In a message to Susanna Williams, creator of the “Peter Steinbrueck, for the love of Seattle, RUN FOR MAYOR!” Facebook group, Steinbrueck—who has not announced whether he’s running for mayor, but has said he could be convinced—thanked members (now nearly 700 strong) for answering his question, posed a week ago, “Besides a new mayor, what three things… would people like to see changed?” and compiled some of the answers. “Many thanks to all for taking the time to write down your ideas for the LOVE OF SEATTLE! It’s a great start, Peter,” he concluded. At this point, I’m 51 percent sure Steinbrueck will overcome his qualms and run—and 51 percent sure Mike McGinn of the Seattle Great City Initiative will decide to stay out. (I really can’t see McGinn running if Steinbrueck gets in, although nothing could be more fortuitous for Mayor Greg Nickels than two strong candidates fighting each other for the same anti-Nickels constituency).
A few high-profile and otherwise interesting members of the group: Hugeasscity‘s Dan Bertolet; music promoter and industry activist Dave Meinert; Real Change director Tim Harris; port commissioner Lloyd Hara; former Steinbrueck challenger Zander Batchelder; activist and sometimes-candidate for office Curt Firestone; Democratic activist and sometimes-candidate Alice Woldt; city council candidates David Miller, Dorsol Plants, and David Bloom; and countless current and former Stranger employees.
PLEASE run Peter PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
Help us Peter Steinbruek, you’re our only hope!!
HugeAssCity is high-profile?
hahahaha
I joined the group… then quit it because the organizer kept sending long messages to all members. Keep it on the wall lady!
Hopefully Steinbrueck stops being a coy little twerp and takes some ownership over seeing if people actually want him to run.
If I were Stienbrueck I wouldn’t run. He doesn’t have the Fire in the Belly needed to topple Nickels. He’ll be steamrolled.
Michael M. should run. And move City Hall to 85th and Greenwood.
The man does not have the stones to run. He waffles and is weak.
@ meks- sorry about that. There is a fine line between communication and saturation. Thanks for the feedback. I hope you’ll join again.
I think he’ll decide to run once 100,000 Seattle voters join the group.
That said, considering our city council and how they bend over backwards for our current Mayor …
ECB continues to publicize this phony groundswell because she covets a role in a Steinbrueck administration. She is very much aware of the big salary earned by Robert Mak; she has closely followed the career path of George Howland.
Meanwhile, Peter, true to his nature, continues to dither.
Steinbrueck is smart to wait. He can make a dramatic, last-second entry because of his name familiarity and his popularity. It’s a time-tested strategy that worked for Norm Rice’s mayoral campaign in 1989, and Jim Compton and Jean Godden’s City Council campaigns in 1999 and 2003.
Besides, if someone else declares in the meantime, that just increases the chances that Nickels won’t make it out of the primary, a la Paul Schell in 2001.
@9
Exactly. Do we really think Steinbrueck would be a good mayor if he can’t even decide if we wants to run or not?
I’m “interesting”?! Ah, shucks…(blushing)
Steinbrueck not running is not waffling. He has never said he wants to run. What’s happening here is a true populous groundswell of progressives in Seattle wanting a candidate to represent them. Mike McGinn is going to run, he is raising money and endorsements, all he has to do is declare. He’s the Republican in the race. James Donaldson will also run. Who knows why, he has no political experience, and is just green in all the wrong ways.
Word is that Vulcan is so disgusted by Nickels (who’s not?) that they are funding (meaning they will get all their employees to donate the max) McGinn. So McGinn will run on his phony pro density platform – pro-density not becaue he’s green or cares about the city but so his developer pals can make more money. These votes will come straight out of Nickels’ supporters.
Nickels’ coalition of enviros, arts and music folks, and neighborhood people he built to defeat Sidran have all abandoned him. Surprising to see Meinert supporting Steinbrueck (if you count joining a Facebook group as support) as Nickels has spent some time trying to get the music community back on his side, even appointing Meinert and many others to his new music commission. The local enviros haven’t bought into Nickels’ soundbite ‘green’ policy, even though the national groups have. And he also lost the neighborhoods by sucking Vulcan’s ass who are backing McGinn.
ECB is correct in saying that Nickels could be the second incumbent mayor ever to lose in a primary IF Steinbrueck does get drafted to run. McGinn will take the right leaning big business folks and developers, Steinbrueck will take the greens, efficient gov people, arts, neighborhoods and small business folks and progressive developers, and Donaldson will get half of the black vote and some NBA fans I guess. Nickels gets…not sure, people who vote for name recognition? – oh right, Steinbrueck gets those too.
It’s going to be another fun political season. Glad the Stranger is around to cover it.
girlscout312 @5: Michael M. should run. And move City Hall to 85th and Greenwood.
If Michael McGinn were elected mayor, Greenwood could become to Seattle what Hyde Park now is to the nation. Ah, or something like that.
goodtimes @13: Mike McGinn is going to run, he is raising money and endorsements, all he has to do is declare.
Thanks for the apparent inside info, goodtimes. I never realized that one of my dearest political fantasies is that much closer to being a reality. And hey, I was just itchin’ for McGinn to run for City Council, never mind mayor.
goodtimes: So McGinn will run on his phony pro density platform – pro-density not becaue he’s green or cares about the city but so his developer pals can make more money.
goodtimes, sure, McGinn is all for density, but he’s also all about parks and in-city open space–amenities that don’t exactly correlate with the perceived interests of shortsighted developers out to make a quick buck.
Erica,
I hope you wore a condom when you wrote another one of these posts.
Steinbrueck’s non decisiveness just might be a problem in a mayor, no?
@14 – You mean parks and open space like the Vulcan promoted Commons? Parks and open space are great for developers, as they increase the value of the property around them.
McGinn will have an agenda, and is the candidate of the developers. Not necessarily a bad thing, just is what it is. Or are you claiming Vulcan isn’t backing him?