City Council Special Meeting 7/22/2025

Good afternoon, everyone.

The July 22nd, 2025 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 1.03 p.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, Council President.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Rink?

Present.

Council Member Rivera?

Present.

Council Member Sokka?

Here.

Council Member Solomon?

Here.

Council Member Strauss?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Here.

Council Member Kettle?

Here.

Council President Nelson?

Present.

Eight present.

Thank you very much.

This Seattle City Council meeting is a special session from 1 p.m.

to 2 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Council will move into its regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

During this time, the rules will need to be suspended to allow for public comment.

If there is no objection, the Council rules will be suspended to allow public comment.

All right, hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended and we'll proceed with the public comment period.

It will be our regular hybrid public comment period.

Public comment is limited to items on today's agenda and the introduction and referral calendar.

Clerk, please let us know how many speakers are signed up today.

We currently have 23 in person and six remote.

Okay, we will go ahead and give everyone two minutes and we will start with the, we'll do batches of 10 starting with the in-person speakers.

The public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

The public comment period is up to 20 minutes.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they registered.

Speakers will alternate between sets of in-person and remote speakers until the public comment period has ended.

Please begin by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open, and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

I'm going to call the next three people on the list so we can start lining up.

If you don't mind, we have two sets of microphones.

It's going to be Catherine Kang, Becky Kelly, and Caroline Kim.

Good afternoon.

My name is Catherine Kang, and I'm the proud daughter of Julie Kang.

When I was little, bedtime stories weren't just from Dr. Seuss.

They were excerpts from my mom's dissertation on Japanese-American educators during the internment.

That was my first glimpse into her deep belief in justice, dignity, and the power of education.

As a resident of District 5 since birth, I've seen how Seattle has shifted in the last 20 years and seen how policy shows up in everyday life.

Every Sunday, she walks the neighborhood with her friends visiting local businesses.

And when I joined, we noticed the uneven sidewalks or any absence of sidewalks at all.

We've also seen safer infrastructure in other parts of the city.

And we know it's possible in District 5, too, because we believe our community deserves the same care and investment.

As the former chair of the Seattle Youth Commission and a current intern at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, I've been fortunate to work on civic issues alongside passionate leaders.

Still, no one has raised me more than my mom.

She didn't just raise me.

She brought me with her to community meetings, English, Korean, and Spanish voter registration drives, and small business forums.

She nurtured my interest in civic engagement, making sure I knew I had a voice worth using.

But more than that, she created space for others to lead to, immigrant elders, non-English speakers, and young people like me.

She listens with care, leads with integrity, and shows up with real solutions.

Julie Kang is who District 5 needs, someone who's action-oriented, but whose first step is to listen and engage.

Thank you.

Becky Kelly, following Becky will be Caroline.

Good afternoon.

I'm Becky Kelly.

I'm a 30 plus year resident of District 5 and I'm here to speak in support of Dr. Julie Kang.

We served on a nonprofit board together and a racial equity committee for that organization for many years.

So I got to see her work and get to know her.

Three things make me super excited about the prospect of Julie becoming a council member.

First is she's a community-based leader.

You heard from a lot of Julie supporters last week, and I know you'll hear from more today because she's organizing.

She's out there talking to her contacts and her community, and I really respect that and know it will serve her well in this role.

I trust her to look for solutions with community partners who have really diverse views.

I know what it's like.

I'm a YIMBY.

There are NIMBYs.

There's a lot of concerns about the struggles in our communities.

And I trust Julie to talk with folks, to craft solutions with her community and with you all.

Secondly, she will hold herself accountable for the success of those creative solutions with data, with analysis, and with transparency.

Transparency is important.

It's hard to get public policy right.

I know she's going to be honest with us about what's working and what isn't and call in the community to help her succeed.

Learn hard and learn fast.

You are faced with a vacant position, a very short time to fill it.

You've got some candidates who have more and less experience.

The reason I would speak on behalf of Julie to fill that role is She will dive in fiercely to what is a steep learning curve, and by the time 2026 rolls around, you will have an experienced partner and council member who's got a good community background.

So it's been a pleasure to see the community show up for Dr. Kang.

I'm so happy to show up for her, and I strongly support her for the District 5C.

Thank you.

You're Caroline, and then following Caroline will be Julie Kang.

Good afternoon.

My name is Caroline Kim.

I'm a student in MFA in Arts Leadership.

Today, I'm honored to support Dr. Julie Kang's appointment to the City Council.

During my last two years in the MFA program, I have had the privilege to connecting with Dr. Kang through mentorship sessions, and she has been one of my biggest supporters.

She has demonstrated her passion for the art and made meaningful connections with the local artists who show the art as a tool for inclusion, healing, and representation.

I was recently laid off from an arts organization that centers on storytelling to uplift underrepresented voices.

I have witnessed the community gather to find their belongings, practice healing through their ancestral stories, and change the narrative of how they're perceived and represented.

The next council member needs to listen and take action.

I believe Julie has a full potential to bring systemic changes in the arts ecosystem and beyond.

Thank you.

We have Julie, and then following Julie will be Nicole Kalora.

Good afternoon.

Thank you again for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Julie Kang, and I'm back to ask for your nomination to represent District 5. And in addition to the 536 online support petition, I also bring additional 175 petition signatures from Central International District, where I've worked and volunteered with the API community for the last 12 years.

Through this process of asking and seeking support, I am again reminded that our system does not work for all.

Human connections, differentiations, language access is needed.

I'm running for the people.

I've lived, served, raised my family.

I know the struggles of our neighbors.

I have lived them too.

I bring new energy, proven commitment.

I spent decades in education and community service, building trust, solving problems, and standing up for those who are often left from the table or conversations.

I'm a leader who can trust and be trusted and will deliver results you can see.

From expanding access to bilingual and special education to advocating for safer streets and stronger small businesses, I've worked side by side with our community and I know how to deliver.

I believe in a future that works for all of us, one rooted in equity, clean air, safe housing, and economic recovery that lifts every household.

I'm here to serve the people who built the city.

I humbly ask for your nomination.

Thank you.

Nicole, and then we'll have Carrie Brown Wester, if I'm mistaken, and then Julia Ricketts.

Hello, Council Members.

My name is Nicole Kalora, and I'm a lifelong Seattleite, and I live in District 5. I'm here today to voice my support for the appointment of Neeloo Jenks to the Council's vacancy in my district.

I have worked with Nilou at Fairvote Washington since the fall of 2023 and can speak to her being an excellent collaborator, a strong advocate for those that need a voice, and as someone who has integrity.

She's honest, professional, caring, and thoughtful, and her lived experiences would add value to this council.

Nilou is also someone who gets things done.

I've watched her work tirelessly for our democracy and know she cares deeply about our city and wants to contribute to make it the best it can be.

She's a champion for finding ways to improve our community by fighting hard for strengthening our democracy, looking for ways to combat climate change, and making our communities healthier, safer, and more vibrant.

I know that if Neeloo is appointed to the District 5 seat, it will be the council's gain.

I would be sad to lose her as a colleague, but would be proud to have her representing District 5 constituents.

Thank you.

Council President, point of order.

Pardon me?

Point of order.

Go ahead.

I believe, and it's my fault for not bringing this up, I believe we have a former council member signed up for public comment today, Jim Street.

Thank you very much.

We do.

We will proceed with our tradition, which is that we make the space at the beginning of public comment for former or current electeds.

And so I apologize for not recognizing you sitting there, former council member Jim Street.

It's a testimony to my eyes.

Well, I appreciate the opportunity to talk and to support Neeloo Jinks for City Council.

I rode my bike down here today and forgot my notes.

So we're going to see whether this 83-year-old mind can remember what he wanted to say.

Let me just say that 14 months matters.

It matters, and it matters who was on this council during that time and beyond.

It matters because in many ways, the issues that are faced by this council today are more difficult than they were when I was on the council in the 80s and 90s more difficult because of homelessness and housing.

An issue we didn't even think about was climate change.

And now we are aware that climate change is an issue that can affect our children and our grandchildren and our world in the future.

So there's tremendous challenges that you face.

And in particular, I just want to talk about, you know, it's not a matter of standby for these 14 months and then going away.

You want someone on the council who is ready to go the long term.

And I think that's very important to think about.

And why?

Because of the difficulty of these issues.

And I just want to in particular mention opportunities that we as a city and you as a council have in that regard.

We have the opportunity, many cities are facing housing and so forth, but we are facing those as well, but we're also far more aware than we were before of the issue of climate.

And it is an issue that has to be dealt with today.

We are not on track to deal with it.

It's going to have big issues, and it will take courage on the behalf of the new council member, as well as each of you, to take the steps, regardless of the political consequences that need to do that.

I think Neeloo will do that.

She is strong.

The values that I see are values and vision and knowledge and skill and will, and she has all of those.

And she will bring that with you as partners with you to make this a better council, but more importantly, to make the city a model for cities all across the country when it comes to climate, a model which she will do a whole lot on.

Thank you very much.

We'll go back to the list and it's Carrie and then following Carrie Brown will be Julia Ricketts and then Robin Fettis.

Hi there, I'm here to talk about the appointment of Neeloo Jenks.

My name is Kerry Brain Wooster and I live and work in District 5. I'm a special education teacher at Olympic Hills Elementary and I'm a small business owner in the city.

I am confident that Neeloo Jenks is the person that should represent D5 on Seattle City Council.

Neeloo is the council member that you wish you had.

When a car crashed into my front yard for the third time, and after getting no response from our council member at the time, Neela was the person who engaged community members and legislator on finding solutions to the traffic safety in our neighborhood.

She will consistently engage with her community.

She will actively listen to people in her district, even if they disagree with her.

She will passionately act on issues that her community needs.

She will be unwavering in her commitment to D5.

With Neeloo Jenks, D5 would have a voice for the entire community.

We have Julia and then following Julia will be Robin and then Margaret.

Good afternoon.

My name is Julia Ricketts, and I am also a longtime resident of North Seattle, District 5, and I'm here to speak as well in support of Nilo Jenks for this seat.

As you know, Nilo ran two years ago to represent us in District 5, and I was very happy when she stepped up again to seek this opportunity.

I know Neelu well from our work together in the democracy space.

She is a strong community advocate and an extremely collaborative leader who I feel will serve us well.

I want to echo what former Council President Jim Street said.

It's very important that we look at this opportunity, this appointment opportunity, for what it is and not regard this as a placeholder situation or the notion has been raised that someone should simply caretake this seat.

16 months is a long time in our city, and it's a long time in modern life, and I feel that we have a really fantastic opportunity to hear to put someone into the seat who is really ready to lead and wants to do the job.

Nilou has spoken at length with me about how she's ready for this, and I think we just need to bring that kind of excitement and commitment to the job.

As the daughter of immigrants, I know that Nilou will center the voices of the vulnerable in her work.

As a parent, I have seen her engage to get better solutions in the curriculum for youth in our community.

And again, as an activist, she has always stepped up to assist numerous campaigns that we've worked on together.

So I'm just very excited about this opportunity, and I hope you will choose Nilou.

We have Robin, and then following Robin will be Margaret, and then Revy.

Thank you, Madam Chairman, Councillors.

My name is Robin Peel, P-W-E-L.

I know you can't read my writing.

I apologize for that.

I've known Julie for over 15 years.

Use the microphone, please.

This one's working better?

Okay, I've known Julie for over 15 years, and during all of that time, my partner and I have referred to her as the Energizer Bunny.

She's got so much energy going to community events, organizations, and it's not just going there, she actually gets stuff done for them.

So I'm amazed at her energy, and it hasn't deteriorated in all of that time.

That's a wonderful thing.

We know she's rooted up in District 5, both an educator, a business owner, and a bridge builder between all the different and diverse communities in this city.

She understands families' challenges, and she gets stuff done.

I think you've heard that from the people who've been here before me supporting her.

I think she'll be a wonderful, steady, experienced voice on the council here, representing not just District 5, but the interests of the entire city.

And I think that's really important.

It's both the district and the entire city to get that done.

So yeah, Julie will get that stuff done with an incredible work ethic, so I think you'll be very, very lucky to have her on the council.

Thank you for your time.

We have Margaret, and then we have Ravi, and then we'll go into remote speakers.

Thank you.

Council members, thank you so much for your time.

My name is Maggie Chan, and I'm here to advocate for Julie Kang for the vacancy in the DeFi position.

As you all know, this is an important opportunity for the City Council to underscore its values and exercise its fiduciary responsibility, not in a caretaking position, but for someone who is looking to the future.

It's a pleasure to speak to you today on behalf of Dr. Kang.

As you know, while she is a fresh face to public office, I can attest to her experience and leadership abilities as an active and inclusive member of the Asian American communities in Seattle, currently underrepresented on the City Council, and in the specific context of Seattle University where she and I both teach.

Julie shows up, she listens, and she delivers.

When she came to Seattle U from the University of Washington about eight years ago, she made a huge impact right away.

She facilitated many new community connections with her extensive relationships, for example, with the Consul General of the Seattle-based Korean Consulate.

And at the same time, she gently but persistently organized and supported faculty and students across the university while running a program that reached out to public school teachers across the city and the state.

I'm constantly amazed by Julie's energy.

The Energizer Bunny is a very good moniker for her, but she thrives and excels at building relationships and connecting people.

As an experienced educator and as a small business partner, Julie knows how to listen to others, Analyze issues and bring consensus to decision-making.

And having seen her leadership style close up, I can attest that Julie leads with accountability, collegiality, and a deep work ethic.

As a long-time resident of the Seattle area, she cares deeply about the issues that face our city and our region.

Thank you for your time.

And Revy Staton.

Can you hear me?

Okay.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Renee Staton, and I'm a District 5 resident and community organizer in the Pinehurst neighborhood.

I'm here today speaking in support of Deborah Juarez to be appointed to the open District 5 seat.

I've known and worked with Deborah since early 2015 when she was a candidate for the newly established D5 position, and I was leading the community campaign for a light rail station at Northeast 130th Street.

