Is Nickels' tunnel support misspent political capital?

Mayor Greg Nickels just won't back down.

Despite overwhelming opposition from state leaders in Olympia, Nickels will continue to crusade for a tunnel and against a new elevated highway along Seattle's waterfront. And he will still push for a March 13 election, aides said Tuesday -- even though it's hurting him politically.

"We're spending a lot of political capital on this. But why gather political capital if you're not going to spend it for what you think is right?" said Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis, the mayor's chief political confidante.

The mayor, he added, "absolutely believes putting an elevated freeway back on the waterfront is wrong. It's wrong for citizens, wrong for climate change, whatever reasons you cite. I think that's what the job of the mayor is. You may not agree with him. But he is standing up for the city and what he thinks is right."

Politicians are often derided for following public-opinion polls and the path of least resistance, Ceis said. In this case Nickels is getting knocked for doing the opposite. "If that's what we're going to be criticized for, I'll accept it," Ceis said.

Nickels was not talking Tuesday about the state's rejection of the tunnel, but he plans to at a news conference this morning.

City Council President Nick Licata, a tunnel opponent and frequent Nickels adversary, said the mayor's feisty stance has merit.

"It always helps in politics to have a clear message and stick to it and he's doing that," Licata said. "The downside is that at some point, strong leadership may be perceived as tilting at windmills, and that's the danger his strategy faces."

Licata also noted that Nickels' message has changed recently, and the mayor is making the election more about voting against a new elevated highway than voting for a tunnel.

Ceis agreed that fighting a new viaduct has become "perhaps more important."

"That leaves him room to abandon the tunnel and shift to a surface option," Licata said, adding, however, that if Nickels backs down now, "is he going to get credit for anything?"

The larger question, Licata said, is whether Nickels' tactics will hurt the city's broader agenda in the long run. After all, battling Gov. Christine Gregoire and House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, is not like bullying the City Council.

But Ceis seems to welcome a fight with Olympia and state leaders "trying to impose their will on Seattle."

"I don't think we're boxed in at all. We're fighting back like crazy and I don't think the state is used to that. They're used to local jurisdictions caving in," he said. "Anybody who thinks this is decided isn't paying close attention."

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com