By CLAYTON PARK

Somewhere at home, buried in my stacks of papers, I have a homemade comic book given to me by one of my childhood friends, Mike McGavick, a classmate of mine both at Interlake Elementary and Hamilton Middle School in the Wallingford neighborhood, where we both grew up.

As I recall, the comic book Mike drew featured a shaggy-haired superhero called Roman Man who defeats a villain who conjured up a deadly hurricane.

Last month, I got to get together with Mike, whom I hadnıt seen since our graduation from the 8th grade. After that, Mike went on to attend Seattle Prep, a private school, while the rest of us Hamilton grads went on to attend Lincoln High, the local public school.

Mike didnıt remember drawing that comic book in the 7th grade, but he chuckled that hurricanes are definitely a foe to contend with in his new job.

In late January, Mike was named president and chief executive officer of Safeco Corp., the insurance giant, whose headquarters are located in the Safeco Tower building in the University District.

The 42-year-old Wallingford native and University of Washington grad long ago set aside his cartooning pencil to pursue other interests, but he now faces a challenge in which super powers could come in handy: turning around the fortunes of Safeco, a once-mighty company whose earnings have suffered in recent years.

Safeco blamed damages causes by winter storms and higher auto insurance claims as the primary reasons for its disappointing performance this past quarter, when it generated a loss of $9.6 million.

But analysts point to a bigger culprit, which they say has been dragging Safecoıs earnings down since 1997: the companyıs costly $2.8 billion acquisition of American States Financial Corp.

The poor earnings led to the companyıs firing of the head of its property-casualty operations last August and the announcement that its then-chairman and CEO, Roger Eigsti, would retire at the end of 2000.

Safeco hired Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive recruiting firm, to aid in the selection of the companyıs new CEO. Mike McGavick was chosen from a global search that yielded more than 100 candidates.

Safecoıs decision to turn over its reins to an outsider for the first time in its 78-year history has been hailed by industry watchers. Gary Ransom, an analyst with Hartford, Conn.-based Conning & Co., said of McGavickıs hiring: ³It gives the chance to infuse the company with some fresh blood.²

Daniel Nelson, an analyst with Ragen McKenzie in Seattle, agreed, noting that McGavick should bring ³a critical independent view that will lead to more aggressive, more accurate solutions.²

For Mike, the Safeco job is the first time he has ever been a CEO. But it is not the first time he has been asked to rescue a sinking business.

In his previous job as president and chief operating officer of agency market operations at Chicago-based insurer CNA Financial, Mike transformed a unit that recorded a loss of $201 million in 1999 into one that generated a profit of $80 million through the third quarter of 2000.

Mike achieved the turnaround by reducing redundancies in the divisionıs operations as well as investing in technology upgrades ‹ both measures he plan to undertake at Safeco.

Mike sees many similarities between his new job and the job he held at CNA. Like Safeco, CNA was reeling from having recently made a major acquisition, and like Safeco, Mike saw in CNA a company that needed to improve its operational efficiency.

He said his job at CNA ³was a wonderful experience ... almost perfect preparation² for his latest post.

³The differences, of course, are that here Iım the CEO, whereas there I wasnıt,² Mike said, ³but the work is essentially the same. I also have experience with worrying about the companyıs stock price and analysts.²

Mike understands that he was hired to make changes, not keep the status quo, but said itıs too early for him to say exactly what those changes will be. It could take up to six months for him to completely evaluate Safecoıs situation, but he added he intends to take actions ³as they are proven warranted,² rather than wait to fully formulate a new plan.

Having grown up in Seattle, Mike said he remembers when Safeco was considered a company with a ³solid reputation for producing great results. Weıre going to get it back to that.²

³Itıs so out of character for Safeco to produce results like this,² he said of the companyıs recent financial struggles. He likens the company to a hose with ³great bones.² It may need some surface repairs, but deep down, it remains sound.

From the 22nd floor of the Safeco Tower, Mike has a clear view, looking westward, of Wallingford, the neighborhood where his family lived when he was growing up, first at 3629 Bagley N. and later at 4032 Burke N.

