US
(2009-08-07)
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SEATTLE, WA
(KPLU) -
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is facing seven opponents in the August 18th primary that decides which two advance to the general this fall. He says running again means hearing from seven people whose full-time job right now is to criticize everything he's done. So why does he want to serve a third term?
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Mayor Nickels seems completely in his element when he's in campaign mode. He's witty and playful and laughs a lot. I asked him if he's really a strong-arm Chicago-style mayor, as some people have said. A long chuckle preceded his answer. It seems he's a hybrid.
"I was born in Chicago, I plead guilty to that. I'm a 3rd-generation Chicagoan. And we moved to Seattle when I was about 6 years old, so I've grown up here in Seattle."
But he does feel the famous Seattle process sometimes gets in our way. So he's pressed ahead with projects he thinks are vital.
"I am nothing if not willing to stick with things to get things done. And I think that's what the city needs."
He says he stuck with Light Rail for 21 years and, as the current chair of the Sound Transit Board, takes credit for it opening a few weeks ago.
"I worked harder and longer on that than anyone else in this region, I'm proud of that."
He's also proud of how he forged ahead with a $4.3-billion-dollar, controversial deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
"Three years ago, we ran into a buzz saw in Olympia, when the legislature tried to stick us with a new elevated highway. I sat down, rolled up my sleeves, worked with the governor and the county executive and we now have a solution that provides capacity, but also opens the city up to the water."
That will come at a price. Nickels expects tolls on the new tunnel and says Seattle will have to pay if there are cost-overruns on city streets rebuilt around it. He knows that's not a popular stance. But he says, a mayor's job is one that often makes people mad. He loves it anyway.
For more information:
Greg Nickels' Campaign Website
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