Mayoral race comes to campus as Mallahan pulls away in polls

The mood was pensive Saturday as roughly 100 students and community members filed into Pigott Auditorium for the Capitol Hill Community Council's Seattle Mayoral Candidate Forum.

With just over two weeks remaining before the general election, the polls have been growing close in the race for the first new mayor of Seattle since Greg Nickels took office in 2002. While his two terms in office were marked by solid economic growth, national recognition as a fierce advocate of popular Seattle issues such as the local ratification of the Kyoto protocol, and the long-awaited extension of the light rail system through downtown Seattle, Nickels was cast out of the lot during the primaries, leaving the race to community organizer Mike McGinn and T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan.

A tone of support for the former underdog was evident as community members expressed their distaste for Mallahan, who spoke first at the forum Saturday on a range of issues stretching from public safety to economic growth.

Mallahan—who raised eyebrows earlier in the campaign when he financed his bid for office with a $200,000 contribution of his own money—struck a tone of pragmatism but caught the jeers of community members displeased with a number of his positions. This was most notable when Mallahan spoke of replacing the decrepit Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel and while explaining his position on public education, which appeared sparse and underdeveloped to audience members during the forum's question and answer session.

Notably, Mallahan said he supports construction of a First Hill streetcar line as long as it stays under its $120 million funding from Sound Transit. Previously, Mallahan opposed the project.

Mallahan, however, is not without his share of support.

Endorsed by more than a dozen labor unions, the bulk of local Democratic offices, much of the Seattle law-enforcement community and Gov.Christine Gregoire, Mallahan argued Saturday for stronger support of businesses in Seattle and a beefed-up holistic approach to crime in Seattle's many neighborhoods.

Mallahan cited his working-class roots and Catholic commitment to social justice as he argued for more responsible funding of police work and social programs in Seattle's poorer areas.

"We need to drive efficiencies in everything we do and hold every piece of the organization accountable, and that includes holding human service agencies accountable to ensure the dollars we do spend have the greatest human impact," he told The Spectator in a post-forum interview.

Mallahan, who wants to create incentives to attract business to Seattle, also stressed the importance of supporting local job growth during the recession.

"I'd like to create incentives for businesses to locate in economically distressed neighborhoods," he explained. "National companies locate support centers all over the United States and they tend to go rural when in fact there's [a] great work force available in the city, and so I'd like to understand how we can attract businesses."

McGinn, a bike commuter who on Saturday opposed the costly tunnel option but who changed his position Monday, spoke second to a more receptive audience.

"Mr. Mallahan has made that tunnel his highest priority in the race […] which I think also is a difference then on the type of our ability to make the city open and accessible to everybody who lives here," McGinn told The Spectator, emphasizing his support for green transportation initiatives.

Speaking of his history in civic involvement, the former lawyer-turned-community organizer quickly drew on the story of his transformation to his current post and his subsequent calling to politics. The founder of Great City—a local progressive union of community members and environmentalists—McGinn cited his family and his city as the reasons for his participation in the race.

"I got into this race, I volunteered […] because I love this city, and I care about the future we build," McGinn told the crowd.

Indeed, it was this populist tone that seemed to resonate most with voters Saturday. Seattle University sophomore and former McGinn campaign intern Katie Cain explained that the tone he set was the defining factor in drawing her support.

"When I listen to a debate between McGinn and Mallahan, it's just evident to me that you can see who's coming up with relevant answers to our city's problems," she said.
Citing transportation, education and public safety as her primary concerns in voting, Cain said it was Nickel's tough exterior, as opposed to McGinn's openness, that drove the incumbent from the race during the primaries.

McGinn, who also claimed the support of young voters as the winner of a mock-vote at the Youth Voters League General Election Candidate Forum on Monday, summarized this contrast following Saturday's event.

"I think what we're seeing between Mr. Mallahan and myself is a really different vision for Seattle's future," he said.

McGinn defined his stance on such Seattle's public education programs, which he would take under the control of the Mayor's Office if they failed to improve in the first years of his term. McGinn also emphasized his focus on environmentally progressive solutions to the city's transportation needs, while Mallahan stressed a more pragmatic approach to this and other issues to accommodate Seattle's struggling businesses and rising crime rate in the midst of the economic crisis.

An Oct. 20 KING/Survey USA poll shows Mallahan ahead of McGinn 43 points to 36.