Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn with Asian American supporters at Sun Ya Restaurant during NWAW’s mayoral candidates forum, from left: Kip Tokuda, Mike McGinn, Bihoa Caldwell, and Thao Tran. (Photo by George Liu/NWAW)
I was at Joe Mallahan’s election night party at the Edgewater. When I left, one of Mallahan’s good friend said he was hoping Mallahan could pull through, though he was down by 900 votes at the time.
With sad eyes, the guy said, “Joe is a good man, but a bad campaigner.”
I don’t know Mallahan well enough to say whether he’s a good man, but I do think he’s a weak campaigner.
Despite many of the big-name endorsements in his campaign from the Asian and mainstream communities, Joe lost close to 5,000 votes to Mike McGinn.
I watched two live mayoral debates and one on television. Audience members that leaned toward Mallahan actually said, “Mike didn’t do too bad,” “Mike did better,” or “Joe should have done better.”
Some say McGinn is an attorney so he’s smoother at presenting.
Joe Mallahan toured Seattle’s International District with Asian American community leaders and members on Oct. 26. They lunched at the Four Seas Restaurant. (Photo by John Liu/NWAW)
C’mon, that’s a poor excuse! What’s the magic word? Practice!
Of all the money Mallahan spent — $200,000 on his campaign — he couldn’t hire a trainer to improve his speech delivery? He just doesn’t know how to spend his money effectively.
You might call McGinn a flip-flopper in regard to the tunnel issue. But the fact is McGinn listens well and knows how to adapt to changes. He realized that the tunnel issue would drag him down, so he decided not to oppose it.
He even shaved his beard because some voters will never vote for a bearded man, including some of my friends.
Remember when President Obama ran his presidential campaign? Change is what we need to excel, survive, and win. The one who is responsive to change, adjusts to situations, and redesigns his or her strategies will emerge as the winner.
The Northwest Asian Weekly endorsed Mallahan over McGinn because we were worried about his experience in governing and not seeing Seattle as an international city. Now that the campaign is over, we have seen how McGinn has evolved in his leadership. Being a great listener is a prerequisite for good leadership.
A willingness to change shows an open mind. And responding quickly to crises and challenges shows flexibility and intelligence in problem-solving. We are not as worried as we were before. In fact, we are glad it’s over. Let’s all work together to make Seattle a great city.
Good luck and congratulations to our new mayor-elect, Mike McGinn. ♦
