Comments on: A New Equation: McGinn > Mallahan > Nickels

By: gene

gene — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:33:43 +0000

@20 – The tunnel is as close to a “done deal” as we will ever get. It’s state law. I do believe the final pieces will fall into place to make it happen. But I guess the fact that that hasn’t happened yet gives a lot of folks hope to throw the whole thing out and start over from scratch, and spend another decade trying to work out a solution. And if McGinn and Chopp are able to scrap the tunnel, you think there is consensus on what should happen? There are still equal numbers who want a rebuild as want a surface road. It will be another decade of squabbling and hysteria, and probably end with something worse than a tunnel. Or perhaps in that time the Big One will just knock it down and kill a ton of people. Is that what you want?

By: spencer

spencer — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:29:52 +0000

Great.

Steve Shear and his guests are saying Frank Chopp and Mike McGinn will be getting together on the Viaduct Issue. Can’t wait for the result of that meet up.

By: Joshua Daniel Franklin

Joshua Daniel Franklin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:07:07 +0000

While the bored tunnel issue is a big one, it's far from the only one. In my opinion McGinn is weak on transit compared to Nickels, but he at least understands that SDOT can make a big difference. Mallahan is even worse: his plan consists of stopping the Mercer project and "efforts to obtain stimulus funding" . It's not clear Joe has ever stepped foot on a bus. As far as I can tell neither McGinn nor Mallahan has made substantive comments about land use, though McGinn has a strong history with Great City. Mallahan's main qualification for mayor seems to be leveraging synergy at a for-profit corporation, which may or may not be useful experience for public administration. (There's a reason a lot of politicians are lawyers.)

By: Christopher Stefan

Christopher Stefan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:39:51 +0000

@17
Gene, there is still no EIS on this tunnel alternative. WSDOT must go through the SEPA and NEPA process by law even if the bored tunnel is supposedly a “done deal”. Furthermore none of the funding is completely in place. Even the state is $400 million short for their portion which they “might” be able to make up with tolls but they aren’t sure because nobody has done the studies yet.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:03:00 +0000

@19: But being a mayor is just like being a community organizer, right?

By: Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:19:56 +0000

@17.
I think I’m with you. I’m pretty scared of McGinn’s utter lack of experience as well.

By: gene

gene — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:44:59 +0000

I voted for Nickels, but if I have to choose between Mallahan and McGinn, I would definitely go with Mallahan. It’s a shame, because I would love to vote for an environmentalist, but McGinn’s #1 priority is stopping the tunnel, and I am at peace with that decision. I didn’t favor a tunnel but I’m glad a decision was made that wasn’t a rebuild, and I’m just happy it’s all over. I don’t want another decade of squabbling and dozens more impact studies on this. I really mean it when I say I dislike the “Seattle process” and I can support a decision even if it wasn’t what I originally wanted.

By: Joe G

Joe G — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:32:27 +0000

@12 Thanks for the heads up. Thats an interesting perspective. I happen to have thought the whole thing was rather funny when I saw the sticker at Rebar on Saturday night. I have no idea who created it and I had not heard of the Forch incident. I think its more of an issue of tact then it is and issue of double standard.

By: Max J

Max J — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:05:55 +0000

@13 Some will go for one, some will go for the other. Personally, I’m disappointed Nickels is out, he is the best on land-use and transit (no matter what anyone says). McGinn is a slow-growther and is way behind nickels on transit. Mallahan seems like a (relative) conservative.

I’ll likely vote for McGinn.

By: krustyklown

krustyklown — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:17:16 +0000

Kathryn,
That’s purely an assumption. It seems like the biggest issue that separates Mcginn supporters from the Mayor is the Viaduct replacement (a polarizing issue). My feeling is most of the Mayor’s supporters will not vote for Mcginn because of that.