EVERETT — Before Mayor Cassie Franklin’s annual State of the City speech Thursday at the Everett Mall, attendees will hear 10 minutes of remarks from the event’s main sponsors: aviation giant Boeing and real estate developer Mortenson.
Entry to the event will also cost $35 — part of a broader trend of commercializing and charging admission to keynote speeches that makes some open government advocates cringe.
The city will not make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Any revenue will pay for food and rental costs, while profit will be retained by the event’s host, Economic Alliance Snohomish County.
“If there is any minimal revenue, it is cycled back to support our work to deliver economic development benefit to the community,” alliance spokesperson Pablo Colindres Moreno said in an email.
Mayor Franklin’s speech is scheduled to last 25 minutes.
The event’s primary sponsors are The Boeing Company, which operates a major production facility in Everett that falls under city regulations, and Mortenson, a company that has led several projects around Everett, including construction for Everett Community College and Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
The Port of Everett, Alaska Airlines and Oneworld are also sponsors of the event. Oneworld is an international airline alliance, of which Alaska Airlines is a member.
Additional sponsors include Herald Media, North Sound Media, Puget Sound LISC, Hotel Bellwether, Village Theater, Everett Music Initiative, the Everett AquaSox, the Everett Silvertips, the Schack Art Center, Sound2Summit Brewery, Artisans Books and Coffee, and NGMA Group.
The event’s website lists amenities included in the cost of admission, like catering, raffle entries and networking opportunities. Networking is allocated for one hour and fifteen minutes on the event’s agenda following Franklin’s speech. Economic Alliance members get a $5 discount.
This kind of address, with a cost to admission, isn’t a rarity in Washington.
In April, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown will give her state of the city address to a crowd paying $75 per ticket. Hosted by Greater Spokane Inc., a nonprofit similar to a chamber of commerce, the city of Spokane won’t see any financial gain from the event, nonprofit spokesperson Yolanda Pagaduan said.
Like any other event, expenses like catering and renting a venue factor in, Pagaduan said.
Last year, Bellevue charged $65 for general admission to its event.
In other cities like Marysville and Lynnwood, admission to their events earlier this year was free.
Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers’ annual update last year was also sponsored by Boeing and the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, with a $30 price tag for admission.
Even if it’s becoming common, the Washington Coalition for Open Government believes its a disservice to the public to charge an entrance fee to this sort of event, secretary George Erb said. Franklin’s address will be livestreamed on various platforms online. Erb said that isn’t enough.
“Everyone should have an equal opportunity to see — in person — their public officials at work, especially when those officials deliver signature addresses,” Erb wrote in an email.
Franklin will give shortened versions of the speech at neighborhood meetings throughout the year, Tarver said. Residents are also free to invite the mayor to events or meetings, she added.
Another concern for the WashCOG is the event’s potential intersection with the state’s Open Public Meetings Act, mandating all meetings of governing bodies be open to the public and that there be no restrictions to entry.
If a majority of the City Council attends Franklin’s speech, it would qualify as a public meeting. Then members couldn’t discuss city business or it would violate the act, Erb said. They could sit at separate tables to avoid discussion, he noted.
Online registration for the State of the City ends at 6 a.m. Wednesday. The event is set for 4 p.m. Thursday.
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
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