Deborah has an incredible record of bringing much-needed infrastructure to D5 in greater Seattle.

As many of you recently noted last week, I watched.

I'm a nerd.

In your discussion of District 5, we have long been underserved and underinvested in.

Deborah changed that for us.

She delivered infrastructure such as Pinehurst Station, John Lewis Memorial Bridge, Kraken Community Iceplex, and a number of new affordable housing developments.

In bringing Deborah back for this limited appointment, she could get the Lake City Community Center planning back on track and ensure that the One Seattle Plan passes and includes capacity to build the housing that our young people and future generations need.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

We'll now move into remote speakers.

Okay, our first remote speaker is Patty Lee.

Please press star six after you hear the prompt that you have been unmuted.

After Patty will be Katherine Gibson.

Go ahead, Patty.

Good afternoon, council members.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Patty Lee, and I have been a homeowner in District 5 for 25 years.

I am here to support Dr. Julie Kang for the open District 5 Council seat.

Julie and I are both in Broadview and have known each other for almost 20 years.

We have both seen the changes and challenges of District 5 and what I believe is a need for a new, fresh representation.

As you know, District 5 is a home to many working class and immigrant families and is very under-resourced.

The district needs improvement in public safety, infrastructure, housing and economic development, Including the Aurora Avenue and Lake Cityway corridors.

But not only does our district need these improvements, they need to be adequately prioritized and funded through a budget that has significant shortfalls.

District 5 needs a strong champion who will prioritize the needs of its residents.

But also to be able to work with other districts to bring inclusive and effective governance to the city as a whole.

I have seen Julie's genuine passion for people and for serving the community.

She is rooted in District 5, having lived there for the past 30 years.

As a first-generation immigrant, she gets the real challenges that families face and is able to build bridges that bring diverse communities together.

She has served as a teacher, professor, and director at both University of Washington and Seattle University.

She has led multi-million dollar education initiatives, built cross-sector partnerships, and mentored educators and students for success.

She is action-oriented and results-driven and works and leads with compassion and accountability.

Julie is the steady, experienced voice to represent District 5. She will work for the future that tackles the challenges of the community without changing what makes District 5 unique.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Kathryn Gibson to be followed by Steve Adams.

Good afternoon.

My name is Katherine Gibson, and I am calling in to support Dr. Julie Kang for the open council seat in District 5. I've seen Julie in action, notably as an academic leader at Seattle University, as a community volunteer at the Downtown Seattle Rotary Club, and as a concerned citizen in this city.

To every endeavor, Julie brings openness, a genuine eagerness to listen, A commitment to practical, responsible, constructive, and inclusive solutions.

Her professional background and mixed of lived experiences uniquely qualifies Dr. Kang for our, for your support.

As a 35-year resident of the City of Seattle, I have seen this council in action.

And when looking at the opportunities and challenges before our city right now, I know Julie brings the best skills perspective and energy to this open position.

We need her fresh approach.

We need her broad, hopeful and inclusive leadership.

And we need her commitment to accountability and outcomes.

I encourage council members to vote in support of Dr. Julie Kang.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Steve Adams, followed by Amina Elmi.

Steve, you may need to press star six.

President Nelson and members of the council, my name is Steve Adams.

I'm here on my own initiative to voice support for Jim Borey for the District 5 appointment.

You should hear from the applicants, so I'll be very brief.

I'd like to make two main points.

One is Jim has a very long professional career that began in Seattle and in that career tackled many of the issues that faced District 5 in Seattle.

And I think this experience really sets him apart and will be invaluable to the city, to the district, to the council in the year and a half moving forward.

Secondly, Jim is eminently respectful, thoughtful, and principled.

I'm sure he's the exact person I would want to be working with and grappling with difficult issues that are facing the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Looks like Amina Elmi is no longer on the call, so our next speaker is Paul Kwan.

After Paul will be...

Hannah's also gone.

Members of the Council, thank you for your time today.

My name is Paul Kwan, and I'm currently serving in the US Army as a finance officer.

I first met Dr. King through voter registration work in our community.

We would spend weekends outside businesses like HMR to ensure registering voters and encouraging civic participation.

But what stood out to me was that Dr. King didn't just encourage youth involvement, but she showed up herself.

She worked beside us, listened to our challenges, and would really lead by example.

In the Army, what I learned and value in leaders is who hold themselves accountable and lead from the front.

That's exactly what Julie King does.

She's deeply rooted in District 5, and she's someone we know that we can turn to when we have questions or need support.

Members of the Council, know how important it is to have leaders who combine experience with compassion.

Dr. King brings both.

Doesn't just support youth, she empowers us.

Through civic fellowship, she gave me and many others a voice at the table.

Her leadership isn't just about policies, it's about building the next generation of leaders.

That's the future I want to be part of, and that's why I'm proud to support Dr. King today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

There are no additional remote speakers.

Hold on just a second.

We have David Haynes on the line.

David, please press star six.

Today is another reminder that progressive Democrats are the ones who circumvent the will of the people and pick and choose representatives based on their own selfish political agenda.

We were supposed to move beyond the past failures and change the failed policies of the previous council.

And yet council is going to appoint somebody who was already in, who thinks that it's more important to keep people out of jail who are stealing your bikes as if they're virtue signaling for criminals that they care more for.

treading on the rest of the citizens while the whole time we've been subjected to a race war, misjudging skin color that originated with previous council and the evil within city hall led by the previous council president.

Once again, Seattle repeats their failures and it justifies a boycott of this city until you all are kicked out and all of your racist political appointees are kicked out that are connected to your reelection apparatus that don't have the best interest of the community.

Robert Wilson has more compassion about shutting down the evil scourge on Aurora Avenue.

Deborah Juarez didn't do a damn thing but make everything worse, resulting in the District 5 revolting against her.

That's the only reason she didn't run for re-election, because people in District 5 were fed up with her bullshit.

I believe that's the last remote speaker.

We'll go back into in-person public commenters, and we'll start with Richard Williams and then Ashley Ford.

My name is Richard Williams.

I live in Joy Hollingsworth District 3, and I'm here to add.

Pardon?

I'm here to advocate for Jim Borey to fill the vacancy on County Council.

He's got a unique experience and perspective.

Early in his career, he was the Director of the Office of Planning in Seattle.

He then went on to be a County Manager and a City Manager in various cities across the nation.

He understands the collaborative nature of the work, the public policy work that you do.

Prior to moving to Seattle several years ago, I served on the county council in Pennsylvania and know the responsibility that you have to do this.

Jim is a collaborator, he's smart, and he understands the public policy issues that you and the city of Seattle are facing.

And I encourage you to appoint him to fill this vacancy.

Thank you for your service, and thank you for all the candidates who are willing to serve, and I hope you choose Jim to fill the vacancy.

Thank you.

Ashley, and the following Ashley will be Russell McQuarrie Means.

Hi, Council.

My name is Ashley.

I use she and they pronouns.

I'm usually here as one of the chairs of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, but today I'm here as a renter from the Lake City neighborhood of District 5, asking you to support the nomination of Milo Jenks.

I love living in District 5. I'm proud to call it home.

I'm looking for a leader that's going to stand up for renters, work with community, and represent our district with integrity.

So I want to share a story with you all today, a story about how I met Nilou and how she welcomed me into my new neighborhood.

Nilou and I both work for organizations in the democracy space, and we're recently at a conference together in Portland, learning about their council's recent shift to ranked choice voting elections.

We're walking with a group to a beautiful garden, and I was just talking about my upcoming move.

I've lived in Lake City since I moved here in 2019 and moved a couple of streets away.

I come to find out that I was moving literally on the same street as Nilou, a couple of blocks away.

Wild.

But to Nilou, it wasn't just a coincidence.

It was an opportunity to connect and welcome a new neighbor.

She reached out to me almost instantly, inviting me on a walk with her precious pup, where she showed me around the neighborhood, gave me cute little neighborhood fun facts, showed me little spaces where I could walk that may be a little bit more secret.

And she made sure I felt welcome.

She even invited me to a party and gave me all of the information and made sure I felt welcome to attend.

One of the realities that we experience as queer people in this city and just in general is not necessarily knowing the safety of neighborhoods that we're moving into, into new spaces.

And so I can't underscore the importance of having neighbors like Nilou.

who are willing to just step up and welcome new folks into their community.

She touched me really personally by just reaching out and being there and being such a great, kind community member.

Please vote.

Thank you.

We have Russell, then it will be Kihun Pak.

Hello, counsel.

My name is Russell McQuarrie.

I'm the president of the College of Democrats of Washington.

I am here to express support for Neeloo Jenks.

We have a lack of environmental justice awareness on this council.

I know of no one on this council who has a background in it.

As someone who lives and works in an environmental justice community down in South Park, I think it's time we have someone who understands and works to fight for that 13 and a half years life differential we see in so many communities across Seattle.

So this is why I am here, coming in front of all of you, to go talk for a candidate that's not even in my district, because I'm willing to commute out to D5 so many times a week to get this woman elected.

So I ask you, please share your support for Nilou Jenks.

Kihoon and then Emma.

Good afternoon.

My name is Ki Hoon Park, and I'm the pastor chair of the Greater Seattle Korean Association.

And I'm the first generation of a Korean immigrant.

I used to live in Mr. Lapsaka district nearby Saka, I mean the South Park.

And it's a great turnout right now.

I'm very thankful for the good job in there.

And first of all, I'd like to thank Congress City Seattle, winning the All-American City award in 2025. And I'd like to thank you, Seattle Council, to build the community back to the beautiful Seattle again.

And when I come to the state 1980, the city was so beautiful.

I thought this is almost heaven.

Second best city after it happened.

But now, past pandemic, I saw the city, Seattle, almost turning to ghetto.

And, oh man, this is not happening for Seattle.

I used to probably say I'm from I'm living in Seattle, but now I'm hesitant.

I'm living in Seattle.

You need to improve the city of Seattle better.

Thank you for attending Seattle, making 20-acre waterfront park.

Looks great.

Now the theater is getting back to the original beautiful city.

We need one council member to represent our Asian American community.

We need a Korean council member to represent.

130,000 Korean-American in the Sierra area.

And we need at least one Asian Council member to represent 17.2% of the Asian Pacific island community.

So I'd like to advocate Julie Kang as one of our Council members.

It would be very appreciated.

Thank you.

We have Emma, and then it'll be, I believe it's Charlie LaFong.

Hi there.

My name is Emma Champagne.

I'm here to show support for Nilou Jenks.

I'm the legislative chair of the Washington State High School Democrats, and I first became aware of Nilou's incredible organization during her 2023 campaign for this position.

She, I believe, is the best candidate to support young people, not only today, but for our futures as well.

As a community educator, mother, and active community member, she has consistently showed that she considers infrastructure and education through a lens of what will really benefit young people and also address things that are super important to us, like the cost of living.

She stands to build safer neighborhoods for students where they can get to school safe and enjoy community.

And I know that she'll stand up for rights like immigrant rights and so many other things that our members of the high school Democrats are truly looking for today.

She reached out to us and wanted to make sure that we had a voice.

And her champion role as the political director at Fair Vote Washington It gives her a bounty of understanding for what the public really needs.

I can confidently say that with Neeloo on the council, the council will continue to forge a path to a better Seattle.

So, thank you.

I believe it's Charlie again, and then it's Bennett.

Yes, thank you.

What was your last name?

Yes, thank you.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Charlie LaFamme.

I'm speaking on behalf of MLK Labor, which represents more than 150 unions and 220,000 union workers in Seattle and all across King County.

The Labor Council strongly supports appointing Deborah Juarez to fill the vacancy on the City Council and represent District 5 until voters have an opportunity to choose a successor.

Simply put, There is nobody that's more respected and more qualified right now to represent this district.

Former Council Member and Council President Juarez is more than just a familiar name.

She's a proven leader with deep roots in North Seattle.

She was elected twice to represent this seat.

And during her tenure on the council, she showed an unwavering commitment to working families.

And because of that, she earned deep respect within the labor community.

She understands the complexities of City Hall and our local government, and that's important.

She can hit the ground running on day one, and she'll do an excellent job representing the people of North Seattle, like I said, until the voters have a chance to choose the successor.

Thank you.

Bennett, and then after Bennett will be Helen Kirsten, I believe, and then David Bossier.

Good afternoon, counsel.

So you have all at some point expressed opposition to Trump's and his administration's appalling attitude and actions toward our immigrant community.

So on an issue where, of course, I actually agree with you all, let me suggest what I guess you could call talking points or Debate points in case this is something that ever comes up.

I don't know how much of your job involves actually arguing with conservatives or Trump supporters, but in case you're able to use them.

You all probably remember the time where Trump took photographs of undocumented immigrants who had been convicted of violent crimes in the United States and took the pictures and put them on posts outside the White House lawn.

It reminded many people in old times when people used to take decapitated heads of their enemies and put them on spikes out in front of the road.

And most good people, I think, would be so rightly appalled by this that you might struggle to come up with a clearly logical reason why that's actually bad.

I mean, what if a Trumper says, hey, these are bad people.

They're violent criminals.

And some of them, they were not actually convicted.

Some of them were probably innocent.

But OK, let's assume that some of them were actually guilty of the violent crimes they were accused of.

And the Trumper's going, But how can you support not deporting these people?

Isn't this bad?

And here's what you can say.

It is never legitimate to target criminals, even violent criminals, only from a particular demographic.

And the reason should be pretty clear, but two things.

One is that by doing that, you are fomenting hatred against that demographic.

And two, if you do that, you are admitting that you are going after the admittedly bad people in that demographic, but prioritizing that above going after the even worse people who are not in that demographic.

In other words, you're prioritizing the wrong thing and making all of us less safe.

It was just in the news yesterday that ICE arrested a local immigrant named Fernando Rocha on the basis that he had apparently been accused of theft in his home country of Brazil.

Why are we going after someone guilty of theft instead of putting those resources toward going after murderers?

That's ridiculous.

Thank you.

We have Helen, and then after Helen, it'd be David.

