Exiting mayor Greg Nickels, in an interview with KIRO, said this:

Mayor elect (Mike) McGinn, I think, won the election when he said that he would no longer stand in the way of the deal that the Governor (Christine Gregoire) and I came to over a year ago. I know he earned my vote that way and I hope that he realizes that and was being absolutely sincere. If not, I suspect he is going to have a hell of a fight on his hands.

Joe Mallahan adopted a nearly identical platform to Nickels—shared progressive values, moving Seattle forward, etc.—but the mayor still voted for the other guy. Go figure.