We’re waiting for Mike McGinn—now well outside the margin for any conceivable recount—to come out and make his victory statement. What we’re waiting for, reportedly: Joe Mallahan is expected to call McGinn at any moment to concede.
Meanwhile, McGinn volunteers are still calling voters whose signatures were rejected because they failed to match signatures on file at King County Elections and offering to come by their houses, photocopy their drivers’ licenses, and verify that their signatures are valid. It’s an echo of the campaign’s impressive election-night strategy, in which volunteers called registered voters who had not yet voted and offered to carry their ballots to the mailboxes that were still collecting ballots.
Mallahan, on the television, says: “The support for my campaign was truly overwhelming to me.” He’s reading from a sheaf of papers. He continues, “I’m deeply humbled by the realization of how many people around the city work every day to support one another.”
PubliCola’s Jake Blumgart is at Mallahan HQ. He reports that Mallahan’s staff pushed reporters into a tiny room where Mallahan and his spokeswoman Charla Neuman were the only campaign officials present. In a flat voice, Blumgart reports, Mallahan declined to say whether he would run again. Asked by Blumgart whether his lack of accessibility throughout the campaign had anything to do with his loss, he repeated that voters had responded more strongly to McGinn’s message than to his. Finally, he said he had gotten an unfair reputation as a “conservative businessman” and that he was a “social justice Democrat.”
“The voters of Seattle responded to Mike McGinn’s message and I congratulate Mike for that.” People here can’t hear the TV over the newscasters in the back of the room, so UFCW community affairs director Steve Williamson is paraphrasing, and now everyone is giving Mallahan a round of applause.
McGinn, who just arrived, announces that Mallahan called him and conceded a few moments ago. Chants of “We like Mike!” keep drowning out McGinn’s victory speech.
“We went out and we spoke to people. We went out and we listened to people. We talked about the future of the city we wanted, but we also went out and we listened to people about their concerns…
“I want to thank every person in this room… I want to thank the voters who voted for me and I want to ask you together let us show that hard work, let us show that passion, let us show that belief in community, and let us, together, build that city we believe in.”
I asked McGinn: “Who is going to be on your transition team?” He responded, laughing: “In due course.”
Asked how he plans to work with a council who disagrees with him on policy issues, McGinn responded, “I don’t view that as an issue. We’ll figure out how to work with them.”
Asked about the council’s decision to abolish the mayor’s policy shop, the Office of Policy and Management, and how he would work to reestablish mayoral power vis a vis the council, McGinn responded, “Those are insider issues” on a day devoted to celebrating his political victory. “We know we have to reduce the cost of government. If some of that comes from the mayor’s office that’s the way it has to be.”
Tweet
Well, whatever support you got from Big Business, Big Labor and the tunnel building interests was not enough Joe!
We got the best man for the job for once.
Go Mike McGinn!
Man, I wish this thing had gone on longer. It was fun to watch. Sigh…
Nicely done Mike! Congrats to all those who have worked for this!
It’s really a shame that each side has to villainize the other. Joe Mallahan is a successful, intelligent guy who gave it his best. Before some of you start up with the snarky comments, ask yourselves what you’ve tried to accomplish with your lives, and whether you’d have the courage to put yourself up to the sort of scrutiny that all of the candidates had to endure.
Congrats to McGinn.
Michael and his team of volunteers are reaping victory for their hard work on this campaign.
Congratulations to them on the win!
This was a long, hard fought campaign, and the staff and volunteers on both sides deserve much credit. For Mr. Mallahan, this was an impressive showing for a relative unknown, and the fact that he got through the primary was equally impressive.
Mr. McGinn managed to pull off a feat that many thought impossible. It will be interesting to see who he picks for department heads, and how the relationship with the City Council and Olympia will turn out. I do hope things get better on those relationship fronts.
And, like it or not, he will require some “insider” help. If we want to avoid having 10 mayors, he’ll definitely need as much assistance as possible from people who know the system well.
Regardless, for all of you here in Publicola land who supported Mr. McGinn – way to go. You and your candidate ran a great campaign.
So now what do we get to argue about on Publicola?
