned on several gay bars like the Eagle and CC’s for playing porn videos on their TVs—ever since.

“On our end, it seemed that no matter how hard we tried to have a good relationship...with the police, things kept happening, stumbling blocks kept popping up out of nowhere,” Ertel says. “Whenever we came out of a meeting with [Milnor], it was certainly not productive. Great nightlife makes the city a great place to live. That's something to be encouraged. Not, y'know, crushed.”

Milnor's departure could be a sign of big changes on the way for the precinct liaison positions. Previously, liaisons spent much of their time building cases against bars like the Rose Garden in Lake City and Angie's in Columbia City, and there had been rumors that the liaison positions would be removed altogether once the very pro-nightlife Holmes took office. While the four remaining liaisons don't appear to be going anywhere, they could be tasked with handling more chronic nuisance issues like the city's recent move to shut down a number of problem motels on Aurora.

City Attorney Pete Holmes’ office would not comment on Milnor’s apparent termination.