Mayoral candidate Mike McGinn—known as an urban Green—has been hit since day one for not paying attention to the issue of crime and gang violence. It’s a bread and butter issue, and his nearly total failure to raise the issue of public safety on the campaign trail (and his enviro fixation on the tunnel) has helped feed his image as an out-of-touch yuppie.
Today, however, McGinn beat his opponent, Joe Mallahan, to the punch with a three-page public safety white paper. (Mallahan came on strong on the issue of gang violence during the primary by criticizing Mayor Greg Nickels for scaling back the gang unit). McGinn’s plan includes bullet points like “increased prosecution of gun crimes,” “fully support the community policing plan,” and “pre-arrest diversion programs that target the root of the problem.”
“The takeaway?” McGinn tells PubliCola, “this is a holistic approach with a focus on early intervention.” And his plan concludes with a shot at heavy handed tough-on-crime tactics like Nickels’ and City Attorney Tom Carr’s “Operation Sobering Thought”—the much criticized sting operation at clubs, that netted no convictions.
Asked about his lack of attention to this issue earlier in the campaign, McGinn says “I intended to release a plan on this all along, but given the complexity of the issue, I wanted to talk to people in the community first.”
McGinn’s plan stresses combating gun violence. Specifically, he says he will increase prosecution of gun crimes by bringing in the feds and increase penalties for juveniles possessing guns (something King County prosecutor Dan Satterberg is already working on.)
Indeed, a closer look at McGinn’s plan shows that for the most part, it relies on continuing existing programs. To pick just a few: Keeping firearms out of public places like parks (a high-profile Nickels effort launched after a shooting at Folklife last year); continuing Nickels’ $8 million youth violence prevention initiative, which focuses on intervention with the 800 kids that have been identified as the most at risk of getting involved in violence; and fully implementing Nickels’ neighborhood policing plan, by freeing up officers to be in the community to prevent crimes rather than just being on call to respond.
(While McGinn’s laundry list of programs seems more an endorsement of Mayor Nickels’ past work and continuing Satterberg’s initiatives than any bold new blue print, McGinn’s wonkery (bullet point 10 is about the Drug Market Initiative) also demonstrates that McGinn is familiar with a range of public safety programs. And so, his white paper reads like an implicit dig at Mallahan—who’s getting a rep for not knowing much about current city policies or programs.)
Ultimately though, with Seattle’s well-publicized $72 million budget shortfall, McGinn’s plan doesn’t say where he’ll get the money to fund his proposals, some of which—fully implementing community policing—will carry a hefty price tag.
Asked about the costs, McGinn said it was a matter of “prioritizing our commitment to intervention programs that we know work.” He accused the city of “drifting away from them” saying we need to “keep our focus … instead of new commitments like the tunnel.”
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This is a solid, realistic, comprehensive plan. I don’t care about who else thinks the same thing or if it smells like Nickels. I care about a viable plan that addresses the issues we are facing as a city. Crime (gangs, gunfire, drug sales, burglary, car thefts – and I live in north Seattle) has increased a lot in my neighborhood in the past year and folks are afraid. I am excited to hear more of McGinn’s ideas on this issue. Thanks for taking the lead on this, Mike!
I can’t find Mallahan’s plan anywhere. There has to be one, I’m just too stupid to find it. Can you point me to it? Thx. Obviously the police has see mallahan’s plan or they wouldn’t have endorsed him, right?
I’m not a public safety expert, so I can’t comment on the specifics of this plan with any authority; but it’s great to see a candidate take the time to speak with experts on the subject and reach out to the community before releasing a plan, especially on an issue as complicated and important as public safety.
Also important to note: the South End, where police efforts tend to be a bigger issue, voted in large part for Nickels. So using much of his crime ideas may not be the worst idea.
This is reassuring, and the swipe at Operation Sobering Thought is an astute tip of the hat toward the nightlife industry.
Any word on his position (or Mallahan’s) re: building a new jail?
I voted for McGinn in the Primary, but it was a protest vote not a commitment for the General. I must say though, he does seem to be playing the part much better than Mallahan, something I didn’t see coming.
Answering questions from the media directly is a refreshing change as well, given that Mallahan is continuing Nickels’ pattern of having others speak for him.
This definitely a plan. There are bullet points and everything.
to copy edit. someone misspelled ‘holistic’ and ‘policing’ and skipped an indefinite article before ‘shot.’
for a second i thought i was reading seattlepi.com.
@7 Is your caps lock broken or are you really E.E. Cummings?
I am glad McGinn came out in favor of safety.
How does this complement his stands on civil rights? Like police accountability, racial profiling, war on drugs, i-75, building the new jail, etc? Or has he come out with stands on those issues?
fuck McGinn, he had me until he released this supporting the CWP ban. Its a waste of money and time to go after law abiding citizens in the face of the state constitution banning such laws. It might make some latte liberals happy, but it does nothing.
Actually, endorsing a continuation of most of Nickels’ existing programs is a subtlely clever political move on McGinn’s part.
With the incumbent gone, a lot of those voters are likely undecided as to which of the remaining two candidates to go with. McGinn may sway some of those voters by showing that, even given some of his proposed changes, he’s planning to stick with most of Nickels’ status quo.
This is a solid, realistic, comprehensive plan. I don't care about who else thinks the same thing or if it smells like Nickels. I care about a viable plan that addresses the issues we are facing as a city. Crime (gangs, gunfire, drug sales, burglary, car thefts – and I live in north Seattle) has increased a lot in my neighborhood in the past year and folks are afraid. I am excited to hear more of McGinn's ideas on this issue. Thanks for taking the lead on this, Mike!