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Jim Compton Records, 1992-2006

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Compton, Jim
Title
Jim Compton Records
Dates
1992-2006 (inclusive)
Quantity
8,651 digital files, (360 MB)
17.6 cubic feet
Collection Number
4620
Summary
Records of Seattle City Council Member Jim Compton, dating 1992-2006
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
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Content Description

Record Group 4620 documents Jim Compton's tenure on the Seattle City Council and reflects his activities in various Council committees. The record group consists of five records series: I. Electronic Correspondence, II.Subject Files, III. Public Safety and Technology Committee Records, IV. Utilities and Telecommunications Committee Records, V. Video Collection

Records contained in Series I,Electronic Correspondence, include includes general correspondence from Councilmember Jim Compton and his Legislative Assistant Linda Robson. The bulk of the records is constituent correspondence.

Records contained in Series II,Subject Files, include correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, Council Briefings, and press clippings relating to issues before the City Council.

Records contained in Series III,Public Safety and Technology Committee Records, includes correspondence, memoranda, draft legislation, staff reports, and notes related to public safety concerns and city-wide technology issues.

Records contained in Series IV,Utilities and Telecommunications Committee Records, includes correspondence, memoranda, draft legislation, staff reports, and notes related to public utilities, telecommunications, cable franchising, and the Seattle Channel during Compton's tenure as committee chair.

Records contained in Series V, Video Collection, includes video collected by Councilmember Compton's office.

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Biographical Note

Jim Compton was elected to the City Council in 1999 to fill the seat of outgoing Councilwoman Martha Choe. She resigned October 1, 1999 and Compton took office early on November 12, 1999. He resigned mid-way through his second term to take a teaching position in Cairo, Egypt, and to conduct research in emerging democratic movement in Romania. During his first term, Compton chaired the Council's Public Safety and Technology Committee. At his resignation in December of 2005, he was chair of the Utilities and Technology Committee. In addition, Compton chaired the World Trade Organization Accountability Review Committee, whose primary function was to create a factual record, composed of documents and interview data, that would serve as a baseline for community understanding of the events of the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999.

As chair of the Public Safety Committee, Compton presided over debates on police discipline, racial profiling and treatment of protesters. And as chair of the Energy and Environmental Policy Committee, he clashed with Mayor Greg Nickels and some other Council members, leading the charge to block the reconfirmation of Gary Zarker, the City Light superintendent.

Compton faced scrutiny from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) on two separate occasions. He was one of three Council members who received campaign donations tied to strip-club owner Frank Colacurcio Jr. before a vote on a rezone beneficial to the club. All three returned the money. He also agreed to a $3,000 settlement with the SEEC after admitted that he had accepted a plane ride on a jet owned by Paul Allen and tickets to a Portland Trail Blazers game. At the time, Allen's South Lake Union development was before the Council for consideration.

Prior to his Council election, Compton was best known for his 35-year career in journalism. His career involved, among other posts, working as NBC News correspondent out of Cairo and London (1977-1984), reporter and editor at Seattle's NBC affiliate KING-TV (1985-1999), and as a correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He was best known locally for his ten years producing The Compton Report, a top-rated weekly news program at KING-TV. The Compton Report won most of the broadcast industry's major awards, including the Columbia-Dupont Prize, the Gabriel Award, The Janus Award, and the Golden Globe of the San Francisco Film Festival.

Compton received his bachelor's degree in history at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1964 and his master's degree at the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1969. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1969-1970 for consulting with and studying the television system of Romania.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

This material is available for use onsite in the SMA reading room.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Records are arranged in five series:

4620-01: Electronic Correspondence, 2002-2005

4620-02: Subject Files, 1995-2006

4620-03: Public Safety and Technology Committee Records, 2000-2003

4620-04: Utilities and Telecommunications Committee Records, 2004-2005

4620-05: Video Collection, 1992-1996

Processing Note

According to legacy practice, electronic files were burned on a compact disc from network storage for transfer to archives. Disc images were then captured and files moved to network storage with regular fixity checks. CloneSpy was used to filter and log duplicate files. Duplicate files and non-record material were deleted. Spider2008 PII Scan and DtSearch were used to screen for personal and sensitive information. DROID was used to identify file formats, extract metadata, and facilitate processing decisions. ReNamer was used to remove and log problematic characters from file names. Files were then logged and transferred using Robocopy to preservation storage.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • City planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Emergency management--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Homelessness--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Housing
  • Land use, Urban--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Monorail railroads--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Political ethics--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Public Utilities
  • Public utilities--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Public safety--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Technology--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Telecommunications
  • Transportation--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Compton, Jim

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). City Clerk.
  • Seattle (Wash.). City Council.
  • Seattle (Wash.). City Council. Police, Fire, Courts and Technology Committee.
  • Seattle (Wash.). City Council. Public Safety and Technology Committee.
  • Seattle (Wash.). Fire Dept..
  • Seattle (Wash.). Police Dept..
  • Seattle Channel (Television station) .
  • Seattle City Light.
  • Seattle Monorail Project.
  • World Trade Organization Accountability Review Committee.

Geographical Names

  • Seattle
  • Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government

Finding aid prepared by Scott Cline. Revised by Sarah Shipley.
2015

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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