Discovering Mallahan

Seattle Mayoral candidates from left, James Donaldson, Jan Drago Joe Mallahan and Michael McGinn shake hands after a forum at the Labor Temple in Seattle (Photo by Stephen Brashear/www.smbphotography.net)

Sara Kiesler

PostGlobe

Joe Mallahan's good friend and former colleague Dean Willard wishes voters could climb inside his head and see the T-Mobile executive and mayoral candidate through his eyes.

To most voters thus far, little is known about Mallahan.  What is known is that he's the guy who sunk $200,000 into his own campaign, and he's the guy who’s been bashing Mayor Greg Nickels the hardest.

But Willard, chair of the King County Democrats Endorsement Committee, said there is far more to Mallahan. He helped organize communities in Chicago with Mallahan and volunteered with him here on initiatives like  Treehouse, which helps foster kids with school, material needs and other services.

"I think the fears people have about his inexperience would fade with that perspective," Willard said. "Joe's genuine interest in every person that he meets, combine that with his raw intelligence and analytical abilities and his talent for execution on a problem once he has figured out what the right direction is, I think he'll be an absolutely phenomenal mayor."

Mallahan's run for mayor is up against seven other active candidates, four of whom polled ahead of him in  the latest King 5 poll  (if you don't include undecided, which leads with 30 percent). He entered the race with a supercharged self-funded $200,000 boost to his campaign, along with healthy fundraising, and the intention of keeping up with incumbent Mayor Greg Nickels. 

Right now, his goals are focused on name recognition among residents, and he said he believes people are paying attention. He insists that he is an average Joe, despite the hefty campaign contribution.

"I live in a modest home in Wallingford, and I believe my perspective on the city is shared by the average Seattle resident," he said.. "I'm not a developer, I'm not a lobbyist, I simply want to improve the basic services and use the people's money efficiently and responsibly."

In a recent interview, Mallahan strongly criticized Nickels for a lack of open government, focusing on the  Youth Violence Prevention Initiative  over the Gang Unit, a failure to clean up Puget Sound, and above all, spending $200 million on the Mercer Street project, $70 million of which he said goes to special interests.

Nickels' camp responded by saying they don't know much about Mallahan by looking at his record, but pointed out that he's never held elective office and, along with other candidates for mayor,  did not even vote in a number of recent elections.

However, he and the mayor agree on some things. Both support the tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Referendum 1, which will approve the 20 cent fee on disposable bags and turning over the $25 head tax on new employees who drive to their business. The Seattle Times editorial staff  gives Mallahan credit  for reversing the mayor's opinion on the head tax.

"It's a terrible message to send to the business leaders:  We're going to tax you for creating jobs," Mallahan said. 

Critics' biggest accusation of Mallahan is that he doesn't have much depth. Both Michael McGinn, another candidate for mayor, and Sandeep Kaushik, Mayor Greg Nickels spokesperson, said Mallahan is running the most negative campaign out of all the candidates. Councilmember Jan Drago's campaign declined to comment.

"He is relentlessly negative," Kaushik said, "It may be because he doesn't have the experience or understanding to advocate a positive vision for the future of Seattle."

But though his friend Willard said it's fair to acknowledge a lack of depth on issues thus far, there is no one he has ever seen tackle complex business challenges and quickly fix problems like Mallahan.

"He masters content faster than anyone you can imagine and comes back with actionable insights that are absolutely phenomenal," Willard said.

For example, Willard told a story of a day Mallahan spent working in a T-Mobile retail store. When Mallahan realized customers coming in with broken phones were unhappy with the process it took to replace them, he created and implemented a plan that not only got customers their phones quicker, but it saved the company well over $100 million a year, Willard said.

The question is, will voters go with the experienced candidates, or is it truly the year of change? Mallahan says it is, and some of the Democratic districts think so too. He was endorsed over Nickels 79-34 by the District 46 Democrats, and tied with McGinn for an endorsement by the District 37 Democrats.

"The endorsements mean a lot to me and they are evidence that my message is resonating," he said.

 But McGinn argues that Mallahan isn't the candidate for change because of his support for the tunnel to replace the viaduct, which is projected to cost at least $4.25 billion.

"There are streets like Mercer all over town which should be upgraded to make them more transit friendly, more livable, better for walking," McGinn said. "That should be our emphasis, not a $4.2 billion tunnel."

Mallahan has strong opinions about the environment and making Seattle more transit friendly, though. One of his first priorities is to install a street sweeping program to reduce the amount of waste that enters the Puget Sound, and to reduce vehicle traffic by using money from the Mercer Street project to invest in sidewalks and public transit.

Despite the level of seriousness from his campaign, it can be difficult reaching Mallahan or his press secretary. The Seattle Times apparently had the same problem, more than once. But Mallahan said as soon as the primaries are over Aug. 18, he takes a leave of absence from T-Mobile and will be more free. He also plans to quit his job if he is elected mayor.