The Stranger: Primary Endorsements for Mayor of Seattle - Mike McGinn

Publicola and the SeattleWeekly have not yet publish the names of people that fit their opinions (that is what it is).

So, Seattle Times - Nckels and Mallahan
The Stranger - McGinn
Muni League - Mallahan
Friends of Seattle (are they Astroturf?) - McGinn

Notice a pattern? How about the absense of Drago, Donaldson, Sigler, Garrett, and Campbell?

slog.thestranger.com/slog 2009 primary endorsements

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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The Seattle Times recommends: Nickels, Mallahan top so-so field in Seattle mayor's race

The McGinn supporters are going to be as upset as they had anticipated they would be by the Seattle Times endorsement.

Seattle Times endorsement

Friends of Seattle endorsed Mike McGinn.
I then dropped out of the FoS Facebook group, not because of the endorsement, I endorsed McGinn and Mallahan. FoS has an AstroTurf feel to it. If they are, or not, is not the point.

Crosscut.com: Strains in the green-growth coalition

AKA: Mossback piggyback Publicola green pac.

Strains in the green-growth coalition
The battle for candidate endorsements reveals some ideological divides between local environmentalists, developers, and independent thinkers who wonder if all urban growth is good.
By Knute Berger
People in Seattle are green green green. We're a leader on Kyoto, we hate plastic bottles and shopping bags, and our politicians often jockey over who is more green than the other. Candidates for office vie for key endorsements from groups like the Cascade Bicycle Club, Washington Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club.

The unified have split from Nick Licata.

Erica Barnett writing at Publicola offers an interesting window into how the green-growth coalition is finessed. She writes about how city council candidate Jessie Israel managed to get endorsements from both pro-density Washington Conservation Voters and the pro-growth Seattle/King County chapter of the Washington Realtors Association. One group hates sprawl, the other thrives on growth, including sprawl.
She's not the first Seattle candidate to get the endorsements of both, but it's interesting to see at whose expense the endorsements were made. Both groups found Israel more to their liking than her opponent, incumbent City Councilmember Nick Licata, one of Seattle's most progressive politicians. Barnett wanted to know why Israel over Licata? There were several reasons:

Asked why the Realtors supported Israel, association public-affairs director David Crowell pointed to two issues, both of which would appear to conflict with her environmental-community support. First, Crowell said, Israel told the group she would not let tree protections stand in the way of development within growth management boundaries (i.e., in cities). "She remarked that trees are very important, but if it's a question between trees and density...in urban areas...density would trump trees," Crowell said.

Israel also apparently opposes home sellers having to conduct mandatory energy audits to let buyers know just what they're getting. As to why the WCV made its choice, Barnett reports:

Sudha Nandagopal...says the group decided to endorse Israel because she "really showed that she'll be an environmental champion" on the council, by supporting "walkable, transit-oriented communities — things that are also very important for tree canopy protection."

As for why WCV didn’t endorse Licata, as they have in the past, Nandagopal said, "Nick has been a strong opponent of Sound Transit for many years, and he's not really on same page with us on density issues. When it comes down to it, Nick Licata is not running with the environment as a priority."

Pretty amazing that Licata is now considered some kind of green apostate, despite his backing of numerous green efforts, including the Green Line monorail project which was the very definition of "transit-oriented" and the darling of the pro-density crowd. It's also interesting that one group sees Israel as willing to sacrifice urban trees while another believes her overall policies will protect urban trees.
crosscut.com Strains in the green-growth coalition

Nick Licata has chased the urban wine bar vote to its conclusion. He may be able to hang on as the general opposition person on the council, but that depends, in part, on Greg Nickels and his running mate Jan Drago being favored in the Fall. They are not that now, so, drawing anti Nckels/Drago support in a council position is watered down by a fist full of direct mayoral challengers to the Mayor of Downtown.

About the trees:
The city is littered with limbless trees, telephone/power poles. Where people, or the city, have made the error of planting an actual tree near one of those things it has often resulted in a block-long hatchet job, lopping off the tops of the trees, with a reverse mohawk.

Bury the lines, open the skies.

