In this week's paper, I quote Jane Zalutsky—chair of the board at the Seattle Rep—as a Mallahan supporter. (In "The Case for Mike McGinn," part three in a zillion-part series.)

I asked her why she supports Joe Mallahan even though McGinn is clearly the culture candidate.

"The tunnel," she said. "I support the tunnel."

"Let's try a thought experiment and pretend the tunnel doesn't exist or isn't a dividing issue. Do you still support Joe Mallahan?"

"The tunnel is such a huge issue, I can't try that thought experiment."

That was last week. I called her again this morning:

"Hey Jane, so—how about that tunnel? Last week you couldn't even imagine the tunnel not being a dividing issue and... ta-da! So are you a McGinn supporter now?"

She wouldn't go that far. But she did say: "I'm going to let this ballot sit on my kitchen table a little while longer." I suspect there are a lot of Jane Zalutskys out there... but only a highly scientific, legally binding Slog poll can tell us:

When the mayor's race began, neither candidate had an arts platform. The city was forced to speculate about what Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn were thinking. How would they deal with music clubs and noise complaints? Would they give the city's arts offices more muscle? Did they understand that bolstering a city's culture attracts thinkers and businesses, makes money, and improves life overall?

"No, they didn't," says David Brown, executive director of Pacific Northwest Ballet (which just won a Stranger Genius Award). "Culture was conspicuously absent from the early conversations." So the culture constituency began making noise, publicly and privately, arguing that it mattered and could leverage money and votes (like the city's 21,000 professional arts workers). They asked that cultural stewardship get a seat at the table.

The candidates responded: McGinn released a five-point culture platform in late September, and Mallahan released his four-point plan last week. "Eventually," Brown says, "they told us what we wanted to hear."

• joiseyshowaa on Flickr

The Mallahan plan: 1. Support the city's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs (OACA) and the Office of Film + Music (refuting a wave of negative press after Mallahan—allegedly—suggested cutting OACA). 2. Deal with the noise wars between residential developers and the preexisting nightclubs they're building around. 3. Replace the viaduct with a traffic tunnel to, uh, prevent traffic jams (an irrelevant potshot at McGinn's transportation platform). 4. Involve artists in designing infrastructure projects; push for incentives and zoning amendments so developers will preserve/build arts spaces along with their condos.

The McGinn plan: 1. Protect the OACA budget and lift it when the economy permits. 2. Increase arts investment from the city, including targeted capital infusions. 3. Designate cultural districts and push incentives for developers to preserve/build arts spaces. (More specifically, support recommendations from the Cultural Overlay District Advisory Committee, or CODAC, a group of arts and housing folks from Liz Dunn to Michael Seiwerath to Pat Graney—people worth listening to.) 4. Include arts and music education in Families and Education Levy proposals. 5. Do more research. That sounds boring, but we don't fully understand how arts funding improves the city's life and economy. The more we know, the better the policy.

Their platforms are similar, but McGinn's is more grounded and specific, and it shows familiarity with the work the culture constituency has already done. And it doesn't mention the tunnel, though Mallahan is now adopting that albatross as his own.

(Another viaduct proposal: If and when it goes, keep a portion for open-air concerts—sitting up top at sunset would be fantastic.)

The fact that the candidates launched these platforms at all shows they're paying attention. That alone is a small victory.

Let's play a game of compare and contrast.

Today, Mike McGinn released a released a five-point arts and culture plan—including funding for arts and music education through the Families and Education Levy, a recognition that money for culture is an investment and not a handout (using some familiar language and figures), a pledge to fund individual artists, and backing for CODAC (a push to preserve arts spaces in gentrifying neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, which tend to lose arts spaces when the developers move in).

Dom's right—it's not city-shattering news, but it's specific and pointed in the right direction.

What does Joe Mallahan have to say about culture in Seattle?

Seattle could not be the great town that it is without our strong arts and cultural scene. As mayor, I will continue the city’s support of arts programs around the city, which leverage economic activity and increase the quality of life in Seattle. Support for arts, film, music and other cultural events will have an official place in my administration. Supporting arts is something we all need to do, especially the city, and I will continue to do that as mayor.

Well, that's nice. But... how? Willing to put any specifics on the table, Mr. Mallahan?

Seattle has a lot of artists and arts workers: employees of STG, the theaters, the ballet, the opera, the symphony, SAM, music venues, dance clubs, independent movie theaters, etc., etc. I'm guessing there are thousands of you out there—enough to throw a tight election.

Seattle also has a lot of arts money: board members and donors and subscribers who care about all those arts institutions.

Remember: You are a constituency. Ask yourselves throughout the next few weeks: Which candidate will represent your interests—the interests of culture and urbanity, which means money as well as quality of life and edification and, you know, fun—when he's in office?

UPDATE

Commenter Enigma says:

It's too bad the Stagehand Union followed the rest of the unions in endorsing Mallahan. Seems a bit misguided when the other unions only supported Joe cause of the tunnel, the Stagehands don't have much to gain out of that deal.

Brother-union solidarity has its place—but it'd be a shame if the stagehands threw themselves off a cliff for the sake of the trade unions. (And when was the last time the trades did theater workers a favor?)

A couple of bonus reader comments from this story on why organized labor has endorsed Mallahan, even though he comes from years as a vice-president at T-Mobile, a virulently anti-union business:

Oy! Considering I'm a former TMO worker (emphasis on FORMER), I dread Mallahan. If he runs this city like he ran TMO, we're in for a bad ride. TMO was the very definition of "ride employees until they break" and "no job is good enough."

McGinn needs to get his head out of his ass and realize he's wasting time pissing and moaning about a tunnel. It's NOT the biggest issue on the table for Seattle. Bread and butter issues like AFFORDABLE housing (not just yuppie condos), environment, and living-wage work need attention.

Because the unions are corrupt, out-dated and run by the very same yuppies Mallahan represents. The unions do not have the interest of their members in mind - they have their own interests in mind.

DON'T JOIN A UNION - FORM A UNION!