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The Case for Mike McGinn: Part 2

He's Got the Policy Ideas to Solve Seattle's Biggest Problems

by Dominic Holden

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Kathryn Rathke

You've heard the line before: Mike McGinn is a one-issue candidate. His campaign for mayor was fueled in the primary by opposition to the deep-bore tunnel under downtown. Other than that, folks say, he's got nothing.

But numerous strong showings at debates and strong policy positions on a raft of issues demonstrate a candidacy built on pushing solutions to Seattle's transportation mess and scores of other city problems. Instead of building a highway under the city, for instance, McGinn wants to expand light rail to West Seattle and Ballard as soon as possible, linking those neighborhoods to the rail grid within the next 5 to 10 years. At Sound Transit's current pace, the next light-rail proposal—if it even goes to Ballard and West Seattle—won't be complete for 20 to 30 years. McGinn also wants to accelerate the appointment of a new police chief, help neighborhood groups build parks and sidewalks, push the state to allow some bars to stay open later than 2:00 a.m., build more affordable housing, and implement programs that would reduce the need for a new city jail. After years of civic service, he knows how Seattle ticks—and he has the tools to make it run better.

Joe Mallahan, the T-Mobile executive running against him, inspires no such confidence. At campaign events and at a meeting with the Stranger Election Control Board, Mallahan has lacked knowledgeable answers on subjects ranging from city taxes to transportation to housing to his own voting record. At the first head-to-head general-election mayoral debate, at the Cinerama, McGinn spoke at length about the success of a downtown affordable-housing program—which the city council recently voted to expand—and ways we can export it to neighborhoods. The moderator, KUOW's Steve Scher, then asked Mallahan what he would do. "About the same. I think we have talked about it enough," Mallahan said, clearly unfamiliar with an issue that will be on the next mayor's plate.

"Before today, I would have voted for Mallahan because of his business experience," said Gary Strannigan, the assistant vice president of public affairs for Liberty Mutual who gave the welcoming address to the debate, walking down Fourth Avenue after the event. "But I have to say, I was impressed with McGinn's skill... and he was more knowledgeable."

Mallahan, whose primary civic involvement is helping to run a neighborhood hot-dog fair, has never shown a particularly strong interest in city issues. Records from King County Elections show that he skipped 13 of the 25 elections since he registered to vote in April 2000. (McGinn has missed only four.) McGinn has years in the trenches in civic life—including chairing the local Sierra Club, running a campaign in the fall of 2007 to defeat a ballot measure that paid for more roads, founding a nonprofit called Great City, and heading up a levy to fund neighborhood parks. That knowledge of the city, and his experience as an attorney at a private law firm, serves as the basis for a mayoral administration that would push on several fronts.

On Transportation: To expedite the creation of a light-rail line connecting Ballard and West Seattle, McGinn announced in September he would send a ballot measure to voters within two years of taking office. "If city voters support the plan and agree to raise their taxes to fund it, we will get it built as quickly and efficiently as possible," McGinn says. He proposes saving money by emulating the fifth light-rail line in Portland, which used existing rights-of-way and built the line in only three years. In contrast, Mallahan is content with Sound Transit's pace to put a measure, which is currently being studied, on the ballot in 2016—or later. Mallahan also roundly opposes building a functional streetcar network, and he remains opposed to a First Hill streetcar that voters approved last year.

On Nightlife: McGinn believes that "new residential development must not be able to drive out existing nightlife establishments," and he says that if elected, he will work with the Washington State Liquor Control Board to try to allow "bars and nightlife venues to stay open later with different closing times into the evening." Permitting certain bars to remain open past 2:00 a.m. would "cut down on incidents after establishments close." Performers and club operators—employees of an industry that generates $90 million a year in local sales and taxes—"deserve a safe and supportive environment to earn their living," McGinn says. To that end, he proposes increasing police patrols at "hot spots." He also suggests extending light-rail and bus service until 3:00 a.m. for folks who've been out to get home safely.

On Public Safety: After he lost in the primary election, Mayor Greg Nickels asked both candidates if he should proceed with the search for a new police chief. McGinn recommended that the search continue. "We need to start now," McGinn says. But Mallahan asked the mayor's office to postpone the process for the next mayor to take up. Nickels deferred to Mallahan. "I think that's a mistake," says McGinn, noting a trend in youth and gun violence that makes the search urgent. Finding and appointing a new chief could take four to six months, delaying new anti-crime initiatives. McGinn has proposed stepping up prosecution of gun crimes, restoring the full staffing of the gang unit, increasing access to crime statistics, and expanding programs that get nonviolent drug users and dealers off the street and into treatment.

On Neighborhoods: McGinn is prepared to dish out tough love to neighborhood organizations by giving them more authority to make decisions—but only when their ideas make sense. McGinn's carrot-or-stick approach would establish neighborhood managers who could lean on city hall with the weight of large constituencies. But McGinn's neighborhood plan also promises to "pay attention to who is (and is not) at the table." It's a polite way of saying that McGinn will recognize persnickety curmudgeons as a tiny, squeaky slice of the city, while seeking out more rational voices. For sound ideas, McGinn commits to provide "small grants" to neighborhood organizations and lend human resources from city hall. Moreover, he vows to "uplift neighborhood-driven strategies that are working." So neighborhood plans that aren't working—such as opposing more density around light-rail stations—can be dismissed.

And About That Tunnel: Mallahan is all for building a $4.2 billion deep-bore tunnel under downtown to replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct. But McGinn points out that the tunnel is a largely unstudied, unfunded yoke around the city's neck. The city council recently agreed to a plan that puts Seattle taxpayers on the hook for any cost overruns (above a $930 million base tab for the city). But considering the tunnel wouldn't have any downtown exits, it may not spare downtown from most of the traffic that uses the viaduct, McGinn says. His campaign points out that, according to data from the Washington State Department of Transportation, only 40 percent of trips on Highway 99 (which the tunnel would replace) don't get on or off downtown. In other words, if the tunnel were built, the remaining 60 percent of those trips would be on downtown streets, but—because we put all our eggs into the tunnel—we wouldn't have money to invest in surface and transit improvements to mitigate that traffic. McGinn wants to put all that money into a surface/transit alternative—and the light-rail projects mentioned earlier.

And the state hasn't fully studied the impacts of the tunnel. According to a lawsuit filed in October by an anti-tunnel group (which McGinn is not involved with), the state won't finish studying the tunnel until 2011. "The state seems to be trying to ram through a project without doing an Environmental Impact Statement and explaining the costs, risks, and negative community and environmental impacts to the public," says Cary Moon, director of the People's Waterfront Coalition, which is not involved in the lawsuit.

A vote for McGinn is a vote for better transit, wise public-safety investments, guided neighborhood planning, a thriving music and nightlife scene, and a knowledgeable, innovative mayor.