I Love a Staff In Uniform Wednesday, April 30, 2008 By The Fly, Metro Everybody's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed staff. At least that's how Pete Constant sees it; in fact, the District 1 councilman had his very own Pete Constant uniform made for his staff last month. He had jackets, dress shirts, polo shirts and even lapel pins made with a Pete Constant District 1 logo that he designed. It's not required attire, but staffers are encouraged to attend community events and other District 1 festivities donning the Pete Constant clothing line. The whole point is to make his staff stand out at these events so that constituents and other folks know them, Constant said, and he claims that at a recent event, the uniform was a hit. "It looks professional for all of us to wear matching shirts and jackets," Constant said. "It really looked like we knew what we were doing." The new district dress has made Constant's staff the brunt of endless jokes on the 18th floor at City Hall. And yet, Constant says a handful of constituents have asked about buying their own Pete Constant jacket or shirt. Not for sale. Constant says he spent the $2,000 on the shirts and lapel pins to use up his office holder account. Last year, the council decided to discontinue office holder accounts for City Council members. Those accounts are funds that councilmembers raise to help cover the cost for various expenses that can't be covered with public funds, such as attending charity dinners and traveling to other events. Each councilmember has to get rid of the expense account by June 30. What are other councilmembers doing to get rid of the funds in their accounts? "We give our funds to nonprofits," said Ragan Henninger, council assistant for Councilman Sam Liccardo.