Shots were being traded between Greg Nickels’ and Jan Drago’s campaign camps even before the city councilwoman officially announced that she would be challenging Nickels for his mayor job.
Drago’s team fired the first shot with the statement that “I don’t think any of us can remember a time when Seattle was less respected” and laying blame on Nickels for costing the city millions of dollars and doing nothing, nothing, nothing.
Nickels team quickly fired back with research they had be gathering just for this day, questioning Drago’s commitment, lack of meeting attendance and far-flung travel, sometimes at city expense.
Here is the media release from the Greg Nickels campaign team:
Five Questions Press Should Ask Jan Drago
Drago should explain her lack of independent vision and poor Council attendance record.
Seattle (May 26) – As the Seattle Times reported this morning, Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago is launching her candidacy for mayor today with harsh negative attacks on Mayor Greg Nickels record of accomplishment – despite having been a vocal supporter of the mayor’s initiatives until now. Given the negative tone of her announcement speech, the mayor’s campaign is suggesting five questions the press should consider asking Councilmember Drago at the announcement:
- How do you explain the fact that you have skipped so many City Council meetings over the last year and missed missed nearly 150 Council votes as a result?
In a March 2009 interview, Drago praised Mayor Nickels for doing an excellent job on delivering for the people of Seattle . As the Seattle Times recently reported, Drago said: “You can't win a race against this mayor based on delivery. It's hard for me to conceive of running a campaign based on process and personality if you have a good record. I think that's the dilemma."
Meanwhile, over the last year Drago’s attendance at Council meetings has been spotty at best. Drago has skipped a third of the meetings so far in 2009 , and been absent or late to nearly half. Over the last year, her record is not much better: she has skipped nearly a quarter of the meetings and has been late for many more:
So far in 2009:
Drago Absent: 7/21 meetings (33%) Late: 3/21 (14%) Total Absent/Late (47%)
Since May 19, 2008:
Drago Absent: 12/52 meetings (23%) Late: 8/52 (15%) Total Absent/Late (38%)
The main Monday Council meetings are where the City Council votes on important decisions regarding the future of the city, yet Drago has not been showing up. Drago has missed 144 Council votes in the last year alone, the most of any member of the City Council .
“As Jan Drago herself admitted recently, Mayor Nickels has been doing a good job delivering services for the people of Seattle,” said Nickels campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik. “Meanwhile, as the mayor has led, Drago has skipped a dozen important Council meetings in the last year and has missed nearly 150 Council votes on issues of importance to the people of Seattle. That is hardly the record of engagement one would expect from a candidate for mayor.”
- Despite your recent statement that Mayor Nickels has done such a good job that it would be impossible to run against him on delivery of services to the people of Seattle , you now say he is too focused on national issues. Moreover, in the last six months alone you have gone on multiple national and international trips at taxpayer expense, missing more than a month of city work time. So why should voters believe what you are saying today?
A March press report examining Drago’s travel records found that over the previous six months alone she has spent more than 45 days (including more than 30 city work days) traveling on multiple trips to China, Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, many at taxpayer expense. The Dubai and Abu Dhabi trip, which Drago took after announcing her intent to retire from the Council, alone cost city taxpayers more than $6,250, according to a published report .
“Mayor of Seattle is not a part-time job. It is not something you do because you are not quite ready to retire or because you did not get the job you really wanted. Given that Drago has spent thousands of taxpayer dollars in recent months acting as Seattle’s self-appointed ambassador to the world, how can she now credibly accuse Mayor Nickels of being too focused on national issues?” Kaushik said.
- You are making your announcement today in front of Seattle ’s “Hammering Man” sculpture, which celebrates Seattle ’s blue collar workers. Yet your own record on preserving blue collar jobs is questionable at best, and labor organizations representing working people across Seattle are lining up to support Mayor Nickels. How do you explain this contradiction?
According to sculptor Jonathan Borofsky , Seattle’s “’Hammering Man’ celebrates the worker” and symbolizes the contributions “people working with their hands” have made to Seattle . Yet Drago is widely known for supporting developers and big business over the concerns of workers.
Two recent examples: in December 2008 Drago voted against the city’s incentive zoning plan to create more workforce housing for people of modest means because she believes the mayor is requiring developers to provide too much affordable housing in exchange for increased building heights. And according to the Seattle Times , in 2007 Drago sided with “big business” against Mayor Nickels’ plan to preserve thousands of blue collar jobs on industrial lands throughout the city by restricting non-industrial development in those areas.
Seven major Seattle unions announced their endorsement of Mayor Nickels last week: the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 751, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21, The Washington State Council of County and City Employees (AFSCME Council 2), UNITE HERE Local 8, the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the Laborers Local 440, and the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council.
- You are widely known for enthusiastically following the lead set by the mayor in creating and realizing a forward-looking agenda for the city. The one idea you are most associated with in the public mind is the failed space-age potty initiative you championed. Your announcement speech lacks any specifics, so what vision or new ideas do you offer the voters?
Drago is the Councilmember who has agreed most often and most publicly with the agenda set by Mayor Nickels. Again, Jan Drago said it best herself: “ You can't win a race against this mayor based on delivery. It's hard for me to conceive of running a campaign based on process and personality if you have a good record. I think that's the dilemma."
So what new vision or ideas of her own has Jan offered to the voters of Seattle ? Aside from formulating policies related to dogs in the 1990s, the initiative Drago is most associated with is the costly and disastrous plan to build six space-age “posh public potties” (as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer described them ) around Seattle. Drago spearheaded the public potty initiative – the Post-Intelligencer in 2001 even dubbed her the “ Potty Queen ” in an editorial – and led the fight to override then-Mayor Paul Schell’s veto of the plan. As widely predicted, the public restrooms quickly became dens for prostitution and drug use and, after millions of dollars in taxpayer money wasted, were finally removed – also at taxpayer expense.
“Jan Drago has agreed with almost every major initiative Mayor Nickels has put forward. As the mayor has led, making the tough decisions and getting results, Drago has followed,” Kaushik said. “We need a tested leader with proven ability to make tough decisions. That candidate is Greg Nickels, not Jan Drago.”
- Mayor Nickels has demonstrated strong support from the business community, labor leaders, and advocates for the environment, demonstrating his ability to find the right balance between Seattle ’s diverse constituencies. What base of support do you have for this campaign?
Aside from seven major labor unions, Mayor Nickels last week received the coveted endorsement of the Washington Conservation Voters, as well as the endorsement of the 11th District Democrats. Previously, many of Seattle ’s most respected business leaders have also expressed support for Mayor Nickels.
“We have known for several weeks that Jan Drago was getting in the race, so the official announcement is hardly a surprise. She is just the latest among a crowded field of challengers. The voters of Seattle expect a healthy but civil debate about which candidate is best qualified to serve as mayor, and we are ready to make our case between now and November,” Kaushik said. “At the end of the day, we believe that voters will decide that Mayor Nickels compares very favorably to all of the other candidates, including Jan Drago. She has been on the Council for 16 years, yet what has she led on, aside from failed public potties and policies for dogs? The reality is that as Greg Nickels has a track record of accomplishment and a focus on getting things done that no other candidate can match."