It is possible to have both Nickel/Drago and Licata replaced this November. The question then becomes: Who will tell the other council members what to do (or not do). I am only half-joking. The majority vote together as one big vote, going along with whatever is simulating leadership at any given moment. I am not looking for endless debates and 5-4 split votes on everything, but I am having a hard time accepting the pac vote for a head tax on business, and then against the head tax on business, for example.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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Today in Losing Propositions: "Drago exaggerates role in tunnel project"

This is from the Seattle Times Newspaper Editorial:

Mayoral candidate Jan Drago overstated her role in getting the downtown tunnel approved. If she wants to improve communication between Seattle and Olympia, she should be more accurate about what she actually accomplished.
Seattle Times Editorial: Mayoral candidate Drago exaggerates role in tunnel project

Ok, just so I have this right; the Seattle Times is chastising mayoral candidate Councilwoman Jan Drago for claiming too much credit for a viaduct replacement project the majority of Seattle did not vote for, that the state legislature chose to saddle Seattle for all of the cost overruns on. Umm, ok.

Last Spring she did testify in Olympia for the Tunnel project. I watched most of that on TVW.

Months before she stood next to Greg Nickels when the deal for the tunnel was announced, her contribution was committing Seattle to another Streetcar line to run from Alaskan Way on up the the empty KeyArena with no funding source to make it happen.

She stood next to Ron Sims, Sims' added bus service to add one million ridership hours was depending on car tab tax that never happened.

She stood with Governor Chris Gregoire who stripped away support for the added bus service hours after Ron Sims announced that he was leaving his position as King County Executive to become the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This Tunnel is, even by its supporters, a negative experience, 7 years in the making, following the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.

Why anybody would think exaggerating their involvement in that mess is nuts. It says more about the fantasy one must live in to think this is an issue to campaign on than it does about mayoral attributes. She is a better communicator than Greg Nickels, and this pile of manure is her claim to fame, really?

It is no wonder a guy that looked to be a long shot, James Donaldson, is polling almost on par with Drago. Between Nickels and Drago's shared history, I guess James Donaldson should be seen as a potential mayor, and not as an "also ran".

A new KING 5 News poll has Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels leading challengers Jan Drago and James Donaldson, with the other candidates trailing the field.

The survey results:
Nickels: 24 percent.
Drago: 15 percent.
Donaldson: 14 percent.
The poll released Thursday showed that 26 percent of respondents were undecided.SeattlePI.com: Poll: Nickels leads Seattle mayor's race

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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Crosscut.com: The Viaduct issue looms in Seattle races

McGinn push-poll helps him pull votes from Jan Drago (see the referenced story below).

The poll tested how the Viaduct issue plays in the Seattle Mayor's race. At the outset it asked the poll takers who they planned to vote for in that race, getting these results: Nickels 20%, Jan Drago 19, James Donaldson 11, Mike McGinn 10, and Joe Mallahan 7. Then it explained, negatively, the Viaduct issue, particularly the city's being on the hook for cost over-runs, and pointed out that only McGinn opposes the tunnel option. Knowing that, the pollster says, now how would you vote in the Mayor's race. The results changed dramatically: McGinn 29, Nickels 21, Drago 12, Donaldson 6, Mallahan 4.

Those figures help explain why McGinn works the Viaduct issue and its financial liability into nearly every remark, and why Drago can't really tout one of her signal achievements and differences with Nickels. Drago, alone on the City Council, favored the deep-bore tunnel idea years before it seemed a plausible alternative to the streets-only solution or building a new viaduct; and she was an effective negotiator to get the idea enacted once cost estimates had dropped enough to make it a contender.

Crosscut.com story on the viaduct polling data.

Drawing a point from Nickels on this issue does not sink him, but it does sandbag Drago, good enough if you want to get to the final two and have a chance to broaden the debate after the primary.

In some ways this gets back to Drago pushing downtown centric infrastructure. Try push-polling there three words, Drago-Allen-Trolley. Fact is that in the "other" Seattle, where many voter actually live, where snow piled up, we can not find money to pay too much to clear roads, but we can find plenty of money to run the trolley and streetcars.