I feel the need to use the triple Stacy moniker one last time …
To congratulate Mike McGinn and his supporters and to wish Mayor-elect McGinn every success as he leads Seattle.
yo, ecb – was that you sitting right in front of McGinn?
there was some young woman sitting in front of McGinn with her Mac open tying away …
how interactive!
A new mayor, literally within spitting distance, and someone is “interacting” with a keyboard!
wow – reminded me of my high school, watching the kids walk down the hall together, all 2 or 3 or 4 of them texting people some where else
ha ha how weird.
rmm.
Congratulations Mayor Mike McGinn! To all his hard-working volunteers, Thank You!
Congrats, and best of luck.
Well now, up theyah in Seattle theyah three times more liberal than San Francisco, I think they just elected some kina green mayah up theyah…
I look forward to four years of pointing out which campaign promises will be broken, the unwillingness to deliver to be blamed on others; the mea-culpas of former McGinn supportes who will see him morphing into the DSA/Alki Foundation/Seattle Chamber pawn; the he will do nothing to improve police/community relations, have any interest in anyone who makes less then $20,000 a year, and doesn’t really “get” the whole “race” thing; and finally, how green window dressing will be pushed to the front a la Conlin (goats anyone) to show that he “did” something while continuing to hand out freebies to the developers that run Seattle.
What a bunch of tools. Oh, and I’ll beat you to this: nothing that Mallahan respresents has anything to do with the above, so don’t try to change the subject, kthx.
@8 – I was lucky to be there; yes, that was ECB herself typing away at the story. The room was packed with reporters, volunteers still working voter lists, and a sheer feeling of happiness. The volunteers were being fed banh mi and cha gio from Tammy’s Deli across the way. I heard not a single uncharitable word spoken against Mallahan even as he conceded.
Way to go Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn and your almost-all volunteer staff (you “unemployed college kids”). You ran a smart, impassioned campaign. Best of luck during the transition and see you at City Hall come January.
They have the dollars but we have the numbers.
@12 – In every political loss there are losers and there are gracious losers.
@12: And after this feat of psychic prowess, you’ll spin plates.
@13: McGinn was serving his volunteers fare from Tammy’s Deli? Ok, then we should elect him for mayor for life for treating his volunteers so well. I love that place.
@12:
Read the responses of 4 and 6 to see how to respectfully and graciously accept a fight that didn’t go your way. See also John Wayne.
Mallahan supporter @4: The only snarky comments here were from you and another apparent Mallahan supporter.
Monday, November 26, 2001
By KERY MURAKAMI AND PHUONG CAT LE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
….
Weeks Though it’s impossible to tell whom Schell’s supporters ended up backing in November, Nickels took 48 of the 59 precincts that Schell won — mostly in Rainier Valley and scattered pockets across the city.
Those areas gave Nickels a 989-vote advantage, or a third of the 3,158 votes that decided the election.
###
So, McGinn wins by a bigger margin than Nickels had in 2001. Congratulations Mike, and all volunteers, we owe you big time~!
And somewhat interestingly, McGinn wins by garnering SE Seattle, and being more green, a kind of north south alliance that beats the big business corporate fellow whom we suspect of being “almost a Republican.”
Here’s hoping Mike in NO WAY follows the Nickels transformation into a shill for Downtown and the Establishment. Nickels did pretty good wraping it up with a labor-green wrapper but in the end the DBT just doesn’t have an excited popular base pushing for it, it’s the creation of the power elite and state officials, and so it can’t therefore be a basis for victory the way the north-south/green-minority alliance can be.
@12
Here’s a tip for maintaining a good relationship with the police (and other people, for that matter). Treat them with a modicum of respect and follow the law. 99%+ of bad relations with “the community” involve some violation of those two principles.
Oh, and what’s “the whole race thing”? Perhaps you’d care to enlighten McGinn and the rest of us…
“Asked whether his lack of accessibility throughout the campaign had anything to do with his loss, he repeated that voters had responded more strongly to McGinn’s message than to his.”
Mallahan’s advisers lost the race for him. His campaign team was arrogant and overwhelmed at the same time. He was inaccessible not only to the media but to those who supported him. He had no command of the issues – what were they talking to him about? He had no cohesive message to spread – because he was most likely told to stay on his message of driving efficiency and the tunnel.
