Mayor of Seattle

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Mayor-elect McGinn's First Transition Message

Mayor-elect Mike McGinn produced his first video message as part of his transition efforts.

Mayor-elect McGinn discusses his plans for an inclusive process, which will include aggressive community outreach and three town halls.

Fight the illegal PAC attacking Mike McGinn

The Working for Seattle PAC, a group comprising conservative business interests, anti-light-rail rich folks from the Eastside, and the firefighters union, raised $100,000 to hit Mike McGinn with negative ads.

Yesterday, the PAC was fined $5,000 by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) for violations of Seattle election law. "I wouldn’t have filed charges if I didn’t think it was serious,” said the Executive Director of the SEEC, yesterday.

To fight back, the McGinn campaign needs the help of the members and supporters of Friends of Seattle. As he does, we believe in a bright green future for Seattle.

The mayor's race will be decided in the air -- ads -- and on the ground -- phone calls from voter to vote.

McGinn needs the help of his grassroots army to win, and you are a part of that army.

DONATE TO MCGINN CAMPAIGN

Most voters still haven't mailed their ballots; they're still deciding. Your financial contribution will make a huge difference.

SIGN UP FOR VOTER-TO-VOTER PHONE CALLS

Speaking voter to voter is the best way to persuade undecided voters to support Mike. Please sign up for a phonebank shift; they will be running through Tuesday, Election Day.

Thank you.

DONATE TO MCGINN CAMPAIGN

Three steps

Ballots for this fall's general election went in the mail today, and the poeple of Seattle will begin voting this weekend.

A recent poll commissioned showed that Mike McGinn is trailing.

But he is within striking distance, down by only 6 points with 33% of Seattle voters still undecided.

If each one of us comes together to help Mike, we can push him over the top and move Seattle towards a better future---rapid expansion of light rail above and beyond what Sound Transit already plans, an end to the mentality that we have to spend billions of dollars on new freeways, and the start of an era where Seattle housings gets better and more affordable.

There are three steps you can take to add even more grass-roots power to Mike's campaign:

1. Sign up to walk neighborhoods and drop off literature at voters' homes (no contact with strangers required).

9AM October 17 (this Saturday) or 9AM October 24 (next Saturday). Sign up here

2. Sign up to make phone calls to voters.

Sunday through Thursday every week, at three locations (Capitol Hill, Downtown, Fremont-Wallingford), volunteers call hundreds of voters. Join in. Sign up here

3. Contribute money

With your financial contribution, you can amplify your voice and make sure undecided voters get the message about Mike's campaign. Help put Mike contact more voters with direct mail and TV commercials.

Contribute here

In fewer than three weeks, the election will be over, and by then it will be too late. If we act now, we have the power to bring change to Seattle.

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Bizarre. Context Can't Help Explan These Videos of Joe Mallahan.

We know these videos are out of context, but we're struggling to understand how context would help explain.

Via hugeasscity.

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McGinn: "City rushing to assume unprecedented financial risk"

Mike McGinn, in response to the City Council's proposed ordinance formally adopting the tunnel and committing Seattle financial resources to the project, issued the following statement:

SEATTLE -- Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn today urged the Seattle City Council to change cost overrun provisions before committing to the tunnel mega-project.

This morning, the City Council started expedited consideration of a memorandum of agreement  to try and lock in the deep-bore tunnel plan before November's general election.

"State law puts Seattle property owners on the hook for 100% of tunnel cost overruns," said McGinn. "These overruns could easily run into the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars."

"The cost overrun law makes the tunnel the biggest financial risk the City has ever taken," said McGinn. "If there are major overruns, Seattle taxpayers could be financially drained for years, if not decades."

"Seattle is the only city in Washington state that has ever been held responsible for cost overruns on a state highway project," said McGinn. "It's ridiculous for the state to say that Seattle taxpayers should have to pay all of the cost overruns even though Seattle has virtually no say over the project.  It's even worse that the City Council is going along with it."

"The State has made it clear that they will pay no more than $2.8 billion," said McGinn. "Seattle and King County taxpayers are already on the hook for an additional $1.4 billion and that could rise dramatically if there are cost overruns."

