Safeco CEO Mike McGavick announced his resignation this afternoon
McGavick is stepping down effective Aug. 31 "to give full consideration to the possibility of public service"I received an e-mail that McGavick has scheduled a press conference for noon tomorrow "to discuss his motivation for exploring a run for the U.S. Senate in 2006".
UPDATE: This speech, which McGavick gave to the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce in 2002, has gotten rave reviews.
UPDATE 2: A Republican congressional staffer reports that McGavick was making calls to Capitol Hill today asking for support for his Senate bid. And he was getting it.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 18, 2005 04:39 PM | Email ThisOh, and by the way, Mr. Sharansky, the period goes inside the quotes.
"JDB", whatever your name is, my name is Sharkansky. But feel free to post your anonymous tips on copyediting and effective communication.
Posted by: Stefan Sharkansky on July 18, 2005 05:48 PMWhat's your excuse for misspelling Stefan's name, idiot?
Posted by: ScottM on July 18, 2005 05:55 PMDoes he have a site where his bio is posted?
-Chief of Staff to Senator Slade "Godfather" Gorton in early-1990s.
-President, CEO, and Chairman of Safeco for the past several years
You will find he is very pro-business, much like Dino. He is much more moderate socially. He will probably clone a lot of Slade's environmental positions to swing over a few extra Dems. He will be able to raise money like NUTS.
In my opionion, he is the second best candidate I could hope for (outside of the Attorney General who probably couldn't pull off a quick turn around like that). My first choice would have been a member of the McCaw clan (Bruce, Craig, Susan). McGavick is my second choice. He is FAR FAR FAR better than Linda Evans Parnette (huge RINO), Chris Vance (buffoon), Slade (ran into him recently and he is olllld), George Nethercutt (political moron), Rick White (who?), or Jennifer Dunn (easily manipulated).
So we have a lot to celebrate as Republicans.
Posted by: ARS on July 18, 2005 07:16 PMShe also has NO CLUE when it comes to the wisdom of drilling for oil in the ANWAR, a place with nothing in it and where no one ever goes. Name a BETTER place for drilling---Maria's backyard??
Posted by: Michele on July 18, 2005 07:17 PMI'm sure he will do well east of the Cascades, the very folks who want good roads, but won't pay the taxes to pay for them. And the same folks who run around with "Support our Troops" stickers on the back of their cars while griping about expensive, out of control government.
Posted by: Unkl Witz on July 18, 2005 07:43 PMI'll just look him up myself.......er...thanks!.
Posted by: Deborah on July 18, 2005 07:54 PMAnd just for the record, he had absolutely nothing to do with purchasing the naming rights to Safeco Field. The credit for that goes to George Johnson and Roger Eigsti.
Posted by: Unkl Witz on July 18, 2005 07:58 PMWe shall see with this guy.
And remember, it's Maria Can'twin.
Posted by: Sailor Republica on July 18, 2005 08:07 PMNot that I'm questioning your patriotism, oh no, certainly not!
I do wonder why those stickers infuriate you so much, however.
But I am absolutely not questioning your patriotism. Not even a little tiny bit.
Posted by: ScottM on July 18, 2005 08:32 PMI believe that those people with the "Support our Troops" stickers on the backs of their cars (and I happen to be one of them) are griping about the cost of the expensive out of control social programs of goverment. We all understand that one of the primary duties of goverment is defense of the country...that spending is critial in these days...unlike the many entitlement and pork programs of our goverment.
Just my humble opinion tho.....
They don't infuriate me, they puzzle me... You complain about a few billion in local taxes to fix up your own neighborhood/economy, but you turn a blind eye toward the massive waste of hundreds of billions and enormous loss of human life in a senseless war, started under false pretext. Go figure?
Posted by: Unkl Witz on July 18, 2005 08:38 PMThat's right Reichert - you suck and we are on to you.
Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on July 18, 2005 08:47 PMOur "Out of Control Goverment" has been brought to you by "20 years of Dem Control".
I think possibly you should bring your head outta your ARSE and move out of KC and see how the rest of the state lives. (BTW Queen Christine is now pumping money into saving Puget Sound, jeez dont you liberal's know how to use a litter bag?)For pete's sakes, just look at the Waste of our Tax Dollars DAILY.