And because we are still in special session, I remind folks to keep your comments to the items on this agenda and the referral calendar, please.

Okay, I don't see Helen.

I believe it's Helen Kirsten.

No?

Okay, thank you.

Okay, confirming that she's not going to be speaking.

Then we have David.

Good afternoon, council members.

Thank you for allowing for this public comment today.

I'm here as a Seattle resident who has lived in this great city for 16 of the last 22 years.

I've lived in District 2 and District 6 and District 4 and currently reside in District 3. I'm also a rabbi and a Jewish community builder and defender in Seattle.

I serve community members in every district in Seattle, including District 5, and we currently operate in District 2. I first met Nilou Jenks because our daughters were in school together for the last four years.

Nilou chaired the PTA, connecting and engaging with a diverse group of Parents at the school our kids attended and immediately stood out as a remarkable leader and a connector, someone who builds trust amongst a diverse group of people.

She is unique in that she holds very true to where she comes from and also reaches well beyond her communities of origin to learn, to show care, and to show up.

She makes time for people.

She really listens.

It's partly because of that that she has been a bridge builder in working on issues from gun prevention, gun violence prevention, climate resiliency, and democratic reform.

Her bold and responsive, forward-looking leadership all come in this wonderful package.

I would never encourage you to vote for someone simply because of where they are from.

But the council has never had a Muslim nor a Middle Eastern on its council.

And here we have a fantastically qualified, wonderful leader who happens to have those identities as well.

I know her as someone who is fun, who has a sense of humor, who is collaborative and creative.

And I imagine she would work very well as a team player on this council to make Seattle truly great and live up to its potential.

In conclusion, I think she's the right addition for this body, for this limited time period in a really important moment in the history of our city.

Thank you.

We have Serafina.

And the following Serafina would be Sujigong Young.

Hello, my name is Serafina Kwan and I'm currently preparing to become a special education elementary teacher.

I'm here to support Julie Gong.

I first met Dr. Julie Gong during her work mentoring students and leading community efforts throughout many weekends volunteering together.

I saw firsthand how she prioritizes education and service in everything she does.

Dr. Gong doesn't simply direct from afar, but she stands with us.

She listens, she engages, and she works right alongside the people she serves.

She's a trusted educator in District 5 and someone who's always welcome our ideas and makes herself available when we need guidance or support.

She leads with integrity, compassion, and an unwavering work ethic, and she's consistently showing up for her community.

She represents the experienced study leadership District 5 needs at the council table, and she's been a constant presence in supporting youth, and not just encouraging us, but equipping us to lead.

Because of her, I had the opportunity to help organize events centered on identity, culture, and history.

She ensures that young people like me weren't just participants, but we had a meaningful voice.

Her leadership is about more than policies and is about building a future where every generation is empowered to lead.

That's the future that I believe in.

Thank you.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Soo Jung Yoon.

I have lived in 32 years in Seattle State for 32 years and then resident.

Now I'm living in King County.

Also, I'm a creator for Seattle Korean Broadcasting Media, runs for that.

And then also, my husband is 40 years in Seattle.

He runs an electric company in 40 years in Seattle.

Just one second.

A little nervous.

Yeah.

Okay, I know Julie Gang personally and I have served together as an executive of the Greater Seattle Korean Association.

In particular, Julie Gang has been active serving as a senior vice president of the Greater Seattle Korean Association during the pandemic.

and has been at the finding and educating next generation leaders as an educator who teaches students at Seattle University for a long time.

She has been an example for the next generation leaders and had a greater influence as a mentor.

And above all, Julie Gang's city council candidate is a very diverse district with over 100,000 people living in the Seattle area and many Korean people, over 140,000 Korean-American people living in Washington.

They are working hard in various fields of business, such as small business owners like my husband, who has grown an electric company in Seattle for 40 years.

If she becomes a city council member, I believe she will work hard than anyone else to develop the Seattle city.

This is why I support

We have Miles Raymond and then Tara Schreiber, I believe, and then Joanne Foster.

Is there a Miles?

Okay, we'll move on.

So then it's gonna be Tara.

And then after Tara will be Joanne.

Hi, I'm Tara Schreiber.

I'm super nervous.

I don't like public speaking, so I'm here only because it's really important.

I'm here to support Julie Kang.

I know Julie because our daughters Participated in Northwest Girl Choir together for more than a decade.

Julie and I volunteered together to support the work of Northwest Girl Choir, which is a nonprofit in District 5. I live in District 3, but I also have lived in District 5 and work in District 5 as well.

I support Julie's nomination to the council.

You've heard her resume.

You've seen her resume.

I'm not going to talk about everything.

I will tell you two things that I think will make Julie the best council member.

Julie shows up.

She shows up for community.

She cares about what happens in the daily lives of the people in her community.

And she gives her time and energy to make things better.

Consistently, that is her track record.

She has also, number two, her work ethic.

Julie works so hard.

She commits to her volunteer endeavors as fully as she would a paid commitment.

She gives her best professionally, and then she continues to give her best as a volunteer and community member.

She will do that for you.

She will do that for all of us.

Seattle will be lucky to have Julie King serve on the City Council.

We have Joanne.

And then following Joanne will be Youni Sumner.

Thank you.

President Nelson and the rest of the members of the council.

Glad to be here today.

My name's Joanne Foster.

I'm here to voice my strong support for the appointment of Deborah Juarez to fill the unexpired District 5 Council position.

I've had the honor of knowing and working with Deborah and being her friend for more than three decades.

I started as a fellow attorney with her, representing Indian tribes and indigenous people.

All the way through, I got lucky.

I was in Deborah's district, so she was also my representative for a long time.

In my personal experience with Deborah, She's a productive individual.

She has enormous generosity of spirit towards all people.

She's one of the smartest people I know, and she's got unwavering dedication and devotion to the Council and the City of Seattle.

And the things that I've observed about her that I most admire is that her leadership, both with the City Council and A broader range of other areas, including serving as the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs.

Her strategic focus, she knows what's important.

She focuses on it, and she helps the council accomplish goals to benefit all members, districts, and segments of the community.

She's always thoroughly prepared.

She's read everything.

She knows what's going on, and she shows a lot of support for other people.

Her fellow council people, young people, people who are just novices and young people entering I want to thank you for consideration of your comments and for your service to the city.

Thanks.

So we have Yoonhee Sumner and then Leo.

Hi.

Okay.

Hi, I'm Eunice Sumner, speaking on behalf of Julia Kong.

Dr. Julia Kong embodies what true representation and servant leadership looks like.

She's not only accountable, but she brings the skills, tenacity, and humanity required to lead in this important role.

And she also brings and inspires others to take action.

Julie has a long list of accolades, which you have seen, which shows her book smarts, her engagement and experience that would prove valuable for this role.

But I think what really sets her apart is her street smarts, the lived understanding that needed to connect with others and serve this district effectively and with care.

Councilmember Rink spoke about the significant challenges in District 5, no joke.

Julie understands them deeply.

As an immigrant rooted in this area, she's not just aware of it, she lived it.

She lives it today.

She is present, an active listener, and a consistent communicator and collaborative who will connect meaningfully with her community.

Councilmember Nelson, you spoke about the need for commitment beyond just disappointment.

I agree.

Look what has happened in the U.S. over the past six months.

We need someone dedicated today to have this long-lasting impact, and she is ready to do this today.

She wants to stay as well.

So Council Member Hollingsworth, you spoke about the importance of prioritizing the youth.

Julie has long championed youth and education as principal of the Seattle Korean School, as a parent volunteer, YMCA team program, She also threw all her work at University of Washington and Seattle University.

She works, teaches, and negotiates with the teachers, administrators, and students, and also within the budget constraints.

I am evidence of this.

She's been a role model for me and my family.

And today, also, I'm joined by Harry Sumner, who is here today, who serves on the Seattle Youth Commission, Go District 3. So thank you for your consideration, and I ask for you to appoint Julie Kong All right, we have Leo.

And then after Leo, if Miles is here, we can go back to Miles.

What's up, Council?

I'm Leo.

I go to school in D5, and I'm co-president of the Seattle Students' Union.

I'm here to support Neeloo Jenks for Council Position 5. Our schools are in crisis and need someone to fight for them.

Students are often overseen in the political process and not brought in on issues that affect them.

Neeloo have reached out to students and expressed interest in working beside us, which that alone warrants their support.

Long with what everyone else said, y'all.

So support, Neeloo.

Thanks, everyone.

I believe that's the last speaker unless we have Miles back.

Nope.

Okay.

All right.

That's the last registered speaker.

And let me double check on the remote speakers.

I apologize really quickly.

Nope.

We're good.

Council President.

Well, that is good timing because we are one minute away from the normal start time of our City Council meeting, which we will now begin our July 22nd, 2025 City Council meeting.

Okay, we have reached the end of our public comment period.

Public comment is now closed and we will proceed.

Let's see.

By the way, thank you all for coming out today.

I do want to recognize that it takes effort to come and give public comment in the middle of the day.

You all came out engaged in the civic process and so thank you very much for your commitment to the future of Seattle and coming out and voicing support for the person that you believe would best represent District 5 and the City of Seattle.

So thank you.

All right.

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Seeing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

And if there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar and the items on the consent calendar are Council Bill 121035, payment of bills, 10 appointments from the Sustainability, City Lights, Arts and Culture Committee, and that's it.

Are there any items that council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

All right, I'm not seeing or hearing of any.

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Thank you very much.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council member Rink?

Yes.

Council member Rivera?

Council member Saka?

Aye.

Council member Solomon?

Aye.

Council member Strauss?

Yes.

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Kettle?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation and minutes?

Let me start that again.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

All right, moving along.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

The report of the Sustainability, City Lights, Arts and Culture Committee, General Title I, Council Bill 121025 relating to the City Light Department, authorizing the General Manager and the Chief Executive Officer of City Light to execute an interlocal agreement with the Kalispell Tribe of Indians.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Rink is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, the legislation before you, this renews previously approved council ordinances from 2016 and 2021 with ordinances 125236 and 126530. It enables City Light and the City of Seattle to enter a five-year interlocal agreement or ILA with the Kalispell Tribe of Indians and serves to continue support for the long-term relationship between all parties, which has been formalized through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, licensed to operate the Boundary Hydroelectric Project.

It renews funding for development of a skilled and viable workforce within the tribe and local community.

Under the ILA, City Light will continue to support the Kalispell Career Training Center with $500,000 investment in 2026 and inflationary increases of 3.1% Per year through 2023. Pardon me, 2030. This expenditure is already included in City Lights budget and no concerns have been flagged by central staff.

And that concludes my remarks, Council President.

I ask for your support, colleagues.

Thank you very much for that report.

Are there any questions or comments from colleagues?

All right.

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the bill?

House member Rank?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera?

Aye.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Solomon?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

All right, there were no items removed from the consent calendar today and there's not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

So we will move on probably to the main act here.

All right, so just a little bit of context.

In 2017, Council Member Kirsten Harris Talley proposed and Council adopted An ordinance that codified Council's vacancy filling process.

A lot of the process was already outlined.

The time limit for us to choose to fill a vacancy was already set by charter, but there were procedures that were They were formalized later on in SMC chapter 393. And so here we are and we are now going to move on to a section that is to a part of the procedure that is outlined in section 393010. And it's the procedures for filling council vacancies.

And this is letter E.

And it reads, the City Council shall have at least one meeting after applications have been made public under subsection 393010B at which public comment is permitted concerning the filling of the vacancy and at which candidates who participated in the forum last night may address the City Council.

Okay, so that's where we are now in our process.

At this time, I'd like to invite the finalists to the committee table, please.

Come on up and be seated.

There are name tents there arranged in alphabetical order.

And we will...

I'll just pause a moment.

Go ahead, Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

Just want to, as candidates are sitting down at the table, thanks to David Toledo and the folks at Unified Outreach for hosting last night.

It was a well-run forum.

David, I noticed you left your thumbs-up, thumbs-down paddles at the forum, so we brought him to Council today.

I'll hang on to him if you want him back.

If not, I think we'll keep him at Council.

Just really wanted to say thanks to David for putting on a good forum last night.

Thank you, Council President.

Okay, here's going to be while you're still sort of getting settled and everything.

We will call each finalist in alphabetical order by last name and each candidate will have three minutes to address the council and the public.

You'll hear a chime 30 seconds before your time expires.

You are welcome to stop speaking before that time.

And just heads up that those mics are very, they really need to be close to your face when you're talking to them.

Good to see you all here today.

Thank you very much for coming.

The finalists, I'll say the finalists in alphabetical order, and then I'll go ahead and call the first one.

The finalists in alphabetical order by last name are James Bury, Katie Hyma.

I'm sorry if I am mispronouncing your name, excuse me.

I did watch the forum last night.

You all did a great job.

Anyway, Neeloo Jenks, Deborah Juarez, Julie Kong, and Robert Wilson.

And if you prefer to be called something else, a shorter or a nickname, please let me know.

Okay, with that list, please, we'll start with James Borey.

Please go ahead and we will set the three minute timer.

Council President and Council Members, thank you all so very, very much for including me in this process.

It's been delightful to meet the candidates and they have enjoyed that.

I want to talk about two, three things which may not be apparent in my resume.

I know you've seen my background.

One of the things I wanted to talk about was my commitment to public service.

This has really been a calling for me going back more than 40 years, going back to when I was relatively young and my whole career, 35 years as a city planner, as a city manager, and even when I was in the private sector, it was really all about giving back to community.

In fact, I actually, this is my first pandemic book, which was A Journey of Challenge, Commitment and Reward, which I wrote to sort of Capitalize that journey as well as to encourage others to participate as well.

So why this position to continue that public service?

First off, I've been an abject failure at retirement.

It just hasn't seemed to stick for me.

I think my experience, it's those areas which are most important for the city of Seattle.

Public safety, the budget, huge issues certainly there.

Comprehensive plan, land use, growth management, housing, homelessness.

I really feel like those have been highlights of my career in the many places that I've worked.

I did, as I think most of you know, work for the City of Seattle many years ago.

