Breaking Mallahan out of the 'business guy' box
Our writer, talking with the Seattle mayoral candidate, comes away impressed by his small-C catholicity and Northwest values.
Mallahan for Mayor
Chances are that most Seattle voters expected this year’s mayoral election would pit Mayor Greg Nickels versus "Who’s That?" What we got instead, from the surprising summer primary, is Who's-That vs. Who's-That. Both candidates for mayor, Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn, are relative unknowns, neither of whom has run for or held public office before. Soon one of them will be Seattle’s mayor.
Now with Election Day a scant three weeks off voters are scrambling to get acquainted with the two. An easy way to do that is to tag each candidate and put them in a box. So McGinn, who is probably ahead in this game, is “the guy who’s against the tunnel.” If Mallahan has a tag it’s “the business guy.” Mallahan is a T-Mobile executive who wrote a check to finance his own campaign. (Asked about that Mallahan said, “I wanted to take Mayor Nickels' war chest off the table as an issue.”)
Is “business guy” the right box for Mallahan? Yes and no. When asked how he would tag himself Mallahan says, “I’m a social-justice Democrat with a track record of producing efficiencies in large organizations.” When you push into Mallahan’s story a little deeper one of the interesting things you discover is that politics is not something he’s getting into because there’s nothing else to do in business, or because Ross Perot-like he wants to show those people in government “how to run it like a business.”
Mallahan has been thinking politics for a long time. Born and raised in Everett he went off to the nothing-if-not-political environment of Washington, D.C., for his college education at Catholic University. But it was at Cascade High School in south Everett that a young Joe Mallahan got his first taste of politics and felt the calling. Two high school teachers, Phil Zalesky and Elliott Cheap, made the difference. “They had a mock politics class I took. I loved it. That’s where it started for me.” (Zalesky and his wife Laura are well known community leaders who played an important role in the creation of the North Cascades National Park.)
In D.C., while working as an aide in the office of Washington Congressman Al Swift, Mallahan got a piece of advice he took to heart. “Joe,” a Swift staffer said, “There are plenty of lawyers, too many, in politics already. Go into business first (instead of law), and from there into politics. Besides, too many people have the idea that all Democrats are anti-business.” Mallahan took the advice.
Along the way Mallahan did graduate studies (a master's degree) at UW’s Jackson School of International Studies, and was involved in community organizing in (of all places!) Chicago. Later, when work gave him the chance to return to the Northwest he took it. He had hoped to get into politics before now, but “things happened.”
Why Mayor? I asked. Why not start with City Council or the state Legislature? “People pointed out, including my wife, that the experience and resume I had put together was an executive one. ... And city government has become inefficient.” Here’s where the business experience does come into play. “I have a lot of experience at achieving efficiencies in large organizations. ... As mayor I would start with the public safety and planning areas of city government. There are a lot of opportunities for efficiency there.” But how does a businessman’s eye for efficiency connect up with “social justice Democrat?”
Once in office, Mallahan hopes he will gain credit for being “a principled decision-maker and a good steward of taxpayer resources.” He would use that credit to work on a recovery of “progressive Northwest values,” which he feels are, if not lost, at risk. He would restore the gang unit and community outreach programs in the police and public safety area. He would work on density and affordable housing to ensure Seattle’s affordability for working people. Noting that his own two kids are having “great educations” in Seattle public schools, he would work to strengthen schools throughout the city.
A tunnel supporter, Mallahan warms to the topic of a Seattle waterfront that is accessible and helps Seattleites to “feel the saltwater more.” He recalls the thrill of exploring tidal pools north of Seattle at Birch Bay. He imagines that some of the tidal zones created inside the Seattle Aquarium might be created outside as the waterfront — tunnel underneath and out of mind — becomes accessible and inviting. “That could do a lot to help us understand how special the Puget Sound is and how important it is we take care of it.”
One perhaps little-noted similarity between the two candidates is that both are Catholics, though not practicing. (“I’ll go back to church when they ordain women,” says Mallahan). But both candidates show some of the strengths of Catholicism. Both seem to enjoy the hurly-burly of community life, and both heard the church’s social teachings about poverty and justice.
While it remains true that whichever candidate is elected will have a steep learning curve, and the City Council will gain clout early in the next mayoral administration, Seattle has two pretty good if not well known candidates for mayor. Maybe instead of it being a problem, it’s a good thing that Seattle is a city where two newcomers can be running for mayor.
