Never mind the incumbents, this year's biggest election loser may be Moxie Media, the consulting team that was vaunted (in these pages) as a "powerhouse" firm ["Moxie Matters," Erica C. Barnett, May 22].

Moxie, run by thirtysomethings Lisa MacLean and John Wyble, has worked on several successful campaigns in the past, including the 2002 monorail initiative and Greg Nickels' 2001 mayoral bid. But Moxie's winning record imploded this year, as its highest-profile candidates, Heidi Wills and Kollin Min, flopped. Min, who raised $135,000 and spent $45,000 on Moxie's services, lost to Judy Nicastro in the primary election, while incumbent Heidi Wills went down big in the general. Wills, who raised more money than any candidate in Seattle history (nearly $260,000), spent $72,000 on Moxie's services and lost, 46 percent to 54 percent.

This year's district elections campaign also lost 46 to 54. The districts folks used Moxie as a campaign consultant. Moxie's one council winner was shoo-in Peter Steinbrueck, whose challenger didn't raise any money. ERICA C. BARNETT

Cathy Allen Wins*

Campaign consultant Cathy Allen's election victories (Jean Godden and Jim Compton) come with some asterisks:

*Godden's win over Judy Nicastro is tempered by the fact that the former Seattle Times columnist had 30 years' worth of built-in name recognition.

*As for Compton's win: He lucked out. Had Compton drawn any opponent other than John Manning, who resigned from the city council in 1996 after two domestic-violence arrests, he would have gone down along with this year's other incumbents. Consider: Manning only raised $18,401 (compared to Compton's $112,678) and still got 44 percent of the vote.

By the way, Compton, who spent $40,000 on Allen's expertise prior to the primary, stopped paying for her services in the last two months of the campaign, choosing to do his final mailing in-house.

*Perhaps Margaret Pageler, Allen's other candidate, should have followed suit and saved the nearly $110,000 she spent on Allen. Three-term incumbent Pageler lost to bland bureaucrat Tom Rasmussen 51.7 percent to 48.2 percent. JOSH FEIT

Northgate Update

At a community meeting on November 5, the city unveiled its drawings for a new community center in Northgate. Neighbors, however, were disappointed in the plans, calling the one-story buildings "sprawling, suburban structures" that don't capitalize on zoned height for mixed-use development.

"The city should be combining housing on that site," says Northgate activist Jan Brucker. She says the site is zoned for 125-foot-tall buildings, and the two buildings appear barely 40 feet tall. "This is a missed opportunity," she says, emphasizing the need for housing in the neighborhood. AMY JENNIGES