Actually, it was wonderful to see Councilmember Jim Street.

I worked with him when I worked with the City of Seattle.

I also wanted to talk a bit about my personal situation.

That is that a year ago, I considered applying for the at-large vacancy.

However, I was only a year into my job as the Executive Director of the Seattle Architecture Foundation.

And it really wasn't a good time for me to leave.

However, at this point, another year later, we're in a much better position.

I've talked to my 27 member board.

They have been tremendously supportive of me participating in this.

And I know that I can start immediately.

That is, The 28th Monday, if necessary, if that's in the cards, to really make a difference.

I've spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the legislation that's going on, with watching council meetings, and I think that's been a really important part of the process as well.

So I thank you for your consideration, and I give you 45 seconds back.

Okay, please, I will ask you to introduce yourself, and then you may proceed.

Yeah, got it.

Hello, my name is Katie Hema.

I am so honored to be among these distinguished, dedicated candidates here today.

So I live a couple blocks from Aurora, where my husband and I are raising our two young children, and it's pretty rough.

There's no sidewalks, but there are gunshots, at least once a week.

There's speeding traffic, and there's disinvestment.

My neighbors and I and the businesses near us, we feel the neglect and we feel the stress of the public safety challenges.

We love our home and we want change.

We need change.

And this is where I can help.

For the past eight years, I've worked as a land use and community planner.

My job is to be a problem solver, to bring together communities to plan for growth and how to pair that growth with all of the things that our communities need to thrive.

Enjoyable streets for walking, parks, public spaces, libraries, cultural centers, local businesses, places to work.

I bring many perspectives from my personal life and from my professional career that allow me to work across stakeholder groups.

I'm a mother, I'm a small business owner, I'm a landscape designer, an urban designer.

I'm a city lover and a tree lover.

I have a deep understanding of the processes and the little lines of code across our city departments that shape our city.

And I have a track record of working collaboratively with our community and with our departments to find common ground, to weigh the trade-offs, and to make the change that our communities need.

As a representative for D5 and for all the residents of Seattle, I would work to advocate for small businesses, both keeping the ones that we have and also lowering the barriers for new entrepreneurs and ensuring that we have abundant housing options so that owners and staff can live in the same neighborhood where they work.

I would work to grow great, walkable, child-friendly neighborhoods across the city by allowing more types of housing in more places and encouraging the types of housing that the market isn't delivering so that the residents of Seattle have more choices and they can stay in the communities they love at all of the stages of their life and so that our youth and our elders can get to where they need to by walking down a comfortable tree-lined sidewalk.

I would work with our communities to address displacement.

Communities know what they need, and I would work to advance the policies and programs that the communities who are most at risk of displacement are advocating for, and to support the work that they're already doing to support their communities in place.

And finally, we all know that Aurora is not working, but together we can imagine and we can build a better Aurora, one that's thriving, one that's home to working class families with children, to the small local businesses, both new and old, an Aurora where you can enjoy your walk to catch the E line without worrying about your safety or the air you're breathing.

And this isn't a vision that should displace our businesses or our residents.

We can grow in a way that we hold on to what is important to us.

And this isn't just about Aurora, it's about Lake City and it's about all the communities in D5 and across the city that are working towards being the places we want to live in.

I'm here for our future and I'm here to work alongside the communities of D5 and across the city to grow the neighborhoods and communities that we love and that love us back.

I'll reset.

Okay.

Proceeding on with Neely Jenks.

Go ahead.

You can go ahead and say your name as well, please.

Good afternoon, council members.

I'm Neeloo Jenks.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I came to this work not through politics, but through community, playground conversations, school meetings, and neighborhood events, and I've noted a growing affordability crisis.

Again and again, I've seen families, young people, and elders pushed out of our city because it's simply too expensive.

While children and secure retirement are precious, they shouldn't be a luxury good.

Seattle must be a place where people of all ages can afford to stay and thrive with affordable housing and childcare, strong youth and senior programs, and robust transit options.

I take public safety seriously, not just in words, but in action.

After the Parkland shootings, two moms and I worked with our local sheriff's department to fund and organize the nation's largest gun buyback program.

I'm not a thoughts and prayers kind of person.

I do things because our families deserve safe neighborhoods and bold leadership.

Public safety plans must include upstream solutions that include drug treatment, increased shelter capacity, domestic violence support, and help with basic bills when folks are in a short-term bind.

These are interventions that keep people housed, stabilize communities, and reduce 911 calls.

These are cost effective and proven investments in public safety.

As Seattle continues to grow, we need to plan for growth instead of fearing it.

I lived in triple-deckers in the Boston area.

Three families, one building, a shared yard, and a quick stop at the corner store for a slushie on the walk home from school.

That's what density can look like, connected, walkable, and vibrant.

If we plan thoughtfully, we can absolutely maintain our neighborhood identities, but resisting density will only fuel the rise in homelessness and affordability crisis we all see.

Sustainability means sidewalks and safe routes to school, better east-west transit, a resilient tree canopy, anti-displacement measures, and thriving business districts.

I champion a city-funded ambassador program in places like Lake City that don't yet have BIAs, helping them grow into strong community hubs.

Aurora needs to be treated like the neighborhood it is, not a highway.

With state and transportation levy funds, we can build walkable streets, support local businesses, and employ smart environmental designs that are proven to build community and improve public safety.

Above all, D5, I'm here for you.

Reach out to me with your concerns.

I want to be a person who shows up, listens and follows through.

I want to be someone you can trust and rely on.

That's the kind of leadership that I offer.

I'm committed to bringing our district together to talk across differences, build trust and find common ground.

That's what democracy means to me.

I'm not here to score ideological points.

I'm here to build community and to make sure everyone feels seen, heard and part of the solution.

Council members, we may not agree on everything, but I know we share the same goals, a safer, more affordable, more connected Seattle.

That's the work I want to do together.

And thank you to my fellow applicants.

It's heartening to see you all here doing such great work for our community.

And also thank you to everybody who showed up.

I didn't know all of you, but especially the youth, I'm here for you.

It's why I put myself through this and it's what you're my North Star.

Thank you very much.

Next up, we have Deborah Juarez.

Please go ahead.

Yes.

Okay.

I thought we were...

Okay.

We're going off the other way.

That's the law.

I should know that.

You're right.

That is the law.

I'm going to just do a quick background, but it's nice to be here, by the way, and to be here in this seat.

Quickly, I have been an attorney as long as I've lived in D5, almost 40 years, raised my children there, and I started my career as a public defender, legal services, a judge, worked for two governors, went to go work in an investment house to do debt financing, to invest in Indian country and rural communities.

And then I became a partner in a law firm where I chaired not only the business but the tribal practice group.

And then, as you know, I spent eight years on Seattle City Council.

So the big question in the room, which we hear all the time, and I'm sure you heard it last night, is why now?

So number one reason is, it's because I was asked to serve.

And I think it's an honor and a blessing when constituents, D5 citywide, particularly tribal leadership, indigenous-led Seattle organizations, And business, and small business, and everybody in between, profit, nonprofit, came to me and said, can you please step up?

And one thing that we've heard people say, and I've been hearing it, and we heard it last night, and we heard it again today, this job is not about being a placeholder.

It's not about being a seat warmer.

It's not about being a lame duck.

I plan and I hope to finish the stuff I started, which is the Lake City Community Center, the Business Improvement District, which we have been working on for four years before I left because there's only two north of the Ship Canal and there isn't one in D5, and you see how much Northgate has grown.

Also, work on the Northgate Commons.

We bought that property with Mayor Durkin, worked with the Seattle Housing Authority.

There were supposed to be four buildings built.

A community center, hopefully a performing arts center.

The tribes wanted to have a market there.

Their Seattle and Health Board was looking at siting their second clinic in DeFi.

They've already sited their second.

And the most really pressing issue, of course, is Pinehurst and 130th in the rail station and the comp plan.

So it isn't just about hitting the ground running, it is about that I do know the job, but it's really about finishing the work that I started, laying a foundation so whoever runs in 2026 can be successful.

And that's what I want to see, not just for D5, but for the whole city.

And then the last issue, and I'll end on this is, and I've been saying this, but I'll say it again, and I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but one good reason to come back besides knowing the job and everything that it entails and winning two elections and working for two governors.

I'm not the council president.

I'm not on sound transit.

It's a finite amount of time, but it's a finite amount of time with two budget cycles.

A $240 million deficit, and also looking at this new B&O tax and what that means for the city and D5.

And as I shared, we represent all of the city, but we honor the needs of our district.

And that is potholes, public safety, lights, transit, all the things that a, when you're on the ground, district representative.

And that's why we went to a district system.

And I was very proud to be the very first D5 district representative to be elected twice and to be the only council member that had a district office on the North Seattle campus.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next candidate is Julie Kung.

Please go ahead and say your name for the record, please.

Julie Kung.

Council members, thank you for the opportunity to fully engage in this process.

I didn't walk our entire D5, but I walked about 40 miles since filing for this position, and I really got to learn.

And why at this time?

I'm seeking an appointment at this time because I believe what is possible for District 5. And I'm a little tired of waiting to have representation.

This is the community that raised me, as I've shared before.

I've seen the challenges we face, slow city response, public safety concerns, rising housing costs.

But I also see the strength of this community.

I know we can do better.

I've spent my entire work career with people, not just around it, but really with them.

I'm stepping up because I believe District 5 deserves a leader who is rooted in service, hope and action together.

I believe we can build a future where everyone belongs.

The most pressing issues in District 5 are public safety, housing stability, and the basic infrastructure we rely on, like sidewalks, transit access, and responsive city services.

Neighbors are telling me they're afraid to walk at night.

I'm afraid to wait at the bus stop at night because I'm being yelled at.

It's not safe for me.

Families are getting priced out.

Small businesses are drowning in red tape.

We're growing rapidly, but our infrastructure and city systems haven't kept up.

These challenges are real, but they're fixable with leadership that listens and acts.

D5 is like a large school, I say, with 100,000 people.

We don't choose the people who come, but we welcome them, fight for their success, and provide basic needs with resources given.

You know, I bring a background in not only education, but also in banking.

Coalition building.

I'm committed to solutions that the community needs and community-driven, but also results-orientated.

People in D5 deserves a council member who not only understands these problems, but knows how to roll up their sleeves and get things done.

I believe the government should work as hard as the people it serves.

And in District 5, I've heard the frustration.

The permits take too long.

Unrepair, and calls are being ignored.

But here's what gives me hope.

These aren't possible problems.

We can fix them with leadership that's present, accountable, and focused on results.

I've managed complex budgets in education and banking, and I've always led with transparency and follow through, and I'm certain that I can do the same here with all of you council members.

Thank you very much.

And our last candidate is Robert Wilson.

I believe that you prefer Rob, is that correct?

Yes, I do.

Thank you.

Okay, go ahead, please.

Thank you, council member Saka for seeing potential in my application and giving me this opportunity.

Thank you for the rest of the council for having transparency in this process, opening it up so widely to the public, allowing 22 people to step forward for this position.

Thank you, unified outreach for running the forum last night and for members of the community who brought their questions.

My name is Rob Wilson, and I'm a husband, father, Navy submarine veteran, people manager at Amazon, and an avid volunteer.

I put my name forward for the District 5 vacancy because I love this city, I love its people, and I see its potential.

The world needs people to step up right now who believe in the promise of others.

I'll have many new things to learn in this role, and I don't shy away from that.

I've been learning, growing, and succeeding in new spaces.

That's what I've done all my life.

It helps to be humble, to ask questions, and to really listen.

We've got hard problems to solve in this city, and I am passionate about working to solve them together.

I sit before you today because of the great example of others, people that have inspired me throughout my life and people that have made me want to do more for my community.

Watching my dad be the basketball commissioner for a youth basketball league, working full-time, and then spending hours in the evening because his kids cared about basketball, and that was something that really brought the community together.

More locally with the Maple Leaf Community Council, Kim, Billy, Jason, Rebecca, amazing volunteers that make things happen like the summer social, movie nights.

Sometimes those movie nights are interrupted by lightning and thunder, but sometimes they're not.

Sometimes they're great.

Then when I was growing up, just thinking of dinnertime conversations, time with relatives, I was privileged enough to have a relative and a close friend that worked for the Library of Congress.

We lived in New Jersey.

They lived down in DC.

But every time we saw them, hearing the stories of legislators and what they do behind the scenes, it's not just about the campaign trail.

It's not about the speeches.

It's about so much more than that.

And just hearing those as a kid, aspiring to that, knowing that it's the hard work and getting the details right that really matter to people.

They worked on programs like funding for schools, low-income students, and making sure food was available in the summertime, in the classrooms, and around the entire school year.

I have a record of rolling on my sleeves, getting the details right, and solving problems in creative ways.

I did this in high-stakes environment at the United States Navy and at Amazon.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, everyone.

And I do have to say I appreciate I appreciate the respect and grace you're showing each other, and I just wanted to recognize that this is a, it can be a nerve-wracking process, but thank you very much for being here and showing us your best, I would say.

Thank you.

Alright, so at this time, here's the process going forward.

Each council member will be given up to or provided up to 10 minutes to provide comments or ask questions of our candidates.

And basically, this is 10 minutes to use however you would like.

And this is the same process that we've used twice before, so it shouldn't be surprising.

There is the big timer there, so we don't go over.

Now we're on the But you can ask one question for all the candidates or separate questions, etc.

But it's your time.

Use it as you would like and you do not need to use all of your time.

So, are there any questions about that?

All right, the roll call order is going to be, it's going to be Council Member Rink, Saka, Solomon, Strauss, Hollingsworth, Kettle, Rivera, and me.

All right, that is the order that we will go.

Okay, do you, are you all feeling, is there anybody that requires a break or?

Okay.

All right, with that, let's turn it over to Council Member Rink.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you all for being here today.

I'm going to get right into it with some lightning round questions.

Your options are yes, no, or waffle, and I believe everyone has.

Fabulous.

Okay.

Do you plan to run for election in 2027 to retain this seat if you are selected?

