Seattle mayoral race goes to Nickels

SEATTLE, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- King County Councilman Greg Nickels was declared the winner of the tight Seattle mayoral race after his challenger reluctantly conceded as the final absentee ballots were being counted.

City Attorney Mark Sidran called Nickels Thursday night to concede after it appeared that Nickels' lead could not be overcome.

"I feel very good; it's been a long, long campaign, and I think one that was very good for the city," Nickels told reporters Thursday night during a victory celebration at a downtown Irish pub. "We had a good debate over how the city ought to move forward, and the people have made their decision."

Nickels received 54 percent of the mail-in vote that was counted Thursday, giving him a little over 50-percent of the overall vote to Sidran's 48.43 percent; the remaining percent of the votes went to write-in candidates.

Nickels will replace Mayor Paul Schell, who will be leaving office after a tumultuous term that was highlighted by rioting that disrupted the 1999 World Trade Organization summit; a 6.8 earthquake that jolted the city earlier this year; and a tense relationship between the police department and the city's African-American community.

The new mayor had hinted during the campaign that he might replace Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.

He will also have to deal with a stubborn transportation problem caused by increasingly crowded freeways and an increasingly expensive program to build a light-rail system.

Sidran, who had been endorsed by Seattle's two daily newspapers, ran campaign ads chastising Nickels for his role as the finance committee chairman of the countywide Sound Transit system at a time when costs of the light-rail project were ballooning.