@Tom A. — Hmm. What can I say, Tom? You’re wrong!

I agree that although we don’t want our governance beholden to big business, I don’t see that in fredq’s remark. He states that we need someone with the skills to run a business, and Joe’s experience is only a single route to that endpoint. A successful career politician may also have those skills, acquired through different experiences.

Should we use corporate credentials as a basis of eliminating a candidate any more than we should marginalize a career public servant as a cog in the matrix? Both errors occur, and both are equally specious.

It is Joe’s success as a business leader, and his means of methods (which is where I think all the “heart” talk comes from) of achieving that success that should be scrutinized. Success extracted exclusively from a zero sum game is not truly success, in business or in governance.

If I were to swallow your thinking, all successful medium- to large-sized American cities would need to be governed by corporate managers. (Do you hear that? It’s the chill going up my spine.) We want good governance, but it should be obvious that Big Business bona fides are no guarantor of good governance.

You’re shocked that, in their first week, light rail cars lightly ridden. Ergo, light rail is a horrible failure! Well, the system is built to handle larger passenger volumes in coming months and years. And in the real world, it takes time to build ridership, for people to take their first ride, for people to re-arrange their commuting habits.

“Pack people into SE Seattle to make the train a little more successful. Let the rest of the city enjoy their open spaces. Pack the open spaces in SE with city housing.” I can smell a conspiracy theorist from a mile away, usually because they make no sense.

“Big business can have a heart [and] take care of those at risk.” Respectfully, what has this to do with the Mayoral race? So what? Big business can also not have heart, or hearts. I’m won’t bore you with examples.

Seattle deserves good leadership, competent governance, open government, data transparency, and public safety. No question.

No one has convinced me that Joe Mallahan has what it takes, including Joe Mallahan himself.

Have you looked at one of the light rail cars. I have not seen one with more that 10 passengers. the rider pays a couple of bucks for a ticket. Who picks up the other $300 a rider?

Pack people into SE Seattle to make the train a little more successful. Let the rest of the city enjoy their open spaces. Pack the open spaces in SE with city housing.

I think having someone with business experience in City Hall will be a relief. In addition Joe has shown that Big bussiness can have a heart. It can take care of those at risk. (Emergency phone service for those with expired phones.)

We need a leader. Joe has proven leadership skills. Seattle deserves much better leadership than we now have. Seattle deserves to be well run. We deserve to have Departments that are well run. We deserve to know crime statistics, it is our city and neighborhoods. Our kids deserve to have safe neighborhoods and streets. The mayor seems to have forgot all this.

Prediction – If Mallahan wins the primary, he has a 75% chance of winning the election. Remember, every vote counts.

Agree with you on all of your assessments except the one below.

His motto is “I will deliver basic city services efficiently!” isn’t that inspiring?

Considering how poorly The Mayor runs Seattle I’d have to say it is inspiring. Further, Mallahan has run a major business – which is what an elected official is supposed to do. Mayor Nickels is entrusted with the responsible and equitable management of our tax dollars and he’s failed miserably.

Tom A.

Thanks to the volunteers and organizers. This was a terrific chance to get a feel for each of the candidates. I’d never been to such a thing and I learned lots.

Mallahan really cheered the Southeast Seattle crowd by pressing their hot buttons: let crime data flow freely and put in park and rides! Woo hoo! But he comes off as a corporate suit with a goofy smile who talks a good game against the Mayor yet hasn’t enough political or policy expertise to suggest what he’d do differently. His motto is “I will deliver basic city services efficiently!” Gee, that’s inspiring. On the stump he trends toward demagogue-lite. Blech.

Drago knows how government works and is experienced working with policy: admirable. She gets a bit enmeshed, though, in details and programs, occasionally offering up odd ones with a tin ear for her audience. I like some of her positions but not others. She’s not very likable. Do you think she polled so poorly tonight because she is the Old White Lady?

I like where McGinn comes from. He has sterling community organizing credentials and environmental policy positions. But I’m still taken aback when I remember how he sounds when he opens his mouth! (that was mean; but he could be a better speaker)

Wyking was very forceful and convincing, with sterling social justice/community organizing credentials. Impressive. He needs to broaden his appeal beyond his core constituency, though.

Norm Sigler is young and intelligent. It’s humble and open of him when he acknowledges that because he doesn’t know everything, he’ll listen hard to every neighborhood’s concerns. But he says it so often that after a while you get the impression that he doesn’t know anything.

That former basketball player was out of his depth.

Mayor Nickels was AWOL, a really a disrespectful move. Had he appeared, though, he would have — purely as a politician — wiped the floor with these challengers.

I predict a third term for Nickels.

1. He would speak to three groups when there was a problem to solve, management level, supervision level and workers. He would then bring together a diverse group who understood the problem on all levels and solve the problem. He is a leader and problem solver.

2. Recently there was a tropical storm threatening the gulf coast. He brought in his techies and they worked all weekend to be sure people could use their cell phones even if they had run out of minutes. He wanted even expired phones to be able to summon help. He cares.

3. He was known for taking on difficult complex multifaceted problems and gathering the right people to solve the problem and lead them in their problem solving. This man sound like someone we need.

4. He did not study the problem to death. He gathered the needed information and people and solved the problem. When is the last time the mayor or anyone on the city council did that.

From the vote this evening many others felt the same.

Was looking for you at the forum tonight – thought I saw you but wasn’t sure.

Mallahan and a couple others stood out. Now the question is who is electable?

Tom A.