Thomas Tobin

At this week’s sweltering Capitol Hill/Central Area election forum, candidate for City Council Position 4 and Capitol Hill native son Thomas Tobin suffered a cringe-inducing meltdown. “I’m having a tough time here,” he said as he struggled to answer a question from the moderator. The Seattle times politics reporter later provided this brutal summary of Tobin’s performance:

Thomas Tobin, a latecomer candidate for Seattle City Council Position 4 (whose minimalist web site describes him as a small businessman) seemed comically unprepared for even basic queries. One example: when candidates were asked a softball question about how they’d solve city problems, others, like Sally Bagshaw and Dorsol Plants, talked about “listening” and “communication.” Tobin responded: “Listening is huge. It’s on my campaign card,” and then trailed off and said “I’m gonna pass on this one.” He was later asked if he wanted a second shot, but said, “Nah, I’m good, I’m just drawing a blank here.”

CHS didn’t get an opportunity to talk with the Capitol Hill candidate that night — to be honest, we let him off the hook after the rough time on-stage.

But we talked with Tobin today about his life on Capitol Hill and why a small-business owner would jump into Seattle’s political game.

First, the meltdown — what happened?

“I just dropped the ball. I had a brain freeze,” Tobin said.  “I don’t know if it was the heat or what.” Tobin says he’s done forums and appearances before but just couldn’t pull it together Monday night.

He’s running, he says, to change the City Council — not give slick campaign performances.

“I’m running for the people. A regular Joe. I’m not a lawyer. I’m a veteran. I’ve been here all my life. There’s no accountability in government,” Tobin said.

Tobin runs a business on the Hill providing Internet service and doing network installation work. He also works at a restaurant in Bellevue, he said.

Tobin said he decided to throw his hat in the ring after complaining to friends about the city’s response to the heavy snows this past winter.

“There’s a lot of strife in city government,” Tobin said. “The mayor is running amuck and the council is just sitting on their hands.”

Tobin says part of the problem is that mayor Greg Nickels doesn’t live on Capitol Hill anymore. “Mayor Nickels was born and raised here. I went to school with some of his siblings. When he went to West Seattle, he turned his back on the Hill.”

The results, Tobin says, are streets and sidewalks in need of repair. “Look what happened when it snowed,” Tobin said. “The streets of West Seattle got ploughed.”

Tobin, on the other hand, says he has Capitol Hill on his mind. “I’m like the mayor of Capitol Hill. I was born and raised here. I’m raising my children here. I see the roads and the neglect around here. Have you driven down 10th lately? It’s like cobblestones.”

As for his chances, Tobin says his late start will make it difficult to fend of challengers like Sally Bagshaw. “I started late,” Tobin said. “I got in the last day. Sally got in in December. Sally has a lot of backing. She has a lot of lawyer support. She has a lot of money.”

Tobin still thinks he has a shot. “All my competition says the same rhetoric,” Tobin said. His strategy? “I’m going to drop signs all over the city and get my cards out there at the next Sounders game.”