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But after more than two hours of discussion, the question posed in the meeting's agenda--"who can we get to run against Greg Nickels next year?"--remained unanswered. The man who has long been the activists' best hope against the seemingly unstoppable incumbent, former city Neighborhoods Department Head Jim Diers, had made it abundantly clear that he isn't interested. "It's incredible how desperate everyone is," Diers said. "I've always felt like I could do a lot more good at the community level... but I'll really work hard on the campaign for who- ever runs." But meeting organizer John Fox, who moderated the discussion, kept Diers' name on the list.
The group--an ad hoc conglomeration of neighborhood activists, social- justice advocates, and wannabe political players--opposes Nickels because it feels he's squashed neighborhood autonomy, neglecting the needs of the poor and homeless while supporting laws--like upzones for biotech in South Lake Union--that benefit big corporations and the wealthy.
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That's a fair enough criticism of Nickels' policies. But without a viable candidate--and Diers, a longtime favorite of the neighborhood bloc, only barely qualifies--it's hard to see how the activists are going to take down a strong incumbent such as Nickels. And unless they stop bickering (one lengthy discussion actually focused on whether viability should be a factor in choosing a candidate) it's harder still to see how they'll come up with one before next spring, when candidates will have to start raising money in earnest.
Even among the few potential Nickels opponents with real political and financial viability, none--from City Council Member Peter Steinbrueck, to State Rep. Ed Murray, to former Nickels opponent Mark Sidran--has expressed an interest in taking the mayor on.
Nickels' political machine is a formidable obstacle: Already the mayor has raised more than $220,000 and enjoys the firm backing of Seattle's business establishment. "He's governed like Mark Sidran said he would govern if he won," Murray says. "He's getting things done in the city that needed to be done." That, despite Nickels' fairly tepid approval ratings, which have historically hovered around 54 percent.
One troubling sign for the Nickels opposition: The group gathered on Wednesday included almost no one from outside narrow neighborhood circles--and even Nickels aide Marco Lowe, who attended Diers' book signing two days earlier and had reportedly considered showing up to the lefty confab, didn't bother to attend.
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