Mike McGinn was endorsed today by UNITE-HERE Local 8, Washington State’s hospitality workers’ union.

“Mike understands how important it is for the mayor’s office to play a positive role in creating and protecting quality jobs for hotel workers in Seattle,” said Rick Sawyer, the union’s Secretary Treasurer and Principal Officer.

UNITE-HERE endorsed McGinn based on his understanding of the issues important to workers in the hospitality industry. Seattle’s tourist economy provides a significant source of jobs for working families in the region.

Mike McGinn’s position is clear:

“I support Mayor Nickels’ efforts to ban firearms from parks and public places. There is no reason for people to carry guns in our parks, and tragedies like the Folklife shootings cannot be allowed to occur.”
- Mike McGinn, public safety platform, September 14, 2009

Meanwhile, Joe Mallahan no longer supports the gun ban:

Joe Mallahan… signals he won’t continue the ban if he’s elected mayor… “Far too many guns are carried in Seattle today illegally and I think that’s where we really need to focus.”
- Essex Porter, KIRO-TV, October 15, 2009

“Joe Mallahan says, while he supports what the mayor is trying to do, he is not certain if this is the right way to do it.”
- Tonya Mosely, KING-TV, October 15, 2009

“Joe shares concerns about family safety, especially in public parks, and thinks we should look for additional measures to increase safety,” says Mallahan spokesperson Charla Neuman. “He has concerns about whether this is the most pragmatic solution though.”
- Caleb Hannan, Seattle Weekly, October 15, 2009

“Pragmatic solution” seems to be Joe’s code phrase for ignoring public opinion (See Tunnel, deep-bore).

Dick Lilly, a former member of the Seattle School Board, made a strong case for the next mayor focusing on programs designed to put high school kids to work.

Lily wrote: Only the mayor can bring the city together to make it happen. The mayor can lead. He can jawbone. He can say this is what we’re going to do: We in Seattle, the businesses, governments, and nonprofit enterprises that are the economic engine of this place are all going to step up and provide every youngster in Seattle public high schools at least one year of part-time work, real work, during their four years of high school.

Dick Lilly is right. Putting high school kids to work is a mission that we need to accomplish as a city. Not only will we help build confidence and opportunity for our city’s less advantaged youth, but if we’re successful, we will have fewer kids turning to gangs and other negative directions.

I strongly recommend Mr. Lilly’s article to everyone interested in working on ways to re-vitalize our public schools. If elected mayor, I look forward to working with people from all backgrounds to
ensure that our city does not fall short of preparing our kids for life after high school.

The article, “Hey kids: Get a Job”, can be found at Crosscut.

This morning, Local 925 of the SEIU endorsed Mike McGinn for Mayor of Seattle.

With a membership over 23,000, the union represents workers in education and public service across the state, including employees of the University of Washington, public schools in western Washington, and family child-care workers.

The SEIU is Washington’s largest union, with 100,000 members in the state and 1.8 million nationally.

Monday’s endorsement was the second major union endorsement for McGinn in the last week, following the UFCW Local 21, which endorsed last Wednesday.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 announced their endorsement today of Mike McGinn for Seattle Mayor.

“We made this decision because we feel that Mike McGinn is a candidate with a broad range of experience rooted in the local community. The election is about the future of this great progressive city and Mike will do right by our members and help advance the lives of working people,” said Steve Williamson, Assistant to the President of UFCW 21. “Looking closely at his values and the leadership he has already provided, we feel strongly that he would represent working people in our city.”

With membership in excess of 35,000, UFCW Local 21 is the state’s largest private sector union. It represents workers in grocery, retail, and other service industry jobs.