There is no way he should have lost but his team took him to the bottom. Sadly those people made Joe lose his personal investment in the race and the race itself.
@20 “Here’s hoping Mike in NO WAY follows the Nickels transformation into a shill for Downtown and the Establishment.”
McGinn will be a shill for the Quality Growth Alliance.
@22/23 – I think some fault probably lies with his campaign team, but at the end of the day it was his campaign to lose. If his campaign lost it for him, that speaks even more poorly for his management skills. No – Joe Mallahan lost the race.
Also, do you even know what the Quality Growth Alliance is? McGinn has had no affiliation with the group, and most of them are people that supported Mallahan. If reports are to be believed, they’re not even doing much. If you’re going to predict he become a shill, at least find a group menacing enough to scare people.
oh god an enviro radical is our mayor. mandatory bike riding for one and all!
#22 I couldn’t agree more. It was Joe’s to lose, but he left that to his handlers.
Joe’s handlers kept him away from the voters and gave him an aloof appearance. He also had no command of the issues, which is where McGinn truly excelled in the debates.
Also, Joe was not quite savvy enough to understand the dynamics of accepting $ from just anyone throwing it your way. You simply can’t accept $ from Suzie Burke and not expect the baggage that comes with that. And if neither he, nor his handlers were savvy enough to know that the combined support from all those like her would make him look like he was in their pocket, than can we really trust them with 4 years?
Good luck McGinn!
We now have a Mayor who owes the established powers in Seattle absolutely nothing.
It’s going to be a wild ride.
It was great seeing everyone with such big smiles!
Seattle is BACK!
I do think it’s unfortunate that Mallahan gets labeled as anything even remotely Republican. These days I can’t think of a bigger insult — and, though he didn’t have my support, he didn’t deserve that kind of disrespect.
Both he and McGinn deserve kudos for unseating an incumbent mayor with a powerful machine. Ultimately, I hope this whole thing is a wake up call to incumbents who lose touch with the voters.
LIkewise, I hope it inspires other candidates who don’t have the bucks and the establishment support — but do have ideas and passion and the ability to earn the trust of others. Even if you didn’t support McGinn, you have to give the guy a lot of credit for pulling this off against a lot of long odds.
Funny seeing UFCW 21 there and happy. This should be a shrug and a smile to them since they had originally opted for Nickels.
I’ve never commented on this blog but I’ve been following Publicola through the election (heard about it on NPR). Between this and Stranger Slog I really feel like I’m getting the inside dope on Seattle’s election.
Thanks and I’ll be back for the next election!
Lisa
I wish McGinn the best of luck, and my support where we can find common ground.
Welcome to the era of protracted provincial disagreements.
this is going to be interesting to watch, but let’s be clear–Mallahan ran a fucking terrible campaign. Terrible.
@31
It’s not fair to assume McGinn is going to ring in “protracted provincial disagreements.” I too am frustrated by how long it seems to get to consensus to move forward on long-standing regional problems. l interests and the public’s interest overlooked.
But I think the way to deal with that is to think long term, plan ahead, and to have an open process that gets all of the stakeholders on board — not just the insiders. That seems to be McGinn’s approach. It’s evidenced in how he ran his campaign (and won) and it’s evidenced in the leading role he played in ballot initiatives that did not have the outgoing Mayor’s support but won anyway.
If you get the public behind a set of priorities, a vision for the future of the city and a plan to get there, then you don’t have to keep wheeling and dealing with smoke and mirrors to make stuff happen. Personally, I find that refreshing.
To be honest, I can’t wait to see what life in City Hall with Mike McGinn is like. I’m not excited, but I’m certainly not sensing doom. It’s going to be equal parts funny, educational and eye opening.
Joe Mallaspam honestly did not run much of a campaign and wasn’t that convincing of a candidate, so it was Mike McGinn’s election to win or lose. And clearly, over the span of his campaign, he convinced enough people to win.
Let’s see what happens.
I feel like the McGinn victory represents the ultimate triumph of the Seattle Process. But I am hopeful that I’m wrong about that. Good luck to him.
I’ve enjoyed Publicola’s coverage of this. I guess I will check back in next election, assuming you guys make it that long. Good luck to Publicola too!
