"I believe in a carrot first before a stick," she says, adding that she would like to see the city give people incentives to switch to reusable bags.
Former city council member Peter Steinbrueck says style is likely what a race between Drago and Nickels will come down to. He notes that while she often agrees with the mayor on policy, Drago's approach is very different. Steinbrueck remembers working with Licata—more than a decade ago, before he joined the council—to oppose opening Pine Street to vehicular traffic. Drago wanted to open it, he says, but met several times with him and Licata to hear their concerns. The street ultimately was reopened to cars, but at least it felt as though they'd been listened to, Steinbrueck says.
David C Wong
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"Nickels is anything but a consensus builder. Jan's style is consensus-building," says Steinbrueck, who adds that he hasn't decided if he'd support Drago should she run.
But that still leaves the question of where, exactly, Drago can pull financial support and votes. Drago says one reason she hasn't thrown her hat into the ring is that she's still evaluating the financial landscape. So far the field challenging Nickels has been very short on funds, with the exception of self-financed T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan.
Several of Drago's biggest supporters of her 2005 re-election campaign also gave money to Nickels four years ago. At the Alki Foundation breakfast, Drago pulled people like Boeing lobbyist Rich White into a coat closet to speak in whispered tones. But many donors, including Vulcan, a long list of property developers, and people with big commercial interests in the city like Costco CEO Jeff Brotman, have already given to Nickels for this year's run, so Drago would have to convince them to support both campaigns.
One political operative, who agreed to be quoted only anonymously, says the similarities between the two might actually be the key to her success. He points to recent poll numbers released by Drago showing her well ahead of the mayor in a head-to-head race. Neither wins a majority, but Drago receives 45 percent of the vote to Nickels' 24 percent.
The poll is disputed by the Nickels campaign, which argued that Drago poisoned the well against Nickels by pointing out things like the fact that if elected, Drago would be the first female mayor in more than 80 years. But the anonymous source says a more important aspect of the poll isn't what it says about Drago, but that the mayor has "numbers worse than Paul Schell."
The source says Drago can make a pitch to potential donors by using Nickels' sinking numbers to argue that someone unfriendly to moneyed interests has a real shot at unseating the mayor. If environmentalist Mike McGinn, for example, is elected mayor, companies like Vulcan that have been supported by both Drago and Nickels in the past could find themselves facing a very unfriendly administration, one which could potentially derail big projects like the Mercer Street redevelopment. In essence, Drago can persuade potential supporters—especially those she shares with the mayor—that because Nickels is on shaky ground, she's a safer bet for keeping their agenda moving through City Hall.
Drago hasn't made up her mind whether to run, but says she will soon. She's coaxed consultant Blair Butterworth away from James Donaldson's campaign, and formed the requisite exploratory committee. And she's certainly talking like a candidate. "Clearly my polling shows that I'm a viable candidate, and the mayor's numbers are spiraling down, getting weaker instead of stronger," she says.
What remains to be seen is if she can turn those poll numbers into the kind of cash she would need to oust Nickels.
lonstot@seattleweekly.com