"At the same time we're dealing with massive service cuts caused by large city, county and state deficits, we're rushing to build the most expensive viaduct alternative put forward," said McGinn.  "We can barely afford a Saturn and we're trying to buy a Cadillac...without even knowing what it will actually cost."

"And for those who promise there will be no cost overruns or delays, I'd suggest they check out Brightwater," said McGinn. "That tunneling project is already six months and a billion dollars over budget, with broken-down tunneling machines submerged in water deep underground."

Leaders with courage

This week, voters took three bold steps towards electing the politically courageous leaders we need to bring change to Seattle.

Through Friday afternoon's ballot count, Mike McGinn has received the most votes for mayor so far---36,909 (27.6%). This morning, Greg Nickels conceded that he did not get enough votes to break into the top two.

Last month, we described Mike as "a courageous voice of change" and "the candidate we need to get the politics we deserve instead of the politics we have." We stand by that assessment, and we hope you will join us in supporting Mike this fall.

To get involved with the McGinn for Mayor campaign, contact Derek Farmer at (206) 303-8297 or derek.farmer@gmail.com.

We’re also happy to report that Mike O'Brien emerged as the clear choice for Seattle City Council Position 8, winning the most votes by far---34.52%---of any candidate in a crowded six-way race.

As we said in our endorsement of Mike O'Brien, he "will be a visionary leader on City Council---someone who is politically courageous and well-equipped to deal with the practicalities of budgeting and policymaking."

Volunteer to help Mike O'Brien join the Council by contacting Dan Schwartz at (206) 302-9737 or info@obrienforseattle.com.

In the three-way race for Seattle City Council Position 6, Jessie Israel received a strong vote of approval from the voters who are looking for a choice. Jessie got 35,837 votes, or 29.69%.

In the fall, as more voters learn about Jessie, we know that they will find she is a driven, experienced, and innovative leader who will bring change to City Hall.

Get involved with Jessie's campaign by contacting Kathleen Paganelli at jessieforseattle@hotmail.com.

In other election news, we're sorry to report that the Green Bag Fee is going down 46.66% to 53.34% by today's count.

Happily, however, the gap is much narrower now than it was on Election Night, suggesting that younger voters (who tend to mail their ballots the latest) support the bag fee. In the future, we’re confident that a new generation of leaders will be ready to adopt a bag fee again.

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Greg Nickels and Jan Drago Exit Graciously

Greg Nickels conceded defeat in a gracious speech and press conference (KING5 video) this morning. He was funny, light-hearted, and self-deprecating, but he also was very serious---and correct---when he described his long list of accomplishments. We disagreed with Mayor Nickels at times and endorsed Mike McGinn for mayor, but we praise Mayor Nickels for his many accomplishments.

Good luck in the future, Greg Nickels, and thank you for your service to Seattle.

There was another gracious exit this morning. In an email, Jan Drago---the 16-year city councilmember and fifth-place finisher in the mayoral election---thanked her supporters. [Full text of the email after the jump.]

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Nickels Down Again, But Even if He Loses, the Battle of the Tunnel Still Continues (Seattle Weekly)

Friends of Seattle is in the news.

Laura Onsot, "Nickels Down Again, But Even if He Loses, the Battle of the Tunnel Still Continues," Seattle Weekly(August 21, 2009)

McGinn's tunnel attacks pretty specifically targeted the Mayor in the primary, but Mallahan supports the plan for an underground tunnel too. So even if Nickels is knocked out, that fight lives on. As to the controversy over cost overruns, Mallahan says it won't be an issue thanks to his history of business management. He had this to say in response to a questionnaire from Friends of Seattle: "I have years of experience managing projects and working with contractors to bring projects in on time and on budget. Through rigorous oversight and constant communication, I do not anticipate cost overruns to be charged to the people or businesses in Seattle."

Read the whole thing.

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New Nickels Ad: Obama Likes Me, So You Should Too

We certainly agree with the ad's basic point that Mayor Nickels has many accomplishments to be proud of. But a "vote is not merely a reward for past accomplishments," and we recommend Mike McGinn as the candidate who is best prepared to meet Seattle's new challenges.

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