Mark Sidran (born July 7, 1951) is a former

Seattle City Attorney The Seattle City Attorney is a non-partisan elected official in Seattle, Washington whose job is to "prosecute people for misdemeanor offenses, defend the city against lawsuits, and gives legal advice to the city". Since 2022, the position has bee ...

, serving three terms from 1990 to 2002. He is remembered most for his controversial "civility" laws.

Early life

Sidran grew up in the

Rainier Valley Rainier Valley ( ) is a neighborhood in southeastern Seattle, Washington. It is located east of Beacon Hill; west of Mount Baker, Seward Park, and Leschi; south of the Central District and north of Rainier Beach. It is part of Seattle's So ...

neighborhood of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. He attended Franklin High School alongside future-Governor

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the State of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor ...

and was elected Class President during his senior year. In 1973, he graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in government. He then returned to Seattle to attend the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Asso ...

, graduating in 1976 with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

.Mark Sidran's Seattle – Seattle News – City – The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
/ref> Sidran is Jewish.Mark Sidran's Biography – Project Vote Smart
/ref>

Legal career

Sidran spent ten years (1975-1985) as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Later, as head of the Juvenile Division, he played a major role in the child molestation prosecution of Judge Gary Little. From 1986 to 1989, Sidran was a partner at McKay & Gaitan. He was also a Special Counsel to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

. In 1990, Sidran ran for and was elected

. Sidran was highly controversial for his " no broken windows" approach to law enforcement. He has been called the

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

of Seattle. For example, he sponsored civility ordinances against public urination, public drinking, aggressive panhandling, sleeping in parks, sitting on sidewalks, and driving with a suspended license. His supporters have claimed that these ordinances cleaned up the city significantly, while detractors claim that they unfairly harass the homeless.

Political career

In 2001, Sidran became the Commissioner of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. In 2001, Sidran ran unsuccessfully for

Mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

, losing to

Greg Nickels Gregory James Nickels (born August 7, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 51st mayor of Seattle, Washington. He took office on January 1, 2002, and was reelected to a second term in 2005. In August 2009, Nickels finished third in t ...

. Nickels won with 50.1 percent of the vote compared to Sidran's 48.4 percent. Both candidates had outpolled mayor Paul Schell in the primary. Nickels overcame Sidran's two-to-one fundraising advantage and near-monopoly on press endorsements. In 2004, Sidran ran unsuccessfully for

Attorney General of Washington The attorney general of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest ...

, losing the primary to

Deborah Senn Deborah Mandel Senn (March 8, 1949 – February 18, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. She was the 7th Washington Insurance Commissioner for two terms from 1993 to 2001. In 2000, in lieu of running for re-electi ...

who was in turn defeated by Republican

Rob McKenna Robert Marion McKenna (born October 1, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th attorney general of Washington from 2005 to 2013 after serving on the Metropolitan King County Council from 1996 to 2005. A member of the ...

in the general election.The Seattle Times: Regional politics: McKenna wins, Senn leading in attorney general campaigns.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidran, Mark 1951 births Living people Harvard University alumni University of Washington School of Law alumni Politicians from Seattle Washington (state) city attorneys Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni