King County Elections is predicting that about 340,000 ballots will be returned in this primary. Unofficially, elections workers are expecting less, perhaps between 25 and 30 percent of the 1.1 million ballots sent out a few weeks ago.
Many Republicans, Democrats and independents seem to prefer "None of the above" in several races. A woman, active with the Democrats, told me that the Mayor's race was her most difficult decision. Like many, she did not want Greg Nickels, would not vote for Jan Drago, and finally settled on one of the "M"s. She felt it was a foregone conclusion Susan Hutchison and Dow Constantine would survive the primary race for County Executive.
If Larry Phillips' television ad is any indication, he is working hard to secure an out-of-the-money finish. Before winking at the camera, County Council Member Phillips announces that this is King County, where we build light rail on time and on budget. Admittedly Sound Transit has mastered the art of issuing new budgets and schedules, and burying the originals, but Larry's King County must be in a parallel universe. In this one, light rail is years behind schedule and billions over budget.
Maybe he should have asked the mayor for the numbers. Greg Nickels was one of those watching Sound Transit's Department of Funny Numbers during his rise to power, not that the mayor would ever blow the whistle on a little bookkeeping magic.
Surveys out in the past week show Mayor Nickels with the underwhelming support of less than a quarter of the voters. About half of the voters have a negative view of him. Still, he is a few points ahead of others in a lackluster field. By a significant margin, more voters are in the "undecided" column than support any one of the candidates. Many ballots seem destined for the recycle bin, not the ballot box.
The polls had other bad news for the mayor. His numbers were going down while his opponents were gaining ground. The top three contenders, Greg Nickels, Joe Mallahan, and Mike McGinn now are contending to see who can proclaim himself the most "progressive." For those without a program, "progressive" is code for higher taxes, more regulations, and more government oversight of you and the business that employs you. Because neither you nor they can be trusted to do what is in the politician's best interest.
Mike McGinn is pounding the drum on the tunnel, and his opposition to it. His recent mailings illustrated the project's enormous costs and highlighted the bill to be added to Seattle property taxes to pay for cost overruns. He is not only a leader of the Sierra Club but a charter member of the Seattle anti-car camp, which has a transportation solution for you. Like it or not.
Joe Mallahan, with T-Mobile's money in his sails, seems to be gaining on Greg Nickels faster then any of the contenders. He references his business experience before proclaiming his "progressive" beliefs in the next breath. Still, he can point to a business background, which makes him an outsider among the leaders in the mayoral race.
When it comes to politics, outsiders may be in vogue. That could help Joe Mallahan and another outsider on the ballot, Susan Hutchison. The former newscaster said, "I'm a budget reformer, not a career politician. I do not believe the answer to every problem is a higher fee or new tax." Susan may not be the push-over Democrats expect this fall. Maybe there will be reason to pay attention in November after all.[[In-content Ad]]