He can also spot his former grade school, Interlake, which is now the Wallingford Center, and Hamilton.

Looking east, he can see the University of Washington, which he attended from 1976-1980, before dropping out to serve as a legislative aide to Sen. Slade Gorton. At Gortonıs urging, Mike returned to the UW after a couple of years to complete his degree.

If the McGavick name sounds familiar to longtime locals, thereıs a good reason for that. In 1966, Mikeıs dad, Joe McGavick, was elected as State Representative for the area which includes the Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods.

Joe McGavick, a Republican, was a UW grad who earned a B.A. degree in political science and went on to become active in district politics as a canvass chairman, and later as an area chairman for 10 district precincts. Prior to getting elected to the state Legislature, he earned his living by working for Boeing.

Joe McGavick and his then-wife, Carole, also served as Interlake PTA presidents, and in 1965 he was a delegate to the state PTA convention. In 1966, he received the Washington State PTA Golden Acorn Award.

I remember hearing Mikeıs dad speak to the Boy Scout group that Mike and I belonged to, Troop 164, which used to meet in the basement of what is now Wallingford Presbyterian Church.

I also remember when Mikeıs dad gave out nifty magnetic potholders imprinted with the slogan ³Reelect Joe McGavick² during his reelection bid in 1968. While he ultimately lost to Democrat Pete Francis, 5,056 to 4,618, my mom continued to keep the potholder on our refrigerator for years after that.

Mike recalled with a laugh that he was the campaignıs official potholder stuffer.

Joe McGavick, who later served as the administrative assistant to King County Executive John Spellman, now lives in Olympia where he works as a political consultant. Mike said his mother, who got divorced from his dad, currently lives in Florida while his sister Molly lives in Connecticut and his other sister Meaghan lives in Ireland. Both of his sisters are married and are raising families of their own.

Curious, I asked Mike why he decided to attend Seattle Prep instead of going to Lincoln. He answered: ³When it came time to go to high school, I was supposed to go to Lincoln and wanted to because thatıs where all my friends were going, but my dad, who attended a Jesuit school in Tacoma when he was growing up, really wanted me to go to Seattle Prep. he spent half a year trying to convince me to go to Seattle Prep before I said yes.²

Mike added with a grin: ³What he didnıt tell me at the time was that there was tuition involved and that I had to pay my way!²

Mikeıs dad got him a summer job with the King County Parks Department, which assigned Mike to assist the head of maintenance at Hamlin Park in Shoreline.

Mike said he ultimately took a liking to Seattle Prep where he became a star cross-country runner. He said he continues to keep in touch with some of his high school classmates, most of whom now live in other parts of the country.

³Coming home is a weird thing!,² Mike acknowledged, adding that heıs been getting lots of calls from old acquaintances. He added that one Safeco employee, whose parents were friends with Mikeıs parents, even has a photograph of Mike in baby diapers!

Mike has also been getting househunting tips from his former boss, Slade Gorton, the longtime family friend who encouraged Mikeıs dad to enter politics back in the 1960s, and who hired Mike to serve as his campaign manager during Gortonıs successful Senate campaign in 1988. Gorton promptly tapped Mike to serve as his chief of staff in Washington, D.C.

Mike eventually left to take a job as director of the American Insurance Associationıs Superfund Improvement Project, before going to work for CNA in 1995, where he quickly rose through the insurance companyıs management ranks.

While Gorton has been urging Mike to become his neighbor in the Eastsideıs Clyde Hill community, Mike said he will probably wait until this summer before deciding where to buy a home.

In the meantime, Mike continues to commute from Chicago, where he and his wife Gaelynn live with their two sons, Gates, age 4, and Marco, age 2.

Hanging on the walls of the lobby where Mikeıs office is located are several oil portraits of Safecoıs past head honchos, including Mikeıs immediate predecessor, Roger Eigsti.

When asked if anyone is planning a portrait of him soon, Mike responded: ³Iım perfectly happy not being memorialized. Thatıs one downside of this job: you get a mortifying amount of attention. I just want to do my job.²