Barring an unexpected shift in the remaining mail ballots, Seattle’s getting a new mayor.

First thought: The lure of power can be really strong, to drive so many candidates toward such a thankless office. (The next mayor’s first job: imposing massive budget cuts. The next mayor’s probable second job: imposing further massive budget cuts.)

Second thought: Greg Nickels’ Friday morning press conference was jovial and fatalistic, if unapologetic. Nickels essentially stood by everything he’d done in the past eight years, presumably including the sweetheart deals with real-estate developers and the botched response to Snowstorm 2008.

Third thought: What will Nickels do now? Somebody’s probably cycling out of the Obama Executive Branch next year, leaving an opening somewhere for another Northwest “corporate progressive.”

Fourth thought: So now we’ve got Mallahan vs. McGinn, an M&M race. I’ll leave it for you to decide which is the “plain” candidate and which is the “peanut.”

Meanwhile, Gene Stout wonders what the new guy will do with Nickels’ “City of Music” initiatives. McGinn made more overtures to the music community during the primary season, but that doesn’t mean Mallahan doesn’t care.