Mr. McGinn, Seattle's mayor, said any arena financing must comply with a 2006 ballot measure that keeps public funds from subsidizing investments in sports franchises.
Mrs Gregoire has even waded into Seattle politics, pressuring the city's fractious city council and Greg Nickels Seattle's big, blunt-talking Democratic mayor, who towers over the small, slim governor to agree on a plan to replace the 53-year-old elevated motorway along the Seattle waterfront, which looks horrible and is vulnerable to earthquakes.