1. The McGinn camp sent out a press release today titled “How Will Mallahan pay for the tunnel?”
The crux of Team McGinn’s hit: A gotcha on Mallahan, who came out against the city’s parking tax on KUOW this week, but who also supports the $4.2 billion waterfront tunnel. The McGinn release points out that $200 million in parking tax revenues are earmarked for the tunnel.
McGinn’s campaign has largely been about his opposition to tunnel.
Grade: A. Burn.
2. The Mallahan camp sent out a press release today titled: “Mallahan Offers Opportunities to Get Seattle’s Fiscal House in Order. City’s new budget should trim fat and represent Seattle’s progressive values.”
Mallahan’s release recommends reducing consultant contracts (“If we already have people who are paid to do a job, we should evaluate why the city is paying consultants to do the same job)”; a 10 percent reduction in executive-level (i.e., high-paid) staff; consolidating the Office of Policy and Management (basically the mayor’s policy shop) into the mayor’s office; and cutting municipal court judge positions.
Grade: B-. Not much new here.
3. The Constantine camp sent out a press release (and held a press conference at his new Eastside headquarters in Bellevue ), announcing Constantine’s plan to “reform” King County government.
PubliCola’s Jake Blumgart will have a full report soon, but in the meantime, here are some highlights:
• Create a new senior-level position to coordinate planning with suburban and rural cities;
• Replace Metro’s reviled “40/40/20″ service-allocation formula (in which Seattle gets just 20 percent of new Metro service, while suburbs get 80 percent) with a new policy “rooted in data, not politics.” Constantine also proposed changing Metro’s revenue base, which currently relies on regressive sales taxes.
• Saving money by cutting county executive and county council staff, selling off the county’s animal shelter, cutting county employees’ medical benefits, and doing performance audits of county offices.
• Simplifying county taxes.
Grade: C. Letting “nonpartisan” opponent Susan Hutchison frame the debate with an Eastside debut of small-government speaking points.
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So Joe, how are you going to raise $930 million to pay for the tunnel? Still waiting…..
Mallahan cites a state report about the ideal number of judges for Tacoma Municipal Court. Setting aside the fact that TMC doesn’t have the breadth of diversion programs that SMC has, I’d love to see the report he’s referring to (or a link).
Give Dow an A.
The budget and Metro efficiency issues are out there; he’s doing well to adress these things; by bashing him for supposedly framing it to give Hutchison an advantage you’re just being ridiculous.
What, Democrats shouldn’t concern themselves with budget issues, waste and efficiency?
Says who?
Dow’s proposals are HILARIOUS. They are literally IDENTICAL to the things Hutchison has been saying for months.
What. A. Clown.
#1 Will someone please explain how Mike McGinn will pay for his multi-billion dollar surface street proposal? I am not a supporter of the tunnel, I think it’s a financial boondoggle. But I also support fairness in reporting…so, where’s the money, Mike?
BTW, a burn is a release that zings one based on fact, not fiction. Otherwise, in my book, it’s called BS.
Boy, it would sure be nice if Joe occasionally responded to people instead of Charla…. Maybe we should all just write in Charla Neuman for Mayor?
@ 4: Is Hutchinson calling for (or on record as in favor of) revoking Metro’s 40/40/20 allocation formula? Please do inform because to me, that’s one of Dow’s most significant planks and if Hutchison is of the same mind, I’d like to know (and hold her feet to the fire as they sizzle from the wrath of East and South King County).
Now if only Dow would advance efficiencies by pulling out of Brightwater (somehow) which is a money suck for the whole county and a pain in the arse for Seattle in particular, that would be bold.
@ 4: Is Hutchison calling for (or on record as in favor of) revoking Metro’s 40/40/20 allocation formula? Please do inform because to me, that’s one of Dow’s most significant planks and if Hutchison is of the same mind, I’d like to know (and hold her feet to the fire as they sizzle from the wrath of East and South King County).
Now if only Dow would advance efficiencies by pulling out of Brightwater (somehow) which is a money suck for the whole county and a pain in the arse for Seattle in particular, that would be bold.
Dow's proposals are HILARIOUS. They are literally IDENTICAL to the things Hutchison has been saying for months.
What. A. Clown.