Drago to launch mayoral campaign with sharp attack on Nickels

Any notion of a congenial campaign for Seattle mayor will vanish today with Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago's kickoff campaign speech.

The longtime council member will make her candidacy official with an aggressive speech that blames Mayor Greg Nickels for an array of failings — from his handling of the December snowstorms to his dealings with the Legislature over the Sonics and KeyArena.

"I don't think any of us can remember a time when Seattle was less respected," a draft of Drago's speech says. "When Seattle had less influence in the Legislature or in the region."

In the draft, released Monday to The Seattle Times, Drago likens her campaign to pushing "the reset button."

She may even take a swipe at Nickels, and his national role on the issue of climate change. He is in line to be the next president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"And I want to make it clear," Drago's draft speech says. "I am not running to be the nation's mayor. ... There's enough to do here at home."

Drago, who has been one of Nickels' most reliable allies on the City Council, today officially begins her campaign with a 12:30 p.m. announcement outside the Seattle Art Museum.

The mayor is perceived to be vulnerable, but four other candidates have failed to raise a significant amount of money or gather much traction to challenge Nickels, who is seeking his third term. Other current and previous council members considered running but decided against it.

An early hurdle for Drago, who has been on the council for 16 years, will be to convince voters that she has significant differences with Nickels' approach to the job.

The Nickels campaign on Monday was preparing to counter Drago's announcement with a critique of her record, Nickels campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik said. It will attack her work on issues that affect blue-collar workers and her City Council attendance record.

Nickels, 53, wouldn't comment Monday about Drago's remarks. Drago wouldn't comment, either, but her planned speech hints at a strategy that blames the city's problems on Nickels' governing style.

Drago, 69, is on record as praising the mayor's accomplishments — something the Nickels campaign is quick to bring up. Nickels is attempting to paint Drago as one of his followers.

"Just two months ago, Jan Drago was saying that the mayor was doing an excellent job in terms of delivering services to the people of Seattle," Kaushik said. He said she was right about that then: "whether it's putting more cops on the street or reducing crime to historic lows or rebuilding the city's infrastructure, the mayor has a long record of accomplishments for the people of Seattle."

Drago's criticism of Nickels' record is sure to call into question her own credentials, since she served on the council while the decisions were made.

The draft speech takes Nickels to task for his inability to persuade the state Legislature to free up tax money for a KeyArena expansion. An agreement that allowed Sonics owner Clay Bennett to break the lease at KeyArena would have brought Seattle $30 million if the Legislature approved arena funding in 2009 and the city then failed to attract another NBA team within five years.

Drago's speech also criticizes the mayor for not securing better bus service from King County, which operates Metro Transit buses. Drago chairs the council's Transportation Committee.

And she criticizes the mayor for responding with "nothing" when neighborhoods and businesses needed snow removal during the December snowstorms.

On the council, Drago has not been among the leaders in assessing Seattle's snowstorm response. Other council members have led efforts to hire an outside consultant to study the city's performance.

In late December, amid public frustration with icy streets, Drago told a local newspaper she was getting around fine in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

A month later, after Nickels was widely criticized for saying the city deserved a grade of B for its snow-clearing efforts, Drago told a TV interviewer she'd "probably say D" for the city response.

Drago's speech makes direct appeals to Seattle's neighborhoods, in an attempt to shore up their support. It also characterizes the mayor's public-safety efforts as inconsistent. Nickels launched a Youth Violence Prevention Initiative last year, but he ordered the disbanding of the Police Department gang unit in 2002 in favor of a more neighborhood-based policing system. Drago opposed that move at the time.

Other candidates in the race are former Sonic James Donaldson, T-Mobile executive Joe Mallahan, former Sierra Club leader Michael McGinn and corporate recruiter Norman Sigler.

The primary is Aug. 18.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com