Jessie Israel, who is running against incumbent Nick Licata for Seattle City Council, has been saying all over town that her opponent sued Sound Transit. When she said it in Tuesday's interview with the Seattle Times Editorial Board, which I sat in on, Licata countered that she was simply "mistaken."

Licata was involved with a group of activists and civic leaders called SaneTransit, which formed in 2000 to protest cost overruns by Sound Transit. But in Tuesdays Editorial Board meeting, Licata said that another group, Citizens for Mobility, sued Sound Transit. Sane Transit wasn't involved in any litigation, he said.

It turns out that Sane Transit actually did sue Sound Transit. Licata was wrong about that. But he said today he wasn't involved in that lawsuit, even though he was a member of the group.

He argued that blaming him for that lawsuit is like saying that if you're a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sues government agencies all the time, then you're suing government agencies all the time.

This whole argument plays into a characterization that Licata's opponents are pushing that the council member is "an obstructionist."

Licata blamed his mistake in Tuesday's meeting on this 2000 article in The Seattle Times, which says Citizens for Mobility sued Sound Transit. At the bottom, in what Licata called "tiny font," the article says that Citizens for Mobility actually didn't sue Sound Transit.

I haven't been able to reach Israel today for comment.