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Comments:
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 7:20 a.m. Inappropriate
This all sounds quite nice, however Mallahan's supporters belie every bit of it. Sure, this is a great resume for public service, but expecting to be able to manage a City with no experience in the arcanities of public, private, and civic players is just not possible. Mallahan's voting record is just the tip of the iceberg.
The real question is McGinn's ability to foster a private sector which actually serves the public interest. Personally, I don't think we have any other choice but to give him a shot at it, and the respect for those business people who have the guts to put their money, and reputations, on the line.
If Mallahan wants any credibility at all, he needs to resign from the race and join calls for the prosecution of the most evil of his supporters and then get involved in civics as a leader, not a rubber stamper for this trash - trash best served by the social service agencies of Mallahan's campaign, not 'bailed' out by the citizens of this State with his corporate help.
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 8:16 a.m. Inappropriate
"...he needs to resign from the race and join calls for the prosecution of the most evil of his supporters..."
Douglas, I hope that other McGinn supporters aren't as extreme as you are. Mallahan has his faults, but he is just your basic Joe, when it comes down to it.
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 10:24 a.m. Inappropriate
Cute article. You managed to hit all of Mallahan’s talking points. But the thing we need to see is some fact checking. Here are three points that Mallahan likes to use that always go unquestioned:
1. “I have a lot of experience at achieving efficiencies in large organizations.” Mallahan keeps saying this exact quote, but has not ever given a single example to back up his claim. And he has been asked before, but he didn’t answer the question. If he has “a lot of experience” he should have a lot of examples to share.
2. Mallahan’s two "kids are having “great educations” in Seattle public schools." Actually they have always been in private school until this year. Why did he pull them out of private school in the same year he decided to run for mayor?
3. "Mallahan has been thinking politics for a long time." This one is bothersome because if it is true, it indicates that Mallahan is not good at planning. If he really has been thinking about politics for a long time, why didn’t he vote regularly or participate in civic activities? If I was planning a career in politics for the past 20 years, I would have been building my resume and experience to that end. Mallahan hasn’t participated in anything in Seattle at all (unless you count volunteering for an annual private school fundraiser).
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 10:55 a.m. Inappropriate
@Unter-
Mallahan's lack of experience has allowed him to be bought by the same folks Seattle voted out with Nickels. His talk is all great, but he has no experience working in the public sphere, let alone this particular one. In my opinion, which I understand why you see as 'extreme', his best course is to leave this race and pay his dues.
I'm not a formal McGinn supporter, I'm a Seattle expat living in Tacoma. If McGinn can combine his small project based viaduct replacement and then a large Seattle only expansion of Light Rail we will hopefully have a more honest business community serving the public interest.
I cannot guarantee that by any means - I can guarantee that Tacoma can accommodate growth at a lower State cost than can Seattle.
Though there is tons of cash in Seattle it is money as honestly earned as a Wall Street bonus, and for not unrelated reasons. Seattle is broke and Mallahan has chosen to select the folks who broke it as his leadership team.
FWIW, Mallahan does get kudos for opposing the Mercer Street fix. However I'll make a prediction here - if he wins that opposition will not sustain itself.
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 11:11 a.m. Inappropriate
Because Reverend Robinson's article began with a condescending air toward the supposedly inexperienced mayoral candidates and the uninformed voting public, it could go little further and indeed ended with more of the same. Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden for eating of the tree of knowledge, the horror! Religions, dynasties and large businesses operate on the basis of a heirarchy, but government in a democracy is supposed to be different. All religions have a strain of fundamentalism within them. When their leaders consider themselves the only rightful holders and dispensers of knowledge, they blaspheme. Have a nice eternity.
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 11:24 a.m. Inappropriate
Douglas in Tacoma says: "Mallahan's lack of experience has allowed him to be bought by the same folks Seattle voted out with Nickels"
If you are referring to Downtown interests, my suspicion is that they are backing Mallahan because they don't like McGinn. Why - because McGinn is willing to turn away a $2.4B investment by the State in Seattle. And perhaps they may be afraid of what McGinn's streets solution for the Viaduct could mean to a city already reeling from almost 20% downtown vacancy rates.
Mallahan is an outsider in Seattle politics - unlike McGinn and his backers who are tied to the development industry in Seattle.
While community leaders and "insiders" are moving to Mallahan now that Nickels is out of the running, it is most likely because they have confidence in Mallahan's abilities and his willingness to listen -- and his focus on fixing problems for people that are already here (unlike McGinn who wants to build a city for people who aren't here yet).