I think you should be made to watch a 24 hour replay of the London Bombings, over and over, maybe then you will remember 9/11. I remember 9/11, do you remember where you were when you first heard the news? Just try, and then tell me that we shouldn't support the AMERICAN TROOPS that our overseas fighting. Those Troops remember 9/11, you should at least try and respect them.
Posted by: Chris on July 18, 2005 08:50 PMLast time I checked, making a profit is a good thing (I can hear the gasps of shock...yes, I believe making a profit is a GOOD thing).
Posted by: seanod100 on July 18, 2005 08:55 PMLast time I checked, making a profit is a good thing (I can hear the gasps of shock...yes, I believe making a profit is a GOOD thing).
Posted by: seanod100 on July 18, 2005 08:55 PMHave some common decency for their duty. And don't give me the ya ya about "it's not about THEM" until you donate to the USO or a vet's organization. Yes--I gave a bundle of things to the recent Bit of Home drive for the troops.
Call me whatever insult you want, but don't swipe at them from behind your comfy monitor--it's not right.
Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on July 18, 2005 09:03 PMEver heard of the U.N. Unkl, I'm sure you have. Remember that little thing called UN Resolution 1440..(I could have that number wrong..maybe 1441) anyways..it dealt with giving the AUTHORITY to go into Iraq because the goverment there was in violation...remember that?
Remember that little discussion congress had when they gave AUTHORITY to go into Iraq (using the same intell that the President had) remember that?
Remember the multiple missle attacks on our aircraft protecting the "No Fly Zone"??
REMEMBER 9-11 UNKL????????...oh excuse me...I forgot....Iraq had nothing to do wif 9-11....riiiight.
Try pulling yer head outta the sand mister
Posted by: Blueknight on July 18, 2005 09:03 PMI read the Speech Stefan posted as an Update on this topic.....WOW.
A poster above spoke about his lack of "family or community" responsibilty as far as running Safeco. Reading the speech, I didnt read that tone, but of course it is a Speech.
All insurance companies suffered after 9/11 with the enormous claims. I believe he was just doing what he was hired to do, which sounds like "Save Safeco".
Maybe he can do some more Saving....
Posted by: Chris on July 18, 2005 09:18 PMHmmm...Wasted billions? Loss of life? Senseless - started under false pretext?......
THAT sounds exactly like the ravages of the war the Socialists and Communists have waged and continue to wage on our country! Billions of our tax dollars wasted on uptopian fantasies of the liberals! Hundreds of our service men and women killed by an enemy inspired by the anti-American sentiment spewed by the liberal left! Senseless - in that the liberal left claims anti-war - yet would bitch slap their grandmothers if they didn't fall into their liberal lifestyle! The liberal left support their socialist fantasy under the guise of "It's for the children" and more recently the "Emergency clause"....Talk about false pretext!
Whenever you hear a politician mention "it's for the children" you should immediately discount what they have to say.
Gender feminists have been wrapping themselves in "for the children" and getting all the anti-family, anti-father, anti-male legislation they want. The irony is, this crowd has about as much interest in having children as Bill has in going to be with Hillary.
Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on July 18, 2005 09:47 PMThe liberal left - who claim their robbery of our tax dollars is "for the children"...is the SAME liberal left who push for abortion rights! Go figure?
I wonder *who's* children our money is for? Mexico's? France's? .....It can't be for the aborted children - and that's what they support most of all!
They certainly can't have it both ways!
You will find many of these ironies with the liberal left!
Posted by: Deborah on July 18, 2005 10:16 PMThank you again for the opportunity to showcase the unique talents of trolls such as biteme and swizzlestick.
Once upon a time had you described these two mental midgets I would have suggested you were trying to pull my leg.
Surely someone who writes at a fifth grade level would be a bit reluctant to advertise it. Yet here's JDB aka biteme (what kind of fool would refer to itself as biteme?) who dresses it all up in a stuffed shirt. Thank god for spell-check, eh biteme? Too bad it can't correct your sadly defective thinking.
And then there's swizzlestick aka everybody's favorite pervert Unkl Witz. Smarmy when he thinks he's being glib, arrogant when he believes himself artful. A classic case of two-faced, cowardly, self-hating hypocrite aka American liberal.
As for Mr. McGavick, I don't know too much about him (yet), but that will be soon corrected.
One thing I can always take to the bank however - the "worst" Republican is better than the "best" Democrap any day....
