Drago tries to distance herself from Nickels

Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago got into the mayor's race knowing she needed to peel off some of Mayor Greg Nickels' supporters — as much as 20 percent — to reach her fundraising goal of $200,000.

Polling before her May announcement showed voters knew her and might support her. Perhaps more important, it showed they had enough disdain for the incumbent that they might vote for just about anyone else.

With the Aug. 18 primary just a few weeks away, Drago's campaign has picked up donations from about 70 of Nickels' 2,000 contributors, according to the most recent filing this month.

To persuade Nickels' donors to contribute to her campaign, Drago will have to establish an identity separate from his, but she has little money or time to do it. It's been her campaign's biggest struggle so far.

Her only major endorsement — from the Alki Foundation — is shared with Nickels. Democratic districts have rejected her as an insider. The Stranger alternative newspaper featured a drawing of Nickels last week, and to capture Drago's likeness, the artist used the same drawing — with a bow in its hair.

Her opponents have seized on it.

"She brings some different dynamics and different elements into the race (in that) she's seen as being another longtime incumbent," said former Sonic James Donaldson, the candidate who in some polls is tied with Drago for third place.

Drago (pronounced DRAH-go) has been elected four times to the City Council, serving 16 years. She has been Nickels' ally on major initiatives. If the two disagreed in public, it was often over who should get credit for a project they worked on together.

Drago said she and the mayor worked together "because it takes a mayor and a council working together to make the big accomplishments on projects."

When Drago announced she wouldn't seek another council term, she wasn't expected to run for mayor. She started her campaign as the experienced alternative to Nickels, but her record as chairwoman of the council's Transportation Committee is so wrapped up with Nickels' that the two are campaigning on the same things: a new tunnel on the waterfront, an expanding network of streetcars, a more accountable city Department of Transportation.

They have disagreed.

In 2002 and 2006, Drago fought to keep the Seattle Police Department gang unit whole. Both times, the rest of the council agreed with Nickels that specialized units should be scaled back to put more officers on patrol. Since then, the police department has restored the unit.

Late last year, Drago fought a program that requires builders to include affordable housing in their projects in exchange for higher building heights, questioning whether it would really achieve its goal.

She was the only member of the City Council to oppose a 20-cent fee on plastic and paper grocery bags, an issue now on the August ballot.

In January, she went on the record saying the city deserved a grade of a "D" for the handling of the December snowstorms.

Nickels offered a now infamous grade of "B." Since then, Drago has grown increasingly critical of city transportation Director Grace Crunican.

She has stopped short of saying she would fire Crunican if she's elected, but she has become more aggressive over the past several weeks in her oversight of the beleaguered department, requiring twice-monthly reports. On Thursday, Drago released a "blueprint" for her first term as mayor. Her specific plans for the economy, transportation, public safety, youth violence, neighborhoods, human services and seniors follow an agenda similar to what the mayor released last week.

"This campaign is about the future. It's not about the past," she said.

The document includes a few surprises. She opposes a new jail, while Nickels thinks a new jail eventually will be necessary. She calls for city parks staff to assist the senior centers and wants universal preschool and city help for parents and expectant mothers.

Drago said she is on track to raise $100,000 by the end of the month and expects to reach her $200,000 goal by the primary.

According to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, Drago has $72,000, but the next filing deadline is Tuesday, so she will likely post more donations then.

"At the end of the day, the biggest difference between Greg Nickels and myself is that he has spent his entire career in politics," she said. "When I was in high school and running a business, he was in politics. When I was a teacher ... he was in politics. When I was in business in Seattle with my Häagen-Dazs shops, he was in politics. And I've also had the public sector experience."

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com

The Municipal League of King County rated candidates for Seattle mayor and other races Thursday. A reference at the end of a Page One story on Jan Drago incorrectly said the Municipal League had endorsed candidates.