Do you plan to run for election if you are not selected?

Do you support increasing the number of neighborhood centers in the proposed comprehensive plan?

Are you currently a renter?

Do you own a home or other residential property?

Are you currently a residential landlord?

Given the city's current budget shortfall, would you be supportive of expanding progressive revenue options, including the Seattle Shield initiative, to make sure that vital human services programs are fully funded?

I'm not sure about that one.

I'll move on to the next one.

It has been a frightening time for our queer community over the past several months with incidents happening not just within the city but incidents and policy changes across the nation.

As a council member, do you commit to being in full support for our LGBTQIA two-spirit community, especially considering our current and new trans neighbors that may be coming to the city to seek refuge?

Thank you.

And lastly, do you support density bonuses for community-led affordable housing projects?

Great, okay, that concludes my little lightning questions.

And now moving on to a couple of short answer ones to hear directly from you.

How did you all get here today?

Perhaps starting with Jim and then we'll work our way down the line.

I took a bus to the light rail station and then walked, which I do most days.

Thank you.

We're not speaking metaphorically.

Okay.

I took a bus to the light rail station and came down the elevator from 5.

I was going to take the light rail station and then traffic on our way here made me really late to meet with you.

I didn't know you were running late and ended up getting a ride with my friend.

The bus and light rail and walked the rest of the way.

So I walked down the hill from the university because I had to start work at seven in the morning and then came down on my PTO.

Thank you.

I think this question is getting at public transportation, how if we understand what it means on the ground to move.

I have MS, so I cannot always move.

And I got here today because my husband drove me and I think he's here somewhere.

So I'm very cognizant that some people have to use a car.

Not everyone has the luxury of getting on light rail, especially if you have kids, but that's how I got here.

I think he's here.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

There's no wrong answers to that one, just as a point of curiosity.

And with that, Seattle and D5 in particular is home to a number of immigrant communities.

When I spend time with organizations and residents within D5, I continue to hear about the deep concern our residents have about the disappearing of our neighbors and rising fascism in our community.

So I want to give a minute to each, and I think this will take us to the end of our time, at least with me.

What role should the city play when it comes to protecting Seattle's immigrant communities from ICE as well as other forms of federal government overreach?

And we'll go in the same order, starting with Jim.

So this may fly in the face of what's going on with the federal government, but I think we need to be very active, very proactive in protecting the rights of those that are immigrants.

You know, it's interesting.

D5 is very diverse.

In fact, I live in a very diverse area where we are a minority, my wife and I.

Everybody else is someone from another country or someone from another nationality, which is a wonderful situation.

So I would be very supportive of most actions we could take.

Thank you.

Thanks.

I think this is one where we have to look at every tool in our toolkit.

I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not an expert on the potential opportunities there, but we have to stand up for our neighbors, and this is where we lead with our values.

So I think that anything we can do that's proactive to ensure that we are creating those communities and those ties, sharing information, making sure we have emergency plans with our neighbors, and really doing all that work ahead of time so that we can get ahead of those actions.

Yeah, I think it's very important that we be advocates.

I am from a community where people are disappearing.

A number of Iranians have been picked up across the nation, including every other community that we're hearing about.

I think it's important that we stay a welcoming city, a safe city.

I'm forgetting the word at the moment.

A sanctuary city, exactly.

I actually helped make our former city we lived in one of the first welcoming cities in the nation, and that's a really important part.

for me and putting in funds to protect people and making sure that our police department doesn't support or aid in the disappearing of people.

And frankly, I would put my own body in the line to protect others.

Having birthright citizenship, I grew up in a mixed status household and just say, right, I'm gonna use my privilege.

I did not think we'd find ourselves in a place where you're handing red cards to students on how to respond to ICE officials.

I didn't think we'd be in a place where you're getting emails from the school about an unmarked police car outside the school that had them scared and locked down all day because they had to follow an immigration procedure.

When we go and volunteer at North Helpline and local charities, they have to talk about what would happen if there was a raid.

It's scary.

It's hard on our immigrant communities.

I think seeing the creativity and love that you'll see from people where they go and bring documentation for an immigrant neighbor to a hearing to try to save that person, that's the kind of stuff that keeps this community together.

I think as we look at the police and information sharing, doing as much as we can to not cooperate when it's not a lawful order, when it's not tied to anything related to due process, and I think that's very important.

My mother is 80 years old and she goes to church often and she says a lot of our friends, community members are not coming to church.

That's an issue.

I teach multilingual learners and teachers how to work with multilingual learners.

So for us, this is a critical issue of students that we work with daily.

But I'm not gonna just let the policies or the work get in the way.

We are working as community to address the real ID, know your rights.

You've met my daughter.

She's at NERF fighting for the rights of all children.

She's working with unaccompanied minors, making sure that Know Your Rights is translated into simple language, visual cues, and she knows that even children have rights and will continue to advocate for them.

So making sure that Real ID Know Your Rights are translated into multiple languages.

And we're not just putting the information out there for them to find it.

We are actively engaged with them and educating them so they do know their rights and learn about it in a way that works for them.

Thank you.

Councilmember Rink, thank you for that question.

I think it's a really good one, particularly in what we're dealing with right now with ICE, and we are a sanctuary city.

But I just want to go back to when someone said this earlier, is that about using our bodies and our voices.

I hope everybody can remember what happened to Senator Alex Padilla, a Latino U.S. Senator in California who used his body and his voice, who saw on TV Kristi Noem's I mean, that was that moment on June 12th that I knew that I wanted to get back into this business because viscerally, the emotion that I had watching a U.S. senator, a Latino man elected in his own state in a federal building where he's shouting out, I'm a U.S. senator and he's being cuffed.

That could have been my dad, my uncles, my brothers.

It could have been anyone.

And even though I am an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, I'm also half Latina, I have watched that stuff happen not only to Native folk, but also to my Mexican brothers and sisters who are immigrants who are here working, who are not here quite legally.

And what I heard from the new chief of police, that he may get arrested if he stands in the way.

What I've seen down in Pierce County in Tacoma, where you have a sheriff who wants to work with ICE, and you have a prosecutor that says, no, this is the fight we're gonna have.

This is the time for all of you folks, I don't care what color you are, that we have to do more than have slogans, performative politics, a t-shirt.

We're going to have to use our bodies and voices.

And for the Democrats listening, we have to fight back because it's not going to end.

The first six months is just the run of show.

There's more to come.

Thank you.

Thank you all for your responses to that question.

I know when we're looking at what's coming ahead of us, we need a real fighter for what's coming our way.

And so I want to thank you all for your thoughtfulness and for your courage.

It is a hard time for all of our neighbors right now, and it takes real courage to also step up and lead in this moment.

So I want to thank you all for being a part of this process and for being before us today.

And with that, I yield my time.

Thank you, Council President.

Masterfully timed, I might say.

All right, next up, Councilmember Saka.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

And first and foremost, I briefly want to address some feedback that I received on my comments from last Thursday during the District 5 candidate finalist selection discussion.

I mentioned that my own family history has given me some insight into the challenges of the Muslim communities and Muslim Americans in this country and the broader immigrant experience as the son of a Nigerian immigrant.

I truly apologize if this came off as dismissive in any way.

That certainly was not at all my intent.

To be clear, I do not purport to speak for our Muslim, Middle Eastern, North African, and immigrant communities.

I certainly have my own unique experiences as the son of a Nigerian immigrant and with many family members who happen to be Muslim.

But I do not at all claim to replace the experiences of Those who are Muslim from Middle Eastern backgrounds, North African backgrounds, and other immigrant communities.

And the understanding that I gained from my own connection to my own Muslim roots, including my grandfather's Muslim background and his holy pilgrimage that he took.

Doesn't replace people from those backgrounds.

So I deeply respect and the valuable perspectives the various communities that I mentioned bring to Seattle and the broader region.

And I do welcome the diverse viewpoints and unique solutions they bring to the governing process.

Really important.

And I appreciate you all.

for applying to this position and your willingness to serve our city in this manner in District 5. Your voices and your perspectives, every last one of them, truly do matter.

All right.

On to my questions.

A friend and a political mentor of mine, someone who's been around elected politics a lot longer than me, once advised me and taught me that in this business, sometimes you gotta, well, frequently, if appropriate, admit when you're wrong, apologize, be willing to change course, and just have a good heart, making sure you have a good heart that underlies everything you do.

Appointed his position in 15, 16 months, I'm sure.

Assuming you subscribe to that approach, you'll have to do that at least once yourself.

Specific issues for District 5, I think we heard a lot of them through your opening remarks, through last night, the candidate forum, through many of the public commenters who spoke today.

I'll say as chair of our city's transportation committee, The infrastructure across our city and lack of infrastructure, in particular in D5, I know is of real importance to your would-be constituents in District 5. And so, as I mentioned last week, I'm looking for a strong governing partner in addressing our infrastructure challenges, particularly as it relates to sidewalks.

As I mentioned, 27% missing sidewalks across the city under the then-current pace of construction before the voter-approved levy.

It would have took the city over 500 years to completely fill that missing sidewalk gap.

And we made some significant progress through the voter-approved levy, in part because of the leadership of this council.

The mayor had an exciting, bold proposal for the construction of new sidewalks.

D5 is the worst off.

Again, friendly reminder, 32% of all the missing sidewalks in the city are in District 5. The mayor had a bold proposal in his transportation levy renewal legislation of 60-plus million for new sidewalks.

And on this council, we doubled that investment.

And that was...

And there's still plenty more work to do.

That was the first of two major Financial policy and investment decisions pertaining to new sidewalks across our city that I've personally been confronted and the majority of this newer council has been confronted with in the last year and a half.

And the second was just a few months ago when we expanded our camera program, automated traffic safety enforcement camera legislation.

There was an amendment that I championed and authored It was approved and now is included, directly resulting in at least 15% of all new revenue once you net out expenses for the costs and operations of those cameras, red light cameras, speed cameras, etc.

At least 15% of those are now going to go towards the construction of new sidewalks and sidewalk repair.

I hope if I'm able to join one of you, join us as colleagues, we'll be confronted with more opportunities to make financial decisions and not just write value statements and policy, which is important as well.

But the rubber meets the road on resource allocation.

And so that's my question to you about new sidewalk resource allocation.

Again, I'm looking for a partner, a strong governing partner, and understands firsthand, is willing to make some difficult decisions potentially to address new sidewalks.

From a forward-looking perspective, I think many of you all, and I look forward to talking offline individually with you all later this week, but just from what I'm able to gather, I think you all understand the importance of missing sidewalks and have done some work in your previous roles in community to address new sidewalks.

If appointed, what is your plan to invest in The construction of new sidewalks throughout the city.

What is your plan to invest, further invest in the construction of new sidewalks throughout our city?

And I'll start here.

You all have 30 seconds.

Well, first off, I have to say that your effort has been laudable, no question.

Council Member, sidewalks are incredibly important.

I have worked hard in the jurisdictions that I have managed to increase sidewalks.

We need to invest more.

I wholly-heartedly support red-eye cameras and speed cameras, and that can help better investment.

We need to look for additional money, and we need to work to prioritize getting to schools, getting to transit and other places for our sidewalk program.

More money is essential as well.

Thank you.

Right on time.

Ms. Saima.

All right.

More money is always great.

We would love more money to get the sidewalks built everywhere, but we know that we are in a, you know, we are in a challenging budget cycle here.

And so I think a lot of it, it was really about trying to understand how we can deliver sidewalks or that, you know, similar infrastructure in a way that is very cost effective and also prioritizing where we need it the most.

So those safe walkways to get to our schools, to get to our transit stops, to get to our local destinations and prioritizing those to make sure that our children, our elderly can get where they need to go.

Thank you.

I want to take a quick moment to thank you for your comments.

I appreciate you modeling the leadership of how we stay in community together.

In terms of sidewalks, I find them really important in thinking about where we're making our money go the furthest in terms of safe routes to schools and also towards transit hubs and further looking at cheaper sidewalks, like in we see the C Street plan that FEMA had around Third Avenue, like how can we make the money that we have actually go further?

I love the idea of the traffic cameras and everything else to bring in revenue.

It helps keep our pedestrians safer and holds drivers accountable for driving safely in the city.

I love the idea of prioritizing these sidewalks because there are so many routes that are on busy roads that aren't covered at all on sidewalks.

15th Ave from Maple Leaf to Pinehurst, there are so many businesses along that walk and it is very hard to get there.

I'm surprised with the work that's been done on Roosevelt and 103rd.

You have a light, it was added, it has bike lanes, it's great, but then it puts you on 103rd and all the way down that hill you've got no sidewalks.

You've got a lot of commuters there, you've got no sidewalks.

We've got to be smart about the money we spend, smart about where we spend it.

Thank you.

I gotta do shout out first because we do have Chair Salka of Transportation Committee as well as the Vice Chair, Joey Hollingsworth.

Thank you so much for the legislation and the support.

And yes, we need sidewalks.

250 blocks need sidewalks in D5.

But I also am very cautious how we raise funds.

So I think efficiency, transparency, and also thinking about the budget and living within our means.

So I need to do a critical review of how we can do what we can accomplish with what we have first.

Thank you.

Councilman Osaka, that's a big question for 30 seconds, but I'll be really fast.

D5 was annexed in the 60s in Seattle, and that's why D5 is the district that has the most no sidewalks.

Even though we had infrastructure like a college, a hospital, and a mall, we also have three highways, 522, 523, and Aurora.

And then that also, it just basically became a motorized area.

We got annexed into the city of Seattle.

And so then when we were working on, which I worked on when I first ran both times in 2015 and again, is that we focused on things that we could do besides the second light rail station, the John Lewis Bridge, but we also prioritized where we could put sidewalks, schools, buses, light rail, the Kraken Community Iceplex, the hospitals.

Those are the areas that we focused on and got sidewalks in.

And we also did a study with SDOT, and I can't remember who was the director at the time, and it turned out that it would take billions of dollars to put sidewalks everywhere, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't start.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

I borrowed some of the yielded time from Council Member Rank.

