5 in Seattle City Council Position 4 race differ on tackling problems

This is the second of three stories this week profiling the races for Seattle City Council.

In the crowded field for Seattle City Council Position 4, all five candidates say that Mayor Greg Nickels has bullied a relatively weak council, the city is neglecting its neighborhoods, and poor financial management and inefficient services have marred Seattle in recent years.

But beyond the broad strokes, the hard-and-fast solutions they offer diverge drastically.

Sally Bagshaw, the candidate who has raised the most money , seemingly faces her biggest challenge from longtime housing activist David Bloom. Rounding out the field are Dorsol Plants, a 24-year-old Iraq-war-veteran-turned-homeless-shelter counselor; Brian Carver, an Amazon.com "lean management" executive; and Thomas Tobin, a restaurant employee and small-business owner.

Here's a closer look at the field to replace Councilmember Jan Drago, who is now running for Seattle mayor. The top two finishers in the Aug. 18 primary move on to the Nov. 3 general election:

Sally Bagshaw

Bagshaw, a lawyer for more than 30 years who headed the King County Prosecutor's Civil Division, said she would seek to expedite construction on an Alaskan Way tunnel and other big projects, to kick-start Seattle's economy.

She is Drago's pick for a successor.

A two-term member of the Lake Forest Park City Council who volunteered with the Obama presidential campaign, Bagshaw said she would work to increase the city's affordable-housing stock and rebuild relations between City Hall and neighborhoods.

"The key is [the mayor and council] need to work directly with neighborhoods, not imposing their will upon them," she said.

Bagshaw, a trained mediator, said she would try to "change the tone" on the City Council by working as a "collaborative problem-solver" with the mayor's office. If negotiations break down, Bagshaw said she would use "the power of the purse" to keep any mayor in check.

On hot-button issues, Bagshaw supports repealing the so-called "head tax" on businesses and said she'd give city residents a year to voluntarily reduce plastic grocery-bag use by 30 percent before voting to impose a bag tax.

David Bloom

Bloom, a housing advocate and Church Council of Greater Seattle deputy director, said he would seek less expensive alternatives to a bored tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct and "Mercer Mess" construction He says neither has broad public support.

"We haven't really assessed what the most sensible transportation solution is," he said.

Bloom says he'd develop a "regional transportation plan" that would seek affordable solutions to "connect neighborhoods to more bus routes." With the savings from scrapped big-ticket projects, Bloom said he would build 5,000 more affordable-housing units.

A longtime activist for homelessness issues who co-founded the Downtown Emergency Service Center, Bloom said he'd oppose a proposal to build a new $200 million jail, saying Seattle should seek instead to renegotiate its current jail contract with King County and "invest in pro-social activities and treatment programs" to further reduce incarceration rates for misdemeanor offenders.

Endorsed by Councilmember Nick Licata, Bloom said he's not deterred by critics who brand him a Licata clone.

"We need more of that kind of perspective on the council, frankly," he said.

Brian Carver

Carver, an Amazon.com "lean management" manager, said he would use his business experience to make city government more efficient and accountable.

"It's not about getting rid of jobs," he said. "It's about empowering people and giving them tools so that they can implement change and make themselves work more efficiently."

A supporter of repeal of the "head tax," Carver also would seek to abolish a tax on small businesses based on a firm's square footage.

"There's huge opportunities to promote more growth in small businesses, which drive job creation," he said. "We need to simplify regulations and taxes."

As a volunteer youth mentor, Carver believes the city should take a more active role in creating programs for young people and seeking to get more youngsters involved in volunteer work. If elected, he said, he would seek to put 10,000 youth volunteers to work in city departments.

"I know I'm quite young, but I've been quite successful in any field I've moved into," he said. "Part of the reason is because I can see things and identify needs that people hadn't seen before."

Dorsol Plants

A homeless-shelter counselor and neighborhood activist, Plants is campaigning on three main issues: restoring power to city neighborhoods, reducing teen violence and ending homelessness.

Among other steps, Plants said he would speed up the city's neighborhood planning process and seek to bring "nontraditional neighborhood leadership" groups now left out of city planning processes to the table.

Plants said he would tackle teen violence by seeking to restore funding cuts to community centers, city libraries and the Police Department's gang unit.

"And he'll seek to "take steps to correct the [city's] Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness so that it really works."

"Thirty-four people died last year outside because they didn't have a bed," he said. "No one I've talked to think there are enough beds, despite what we hear from City Hall."

Plants said his election would ensure better representation of some of the fastest-growing demographics in the city.

"I don't own a car. I'm a renter. I'm 24. I'm a military veteran. These are all experiences I have that aren't currently represented."

Thomas Tobin

Tobin, a waiter at Daniel's Broiler who also runs his own Internet service-provider company, said he's running as an everyman candidate who is sick and tired of City Hall's rampant spending and poor management.

"I'm kind of like the common folk that sees city government as not really helping the commoner," he said.

An unsuccessful candidate for council 12 years ago, Tobin points to the city's response to the December snowstorms and City Light Superintendent Jorge Carrasco's $40,000 bonus as recent examples of why he is running again. (Carrasco donated the bonus to charity after it provoked criticism.)

Tobin described his other key issue as reducing red tape for small-business owners.

As a lifelong resident of the city, Tobin said he is banking on his life experiences as a military veteran, a small-business owner and someone who has worked a variety of jobs to help him bring a common-sense approach to City Hall.

"I really love this city and I think it would be good for someone like myself to get on the council and stir the pot, and get these people off their hands."