Celebration of William L. Massey's Life

Saturday, January 9, 2010. 1-4 pm. Seattle Tennis Club.

Those who knew or worked with Bill are invited to attend.

“One of the biggest rewards in working for the League is the opportunity to work with the many outstanding individuals who come forward to offer their time and talent to try and make this a better community.”    – William L. Massey, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 1, 1984

The League is saddened to hear of the loss of William “Bill” Massey, former League Executive Director for 12 years. He was 73.

Mr. Massey started with the League doing freelance work writing for the League’s newsletter. In 1966, he was hired as the League’s Assistant Director for Public Relations, where he continued to write the newsletter while running the lobbying program. Six years later, he became the Executive Director.

During his tenure, Mr. Massey built an impressive list of accomplishments. One of his most high-profile successes related to the West Seattle Bridge project. After sensing that something was not right in the contracting, Mr. Massey led the League to investigate, which resulted in a scathing 1975 report calling for a federal investigation. The subsequent grand jury investigation resulted in the indictments of former Seattle city engineer Robert Gulino, Luke Graham, former Democratic national committeeman from Washington state and former state Rep. Robert A. Perry, who were convicted of perjury, extortion and income tax evasion and extortion, respectively. To prevent future corruption in city projects, Mr. Massey pushed the League to write a report on how the city hires consultants, which became a model for other governments.

Mr. Massey’s other accomplishments included passage of the country’s first public disclosure law, creation of Seattle’s police horse patrol, reformation of the League’s candidate rating process and formalization of the League’s positions on issues, which were backed up with in-depth studies. The legacy of Mr. Massey’s work in these areas continues today. Larry Kleinberg, League president ’82-’84, remembers Mr. Massey as a man of high integrity who was tireless in talking to elected officials and civic leaders to scout out issues for the League to study. In recent years, Mr. Massey continued his passion for civic engagement by moderating a series of Great Decisions forums at his local library.

In the January 1984 edition of the Municipal News announcing his impending departure, Mr. Massey said, “The Municipal League is not only a special organization in this community, but quite unique in this country and probably in the world, and it’s hard to leave because I literally grew up here.”

The League will continue to honor Mr. Massey’s contributions during its upcoming Centennial year.

Seattle Times article