Election 2009
(2009-10-27)
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The race for mayor of Tacoma focuses on the city's image.
Jim Merritt
Marilyn Strickland Photos by: Paula Wissel
Here's how candidate for Tacoma mayor, Jim Merritt, makes his point:
"Next time you leave the airport, look what they put on the signs on the way to I-5. One way says Seattle, the other way says Portland. Now why do we need Portland on one of those signs? It's Tacoma. It's the Seattle-Tacoma Airport for gosh sakes."
And that's just one of the slights Merritt takes offense at. He also recounts how state tourism officials managed to leave Tacoma off the map promoting scenic byways.
The other candidate for mayor, Marilyn Strickland, also says Tacoma is too often ignored. And she says it isn't just state officials who seem to overlook the city's charms.
"People's perception of Tacoma is often what they see off of I-5 and it's not exactly the most flattering picture of our city," she says.
Standing in her campaign office on the 5th floor of a downtown office building, she points to what you don't see from the freeway.
"If you look straight ahead you see old city hall which is one of our amazing historical structures. Look right and you see this stunning urban waterfront," she says.
By any account, what Tacoma has done is impressive. A few decades ago, downtown was gritty and scarred by urban renewal.
Now, buildings dating from the 1800's have been restored. There's a University of Washington branch campus. The federal courthouse is in the old Union station. There are new museums, including the world renowned Museum of Glass. A light rail line runs through the center of town. It's all part of what's referred to here as the Tacoma renaissance.
Mayoral candidate Jim Merritt, who is an architect, talks excitedly about a project of the renaissance he helped champion in the 1990's. It's a bridge over the Foss waterway with dramatic, swoopy cables. Merritt says initially the state, which was paying for the bridge, had a different idea.
"They had a bridge that was going to go across the Foss that was a concrete slab. It was a done deal. It was designed . They were ready to go to bid," he says.
Merritt mobilized opposition. He traveled to Latvia and Finland looking at alternative designs and drew them up for the city. In the end, the powers that be agreed with him and went with the bridge that has become a city icon.
Merritt says the reason he's running for mayor is he believes the momentum of the renaissance has stalled.
He sees the demolition of the 19th century Luzon building and the loss of Russell Investments as two examples of recent stumbles by city leadership.
Merritt's opponent in the race for mayor, Marilyn Strickland, is on the Tacoma city council. She doesn't agree that the renaissance is faltering. "There's no way to compare current progress with what was happening a decade ago," she says.
"You have to look back at where Tacoma was in the 70's. We were a dilapidated city. Downtown Tacoma was dead. If you look at gains that were made when you come from a place that low they look very dramatic," she adds.
She says the way for Tacoma to move forward is to position itself as a global city. Strickland, who was born in Seoul, South Korea says the Korean and other ethnic communities in Tacoma are one of the city's greatest strengths. She wants to revive Tacoma's International sister cities program. A cornerstone of her campaign is promotion of a strong education system.
Strickland is a former Starbucks marketing executive. She says one thing she'd do as mayor is promote the city better.
"People who actually come into the city and have a chance to see the neighborhoods and spend time here remark on how great it is. One of my responsibilities will be to get more people to try the product," Strickland says.
In different ways, both candidates for the mayor seem to be saying "Believe in yourself, Tacoma."
When Jim Merritt speaks to supporters he often talks about San Antonio, Texas. The city's famous river walk, he says, is really just drainage ditch. He believes Tacoma, with all it has to offer, could be the same sort of mecca to people.
Tacoma, it should be noted, has a weak mayor system. It has a city council/manager form of government. The mayor serves as head of the council.
But the candidates say that doesn't lessen their ability to be the voice and face of Tacoma and put forth a vision for its future
Candidate Websites:
Marily Strickland
Jim Merritt © Copyright 2012, KPLU
