First a quick look at Schell: As much as WTO protesters, New Year's Eve revelers, the media, and my Safeway checker like to bust Schell's chops, the mayor actually has some impressive and tangible accomplishments to run on. His excellent Cedar River Habitat Conservation Plan, which eliminates logging from the entire upper watershed, met with high praise from local environmentalists. His efforts on behalf of the neighborhoods pumped $4.5 million into 800 neighborhood projects, more than tripling the neighborhood matching fund. And his smart budget priorities--including $9 million in new homeless initiatives in the most recent city budget--helped increase shelter bed capacity by 20 percent since 1998. This list, if played right by his campaign staff, should resonate with Seattle voters.
So, how about his leading opponent, Nickels? When he isn't dodging bullets about Sound Transit's finances (Nickels was finance chair on the Sound Transit board) and wincing at questions about his key role in building the voter-rejected Safeco Field, what will Nickels be talking about on the campaign trail? What are his accomplishments? Nickels did not return our calls, so we had to judge by his own website. Nickels' top achievements include things like... um... requiring retirement homes, hotels, and apartments to install fire-detecting sprinkler systems. Or how about this one? In 1989, Greg Nickels passed a law requiring that dead-bolt locks be installed in rental housing throughout King County. Go Greg!
