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We know the truth because we've spent days in hot, small, windowless rooms crammed full of sweaty incumbents and reeking challengers. It's not just their fault. The problems the candidates face are enough to make anyone keel over; Boeing's departure, Mardi Gras violence, dot-com meltdowns, transportation gridlock, light rail off track, tension between police and citizens, and worsening race relations lead the list, and it's a long one. Solutions are not forthcoming from our current officeholders or the people who want to replace them. And after meeting with over 40 candidates, sadly, there was less than a small handful we'd want to put up a sign for. So what's a voter to do?
Face it, some things do smell worse than others: Dead fish under your bed (Mark Sidran) are much worse than cow manure on your neighbor's garden (Greg Nickels). Elections are all about the choices that we do have, given the corrupt stupid political system we are saddled with. We're disappointed that more, better candidates didn't and don't run, and that so many nondescript, know-nothing at best incumbents will easily coast to re-election. But until a better day comes, we're stuck with this. And we on the Seattle Weekly editorial board want to help you carry out your civic duty, to make it possible for you to hold your nose and vote. If you're one of those people who still thinks voting doesn't matter, check out the occupant of the White House.
Good luck, and don't forget your smelling salts.
Seattle Mayor
Why the hell should you vote for Greg Nickels?
We'll give you two good reasons: Paul Schell and Mark Sidran. Don't fool yourself by pretending you can vote for one of the other 10 candidates in this race—they are either crazy, marginal, or just don't have a clue. Sidran, Schell, or Nickels will be the next mayor of Seattle. And we need to play some serious defense here, because Schell and Sidran are so very bad.
Schell can't be allowed to run the city any longer. He blunders along from crisis to crisis, seemingly never learning anything along the way. He possesses no political savvy, and while he might dream up a good idea or two, he lacks any ability to implement them. His campaign is embarrassing as he wanders the city apparently unaware of his administration's failures and how disgusted ordinary voters are with his pathetic performance.
Sidran is Schell without the heart. His record of management at the city attorney's office is terrible, and he thrives on making political enemies. The idea presented in his advertising that he can single-handedly turn around our transportation crisis is an audacious fabrication. His one talent, the ability to find scapegoats for complicated social problems, is useful for demagoguery but hardly suited to being mayor of Seattle.
Unfortunately, Nickels has not run a campaign that has inspired us either. As the front-runner, he is playing it safe. We are sick to death of his "Aw-shucks-I'm-just-a-nice-guy-from-West-Seattle" shtick. But we're hoping that if he reaches office, he'll dump the Mr. Nice Guy act and get to work. Nickels is an ambitious politician who can potentially use the mayor's office to realize his ambitions and bring us better city government.
Nickels can improve the performance of the mayor's office from Day One. Since he has spent his entire adult life in local politics, he will arrive in office fully prepared. He hints that his first order of business will include some serious housecleaning. The current mayor has allowed an entrenched group of department heads to run City Hall. Nickels must make good on those hints and shake up everything from law enforcement to transportation to water policy by bringing in new people.
Next, the amiable, well-connected Nickels must use his political smarts to establish a productive relationship with the City Council and mend regional fences that the current incumbent has broken.
We are well aware that Nickels' record suggests he could be Schell Lite. His bungling of the oversight of Sound Transit's light-rail finances was the worst moment of his career. But we're willing to take the risk that he learned from his mistakes. After all, we don't have much choice.
Seattle City Attorney
The only open seat race for city elective office also has the best candidates. Tom Carr, Edsonya Charles, and Jim Cline are a trio of solid contenders to replace outgoing three-termer Sidran. The one who smells the sweetest is Carr.
Charles, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's fraud unit, has an interesting r鳵m鬠which includes stints as executive director of the Seattle Human Services Coalition. Despite these highlights, she received her law degree just six years ago and appears better qualified for legislative office than for the city attorney job.
Cline suffers from a fatal conflict of interest: He is too close to police unions to be city attorney. The Seattle Police Guild is perhaps the single largest obstacle to meaningful reform at the department. At a time when we are experiencing a tremendous schism between the police and communities of color, we need a city attorney who will be seen as fair and independent. Cline cannot play that role.
