Citing greater odds of making it through the primary election, David Schraer, the architect who was running against incumbent Seattle City Council incumbent Jean Godden, switched races this morning to challenge incumbent Tim Burgess instead. Godden's race had five candidates; Burgess had only one challenger, Darryl Carter-Metcalf, who hasn't been heard from since filing paperwork. Making it through the top two-primary election, Schraer explains, will allow more time to build recognition for another run for office.

"It seems very unlikely that I could win against Tim Burgess. He's a good politician," Schraer says. In fact, he "can't think of any particular issue" on which he and Burgess differ.

Explaining the reason decided to run at all, adds Schraer—who writes a blog that calls Mayor Mike McGinn a "yuppie environmentalist"—is that he was expecting McGinn to recruit a slate of council candidates (fellow enviro-yuppies) and Schraer had hoped to stave off their invasion of the council. That slate never materialized. He says McGinn and former mayor Greg Nickels established a "trend of mayors who don't think the council is very relevant or would like to roll over the council."

Shraer, 57, says he hasn't raised any money. According to April records from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, Burgess had raised $163,881.