James Donaldson, the former Seattle Sonic, is the only candidate [for Mayor of Seattle] who is against using tax money to refurbish KeyArena to hopefully lure another NBA team to town. Also, Drago was the only candidate to say she was against electing City Council members by district instead of the current system of city-wide elections.
SeattlePI.com Seattle mayoral debate highlights
I kind of knew this, he said it about a year ago on KJR, and I had to guess he was either thinking that the entire time, or was awash in the loss of the franchise, now you know, and so do I.
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He's against it? He's either drinking Brown and Bean's Kool-Aid (Emerald City Center)or just being a jerk. Frigging Coug. I'm almost glad I don't live in Seattle. This election will be a war of attrition. He wont make it out of the primary.
yeah, but is everyone else for it, or did some hold up "waffle"? who said what in that question in the debate?
I don't recall but what was Donaldson's original response or solution to bringing back a team here? Did he have one?
Darn those conservatives for expecting a private solution alternative. Times are indeed tough for the typical idealistic Seattle liberal. Go ahead and keep presenting it as a "tourist" tax... Nobody's being fooled.
The city is either in the arena business, then invest in it, or it is not. Donaldson is not interested in competing at a high level with existing facilities in Seattle.
That is fine, he then has to get the city out of the way of competing private interests (the city position has been Seattle or out of the state of Washington). Well, they left, the dynamic has changed.
What will he do with KeyArena when a privately funded arena is built in Seattle or Bellevue?
What does that mean to the Seattle Center, and the Seattle Center master plan?
Either compete, or get out of the way. Some candidates choose to compete, he is choosing not to compete.
My interest is Seattle Center, and its KeyArena. A darkened building is not a draw for most citizens, or people from outside of Seattle. I that regard, Donaldson is no help. Some citizens interested in remaking Seattle Center might want to know his positions before they vote.
DBF, all of those taxes are recovered, the state gets base sales tax, entertainment ticket taxes, and B&O taxes, it, in effect, has Seattle commit its revenue resources and then recovers revenue into the general fund (ask Dino Rossi, and his liberal pal Slade Gordon); 10 years = 45 million, the last team was here for 41 years.
The city's revenue is collected at ticket sales, parking, arena user fees.
BTW, this is exactly what I mean by getting out of the way:
"Decades-old dreams of building something big on part of the sprawling parking lot north of Qwest Field took a big step forward this month when the Seattle City Council approved zoning changes paving the way for redevelopment."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sundaybuzz/2009538801_sundaybuzz26.html
the city does not own the land, but they control it by zoning. They are not going to zone in a new arena that kills KeyArena.
I think the funding failure (if/when that happens) should be used as leverage if the terms of the settlement by the end of this year.
baker,
what candidates were for a key remodel for the purpose of bringing back an nba team?
For:
Nickels
Drago
Sigler
Mallahan
waffle:
McGinn
no:
Donaldson
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