Saturday, September 5, 2009

Seattle Mayor's Race

Alright, now that Nickels is out of the running (thank goodness, may he live a long happy life in Palm Desert, CA or some other interventionist paradise), we have candidates to choose from - McGinn or Mallahan.

McGinn is well intentioned, and seems a kind-hearted sort. But he's over-ambitious, wanting to involve our dysfunctional city government that pretends to run a yet more dysfunctional utility company, in operating the local schools. He supports the failed concepts of coercive mass transit. And he wants to destroy a major local transit system without providing any sort of traffic-moving replacement. That he is opposed to the Dark Side promoting the repeal of Domestic Partnership laws, and favors abolishing the expensive and idiocy laden "tunnel option" to the Alaskan Way Viaduct is not enough.

We need a mayor that will tend to a mayor's business (for the first time in 16 years) of filling potholes, improving quality of life issues, building roads, keeping fire and police services running, and generally leaving the big picture stuff to the big picture people.

With no great glee, I find myself reluctantly supporting Mallahan. Mallahan promises efficiency (but then again, so did Mussolini...and the trains did run on time. But efficiency isn't everything...), support of local business and recognition of their role as a driver of local economic survival, and other measures that seem at least in distant contact with reality - a vast improvement in Seattle.

Mallahan is nothing to celebrate, but I think of McGinn and Mallahan, he's the better choice.

That will be all.

No comments: