2 newcomers vie to be Seattle's mayor

Two political newcomers battled Tuesday to be Seattle's next mayor, and a former TV news anchor and a seasoned local politician faced off for King County's highest office.

In Seattle, Joe Mallahan, a T-Mobile executive, and Sierra Club activist Mike McGinn outpolled Mayor Greg Nickels in the August primary and advanced to the general election. Nickels, a two-term incumbent, had been dogged by criticism of the city's response to a December snowstorm that paralyzed Seattle for nearly two weeks.

Following the primary, Mallahan and McGinn - both Democrats - set out to establish their names among Seattle voters. The position is technically nonpartisan.

Mallahan won key endorsements from established local politicians - including Gov. Chris Gregoire; business organizations, and labor unions, largely because of his support for a highway tunnel under downtown Seattle that would replace the earthquake-damaged Alaskan Way Viaduct.

McGinn made opposition to the tunnel a centerpiece of his primary campagin, but softened his position a few weeks ago.

Mallan raised more than $710,000, including big chunks of his own money. McGinn ran a volunteer-fueled campaign, raised just over $200,000.

Going into Tuesday's election, polls showed the race was up for grabs.

In King County, voters will decide who will be the next county executive, choosing between County Council Chairman Dow Constantine and former TV news anchor Susan Hutchison. Although voters in the largely Democratic county made the position non-partisan last year, Constantine is a veteran Democratic politician, while Hutchison has strong ties to Republican politicians and some conservative causes.

About 20 percent of the more than 1,084,000 ballots issued had been returned as of Monday for the all-mail election, according to the county's election office. Voters had until Tuesday to postmark their choices, or drop them off at select locations.