With three days left to vote by mail for Tuesday’s primary, tonight and Sunday morning we are wrapping up our close-up looks at candidates in races including the three Seattle City Council contests you’ll find on the primary ballot. Previous stories are in the WSB Politics archive.

By Jack Mayne
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Behold, a political candidate who says he is not a politician and maintains he will serve only one term in office “because I can get a lot of work done in four years.”

Martin Kaplan, a 60-year-old Queen Anne resident, says his experience makes him ready to start working as a City Councilmember on the day he is sworn in and can work harder for voters because he will not have to spend all that time during his term trying to line up financial and political support for a reelection bid.

“I won’t be involved in (preserving) the future of my political life,” says Kaplan, who contends that he is running “against two politicians,” Nick Licata and Jessie Israel. Licata is finishing his third term on the Council, and is running for a fourth, which he once promised would be as much time as he would serve. Israel is running for the office for the first time, but her political involvements over the years show she is no political novice.

So if Licata can change his mind about another term, could Kaplan do the same? Kaplan says that is unlikely because he has a 9-year-old daughter who will be in her early teen years after a four-year term, and figures his time will be absorbed there.

Besides, he has been owner of Martin Henry Kaplan Architects for 30 years, and with a young daughter has no thoughts of retirement from the firm, he says.

His family has lived in Seattle for more than a century, he says, so he has “the background and institutional knowledge of our city’s history, neighborhoods, issues, and opportunities that uniquely provide a firm foundation for my candidacy.”

In 1971, he says he joined architect Victor Steinbrueck’s committee to save the Pike Place Market years later he was appointed to the Pike Place Market Historical Commission. “I was an early resident of downtown as well, moving into the market neighborhood in 1984, where I co founded an early downtown community council,” he says. “I moved my office from Pioneer Square to the market and left my car parked, using transit, bicycle, and feet for transportation before it was a popular cause.”

In 2004 he was appointed to the Seattle Planning Commission and is now in his second term on the commission.

But with all this experience, why take on Nick Licata, who has won his last two races with well over 70 percent of vote?

“During Nick’s 12 year tenure, he has continually self-marginalized his Council position by proudly taking (contrary) positions, garnering headlines instead of representing our city in a holistic 360-degree commitment,” he says. “Watching Nick insert obstructive interference into a number of really important issues especially in the last few years inspired my challenge to replace him. He seems to be stuck in the 70’s and most often lacks the vision and the commitment to inspire and lead our city and our citizens to think ahead and move decisively forward into the 21st century.”

Kaplan says Licata fought light rail, but now – after it is operating – supports it; that Licata wanted to keep the Alaskan Way Viaduct, but recently says he supports a deep-bored tunnel.

What he sees as another Licata misstep was siding against keeping the Seattle Sonics, instead suggesting sports was “not worthy” of city investment compared with the Symphony and Opera.

“His position and lack of foresight affected tourism and tourist dollars, family entertainment choices, employment opportunities, neighborhood businesses, and city tax revenues supported by the above,” Kaplan says, adding he would support bringing a new team into the city, but has some reservations about public money to renovate KeyArena.

His other opponent, Jessie Israel, Kaplan claims, is overplaying involvement with developing neighborhood plans and winning King County Parks awards.

Kaplan believes the most challenging issue facing Seattle is the predicted increase in population and says Licata has fostered “intense division between some neighborhoods and downtown. “It has become an ‘us vs. them’ confrontation which is neither productive nor healthy but remains fueled by Nick. I am the only candidate who has been discussing the connection between a strong economy and being able to invest smartly in our neighborhoods including downtown, which is our largest neighborhood.”

He says Seattle must “protect, retain and invite business opportunities back to Seattle” and that “we are no longer the de-facto regional center for business, industry, commerce and retail in the Northwest.”

He says he will provide a “new and fresh voice, based upon years of experience that will bring a new dynamic” to the Council.

Kaplan unhesitatingly supports the deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct as well at the city’s proposed two-way Mercer project. They, he says, “will provide the critical foundation” for growing the economy in a sustainable fashion, along with integrating the transportation network and also provide affordable housing. The Mercer project was never intended to reduce travel times from I-5 to the Seattle Center, but was to allow more choices for transit, cars, bicycles and pedestrians.

“I was invited to participate on the Mercer Corridor Stakeholders Committee where I have served since the beginning for perhaps four years,” he says. “The goals of the project focus around knitting back together the neighborhoods of Uptown, Queen Anne, South Lake Union, Denny Broad Triangle, Seattle Center, Cascade and others,” he says. The project never was intended to reduce travel times from Interstate 5 to Seattle Center, but was for more choices for transit/bike/pedestrian/auto while providing opportunities to cross Aurora in multiple locations instead of just Denny and Mercer. “We have succeeded in doing that,” he says.

Kaplan says he does not agree with many in the city’s neighborhoods who say Mayor Greg Nickels has turned his back on them to focus on downtown. “I have worked diligently within our neighborhoods to support city investments into our neighborhood and others and understand the frustration by some that they have no sidewalks and little infrastructure investment compared with other closer-in neighborhoods,” he says. “In order to make major investments in the neighborhoods, we must have the financial resources available which begin with a robust economy that delivers tax revenues for us to invest.”

He was involved in writing the process for updating neighborhood plans, Kaplan says. “I believe that these updates, relying upon current status reports, will provide the foundation for updating our neighborhood plans in a responsible and efficient manner. At this time I do not favor returning back to the major effort from 10 years ago where we engaged the neighborhoods with professional planners.”

Many of the plans are still acceptable to fulfill the demands of the state Growth Management Act, Kaplan says. “However, I have been very supportive over the last five years to do a major update within the neighborhoods that have, and will have, transit hubs and rail stations.”

Kaplan blames what he call the “sound bite” mentality for the widely-held view that the Council is a rubber-stamp for the mayor. He says people no longer seem interested in the details of government.

“Concerning Council work, I do not find this often discussed in the press or investigated or exposed by journalists,” he says. “I believe that this is has led to a complacent general public, populated by a minority who thirst for information.”

But he thinks Licata’s oft-contrary methods fail to “advance or contribute to legislation.”

“I may indeed disagree with particular issues, but … I will dig in and work hard with my colleagues to contribute to improving legislation, not just disagreeing. Being the lone vote on the council is nothing I would be proud of; it only confirms that one has not really participated and in fact become ineffective.”

Kaplan’s website is at mhkforseattle.com. He is not one of the two candidates in the Position 4 race endorsed by West Seattle’s biggest political group, the 34th District Democrats – they favored Nick Licata and Jessie Israel. Our candidate reports on them will appear later tonight, and we have more election coverage with a last look at the mayoral candidates tomorrow morning; be sure to get your ballot into the mail or a drop box by 8 pm Tuesday. Find our archived coverage of all political races and issues here, newest to oldest.