On the north end development is defined as site searching for a new jail (gosh, thanks, but, no thanks). On the south end they are trying to curb gangs at the cost of a self-cleaning toilet.

Any subject McGinn, or any other candidate wants to go after Nickels with will hurt Jan Drago just as much, if not more (judging by the referenced poll).

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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Copy and paste, finally!

Jan Drago-ing out announcement to run for Mayor of Seattle

SEATTLE - Is how one announces that they are going to do something reflective of how they would actually do the activity? I sure hope not, but, maybe yes.
Jan Drago has constructed a poll that has her favored over incumbant mayor Greg Nickels. Is this her idea of inclusion or concensus in decision making? I hope not.

Does rumormonger-ing your own intent to act for three months show the governed how you decide something? I hope not.

Does pushing the big business gets anything they want agenda make you a better mayor because you would be nicer about being a "bully" make you a better choice than Greg Nickels? I think not.

Voters that vote against Greg Nickels are not going to vote for the same thing with a new face. Are they? I hope not.

Read another Seattle Times story about Jan Drago getting ready to announce a run for mayor, right here.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker
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Seattle Times: Editorials & Opinion: Bellevue's creative tunnel vision

SEATTLE - Today's Seattle Times has an editorial affirming the newspaper's love for the Eastside of Lake Washington.

THE Eastside has emerged as a strong, enthusiastic proponent of light rail, joining innovative ideas and long-range visions of the region's development, making civic leaders' call for a tunnel under downtown Bellevue worth serious consideration.

Sound Transit officials estimate a tunnel would add between $500 million to $600 million to the overall cost of the regional transit expansion between downtown Seattle and downtown Redmond. The added cost shouldn't be taken lightly. Nor should it be discounted as economically out of reach.

As Sound Transit's board of directors this week choose the focus of further engineering studies, a tunnel ought to be included. Pushing forth a tunnel, in addition to the surface option, allows further research on the costs, benefits and impacts of each. - Seattle Times

Hey, what's $500 or $600 million dollars between friends?

Sound Transit link-light rail line that will run through Bellevue is marked with well thought out decisions with a vision of the future, according to the Times. Not mentioned in the option to run part of the rail through a tunnel is that Bellevue should on the hook for tunnel cost overruns, right? That is the new trend from the Washington State Legislature, right?

Seattle wanted a tunnel as part of the replacement of the Alaska Way viaduct and the legislature tagged Seattle with the cost overruns of the tunnel with the passage of Senate Bill 5768. In fact, both State Senators from Bellevue, Fred Jarret of the 41st and Rodney Tom of the 48th Districts, both voted to put the cost overruns on the citizens of Seattle (hey, that's me).

Don't start arguing fairness now Bellevue, you already approved this to be fair in the legislature through the actions of your senators there.

Ok, the "state" is one organization and Sound Transit is a regional organization. . . chaired by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Yes, that is the same Seattle and mayor that Jarrett and Tom both voted to dump the viaduct project cost overruns onto.

I guess there is only so much the Seattle Times can cram into a puff piece about Bellevue.

Hey, on a side note, Fred Jarrett is running for King County Executive. Seattle is in King County, and so am I.
Greg Nickels is running for re-election for Mayor of Seattle.
What is a voter t do?

Holding your representatives accountable for their votes is coming too end, right now.

I'm not paid to write this so I can't be fired, so, get used to it.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker
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Seattle Times: Seattle councilman questions promotion of "unsafe" manager

SEATTLE - Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata wants to know where and why money appropriated by the appropriations part of city government is being spent on promoting a poor performing employee.

According to the Seattle Times, Paul Jackson Jr. was promoted from transportation manager to street-maintainence director. Mr. Jackson was the manager in charge of the umployees and trucks that did not remove the snow from Seattle streets after last December's snow storm.
Council President Richard Conlin and Council member Sally Clark did not think how Mayor Greg Nickels spends tax money was any of their business.
Checks and balances? Not today, thanks.

Council member Jean Godden did not have enough information to comment either way.

Read the story in the Seattle Times.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker
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