New sheriff in town

New City Attorney Peter Holmes has received some attention recently for his statements about not prosecuting marijuana users. But on Thursday night we got the opportunity to ask (one of) Seattle's newest public officials about his views on Nickelsville, Tent Cities, sweeps of homeless ecampments and the city's take on homeless issues.
``I believe Nickelsville - if it's still called that- should have a permanent home. Homelessness is a problem that's not going away.'' Holmes was speaking at Night Cap, a new feature sponsored by Town Hall. Josh Feit and Erica C. Barnett from Publicola took the stage with Holmes, who's been in office all of two weeks.
On the surface it appears that Holmes and Mayor Mike McGinn are taking a more laissez-faire approach to things than their predecessors- former Mayor Greg Nickels and City Attorney Tom Carr. But while Holmes and McGinn haven't declared war on the homeless it sounds like the city will take action if neighbors complain about a homeless site.
``The mayor's office has a system if neighbors complain,'' Holmes explained. ``People will get a warning and no property will be destroyed. There's a handbook that the city uses that was put together with the help of the ACLU and homeless organizations. There are safeguards to protect belongings from being destroyed.'' Holmes added that no one has complained to his office about homeless camps in the two weeks he's been in office.
Of course, it will be the Mayor who'll set the agenda for how the city of Seattle deals with the homeless. However, Holmes said that he's looking forward to the city renewing its' agreement with Tent City 3 and said that he will take part in the one-night homeless count that takes place at the end of January.