Posted by: alphabet soup on July 18, 2005 10:18 PM
Michael S. McGavick, born February 7, 1958 in Washington State, is an American business executive.
Positions he has held include:
Chief of Staff to former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton, a position he assumed after managing Gorton's successful comeback campaign in 1988.
Director of the American Insurance Association's Superfund Improvement Project in Washington, D.C. In that position, he was the American Insurance Association's lead negotiator in working to transform the nation's Superfund environmental laws.
Staff member of the Seattle-based Washington Roundtable, a non-partisan policy research group composed of the chief executive officers of the state's largest corporations.
Senior Financial Officer for Continental Casualty Company's (CNA) Commercial Lines Group.
Vice President of CNA's New Ventures group and led the development of the company's e-commerce strategy.
President and Chief Operating Officer of CNA's largest operating department. The department, with $3.5 billion in annual revenues, provided the majority of CNA's commercial insurance products. It also was responsible for managing and strengthening CNA's relationship with its independent agent distribution system.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Safeco Insurance, which marked a return to his roots in Seattle.
McGavick is a graduate of the University of Washington and a native of Seattle.
He has recently stepped down from his position at Safeco "to give full consideration to the possibility of public service." He is expected to run for the U.S. Senate seat in Washington currently held by Maria Cantwell of Edmonds.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_McGavick"
Out of control government is paying 100 million for bridges for animals to cross the highway to mate and increase the gene pool for the poor sex starved animals...
Out of control government is paying over 80 thousand dollars to give artwork to sexual predators locked up...
Out of control government is paying over a million dollars for artwork at a sewage plant in Snohomish county...
Out of control government is paying 11 billion for a monorail that goes nowhere and doesn't connect to any other form of transportation... like Sound Transit, streetcars, buses, or even the airport...
The list goes on and on Uncl and one thing is for sure, it will continue. The only way to expose the madness is to talk about it and write about it! And support candidates that have the moral courage to change it!
Will he be good for WA and the Senate...who the hell knows.
JDB...I see you're still a moron.
Posted by: Danny on July 19, 2005 04:42 AMName for me a U.S. senator that phrase doesn't describe?
Posted by: V the K on July 19, 2005 06:18 AMBut he's about as warm and loving as Dick Cheney and as charismatic as a sinkful of dirty dishes.
He will not make a great campaigner.
Posted by: Unkl Witz on July 19, 2005 06:25 AMAwwww, was the boss not warm and wuvving?
Hee hee hee!
Posted by: ScottM on July 19, 2005 06:53 AMVRS...can't name a senator who doesn't fit the bill...touche.
Posted by: Danny on July 19, 2005 07:58 AMDoesnt matter if he makes a great campaigner, just that he makes a great Senator!!!
We already have a Gov. who was a great Campaigner (she lied), but that doesnt make her a great Gov.
Was McGavik the Cause of the Train Wreck of Safeco, or was he brought in to clean up the already de-railed train?
I would give a lot for any CEO, etc. to leave the private sector and be a public servant. Corzine and Bloomberg were close to my ideal, except they used their own billions to win their elections. It wasn't ideas.
Sounds like the Safeco CEO was hands on and doesn't have the bankroll to fund a campaign and has to work with others.
Frist was another hero. He left a lucrative position as a doctor to be a senator.
We need more and I intend to support the Safeco CEO.
Posted by: swatter on July 19, 2005 08:07 AMI dont want any more Warm, Fuzzy,Charismic, smily faced politicians. I want Honest, Hard Nosed, Stick to the Problem until Finished type of leaders.
We dont need anymore of the pussyfooting that has been going on the past 20 years. We need Action, and people in office not afraid to "Hurt Somebody's Little Feelings". Running this state is a BUSINESS, and should be treated like one.
Posted by: Chris on July 19, 2005 08:09 AMWe just need more successful people in government offices. There is a guy here at work who calls most politicians "runners". They are always "running" for some office or another. They always get appointed to Transportation Boards or Sound Transit or the DOT Performance Audit Board. They get nothing done because all they know is how to "run". Think about it for awhile and you all will agree.
We need fewer "runners" and more people who leave private sector to do a stint in the public and then go home. Just like the Founding Fathers envisioned. We don't need lifetime politicians and "runners" like Cantwell.
Posted by: swatter on July 19, 2005 08:45 AMHis record is five years, then out. He's consistent with his timing.
As far as a great senator...who knows. "Principled" doesn't seem to be a word that is used when describing him.
