Drago enters Seattle mayor's race

Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago announced this afternoon she is running for mayor and said that, if elected, her first priority will be getting people back to work.

The 16-year council member, former small-business owner and schoolteacher said she has been preparing her whole life for the job of mayor.

"We will start a new exciting era in Seattle's history," she said, "an era where Seattle is once again respected throughout the state."

Drago has been a reliable ally of Mayor Greg Nickels, but will now try to unseat him as he seeks a third term. The two agree on many issues, but she is running instead on style.

She said Nickels has alienated state and regional leaders.

In contrast, she characterized her style as "working in partnership, in coalition ... to empower people, to bring in stakeholders before a decision is made."

Asked to give an example of a time Nickels has failed to do that, she said, "I can't give you an example where he has."

Drago announced her candidacy downtown, near the Hammering Man sculpture at the Seattle Art Museum, in front of about 50 gathered supporters and members of the media.

Councilmember Bruce Harrell stood beside her to show his support, and Council President Richard Conlin was also there, although he said he is not formally endorsing anyone.

Drago said in her address that it was important to seek family-wage jobs and help the small-business community.

"There is a lot we all agree upon," she said. "What we need is trusted leadership and a commitment to partnerships to make it happen."

Drago, 69, said earlier this year she would not seek another term on the City Council.

Nickels' campaign this morning issued its own missive.

An e-mail from Nickels campaign spokesman Sandeep Kaushik takes shots at Drago's City Council meeting attendance record, saying she's missed a third of the council's meetings this year.

The campaign also jabs at Drago's advocacy of a "space-age potty initiative." Drago in 2001 supported putting high-tech public toilets in Pioneer Square and elsewhere. The expensive toilets were blamed for attracting crime, and ultimately removed.

The Nickels release also takes note of Drago's travel schedule. The council member traveled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi earlier this year. From Nickel's release:

"Mayor of Seattle is not a part-time job. It is not something you do because you are not quite ready to retire or because you did not get the job you really wanted. Given that Drago has spent thousands of taxpayer dollars in recent months acting as Seattle's self-appointed ambassador to the world, how can she now credibly accuse Mayor Nickels of being too focused on national issues?" Kaushik said.

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. Magnolia resident Elizabeth Campbell sent out a press release just after noon today announcing that she will enter the race. Campbell opposes the plan to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel.

Before she ran for City Council, Drago taught preschool and owned several ice-cream shops. The Michigan native counts her lobbyist father and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as among her political influences.

Drago made a name for herself soon after her election in 1993 by supporting off-leash dog parks. Then her committee worked with then-Mayor Norm Rice on downtown revitalization.

She supported extending the monorail even as the financing plan imploded, and backed other big projects, too, including the mayor's plan to revitalize the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-2441 or eheffter@seattletimes.com