OK, the guy’s bound to get plenty of votes come September, but why is the Mark Sidran for Mayor campaign moving so damn slow?
First Sidran announced his run without assembling a list of supporters (we’re still waiting). Now he seems to be running his campaign on fumes. Sidran’s campaign reported just over $5,000 in donations in March, with about half of that sum representing in-kind contributions from the candidate or his wife.
Elsewhere in Mayorland, incumbent Paul Schell roared into action with $57,225 in March donations, followed by challenger Greg Nickels’ $22,704 (in further news from the Cash Olympics, Nickels has almost $85,000 in the bank to Schell’s $47,240).
Sidran is also a bit tardy on his official campaign kickoff, set for May 10 at the Westin; the hors d’oeuvres from Schell’s April 18 event will have been eaten by the time you read this column (and the mayor will have another 10 grand in the bank). The expected opposition to the conservative Sidran’s campaign is already surfacing; check out housing activist John Fox’s exhaustively researched Sidran dossier at ihnens.com/dc/default.asp.
Nobody’s arguing that Sidran’s mayoral bid is doomed; he still has $37,450 in his city attorney campaign kitty that can be transferred once he gets written permission from donors. But the widespread theory that a Sidran mayoral campaign would immediately establish itself as an irresistible force just hasn’t panned out.
Thomas: A doer
Even as council incumbents Richard Conlin, Jan Drago, Nick Licata, and Richard McIver are raising money and planning their November victory parties, there’s at least one bright sign for Seattle voters.
That’s the emergence of Cary Thomas, a rare, unabashed joke candidate. His Web site, www.donothingforseattle.com, outlines his solemn pledge—if elected—to show up for work, collect a paycheck, and do absolutely nothing. He should also promise to wear a scarf so we can pick him out at council meetings.
The Web-savvy Thomas has posted an online poll so his supporters can vote as to which council incumbent he should challenge. So far, 71 percent of respondents have chosen Drago, a figure that seems less significant when you consider that only seven votes total have been cast, two of those by this columnist.