Congratulations to Mike McGinn, his active volunteers and the passive-agressive volunteers who refused to be swayed by:
Gov. Gregoire
Mayor Greg Nickels
and a host of insiders.
I commend Joe Mallahan for running the best campaign he could, and had the biggest guns available in the paradigm he’s from.
Here’s being hopeful that Mike McGinn will continue in much wisdom and skill… staying connected to the people and leading Seattle to a better day.
Mallahan didn’t seem to want very much to be mayor – and that was the only thing I wound up liking about him.
And I hope it’s not lost on McGinn that a lot of people spent years of hard work for no glory to craft the proposals he adopted so willy-nilly in order to win himself that office.
Having made himself their johnny-come-lately figurehead, I hope he knows they’ll hold his feet to the fire if he’s tempted to muck about with their principles too much. That’s a comfort to me.
What makes me a bit hopeful is that McGinn did not use cliches. He apparently can actually think, and then produce some verbiage that’s at least somewhat relevant to a question or issue. If someone uses cliches in both public discourse and private conversation, there’s not much hope for that person being able to absorb and consider information and make decisions, without relying excessively on others’ brains.
Stacyx3, your comment at 7 was very gracious, especially considering many of us vociferously opposed your earlier comments. You are a true mensch (a non-gendered word).
This is the triumph of a mediocre candidate over an even more mediocre candidate. Greg Nickels’ political machine managed to scare off any good candidates, but that won’t be the case for 2013. I can see the line-up starting up already.
Stacy x3…I’m completely fascinated that you’re hanging up the moniker and leaving. Stick around. Get involved in local issues. Roll up your sleeves and mix with the common folk of political activism in the City.
@ 22 ya-betcha and @ 25. on board
Those advisers are going to analyzing what happened because these same advisers are going to show up again in 2012, representing someone else. Small club, folks.
@ 12. hmmmm
Sounds like you are talking about Nickels and
McGinn will be Nickels 2.0. Yeah, it is called
politics. The main goal of McGinn now is to be
re-elected. You have to balance the evils, so
you can possible get some good out of it. Lame?
Yes, but you and I do not have to walk this tightrope.
Btw, the Alki Foundation is an outdated model. The Chamber will now directly get involved in politics.
I will sure miss that crappy food at the SAC.
The Alki Foundation is outdated and will probably
go away this year. The Chamber recently decided
to be directly political active.
Better hope it don’t snow.
I sure hope the new Mayor goes out buys some new suits that fit him correctly and some new shoes…those big ugly brown shoes must go! I don’t want my Mayor looking like a big slob.
that is one mighty white looking room full of people… kinda like a Sierra Club event
We did it! http://www.flickr.com/photos/soggydan/4003567979/in/set-72157622454048939/
44. I for one can’t wait for the sociocultural ethnic cleansing that will come from McGinn-style gentrification of the city core, as we’re all banished to SE Seattle, aka the Minority Ghetto, and the suburbs.
Seriously, though, welcome to Seattle. It’s only 75% white, but walk into an event or a hip social gathering and you’d swear it was actually 99%.
I’m always willing to stand up, work, and advocate for the causes and people that I deem worthy. But I always try to live by the old adage be humble in victory, gracious in defeat. The contest for Seattle mayor had been decided and Mike McGinn and his team have won. They deserve our congratulations and it is my sincere hope that Mike’s win will also be a victory for Seattle.
I will continue to be involved – I really don’t know how not to be involved.
@47 Should have opened ….
@38 & @40
The Stacy, Stacey, Stacie moniker has served its purpose and is officially retired. I write this post using my true identity.
@15: I see. So anyone who didin’t support McGinn doesn’t get to speak. Only in youe hippie dream world.
@49
Oh, we get to speak (and we do, and we will), but at this point, we’re no longer trying to win an election. We now have to work together on the issues we agree on to move them forward, and provide the voice of dissent where we disagree.
Politely and with tact, of course. What are you going to do to make this city better, just post on Publicola?
@50 Don’t assume people do nothing, because they disagree with your tack. Pedantics are not dialectics.
Man, I wish this thing had gone on longer. It was fun to watch. Sigh…