I understand.

I heard.

Our next, let's see.

What?

Councilmember Solomon, go ahead, please.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

I appreciate you all putting your names forward.

I've enjoyed meeting with those of you that I have so far.

For those that I haven't had a chance to meet with individually, definitely want to make sure that happens this week.

So if you're not on my calendar, let's make it so.

I have one question for each one of you, and I'm going to keep it simple, and some of you may have already heard this question before.

Why?

What's your why?

I don't really care about your pedigree.

I'm not really interested in your resume.

I want to know why you want this job at this time.

So we'll start with...

Jim.

Thank you, Congressman Solomon.

Take about a minute.

I'm sorry?

Take about a minute.

Okay.

Thank you so much for the question as well.

I've talked about why in many ways.

What I haven't talked about was just that abiding love for community making a difference and the fact that I have a daughter and two granddaughters live here and it's about their legacy.

So that's really very important.

This feels to me like a culmination of what I've done in my career, what I've done in my life, and an opportunity to really give to a city that's my forever city.

Those are the reasons.

I want to say thank you, first of all, for the nomination.

I very much appreciate it and for your service.

So why was I called?

I'm here for my kids and for the future of my children and for all of our kids.

I believe that child-friendly cities are better for everyone, and that is the approach I would take.

I'm here because I want to come up with solutions.

I want to work with communities to figure out how we can make our neighborhoods into places where people can thrive.

I've worked with communities to do a lot of this work already.

You can see it in the Crown Hill Action Plan.

You can see it with the Equitable Development Zoning Codes that we passed a couple years ago.

I'm currently working with our communities on how to build child-friendly cities around our light rail stations, and that is what I am truly excited about and truly excited about the future of this city for me.

Thank you for the question.

I think my reasons showed up today.

We saw high schoolers.

We saw college students.

We saw people working in youth organizations.

My kids are here today.

They're my why.

I'm here because, as we discussed, I'm a mom who cares.

I will show up every single day, but everything I have, as one of you mentioned to me, my resume shows just how much I have volunteered and done for free and will show up for our future every single day, whether I get this appointment or not.

And after the 2016 election, that's when I really became very active in politics.

I led a very large protest of 3,000 people.

So I am really willing to show up and put my body out there.

But I also read a book called Healing the Heart of Democracy that talked about how we need to be able to stay together in community when we disagree.

And that's why I'm here so that I can talk with people I disagree with and build community with and show up.

So my reasons are the children, but also our community overall.

I had the privilege of serving in Bremerton when I was in the Navy, and that's when I first met the city of Seattle.

When we finished graduate school, it was a no-brainer to come back to this area.

The PAC Northwest is wonderful.

It's beautiful.

It's been amazing to our family since 2016, and it has not escaped my attention that that is not everyone's experience.

We've been extremely privileged.

We were able to buy a house in 2016 when things were still expensive but a lot more affordable than they are now.

So we can't be people that walk around with blinders on.

We can't be people that ignore the plight of our neighbors.

There are so many people out there that need a champion, need a voice, need someone out there working hard for them.

I care about solving housing and homelessness, public transit for this region.

And I think that's going to make Seattle a lot better for everyone long term.

And I care about those causes.

As an immigrant transnational, I chose this city because I love it.

Sleepless in Seattle is what Koreans talk about all the time.

But when I came, I actually saw the nature and the people and the vibrant community and the city.

And I actually believe that we have possibilities in District 5. And Councilmember Salomon, I'm tired of waiting.

I'm tired of representation.

I'm tired of waiting for changes.

This is my why.

As I share, community raised me.

As a daughter of an immigrant and raised by a single parent, a household, I left my 80-year-old mother to move to Seattle.

I am committed to this city, and I want to make this city better, a place I moved to 30 years ago.

Thank you, Council Member Salomon.

That's a great question.

I'm glad we can keep it simple.

It's very simple for me as a public servant for well over 30 years.

I was not raised with luxury beliefs.

I was raised that I have responsibilities.

That's to something greater than me.

Every career choice I have made in my personal life, my professional life, has been made to make the community and this world better.

And that may sound a bit grandiose, but that's how I was raised.

And I think when you come from Indian country and a tribal community, that's just how you see the world.

It's bigger than you, and it's more than a social contract.

You owe it to your community, your city, your country.

And also, I believe in democracy.

I believe in our country.

I believe in our tribal community, and I believe in the city.

And I believe that not everything is perfect, but we don't give up trying for that reason.

And that's why I want to come back to Seattle City Council.

Thank you very much, everyone.

And Madam Chair, I will yield back the rest of my time to my colleagues.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I must admit that there was an error in the roll call order and I skipped Councilmember Rivera.

So I would like to continue with Councilmember Rivera.

Go ahead, please.

Okay.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you all for being here.

I have three quick yes and no questions and then two short answer.

So let's get to it.

One thing I'll ask is if you can please hold your paddle up for a I'm going to take a few seconds so I can jot down what you guys are responding to.

All right.

First question related to comp plan.

A strong case has been made by the public that the tree ordinance, as written, is resulting in the unnecessary deforestation of our residential neighborhoods during development.

This is something D5 cares about.

Would you vote for legislation that allows the tree protection area to be modified to preserve existing trees on residential lots under development?

Great.

Thank you.

All right.

Second, yes or no.

A number of neighborhood centers have been proposed for D5.

One in particular is contentious.

Would you support making changes to this proposal, such as changes to the boundaries to the neighborhood center in response to the 1,600-plus D5 neighbors who have raised concerns about this proposal?

Sorry.

Okay.

All right.

Last yes or no.

Do you support a pilot street closure project between 95th and 107th on Aurora as a non-law enforcement strategy to addressing the sex trade and gun violence in those neighborhoods?

Okay, and then now a short answer.

Commercial sexual exploitation and related gun violence has been rampant along the Aurora Avenue corridor.

Some of you have talked about the Aurora Avenue corridor.

Last year, council passed legislation reinstating the loitering law against buyers and traffickers and diverting sellers to services and shelter.

That is the young women who are being exploited on Aurora.

How would you have voted on this legislation and why?

And you each have about 30 seconds to answer, starting with Jim.

I would have voted yes for the legislation.

I think we need to have a proactive approach and we need to support the sex workers in every way we possibly can to turn their lives around.

Thank you, Katie.

I think I would have voted yes if there were a couple more pieces added in there.

One is assuring that we would have the funding to support those who are trying to get out of the sex trade and making sure that we're actually providing those avenues for that to happen.

And I think another is just making sure that the rules we're not putting in place are punitive for the sake of being punitive, but are actually, you know, again, helping heal our communities and helping address some of those systemic issues.

Thank you.

I would have needed to have some changes done as well, talking more to the women that are, and there are men as well, we should say, who are in this practice and making sure that we're meeting their needs.

And there are organizations that are working that know the best ways to provide what they need right now.

Also, it's important to engage community, but making sure that the answers that we're giving to them are actually resulting in the outcomes that they want, because I think there's been a lot of giving people solutions that will make us feel safer and aren't always making us safer.

And I think it's making a lot of people fight with each other.

And so I think with improvement and, you know, now that it's passed, I'm excited to see data and learn from it.

Thank you.

Sorry.

Rob.

I don't know all the specifics of the legislation, but based on your description, I would have supported it.

I think the important thing then is to look at the outcomes, look at the data, see if it's accomplishing what we want it to, because the victims of these crimes are not the ones we're out to punish.

Julie?

Yes.

I recognize the need for supporting the vulnerable, using holistic approach, community center model that Councilmember Salomon has mentioned.

And I know he's dealing with some of those issues in Little Saigon.

And I know that I walk and down, drive and see the women.

So I need to think about safety for the sex workers as well as for the community.

Thank you, Council Member.

Actually, for the eight years that I was on Council, and I believe I have a letter of support from Elizabeth Dahl, the CEO of Aurora Commons, in providing support for not only the sex workers, but getting them out of it when they're ready to leave.

And I believe I said this last night, but I was wrong.

There's actually only seven beds available, not in the city, but in the county, if indeed somebody wants to get out of the sex business.

And so we would go back to...

It's such a perennial issue and it's such an emotional issue and it's so much more complex and sophisticated of how we handle Aurora and what we've seen because we see now that the sex trade and how it's gotten, it's gotten more violent.

It's gotten more dark and under two mayors we work undercover with SPD with child trafficking.

So it goes beyond that.

I'm hoping that I can work with my council members if indeed I'm selected to continue to work with Aurora Commons and other organizations.

Thank you.

Sorry, Councilmember, I didn't catch yes or no.

Yes.

Okay, thank you very much.

And then the last question, sorry, I know I'm rushing, but I'm trying to get through all my questions.

Just one last question.

D5 is home to a multitude of small businesses, many of them owned by immigrant and BIPOC individuals.

Unfortunately, many of these businesses, as you may know, are plagued by street crime.

How will you address these concerns?

We'll start with you, former Councilmember Juarez.

So the small businesses that we see on Lake City and Aurora that are owned by immigrants and other folks as well, we saw at its peak during 2020 and when we were down 700 officers.

So I'm guessing with the new police chief and more officers and more recruiting and becoming more successful that now we can finally have better call times to Aurora, Lake City and everything in between.

What we found with small businesses is that they needed support, and I think a business improvement area and how we can also have other spokes from the business improvement area who are on the ground, but also our relationship with the North Precinct.

And we had tried to do this, and I don't want everyone to lose their minds.

I'm not talking about building a $300, $500 million police station, but we certainly need a second site, not just on the north end, on the other side of Meridian in D5, But I think we need to start talking about more of a police presence so people feel safe.

And I'm not talking patrol cars and militarizing Lake City way.

I'm talking about a place where people can go and feel safe and report crimes because a lot of these small businesses were being broken into.

People were just coming in and taking things.

And there was nothing they could do.

Thank you.

Julie.

Yes.

So I mentioned that I walked and visited about 50 different small business owners on Lake City and Aurora during this time.

And I believe that we need visible, consistent presence, officers who are trusted, trained and supported.

But we also mentioned that sometimes it's not an issue of a 911 cause.

We need fast response time, but there may be some non-emergency.

So I also want to remind us of the care teams that are responding to mental health crisis.

And also we have Councilmember Kettle who has chaired the Public Safety Committee and has strengthened the city's chronic nuisance law.

So we need somebody.

We need a council member who will be part of the broader effort to address public policy and public safety, not only for small business owners, but for all.

Small businesses are such a lifeblood for our community.

They mean the community is more walkable, they connect people together, they act as a gathering place in the community.

It's not realistic to expect small business owners to employ their own security guards, to keep goods on the shelves, and to keep them in business.

There needs to be consequences for crimes like that to make sure that our small businesses can thrive and we can have an environment where small businesses can grow, they can build the communities we want to see in the future, and allow the development and density in the city that we're going to need in the future.

Thank you.

Neelu?

Yeah, thank you.

You know, I would love to see a BIA support many of our places, but while they can't get one, it would be great for the city for smaller business zones to support with ambassadors or something like that until we can get the funding and something set up because our businesses need support right now.

And that goes back to my earlier statement about not just saying that we're going to have resources that, you know, don't actually pan out.

We don't have enough police right now to help these businesses, but we can expand the care team.

We can invest in more shelters.

We could, you know, do better drug treatment.

Like, for example, what you've proposed in your sales tax.

I think tax, these are the things that we need to be thinking about that can make people safer now until we can build better infrastructure.

Thank you.

So, you know, I am a small business owner and we are one breaking away from really having some financial issues.

So this issue is very real to me.

I think BIAs are a great idea.

They're hard to start.

So I think any support we can get from the city and piloting those and understanding how we can try and advocate for those within our business communities.

But I think alternatives like safe and clean teams could also be an answer there.

We have some great grant programs that can help businesses who are dealing with graffiti and other things.

Great to continue those.

But then again, this comes down to enforcement and prevention.

And the enforcement being making sure that...

Thank you, Katie.

Sorry.

Jim.

You're going to laugh.

It's difficult to say something new, isn't it?

I would support certainly a BIA in the area.

I think that would be a good step.

I talked about this last night.

I really believe very strongly in the community-based policing.

And really getting out on the street.

Have officers be in contact with business owners to get to know them, to get to know their issues, and to listen.

That's really critically important.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Again, apologies for the quick, but you all did a great job.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you.

I'm gonna take back some of Council Member Solomon's yielded time, give candidates one minute, 40 seconds to answer one or all of the questions that I've already submitted to you, or you can finish answering a question you didn't get to before.

I'll give you 30 seconds, I'll give you 10 seconds, and then I'll...

Ring the bell.

Jim, I am going to start with you.

So with that, a minute and 40 seconds, all you.

Okay, sure.

Thank you.

So a lot of questions.

The first about why I think we've answered that.

We've talked about that quite a bit.

Second issue is pressing issues in the district.

These are kind of no-brainers, public safety or avenue.

Pedestrian safety is critically important.

I see that every day when I walk throughout the district.

Transportation issues, sidewalks.

Cross-district bus service has not been talked about, but that's obviously very important, especially with a 133 station opening up.

Further development of Northgate and how to accommodate additional density housing within the existing neighborhoods.

A third question, greatest opportunities.

I believe that District 5 has an opportunity to really be a world-class, diverse urban village.

Northgate can serve as a hub for that.

There's obviously challenges along Aurora, but I also see great opportunity along Aurora.

I've been engaged in similar situations, revitalization efforts in streets just like Aurora in different places.

So I think there's incredible opportunity for the entire district.

Another question was related to 133 station.

I might have had a different answer if we were at the time talking about whether we build it or not, but it's a real challenge there because there's a park, there's a golf course, there's Thornton's Creek, there's already existing development.

So we're going to have to be a bit surgical in May, additional sidewalks, cross town bus drivers, and we really have to work on where we can have development to really build the base for transit, sidewalks to get people there.

Thank you.

And you can throw out my questions or you can answer each one of them.

All you.

Over to you, Katie.

Thanks.

So, most pressing issues, public safety and homelessness.

