A couple of minutes before the start of the KCTS debate tonight, Joe Mallahan stifled a yawn, and then closed his eyes, as if taking an on-stage power nap. After Wednesday night's testy exchanges, it seemed as if he needed a pick-me-up.

But Mallahan woke up, and his debate with Mike McGinn had far fewer fireworks than the night before. McGinn worked hard to frame Mallahan as a status-quo conservative firmly in the establishment embrace, bringing up Mallahan's teenage internship with Republican Sen. Slade Gordon at least twice.

McGinn's winning moment of the debate was a recollection of a candidate forum before the primary. Speaking directly at Mallahan, McGinn said, "In your closing statement, you said you were a threat to the status quo in Seattle. Ever since the primary ended, the status quo has moved in and become your advisers and your funders because the status quo wants that deep-bore tunnel."

"I've never seen a candidate go from idealistic outsider to a campaign run by the status quo in that amount of speed," McGinn said.

Perhaps playing to KCTS's left-leaning audience, Mallahan responded with enough liberal buzzwords that you'd think he was campaigning for a spot in the Seattle liberal Olympics.

He said he'd been a Democrat since he was 13, campaigned for Obama in Indiana, was a Kerry delegate, ate seafood, listed endorsements from prominent African Americans, preferred outreach programs to policing for gang members, wanted every Seattleiite to have not just a job but a living-wage job, had "progressive values," "liberal values" and -- for the liberal Olympics gold! -- "Northwest values."

"I have 20 years of business experience. if that makes me a Republican, well none of the people I worked with think I'm a Republican, I'll tell you that much," said Mallahan.

The closest thing to Wednesday night's testiness was a spat over whether to proceed with selecting the next police chief, and Mallahan's accusation that McGinn was "politicizing" the process.

McGinn turned to Mallahan, squinted angrily and said, "Joe, if you are going to be honest about it, stop saying I'm politicizing public safety, because it's too important of an issue for politics."

On the issue of the gun ban in city parks, Mallahan, after several stumbling or vague answers in previous tries, finally gave a clear answer about why he did not favor keeping Greg Nickels' ban. (McGinn favors keeping it, and paid for a controversial robo-call on the subject).

Mallahan said the ban isn't worth taking to court. "It is a gesture at best. It simply comprises putting up signs in parks saying 'Don't bring guns in parks.'"