Next to the Space Needle he's the city's tallest landmark, so why not James Donaldson for mayor of Seattle? And he says that his first order of business will be ... bringing back the SuperSonics.
Seattle is never without a full contingent of characters running for public office (Dan Savage, editor of The Stranger, is also running for mayor, but says that if he's elected he will resign within 24 hours). But Donaldson, a 14-year NBA veteran who served three seasons with the Sonics, is a bit more serious. He'll challenge democratic incumbent Norman Sigler.
"People take a look at me and I think they quickly put me in a category where they think I belong, or where they think I might have come out of," Donaldson told Seattle's KJR radio on Friday. "But sports didn't come to me until real late in my life. I was a senior in high school before I played my first basketball game. Education has always been a big passion of mine and a paramount piece of my life.
"On top of all that, I love people. I love the city I live in and I really feel like this is a great time in my life at 51 years of age to really get involved at another level and make a greater impact, and have a further reach all the way across the state. From Seattle all the way over to WSU and Pullman, working with leaders hand-in-hand making our state better than ever."
Donaldson, who owns two or three fitness clinics in the Seattle area, at first said that he was going to run for city council. Then he decided to try for mayor, in part of David Stern's master plan to install former NBA players as mayor of every major west coast city.
Ah, basketball controversy abounds in the Emerald City. Meanwhile, pro soccer prospers.
Ex-Sonic James Donaldson In For Seattle Mayor [Seattle Times]
The United States' Tallest Ever Politician Wants To Bring The Sonics Back [Sports Radio Interviews]