Greg Nickels

For various reasons this didn’t make this morning’s endorsement post, but STB endorses Greg Nickels for Secretary of State.

While the office of Secretary of State is not typically involved in transit decisions, Nickels has a track record of going above and beyond in office in ways that benefit transit. He is one of the truly special pro-transit leaders of this generation, and we are excited about his possible leap to statewide office.

Mr. Nickels understands the influence of a few rich donors hijacking the initiative process to produce ill-considered ballot measures that cripple transportation financing, and threaten valuable long-term projects at their weakest point. In Olympia, he would propose a statewide discussion of how to change our initiative process to bring it back to the people. He would also help prevent statewide initiative attacks on local transit funding.

19 Replies to “One More Endorsement”

    2. This is the guy who decided NOT to salt the roads during a major snow storm, causing numerous accidents and costing the city probably millions in productivity. His poor leadership left the city and her transit systems on virtual lockdown for days. BUT- he had the plows running out to his home in West Seattle very frequently. I know because at the time I lived along his “route” to work and thus was one of the lucky few who could still get around.

      After seeing so many city plows wend their way down my side-street and over a few blocks to his home while taking calls from my friends trapped in their apartments on unplowed streets, I finally realized he was comic-book evil- even dastardly. After that, I imagined I could almost hear him shouting “Let them eat salt!” as he drove past totally-snowed-in street after totally-snowed-in street on his way downtown to give the city’s snow response a “B” grade. Didn’t some of Batman’s villains hold press conferences, too?

      On the upside, his snow response would have been the IDEAL TIME for Seattle Subway to debut, underground railways being less prone to weather and all. Alas, we got rid of him, we now use salt on the roads, and Seattle Subway probably won’t have another opportunity like that for some time. Either way, good riddance. *sigh*

      (((P.S.- I know, I know- he’s the devil we know and the “best” candidate among the choices and all that, but I don’t have to like him! LOL.)))

      1. Salting is vile, and gee, it snows here like that once a decade on average.

        I can just imagine the screaming if the city spend Chicago or Buffalo-like amounts on a fleet of plows et al for something that happens so rarely.

        And I am not aware of the piles of salt that were available to be spread all over the streets just waiting to be used once the storm was about to hit.

  4. Sez the Stranger: “former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels alienates non-Seattle voters simply by virtue of being a former Seattle mayor. (No Democratic Seattle mayor has ever gone on to win statewide office.)”

    The way I remember it, Nickels was one of the people who really pushed to make Central Link happen, but he seems to be a polarizing figure, as most Seattle mayors are. Good Luck to him, though.

    1. He was THE person who championed it – and our regional system. He’s incredibly inclusive.

      1. The only thing that made McGinn polarizing were the PR agencies pitted against him by downtown interests. The did a bang up job. People don’t even like him and when asked they can’t articulate any clear reason why. But those that have met him in person come away with a more positive attitude.

      2. I think it’s a combination of those attacks, plus the fact that he’s not a very good speaker. He never sounds confident, authoritative, or sure of himself, esp during interviews.

      3. What a strange political system we have where road salt and a loud voice are the deciding factors for our politicians. What about knowledge, passion, and intelligence?

        Then again, we’ve had two great mayors that *get* urban and transit issues. Maybe the system works after all.

      4. I agree Matt. It still boggles me that so many folks hold so much hostility over road salt. Let’s put the ranting aside and focus on getting things done.

      5. +1

        I’m so tired of the various snowpocalypses and how everyone thinks they could do a better job with the same information, constraints and resources. It is armchair quarterbacking at its finest.

  5. I remember reading the Seattle Weekly’s hit piece on Nickels where they compared him to a Chicago gangster style politics. This while still sitting in my office in Chicago and just laughing at the absurd comparison.

    Now there are some city councilpersons on the east side that bear a striking similarity to Chicago Aldermanic politics but Nickels, nope…

  6. How about getting Seattle property owners to pony up for the all “infrastructure” they make the rest of us pay for with Federal and state taxes?

    1. This is petty. How about all the non-Seattle residents that use Seattle infrastructure? As in the hundreds of thousands of people who work or play in Seattle but don’t pay Seattle taxes? Should they get to use all our stuff for free? If Seattle builds its infrastructure on its own dime, should we charge non-Seattlites a different rate for a ticket to ride?

      The world can not be perfectly equitable – and statistics already show that at a State level our region pays more into the pot than it gets back.

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