Different Campaign Strategies
Over the past week, the McGinn campaign:
- released position papers on the city budget, public safety, and immigrants and refugees
- announced a proposal for bringing more light rail to Seattle
- held four public “Town Hall” meetings
- opened a second campaign office in SE Seattle
- held a land-use policy outreach/listening session
- scheduled a high-profile fundraiser in conjunction with Dow Constantine and Pete Holmes
Over the past week, the Mallahan campaign:
- accepted a check for $30,000 from Joe Mallahan
And both participated in a debate sponsored by the Queen Ann Chamber of Commerce.
I hope my faith in google has not distorted the picture here, but I don’t see how I could possibly have missed enough Mallahan action to significantly alter the imbalance revealed above.
Such a weird mayor’s race. McGinn is all hustle, while Mallahan appears to believe that all he has to do is be a warm body for business and labor. So far neither campaign has been very successful at garnering donations from Seattle residents. Mallahan has provided $232,000 of his campaign’s total $416,000, and recently said he will not contribute any more of his personal funds. Meanwhile, McGinn continues to operate an all volunteer campaign, and total funds raised just crossed the $100,000 mark last month.
My unapologetically biased take on things at this point: It’s hard not to conclude that Mallahan’s best hope is that enough people will be so afraid of the prospect of a world without a deep-bore tunnel that they will overlook his embarrassing lack of civic experience. Conversely, McGinn’s best hope is that his solid qualifications and progressive vision will not be overshadowed by a populace unwilling to face the urban transformations the future will inevitably demand.