Political Ball: Scoring points

The city of Seattle's deal with the Sonics will put new plays into a number of political campaigns. Whether you like the settlement or not, it's a fair subject for political point scoring.

We think the settlement treats taxpayers well. Even if you accept it was the smartest deal at this point, though, there's plenty to debate about how the city, region and state ended up in a position where it made sense to accept money for a loss of the NBA franchise.

The questioning has already started with the governor's race this year but could also extend to some of the state legislative campaigns. As we argued more than once in March, Gov. Chris Gregoire and Democratic legislators had a real chance to help save the franchise by authorizing King County to impose local taxes to help with a $150 million offer of private money for remodeling KeyArena. They said it was late in the session and they had other priorities; voters are free to judge whether those were reasons or excuses and how much weight the issue carries.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' shot at a third term won't come until next year, when some City Council seats are also on the ballot. Incumbents may get a boost from a deal that keeps taxpayers whole, but they also could face plenty of criticisms. We long worried about the city's lack of creativity in looking for alternatives. Some of the trial evidence raises sharper questions about city passivity. Game on.