Medina censures councilman

One thing is clear from the dust-up that has erupted on the Medina City Council: Lucius Biglow Jr. is no J.K. Rowling.

The council has censured Biglow for e-mails written by the councilman that contain several references to race and sex that his colleagues found to be inappropriate. Various e-mails were sent to city officials, as well as citizens.

The 2007 e-mails included a lengthy parody written in the style of author Rowling's Harry Potter books, filled with references to "muggles" and "dark wizards."

The messages enraged some council members and the public, leading to the adoption of a resolution Thursday to censure Biglow by a 4-1 vote. Biglow abstained.

The resolution also asks that Biglow attend "appropriate professional training" and that all future communication between Biglow and city staff be conducted through the city manager.

After the vote, Biglow, 83, declined to elaborate on the messages.

"I've been advised not to speak to the merits of this matter," said Biglow, who was elected to the council in 2005.

Biglow's attorney says the messages were meant as a joke.

The full context of the e-mails has never been explained, but they were widely distributed in the community and even showed up in responses to city public-disclosure requests. The Harry Potter e-mail is dated November 2007 and generally discusses issues involving the opening of a grocery store.

"Medina houses a number of white Anglo-Saxon muggles who have amassed quantities of Gringotts treasure and who are dedicated to enjoying their seclusion, lake frontage and spectacular mountain views, free from intrusion by the less discriminating and less affluent," reads one section.

In the Potter books, "muggle" refers to a person who does not possess magical powers. "Gringott" is apparently in reference to Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the books.

"The Town ... is riven with conflict," added another section, including a reference to a longtime grocery known as the Green Store and its owner.

Another e-mail includes a passage that read: "At one time I was nominated to be president of the United Predators of Medina, and I had you in mind as executive director. As I remember it, we declined. Best for us not to talk rape," Biglow wrote.

It's not clear what the reference to rape was about.

Individual City Council members earlier in the week expressed a desire that Biglow resign, but no formal action calling for such a resignation was taken. City Attorney Wayne Tanaka said that Biglow works for voters and essentially can be "fired" only by failing to be re-elected or through a recall election. Biglow is up for election in 2009.

Councilwoman Shawn Whitney said Thursday's meeting was the fourth devoted to Biglow's actions, making it time to put the matter aside. Mayor Mark Nelson declined to allow public comment, saying such a procedure wasn't necessary in adopting the resolution.

A statement prepared by Biglow's Seattle attorney, Harry Schneider, argued that the entire incident was a misunderstanding.

"Mr. Biglow regrets that certain members of the Medina community who disagree with his politics have decided to seize upon some misunderstood remarks and use them to attack his character," Schneider noted. "The whole matter has been blown out of proportion because those citizens' purpose apparently is to pressure Mr. Biglow into resigning from his position on the City Council, something he believes he should not do. The remarks at issue were the product of intended humor and parody."

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com