Joe Mallahan

Seattleites will have the chance to elect a mayor from the high-tech industry this November. T-Mobile USA executive Joe Mallahan, a 47-year-old Wallingford resident, has tossed his hat into the race to unseat longtime mayor Greg Nickles.

Mallahan has little political experience, having spent nearly 10 years at Bellevue-based T-Mobile. But the wireless executive does have money to spend, with Mallahan telling the P-I that he plans to be on par with Nickel's $318,000 in two weeks time.

"I assure you by the May 10th financial reporting deadline, I will be on par with the incumbent's war chest through grassroots fundraising, new social media and my own personal contribution to the campaign," Mallahan said in a statement to the P-I.

On Mallahan's Web site, he touts his career at T-Mobile as one of his primary qualifications for Seattle's top job.

I have helped T-Mobile become financially stable in challenging economic times while still maintaining our company’s reputation as a socially responsible business. My entire career has been about fixing broken systems, leading teams to uncover inefficiencies and developing systems that work. I believe I can do for the city of Seattle what I have done for T-Mobile: fix our broken processes, restore fiscal stability, and deliver basic services efficiently.

With rolled up sleeves and a “get it done” attitude, I have been able to build a successful career around delivering products on time and on budget. I want to take the lessons I have learned in business and make them work for the city we love as your next Mayor.

Mallahan's announcement follows news that State Rep. Ross Hunter, a former Microsoft manager, plans to run for King County Executive.  Yesterday, Todd Bishop got some interesting commentary after he asked whether Microsoft employees make for a good politicians.

So, taking that one step further, does high-tech experience help a candidate in politics?