Candidate Reviews: Seattle City Races

In the days leading up to the election, we will amalgamate what the four newspapers had to say about the races into one combined blurb for each candidate or initiative because we do not purport to follow city politics closely enough to advise anyone, even ourselves, how to vote. That's why God invented local politics writers.

Mayor of Seattle (non-partisan)
Greg Nickels: The incumbent was “a doer in his first term” who “focused on basics” and “[got] stuff done.” He also has a “keen business head.” But he “has his flaws,” including a “take-credit-for-everything style,” “proboscidian rigidity,” “[caving] to political pressure,” and proposing “old neighborhood-trampling developer giveaways.”

Al Runte: This “minor challenger” is “bright, articulate, [and] extremely well educated.” But he’s “ill-informed” and “likes the sound of his own voice.”

Seattle City Council-Position 2 (non-partisan)
Richard Conlin: The incumbent is a “reasoned, independent voice of dissent” and “consistent and thorough supporter of neighborhoods.” But his “patient examination of issues” is “sometimes frustrating.”

Paige Miller: With her “considerable talent and smarts” and ability to knock back “four shots of whiskey,” the “longtime Port Commissioner” “would be a solid addition.” But her “spend-big, think-bigger style” and aversion to “building coalitions” “might be trouble.”

Seattle City Council-Position 4 (non-partisan)
Jan Drago: A 12-year member of the council, Drago was most recently a “badass budget chair” who “usually [lowers] tensions” and “has done a fine job of championing social services.”

Casey Corr: The former newspaper columnist “is an energetic candidate” with “keen analytical abilities.” He’s also a “total kiss-ass” who engages in “unabashed and oblivious sniveling.” Corr “spent two years working for Mayor Greg Nickels and has his endorsement.”

Seattle City Council-Position 6 (non-partisan)
Nick Licata: An “earnest” “hardworking” “liberal” “genial” “respectful” incumbent who “often provides a counterweight to the mayor.” He’s “[commited] to civil liberties, financial prudence, and progressive politics” and “works hard to do the people's bidding.” On the other hand, his support for the monorail was “senseless and ceaseless,” and he “struggles to get the votes to bolster his crusades.”

Paul Bascomb: A “real-estate broker with a record of community involvement,” he “has not mounted much of a campaign.”

Seattle City Council-Position 8 (non-partisan)
Richard McIver: McIver “has provided a voice,” “provides a reasoned voice,” “has done some good work” and “understands the reality of 21st-century racism.”

Dwight Pelz: A “partisan brawler” with a “straight-forward style” “who is white.”