Way, way back in the late '90s, Seattle's mayor and city council were doing all they could to kill the voter-approved monorail expansion. The monorail plan lacked "establishment support," and both daily papers and the establishment pointed to this lack of support as reason enough to abandon the voter-approved project. It was as if a gang tried to murder your mother, and then after your mom survived, the gang ran around telling people that your mother was obligated to drop dead.

After Mayor Schell and City Council Member Richard McIver orchestrated the denial of a critical grant to the voter-created Elevated Transportation Company (ETC), monorail supporters sued the city. A judge ordered the city to build the monorail or repeal the original monorail initiative, and the city council chose door #2. When Seattle voters approved a second monorail initiative, I-53, by an even wider margin than the first, the establishment suddenly got religion. No one on the city council will utter a discouraging word about the monorail, and the same Mayor Schell who tried to kill the monorail now runs around describing himself as a longtime monorail supporter. With a straight face, no less.

But I-53 campaign organization Rise Above It All isn't taking the establishment's support for granted. According to Peter Sherwin, the group's head, RAIA is transforming itself into a political action committee, which will allow the group to make endorsements and run independent ads for pro-monorail candidates. RAIA's "We voted for the monorail and they refused to build it; we voted against the stadium and they built it anyway" message still resonates with voters, so the group's endorsement could have an impact on close races. According to Sherwin, steadfast monorail supporters like Nick Licata can expect high marks, "but people who mocked the monorail or failed to stand up and defend the will of the voters will get lower ratings." (That means you, McIver.)

And if the stars align this November, monorail backers won't have to worry about establishment support. All the serious candidates for mayor--Schell, Nickels, Sidran--are pro-monorail (but only Nickels endorsed I-53 before it was approved by voters); the only viable candidate for city attorney is Tom Carr, the former head of the ETC; and monorail foe Jan Drago seems ready to end her political career by running for mayor, freeing up her council seat.

Will Rise Above It All attempt to recruit someone to run against its biggest enemy, City Council Member and die-hard Sound Transit board member Richard McIver? "It's crossed many people's minds. But we're not actively out there recruiting people to run." If someone who supports the monorail decides to run against McIver, though, "we would be very supportive."

savage@thestranger.com