We talked a little bit about public safety, but the issues there being enforcement, so civilianizing the work where we can and expanding our alternative care responses so that officers can spend that time dealing with violent crimes and investigations.

The other one being homelessness, and a lot of this is really about what are the near-term fixes we can do, so tiny villages, getting more emergency shelter, but really dealing with the upstream systemic issues.

Homelessness is a housing issue.

We need more housing, more types of housing in every community in the city.

That is how we solve homelessness.

Our greatest opportunities in D5 are us.

It is the people of D5 engaging in public discourse.

The city should really be supporting how we can help communities organize and how we can get them involved in city processes.

And our greatest threat is the fear of each other, losing our sense of who we are and what we stand for.

I'm going to skip to the fourth question because I think this sort of exemplifies really a lot of sort of my theory around how we act and how we create cities.

But it's about my favorite places and things in D5.

And I really love those moments of joy and those little acts of love from people that they give back to their communities.

There's the Wedgwood Duck House, Holman Grove, where a group of community members are growing food and unused right-of-way.

The Little Free Libraries, the Little Free Pantries, the Purple Coffee Cup trading stand just off of Greenwood, the Lake City Mural Project that's empowering youth and building community.

And these are the things that remind us and that show us that people, that everyday citizens, can still shape their communities.

These are the things that they remind us it's not just developers, it's not just governments, it's all of us.

These are the acts of love that communicate out that we still have people and communities who care and who want to make a difference.

And it shows us that when we empower community, we can do amazing things.

Thank you.

Thank you.

You know, one of the reasons you asked is why we ran for this position.

And I want to say that I knocked thousands of doors, and many people told me the last person to knock on their door was Governor Bob Ferguson.

And one person even told me the last person was Senator Patty Murray.

I really went out and talked to every single person that I could to get a really good understanding of what people in our district wanted.

And I do know that they want more housing.

Every single person that voted for me wanted more housing because of our climate emergency or because their kids couldn't afford a home.

And also they just don't wanna see people living on the streets anymore.

So those are really important things that I hope people will think about as we move forward.

And I think the other thing that for me is significant is the sidewalks that you've mentioned.

We just don't have them.

There are no safe routes to school.

There's not a great way to get around.

And we're talking about building all our public transit infrastructure and sidewalks are part of that.

We also need more behavioral health services.

We see a lot of drugs and issues in our area.

I've had to explain to my kids, why is somebody shooting into their groin, frankly?

What is happening when they were elementary school students?

And that's not something that I judge per se, but it is something that I know needs treatment and care and that we need to make our city a place that has places for people to go.

I'd love to bring the sobering clinic back.

And then I also am disturbed that 50% of their food banks have seniors going to them.

That's ridiculous.

We need to take care of our elders.

And in terms of the Pinehurst Station, we need to upzone that area.

We need to have coffee shops.

We need affordable housing.

We need deeply affordable housing.

We need anti-displacement measures.

That's our greatest risk in D5.

So many people moved to D5 as one of the last remaining affordable areas, and now we're looking to move away.

We need to build places for them, make sure we have good transit for walking.

Yep, I'll just stop.

Thank you.

Rob?

I'm gonna start with my favorite places in D5 because I love D5 and I want to celebrate it as much as I can.

Maple Leaf Reservoir Park is so beautiful.

The views, the activities that go on there, it's amazing.

I would like to see us lead more of the reservoirs.

I think the Roosevelt one is worth exploration for that to even strengthen that community even more.

The Northeast Seattle Tool Library, what an amazing idea, what an amazing place, great volunteers there.

Olympic View Elementary School, The staff, the teachers, the students.

It's a glorious place.

But my winner for favorite place, Carkeek Park in District 5. I don't want to give away all my secrets here, but November 10th of last year, the salmon were running so well.

It connects you with the history of the region.

It really makes you appreciate Seattle that much more.

The vision for Pinehurst, I think that's a tricky one.

Every time you drive past it, when you look at the maps and so forth, nobody's gonna know better what to do in that area than the residents.

And that's not gonna be a hearing, that's gonna be knocking on doors, that's gonna be connecting with people.

It's, you can't get green space back.

Talk about a one-way door.

I know there's bold ideas with Jackson Park and so forth, but you don't get rid of green space in the city and miracle it overnight.

I like the idea of living I-5.

I think there are other cities that have done it.

There's other areas of the region that have done it.

And you can build an amazing park on top of I-5 next to 130th, because the elevation should work out perfectly for it.

Next thing, greatest opportunities and threats to this area, development.

It's an opportunity and a threat.

If we take our hands off the wheel and we don't pay attention, we're not going to have grocery stores, childcare, we're not going to have restaurants, we're not going to have the things that actually connect communities.

We've got to make that happen.

Thanks, Rob.

And Carkeek Park used to be the border in District 6. Over to you, Julie.

Well, I'm an optimist.

I always see things as glass half full.

So when you ask, what are the greatest opportunities?

I was really excited to share about our people, our diversity, the resilience, the deep-rooted sense of neighborhood.

District 5 is home to multi-generational families, new immigrants, small business owners, and young professionals, all working hard to build something better.

Have you visited the restorative artisan initiative with Ming Ming as the ED?

Wonderful place where she created a space for women to be able to use their strengths and skill sets to create Beautiful artwork and they're selling it.

So, you know, again, these gems are all parts of D5 that I love and I want it to continue to thrive.

But you also asked about some of the challenges.

So the greatest challenge is being left behind.

We've seen for years the years of underinvestment in North Seattle, from sidewalk gaps to limited transit access.

As I said, I can't get to the light rail station unless I'm working or walking really hard.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member.

I'm just going to try to tackle question number four, which I think is a really important one.

I mean, I said this last night and I've been saying it since I was an elected official and well before, but I think I've gotten a little bit more articulate about it.

The 2025 CL Comp Plan, the half-mile radius around a child's home should be our North Star.

The Comp Plan must be forward-looking and integrate economic upward mobility, and not just in DeFi, but across the city.

If you turn policy into law for economic success, for power, for agency, and dignity and belonging, I believe and I've seen everything else will fall in its place.

That being said, 1 30th and Pinehurst Station, what we have been doing, what we have always done, and we're finally seeing it come to fruition, is transit-oriented housing, transit-oriented development, density, also walkability, the 10-minute walk shed, the 15-minute walk shed, also the bus routes to get people to Northgate and to get them to 1 30th.

And I know that in the comp plan that we have 10 neighborhoods in D5 and that Pinehurst and Holler Lake are going to be added to the 25 existing urban centers.

That's the kind of wonky stuff that I like to get into, but When we were planning Pinehurst, when we actually planned Northgate as well, we're starting to see what's going to happen there, and it's exciting.

Does that mean my time's up?

I had 20 more seconds.

I'll stop talking.

There we go.

Thank you, Amelia.

Okay, go ahead.

That bell sounds like when you walk into a 7-Eleven.

Is that just me?

I was like, Slurpee time, right?

Okay, so I'll go down the line really quick and just say what I appreciate about all of you.

I had a chance to watch and attend the forum at North Seattle, and that was great.

I had to leave a little early, and I heard it went until a little after 8. But it was really good to be there and hear you all answer on the fly and then answer questions from the audience and all that.

So that was really, really good.

Had a chance to read over everyone's application and then also their resume.

And James, what I really appreciate about you is your extensive experience, your civic engagement, and then the list of incredible writings that you have done already, which was like wild to see the index.

of that, even before we had ChatGPT and AI.

You were writing that from the brain, so that's pretty impressive.

Katie, you had the most prettiest resume because you are an urban designer, and I want to know what font you used for your resume.

But your design background, kid-friendly city, really stood out a lot.

And also the housing flag that you wore last night and then have talked about as well.

NILU, environmental approach, your civic and community engagement, and also the work that you've already done that's been in the community and people that have reached out has stood out as well.

Robert, your Navy background, and I was surprised that someone from the Air Force recommended someone from the Navy.

That was pretty impressive.

Your systems experience as well, and also when you talked about this being the best place that you have moved with your family when you came across the water from good old Bremerton.

So thank you for that.

Dr. Julie Kang, thank you.

Anytime we hear from people, they talk about your community engagement, your teaching, your education.

They've all spoken very highly of you, and that means a lot when you have youth come and they talk about you as a person and a positive role model as well.

And then...

Ms. Juarez, can I call you Debra?

It feels a little...

Okay, Debra.

Your sharpness and your experience, your historical context.

I'm a historical buff, so I love to hear about the historical context of the city, the people.

It's always great.

And then the accomplishments that you've had so far, and then also the one thing that sticks out to me is the tribal leader experience.

Leadership experience.

And we talk about in Seattle, we give our acknowledgement.

One of my favorite lines that you have, we always give our land acknowledgement and you always talk about how we need to have action behind that and what does that look like?

Oftentimes, so we can move from that performative policies to actual stuff that works.

My question is super simple.

I have gotten to hear a lot about your values, know some of you personally, and so know that those values really align No one's up here a bad person.

You know, people can write what they want.

But I think one of the things that I would love to hear from you all is what do you think that we are missing as a council that maybe you will bring to the council?

So what will you bring here as a colleague that you think potentially we're missing or something that you'll add to us?

And we'll start with my friend, Jim.

James, I'm sorry.

Jim, I'm sorry.

My apologies.

No worries, council member.

So one of the things that I have not talked about is...

Oh, and Jim, let me stop you real quick.

Everyone gets one minute.

I apologize.

Thank you, Jim.

Go right ahead.

Yeah, I'm ready for now.

One of the things I have not talked about is what I've done in a number of cities to institute an outcome-based performance measurement system.

We really need to focus on the results of what we achieve as a city and hold ourselves accountable.

I'll give you, for instance, In the last job as a city manager, we established 69 performance measures through all outcomes, the results of what we wanted to achieve.

Every year, I reported to a large audience, the public, about where we were.

Council had established standards for each of those 69 measures to see where we want to be.

It's not about how much street we paved, it's about the pavement condition.

So really it's all about results and establish that performance measurement system to hold ourselves accountable.

I think that is something I can bring to the Council.

I think I can bring to this council the years of experience that I've had working at the city, particularly in the realms of land use and affordable housing and urban design and all of the things that are parallel to that.

So transportation, environmental justice.

I understand the code.

I understand how a little line of code can change the urban design outcomes throughout the city in ways that we didn't even understand.

I understand those nuances and how if we want to get different types of housing, we actually have to try to find ways to incentivize certain things.

We aren't just going to get the things that we want.

We have to figure out how to use those little levers that we have to make those things happen, especially when we're working against market forces that are going to continue to deliver the same thing unless we change the framework in which we're working.

So I can bring that experience, that expertise, that collaboration with departments.

I understand how we can work together and get things done and really make sure that we're using our limited budgets efficiently and effectively to deliver those coordinated benefits for our communities.

Thank you for the question.

I think one of the things I would bring is representation.

You know, the first time I was told to go back where I came from was by a third grade classmate.

I've been called a terrorist more times than I can count.

And I think that is an important perspective to keep in mind right now without anybody from the Asian continent.

Iran is in the Asian continent.

And, you know, having had parents who have political asylum.

I also have worked in ranked choice voting, which is coming to the city in 2027. It is critically important that we get it right at a time when we have a president calling it rigged choice voting.

The city really, really wanted this.

And it's what I've been doing for two years and getting this implementation right is critical.

There's a lot of experience and connections and information that I can bring to that process.

And I've been on the King County Advisory Committee as an appointee from the King County Dems working on that.

And then finally, just relationships with the legislature, which I assume you all have, but I don't think it hurts to have more.

And having been working in Olympia these last two years is something, and frankly, across the state.

I think it's a time that our state needs to come together with our federal risks that are coming, and I could bring that as well.

This is such a fantastic question.

I don't talk a lot about my tech experience, but one of the things I really like in the tech world is the willingness to pilot something, to experiment at a small scale, to have clear measurable deliverables, and then to see what works and what doesn't.

In a city of 700,000 plus people, it's hard to roll out big heavyweight things that apply to everybody on day one.

How can we learn from the region, from the country, and from the entire world and bring best practices here and see what works best for us?

The next one, I've taken a lot of pride in my career of improving the culture and trying to strengthen the culture and make it stronger for any group I was a part of.

The Navy, when I got there, that submarine was in the shipyard.

It had gone through so much change.

There was so much turnover of people.

And really investing the time to get to know people, to set the right standard on how we do our job right, how we treat other people.

And the same thing at Amazon, really investing in those around me.

The last one I'd say is literal on-the-ground experience.

I walk all over the place.

I use our parks.

I leverage all these activities in the community.

I feel like the day-to-day experience of D5 is something I treasure and something I can really bring that voice to the council.

So representation matters, I said that a lot.

And that's because we want diversity, not only as a voice for API community, that's 17.2% of our city, but when we have diversity, they bring perspectives, they bring lived experiences, they bring cultures and even languages.

So when I say diversity, I don't want people to think, oh, I'm just going to be representing the voices of API.

I am thinking about the social class, When I applied to my dissertation chair, I said, triple strikes are against me.

I'm a daughter of a single parent household, immigrant in poverty.

So we're thinking about social class, economic status, and all of that is experiences that I think will help us to connect with people.

Thank you.

You know what?

I forgot the question.

What were you saying?

No worries.

I'll repeat it again.

It was kind of like, why are you...

Okay.

No, no, no.

What will you bring to the...

What will you bring?

Yeah, what will you bring?

It could be personality.

It could be cookies.

It could be whatever.

What will you bring here to the second floor?

I apologize for not.

I did hear it the first, but I was listening to what they were saying.

So anyway, so there's the basic stuff.

There's the institutional knowledge, there's the historical perspective, there's the lived experience, there's professional and the personal career choices that I've made, and you all have my cover letter and you have my resume.

And of course, I talk about wisdom and leadership.

I talk about, I have been very successful in the executive branch, the legislative branch, the judicial branch, and been for me personally, certainly in Indian country with tribal communities.

