Seattle Mayoral and City Council candidates turned in C4 financial disclosure reports last night detailing contributions and expenditures between August 11 and August 31, 2009.
Joe Mallahan is still in debt to the tone of $32,000. He brought in $70,000 in the last three weeks of August to get to $416,000 total, but he has spent $444,000. Most of that spending (obviously) occurred before the primary, with the bulk of the post-primary spending (some $23,000) going to staff and consultants.
McGinn has run his primary-winning campaign on much more of a shoestring budget. By the end of August he had raised $96,000 ($18,000 of which came in during the late August period) and spent just $90,000, leaving him with a meager $6,000 to start September. But being poor is better than being in debt. McGinn’s post-primary spending has included a $20,000 mail piece and a $7,000 robo call.
Around the Council races, it looks like this as of the end of August:
Position 4
Sally Bagshaw: $158,290 – $122,870 = $35,420 on hand
David Bloom: $71,560 – $75,410 = (-)$3,850 on hand
Position 6
Nick Licata: $112,210 – $70,010 = $42,200 on hand
Jessie Israel: $85,475 – $84,700 = $775 on hand
Position 8
Mike O’Brien: $78,670 – $80,550 = (-)$1,880 on hand
Robert Rosencrantz: $131,620 – $144,330 = (-)$12,710 on hand

So when do we hear about the City Attorney’s numbers?
So, let me get this right:
Moneybags Mallahan, who is the final arbiter in all things “efficienty and managey” can’t even manage his checkbook for the primary.
Uh, and seems to have needed to toss in another 30K just to pay the monthly nut to his staffers.
McGinn, on the other hand, is running the epitome of a lean, efficient operation, with in house skill, not needing to outsource talent AND manages to mind the bottom line.
And, there’s a choice between these two, why?
Bryan, do look into Joe’s actual management experience, please. Titles, efficacy of projects that he owned, etc. Shoot, might even find out why Sue Nokes left. Mighty suspicious timing! Might even look at ‘temperament’, as the first debate clearly showed a guy who is accustomed to sarcasm and bossy gnarly bossiness, not building coalitions and alliances while being facutal and gracious.
Where’s all those t-mobile staffers, mid-managers, and org charts (egads, a confirmable resume?) that confirm this meme of “i can smell efficiency from a mile away” and Joe is the best manager to hit the planet since Jack Welch?
I’m voting for whoever DOESN’T robocall me.