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 11:57 a.m. Inappropriate
Tooley, Mallahan changed his mind on the Mercer fix - here is an excerpt from the Seattle Times:
[Before the primary, Mallahan loudly criticized the $191 million Mercer project as a giveaway by the Nickels administration to Vulcan, billionaire Paul Allen's company and South Lake Union's largest landowner.
Mallahan vowed to halt the project and redirect up to $70 million in city money it was "stealing" from other neighborhoods until Vulcan and other property owners agreed to pay more of the costs.
But with Nickels out of the way, Mallahan's tone has softened. He now emphasizes that he'd like to see the Mercer project move forward.
"I think the Mercer Street project is a very good neighborhood development project and it will do great things for South Lake Union," Mallahan said.]
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 1:21 p.m. Inappropriate
Great. Mallahan is a catholic middle manager who can "drive execution" of things his "corporate strategy team ideates" (his his words not mine).
Anthony Robinson seems to be taking a cue from Steven Colbert's mocking of the press corps "I dictate, you transcribe "echoing every one of Mallahan's talking points as though he were a paid member of the campaign staff. Did Mr. Robinson actually check the facts on any of those claims? And why hasn't Joe Mallahan been voting? Does he think that voting doesn't matter? Does he think we should be governed by a corporate strategy ideation team? Can I get a side of journalism with my propaganda please?
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 1:23 p.m. Inappropriate
For Joe Mallahan's rambling Municipal League response, click here:
http://www.munileague.org/candidate-evaluations/previous-ratings/2009/candidate-questionnaires/MallahanQCEC09.pdf
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 4:10 p.m. Inappropriate
Evanovich,
Yup, and it makes someone who was already a cipher look like an unprincipled weasel.
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 5:52 p.m. Inappropriate
@South Downtown-
I've heard that one about losing 2.4B from the State and I believe it is bogus. The State has long considered a surface option, far longer than the deep tunnel has been on the table. It may be true that money **might** be redirected if the Tunnel option is abandoned, but it may also be the case that the current lawsuit challenging the alternative decision making process will also win.
It definitely is the case that the surface option is within that 2.4B budget.
The tunnel is not a bad idea, though I do think there are likely issues at both ends of the tunnel that have not been fully considered. More to the point is the lack of a complete funding package and the responsibility of State taxpayers for these costs and the very likely overruns.
Consider also the defeat of the regional roads and transit package. As it stands now regional transit funding has been diverted to Seattle (a minor beef with McGinn actually) AND Seattle gets all the Roads money that might have been spent equitably throughout the region. (In that McGinn is at least consistent, in his tunnel opposition.)
Funny how the Seattle 'process' always ends up with the downtown Seattle crew getting everybody elses money, instead of them paying their own way. In my book that is what **good** business is all about.
http://motleytools.com/blog
Posted Wed, Oct 14, 11:36 p.m. Inappropriate
Why is this puff piece in Crosscut? The fact that it was written by a longtime Seattle religious icon doesn't make it journalism. Or interesting.
Posted Thu, Oct 15, 2:52 p.m. Inappropriate
@ Evanovich
re Mallahan "support" for Mercer - he thinks the east/west mobility needs to be improved, but not with the funding plan on the table - he's wants Vulcan and property owners to pay fair share:
http://www.joemallahan.com/Issues/Transportation
A distinguishing characteristic between the M's
Mallahan want developers to pay impact fees, LID $, or other contributions
McGinn and his developer financed Great City Initiative have always lobbied against developer funded delivery of concurrent infrastructure and amenities
Posted Thu, Oct 15, 5:02 p.m. Inappropriate
@Sarah: it's a blog - personal experience/reflection, etc.
Posted Fri, Oct 16, 1:40 p.m. Inappropriate
That's not apparent. It's labeled as a "2009 Election" piece, and Robinson is termed "our writer" in the intro. It should either be tagged "Opinion" or it should be made clear that Robinson's (or any other writer's) opinion is not that of Crosscut.
Posted Fri, Oct 16, 2:32 p.m. Inappropriate
It's in the "blog" section. What is a blog? http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g
What is Crosscut's purpose? http://crosscut.com/about/
Posted Fri, Oct 23, 4:43 p.m. Inappropriate
Some non-business facets of Mallahan are profiled now in daily posts on his campaign website - http://joemallahan.com/. Prior posts are at http://joemallahan.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-know-joe-javier-valdez and http://joemallahan.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-know-joe-jim-mallahan. He's a mensch!
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