Open City Council seat attracts five hopefuls in Seattle

In a year with few issues that might galvanize voters to oust an incumbent, candidates have flocked to the only Seattle City Council race that doesn't have one.

Five candidates have stepped up to fill Position 3 when Seattle City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck steps down at the end of the year. The top two in Tuesday's primary will advance to the Nov. 6 election.

Two candidates have raised more than $100,000 each: Bruce Harrell, a lawyer endorsed by the King County Democrats, and Venus Velázquez, a public-affairs consultant who is Steinbrueck's pick to succeed him. But voters also might recognize Al Runte, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Greg Nickels in 2005, and John Manning, a former City Council member perhaps most known for stepping down amid domestic-violence allegations. A newcomer is Scott Feldman, a nonprofit manager primarily running to keep the Sonics basketball team in Seattle.

The Municipal League of King County has rated Harrell and Velázquez "very good," Runte as "good," Manning as "adequate" and Feldman as "insufficient info."

Bruce Harrell

Bruce Harrell says he would bring, "a unique skill set" to the job, namely his legal experience working with community groups, such as the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund, and businesses such as phone company US West. He said transportation, education, public safety and livability are his key issues.

On transportation, Harrell said he would convene a meeting of people from a variety of business and residential interests, and he promises that his "skill as a professional negotiator will achieve success and funding."

Although the state and the Seattle School District run Seattle schools, Harrell said education would be a priority for him because the City Council can be a "thought leader and loudest voice on tapping the philanthropic community for funding."

Harrell also said he would push for more funding for the police and fire departments. And he has offered to spend four hours a week walking city streets to prevent open-air drug dealing if elected.

Harrell has so far raised about $156,500, according to the latest campaign filings. He is backed by leading Democrats and business groups.

Venus Velázquez

Venus Velázquez, a private public-affairs consultant who used to work for the Seattle Neighborhood Planning Office, lists the city's growth and bringing family perspective to the council as her two top goals.

"Growth is inevitable. It's not a 'for' and 'against,' it's how we shape it," said Velázquez, who has been officially endorsed by Steinbrueck.

She said she has dealt with growth issues as a neighborhood-planning manager for the city, and she's concerned about middle- and low-income families being displaced.

She added that her background in public affairs means she can work with other council members to win votes and get things done.

Velázquez also said she would allow parents to register their children for public schools at nonprofit family centers on the city.

When the City Council searched for someone to fill Jim Compton's vacant seat in 2006, Velázquez was one of five finalists. The job went to Sally Clark, but Velázquez said that experience prompted her to run this year.

So far she has raised about $124,700.

Al Runte

Al Runte, a writer and consultant who has so far raised about $16,500, said he's an educator by profession "but that's not what the City Council does."

"The City Council is about infrastructure," he said. "We've got to get our infrastructure modernized; we've got to get the city as an economic engine going."

That especially means parks, roads and rails, he said. He recently filed a citizens initiative that would require city developers to pay impact fees that would go toward funding parks.

In the past year, Runte has done publicity work with All Aboard Washington, an organization seeking to save a rail line on the Eastside from being torn up. He also said he would begin exploring putting rail on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

"We're coming to the end of oil, so how about as we revitalize that viaduct, we start thinking of it less as a viaduct than a beautiful rail bridge into the future," he said.

Runte is a former University of Washington history professor who has advised filmmaker Ken Burns on a future documentary on national parks.

John Manning

John Manning, a former policeman who has served on the City Council before, said public safety is the centerpiece of his campaign.

"The mayor has not proposed a plan on how to pay for the 150 officers he wants to add," Manning said. So Manning said he would attach public-safety funding to every bond and levy measure that gets proposed.

"A percentage of each levy would go toward public safety, which means our public safety can now grow as the city grows," said Manning, who has raised $5,783 for his campaign, most of it from himself.

He said he would also work with state lawmakers to address what he called a regressive tax system.

A former real-estate agent, Manning last ran for City Council unsuccessfully in 2003. In 1996, he quit the council after he was arrested for domestic-violence incidents involving his wife. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. He now says that was an anomaly in his life.

"I made a mistake. I owned it. I've worn it, however shameful, and I have addressed the problem and dealt with it," he said.

He currently works as a fatherhood advocate in the Fresh Start program at First A.M.E. Church in Seattle.

Scott Feldman

Scott Feldman said he is running to keep the Sonics in Seattle but also to ensure the Alaskan Way Viaduct is replaced with a transit system.

"It makes sense that a surface-street solution takes place, because it's the lowest cost and allows us to take that money and reinvest it in a mass rapid-transit system," he said.

Feldman works as a program manager with the Grameen Foundation, a microfinance nonprofit. He has raised $1,524CQ, most from himself, and lists his grandmother as his key endorsement.

"I feel strongly there's potential for a private-public partnership" to keep the Sonics in Seattle, he said. If the team won't stay, Feldman warns: "We're left with KeyArena that is vacant most of the year and a drain on taxpayer money."

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published August 16, 2007, was corrected August 19, 2007. Scott Feldman, a candidate for Seattle City Council Position 3, has raised $1,524, mostly from himself, for his primary-election campaign, according to his most recent campaign filings. A story Thursday on the race incorrectly said he had not raised any money.