Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago's first appearance with Mayor Greg Nickels, whom she is challenging for mayor, was relatively tame, with Drago taking only one shot at the mayor in her closing statement.

"The mayor's Seattle Way has turned out to be the hardball political Chicago way," she said, as the timer rang indicating she was out of time.

She was referring to a campaign promise Nickels made in 2001, when he ran for his first term, to do things "The Seattle Way" by seeking consensus and making group decisions.

Drago went easy on the mayor as she answered questions about the environment, saying she'd push for more stable transit funding and implementation of the city's bike and pedestrian plans. Drago repeated portions of the speech she made when she announced her candidacy last week: Seattle has lost respect throughout the region and is losing momentum because of Nickels' leadership style.

Nickels didn't respond to other candidates' criticisms of him during the debate.

Instead, he talked about his accomplishments -- lower crime, a light-rail system that's about to open, and convincing other mayors around the country to commit to environmental goals.