Posted by: Danny on July 19, 2005 09:18 AMYeah, we do want good roads ON THIS SIDE OF THE STATE!!!!!!! Take a look at the WSDOT project list and tell me how my 9.5 cents a gallon helps me in Pullman?? I can tell you that nearly 5 cents of that will go to King County. And that is fair how?
You're right we'll support McGavick or any other Republican that runs for the Senate because of all the pansy, tree hugging, radical, bleeding heart, communist moonbat idiotarians like you in Seattle. Keep it up.
Posted by: Felis Concolor on July 19, 2005 09:40 AMWe need a guy or woman who is not prim & proper, but direct. Roll up the sleeves and make the complacent people sweat. I lived through many company restructurings. Scary but usually necessary when done. It focuses energies and makes one re-think. Like a bad fever as your body cures itself.
Get some funds from DC, attract business and get us back on the national prestige map for things other than voting fraud, homeless paradises and playing 'naked Twister' with horses.
Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on July 19, 2005 10:53 AMThis is basically a pledge not to do any negative ads.
Stefan..thanks for the link. It's wonderful to see a politician who clearly outlines his distaste for negative ads (even as he admits to having made them in the past).
Then again, if he goes against this pledge, are we to assume he's yet another politician whose word can't be trusted - whose "beliefs" ebb and flow as the political winds blow?
Posted by: Jim Manchester on July 19, 2005 11:13 AMI agree in principle. And, most of the time, I agree in practice. I'll keep my powder dry on McGavick. We'll see. I'm willing to be wrong.
Posted by: Danny on July 19, 2005 11:25 AMYou accuse McGavick of transforming Safeco "from a diversified organization with family and community values into a souless money machine."
Could you please do us a favor and provide a list of any other company you believe is being similarly transformed into a money making machine. I need to improve the performance of my stock portfolio and would love to find some new places to invest.
Posted by: barchester on July 19, 2005 11:25 AMActually, that sounds pretty much like what's happened to the Democratic Party since the Clintons and Howard Dean took over.
Posted by: V the K on July 19, 2005 11:48 AMyou're at least *partly* right. The Democratic machine is definitely soulless, but apparently an abysmal failure when it comes to being a "money machine." Democrats don't understand basic economics, much less running a business.
Posted by: Richard Easbey on July 19, 2005 12:39 PMIf you have followed state politics at all here recently, you know name ID does not means nothing before big-time campaigning begins. I cite: who was Rob McKenna, an Eastside King County Councilman, compared to Deborah Senn, previously elected twice statewide? Who was Dino Rossi, a mid-ranking Eastside Senator, compared to Witchstine Gregoire, a 3-term state AG? For that matter, who was Maria Cantwell, an executive of crappy internet video software, compared to Slade Gorton, 3-term Senator, 3-term AG, savior of the Mariners, etc. etc.?
Yes McGavick has a tough race, and I'm not guaranteeing victory, but don't write him off just because 90% of "normal" (read: apathetic) Washingtonians don't know who he is yet.
We've all seen/heard the Survey USA poll which puts Dino way in front of Cant(domuch)well. Yes, Dino is a great guy, but I don't buy that he is the only Republican in all of Washington who can beat Maria. I'm guessing those polled had never heard of anybody else mentioned in the poll except for Dino. I tend to look at that poll and subsitute "Dino Rossi" with "young, attractive, pro-business, straight-shooting, time-for-change conservative." And McGavick fits that. People will learn his name soon enough--its the U.S. Senate, not a school board race.
Also, I have it from well placed people that his campaign will be headed up by ex-Dino people and some ex-Slade people. This isn't big news, but it shows that McGavick is serious, and has some bright people helping him out.
Posted by: ARS on July 19, 2005 01:03 PMAlso, the folks you mentioned, no matter how unknown they were, they all had been elected to something.
I am just saying that one should keep his/her mind open at this point.
And momentarily divorcing myself from my moral viewpoints, let me say, from a political standpoint, it is good to have abortion legal. Pro-lifers can always rally up frenzied support from extreme rightists dead-set against abortion. If abortion were outlawed competely, a lot of those people would sit down and shut up, and the Dems would be able to whip extreme leftists into shape and turn them out to the polls. Legalized abortion gives the conservatives an extra political bullet or two.
Posted by: ARS on July 19, 2005 02:35 PM