So I heard a funny thing about two weeks ago and someone said, why are you going back?

You hated that job.

Oh my God.

And said some things.

And I said, you know, you don't need a helmet for that job.

You need a heart.

That's basically what you need.

You got to show up every day with a heart and look at the humanity in people.

And also, I have two daughters, millennial daughters, who keep me in line, and I have two new grandbabies that I wanna see happen and grow up healthy.

And I'm gonna say one quick thing as an old person.

I'm a child from the 1968 War on Poverty.

Those policies worked.

I'm one of them kids where they said, we're going to give money to reservations and tribes to make sure these kids eat, go to school, go to college.

The war on poverty, 1968, nine years old.

And I think government can do good things.

Thank you.

That's my time.

I really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today, everyone at the table.

You know, we're on an important process that we've embarked on.

It's important for D5 and the challenges far from the flagpole Go far beyond sidewalks.

There's many.

But it's also important for our city.

We are a west coast blue city.

It's important to have an effective progressive city on many levels to include governance, good governance.

And this process that we're going through is part of that.

And it's important for us to be an example for our state and our country.

And this is important to be blunt because we have been used by many to aid in the election of our president.

So we have to be doing things better and showing that it can be done in an effective, progressive way.

For D5, I think it's important to have a strong voice.

I was concerned when I saw about only seven people putting their names in, but I was heartened when there was 22. And then to have the six, five of which I named in my initial comments.

So we have a strong slate.

In fact, I would say we have the strongest slate here Across all four of the current city council races, to include District 2, the two citywide races, and the last one, actually, I'm sorry, is for the city attorney, but given that half of them seem to be running for city council instead of city attorney, you can get confused on that point.

Speaking of the city attorney, this council, and specifically the Public Safety Committee, has worked with the city attorney's office, the mayor's office, the public safety departments and offices to include our accountability partners to take legislative action on the public safety challenges that we face.

And so my question to you, about a minute each, can you state your position on how to continue our efforts to create a safer One Seattle?

And I'll start with Deborah this time.

So then we don't have that similar problem where she doesn't get any time.

I had a feeling you were going to do that.

And I'll remember the question.

I'm actually not that old.

Thank you, council member.

That's a great question.

And as you know, I sat on council for eight years in two terms.

And I was also on council and I was one of the two that voted no to defund the police.

And I paid for that vote.

And that's fine.

I don't think you should have a job where you worry about how you vote that you're not going to have a job.

And so looking at public safety, knowing that, and I want to thank your leadership, and bringing back good candidates to who want to serve.

But I think people forgot that in the charter, when we are sworn in, public safety is in the charter.

That is one of our responsibilities, is to provide safety to our city.

And so when I think about public safety, I'm not just talking about more police officers.

I'm also talking about the programs that we established to have community workers out in the community where people are experiencing mental health issues because we realize that officers are not social workers.

But the public safety piece, and I think we also have to work closer with King County on the jail capacity in jailing folks.

But I want to get back to just the integrity because not all officers are bad and they're not all good.

I have two nephews that are police officers in two different cities.

And I understand the risks that they do, but I also understand from being a public defender that police sometimes aren't honest and have done bad things.

That's why we're under a consent decree.

So I want to be clear-eyed about that, but I want this city to be great and I want it to be safe.

Thank you.

Julie.

Yes, Council Member Kettle again.

Thank you for sponsoring the key legislation, Bill 121006. I keep the amendments and all of the things happening very carefully because it does have impact on our community and the consideration for the BIPOC and the business owners.

So I am definitely public safety first.

That's something that I had mentioned multiple times.

And it's important for us to really think about what does it mean to have possessions of sales of stolen properties?

I talked about that as an example, when our daughter was working, making minimum wage and she saw people coming and taking a bag of clothes and she could not afford a garment from that store because It's very expensive.

What are we telling our children?

I will continue to fight and make sure that I'm a partner in the process to make sure our city keeps its promises to the north, starting with public safety, because our families shouldn't have to choose between safety and justice.

We deserve them both.

And District 5 deserves nothing less.

Thank you.

Rob?

I think we're still facing a hiring challenge.

We see that in the police overtime numbers.

We know we've had to fill spaces from a lot of years of not hiring enough police officers in the city.

A key measurement for us as we look at the progress of hiring and how are police departments performing around the city, that priority one response time.

That is the most critical need for people.

That's when people are in trouble.

That's when something's going on and we need police there quickly.

The technology part of this is going to require investment as well.

CCTV, real-time crime center, technology like that can make our officers' jobs easier.

So they're not chasing around everything in the city, but they're able to use technology to do it in a smart way.

I think when you look at license plate recognition, that could help on Amber Alerts, could help on car thefts, could help in other ways.

One of my other measures, other than priority one response time, is making the city walkable.

Everyone should be able to look at the map, know where they want to go, and walk around the city and feel safe doing so.

Thank you.

Mila?

Thank you.

I had a spree shooting in front of my house where multiple people were killed.

My children had to watch a killer in front of my home, and I wanted the police to respond in that scenario.

I didn't want anybody else at that time, and I was very thankful for that response.

It was a pretty dramatic, terrible day.

However, I keep in mind the capacity issues are struggled to hire more police officers.

And in that context, what can we do to make our families safe every day?

And that is looking at alternative responses, expanding on care, helping lead and co-lead at community passageways, violence interruption programs, health care, Drug treatment, all the different ways that we can make our society safer, and also looking at design.

How can we make, as we build the Lake City Community Center, or as we look to Aurora, how can we make these places design safer as we struggle to hire police?

Because we can continue to hire police, but we should look at alternative responses that make us safe right now.

Thank you.

This is actually pretty depressing that I have a very similar story to yours in which there were a couple nights of shootings across the street from my house and a similar thing and just was praying that the police would show up as quickly as possible to help deal with it.

And so we understand the constraints we have and we understand that we can free up some of those constraints by providing that alternative response.

But similarly, I think a lot of it is also it's the upstream.

It's the prevention.

And I'm going to come back to this again and again, but it's housing.

It's making sure that people are stable and in their lives so that they don't have to go and do those things to feel like they need to survive in this city.

And so a lot of the things that I would support would be around the near term things we can do around enforcement, around prevention, but also looking at that long range solution about getting people into homes, but also making sure people aren't losing their homes in the first place.

Thank you.

And Jim.

You have obviously a very impressive list of the legislation that you have proposed and got passed.

I support your additional initiatives.

I've talked about community policing.

I think that's a way of getting additional support for police and support for law enforcement in general.

Recruitment is going to be really critical.

We need to continue every effort that we can.

I totally agree with Rob about technology.

We also need to set reasonable expectations for what a police officer can do and support, through other means, the police officers.

When I was in Newport News, one of the things we initiated was training for police officers on how to handle a mental health emergency and how to deal with that when you're in the field.

They're not trained to do that necessarily, but whatever we can do to help mental health situations and others I think is really important.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

And again, thank you for running.

And I'm serious.

This is a very strong slate of, you know, a group of six.

And I think it shows well our city and more importantly in this case because it's for the district, your district five.

So thank you for putting your name forward.

And as I said to, I think each of you, for those that do not get selected, please continue your engagement because the D5 community, all the various pieces of it, needs people like you to stand up for those neighborhoods and for the district, and importantly, our city, particularly for what's at stake now in our country.

So with that, Council President, I yield the rest of my time to you.

All 30 seconds.

Well, before I begin, colleagues, I want to take a moment to just thank and commend you for choosing such a stellar slate of candidates.

It really is.

I've learned a lot about city issues and the various perspectives that you bring to the conversation and would bring to the office if If nominated and chosen.

So thank you very much for taking the time to choose great candidates.

Okay.

So here's my question.

I have a little preamble.

Council member Moore was one of the three Seattle members of the Seattle caucus on the King County Regional Homelessness Authority governing board.

And so I'm going to ask a question about that because the person in this position would continue that.

Alright, so my question is, and you'll each have about 90 seconds to answer, what is your assessment of the performance of the KCRHA and what do you envision for its future?

And I will begin with Deborah at that end of the table so that I give Jim a break from this end.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you for the question, too, because there's a little bit of history here.

I was on the King County representing the City of Seattle at King County and helped create the King County Regional Housing Authority.

It didn't quite come out the way I wanted it to, but I didn't have the votes to change some major things, but we got the first plan out.

I'll be frank, it has not reached My expectations of what I thought we would do.

But to be fair, when we were creating it, and certainly after, there's the city of Seattle and there were outside neighboring cities that were passing ordinances who did not want to be involved because they thought that homelessness and unhoused folks was Seattle's problem.

So we were dealing with smaller cities that were not happy with Seattle, and then Seattle is telling everyone, homelessness, unhoused, all these people don't live and come from Seattle.

This is everybody's problem.

So as you know, we shifted over to health office, the people that, city folks, go work for the county folk.

That model changed again because we had millions of dollars that weren't spent wisely.

And then I know that there were issues regarding whether or not they would be funded.

So I hope to provide, if indeed I'm selected, to have a stronger voice of how I originally wanted the King County Regional Housing Authority.

And without getting too wonky into detail and with my mind, I don't have these in my notes, but it's a good question.

I think we need to have the voice and keep...

Saying this, that homelessness, unhoused neighborhood and people with addiction and these type of issues and the byproducts of addiction is everybody's problem.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Julie.

The King County Regional Homelessness and Authority.

I thought I might get this.

So I actually wanted to see what has been done so far.

And there has been a lot of work.

So I just want to highlight that we do have to think about comprehensive wraparound consideration for racial bias.

Data-driven approach so we can refine its response strategies that meets the public, the community that we're thinking about.

We also have to focus on the survivor services and diversion services, treatments, safe working rather than arrest model.

And I think those are some of the things that we can think about because again, this is not about just policy.

It's about public safety, dignity of the people, compassion, And that leads to real change.

So yes, we understand that we have to have more shelter beds, more behavioral health treatments, but we also have to think about permanent supportive housing where we can have accountabilities and clear boundaries.

So we have to make sure that our parks, schools, They're safe for everyone and accessible for everyone.

So as long as we think about a plan that is comprehensive, data-driven, results-driven, coordinated outreach with people who are already doing the work, I'm going to continue to support what has been done already.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Rob.

I went to the University of Notre Dame and South Bend, Indiana is known for its Center for the Homeless.

It's one of the leading places in the country to really help study homelessness issues, what works, what doesn't.

I think in that area you saw the same debate on is this a city solution, is this a region solution, what's the right fit?

I think in the Pacific Northwest it's absolutely a regional issue and I'm glad we're finally tackling it that way.

One of the things that we learned from the Center for the Homeless, working with Mary's Place, working with other organizations, is it's so much harder and more expensive to help someone on the streets than it is to help them before they lose their home.

So I think the discussion needs to center on that as well.

Rent assistance, helping people avoid finding themselves in homelessness in the first place.

And I think that's something that's part of this comprehensive story.

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority, it really hasn't been there for long.

This isn't that many years that we're talking about.

I think there's promise in things like the Health Through Housing program and investments there and buying up old hotels, giving people places to stay.

Ultimately, there's a lot of hard work ahead.

The numbers are scary in how many people sleep outside.

And I think for all of us, it's being clear on what the end goal is here.

Nobody sleeps outside.

The dignity of people really matters.

These are our neighbors, and we've got to do more for them.

Thank you.

I will just repeat the question in case you forgot.

What is your assessment of the performance of KCRHA, and what do you envision for its future?

Go ahead, Nilou.

Yeah, thank you.

You know, I think as Council, sorry, as Deb, Ms. Juarez said, you know, it could be have gone better.

We are not seeing the regional response and the collaboration that we, I think, need and deserve.

And that's something that I'd hope that we could work on to make better because the reality is we're going to get a lot more people unhoused.

One, because of our climate refugees coming and displacing and really thinking about anti-displacement measures, but also two, because of this big, bad, horrible, terrible bill that passed and thinking about people losing Medicaid and funding.

So the reality is that we're going to get a lot more people and probably people shoving people towards Seattle.

We can ask for the burden to be on our neighboring cities, but the reality is they're going to be here and what are we going to do about it?

So I really think we should be thinking about scaling up our Our housing options, permanent supportive housing, tiny home houses, just anything we can because they are coming.

That's the reality, progressive revenue and all that.

And looking at preventing homelessness because once somebody falls into homelessness, the issues compound.

That's where we find actually drug tends to come in more.

And the reality is that this is a housing crisis.

The number one driver of homelessness is a lack of housing in our housing crisis.

So making sure in our comp plan to build more housing and to repair for the The greater number of people that will fall into homelessness if we don't build homes and make housing more available.

I don't know how much time I have.

And also thinking about, we can't keep having people living on the streets.

We're gonna get hot days, smoky days, and people will start dying in Seattle.

On the East Coast, we have required housing.

Thank you so much for the question.

So at its concept, it is a great idea.

Homelessness does not have boundaries.

It does not respect the boundaries of our cities and our region.

So it really isn't a regional problem, and it requires regional response.

I think we can always do better.

We should always be doing better.

And so we should be looking at the data, expanding what's working, looking to improve what's not, exploring new models, piloting them, scaling them up when they're working.

I also think looking at are there potentials to actually expand the coordination even more, even with our other counties in our area.

to be able to better pool our resources and focus it where we need the help most.

And as my colleagues have said, I think a lot of this is also about the focusing upstream, and I'll say it again, but it's housing.

Nothing ruins neighborhood character like our inability to house our people, and we have to remind our residents of that, and we have to really stress that this is a housing issue, and we need to bring housing into more of our neighborhoods so that we can keep people in our communities instead of sleeping on our streets.

Thank you.

So it won't be surprising that I say that I don't think it's met my expectations.

You know, housing is indeed the issues, are indeed everybody's problem, but we need a comprehensive strategy to deal with homelessness.

That's mental health treatments, it's drug treatment, transitional housing, it's permanent housing.

You know, one of the things I have not talked about is in my career for seven years, I was the executive director of the regional council of governments in the Phoenix area.

An area very similar to the size of Seattle and growth dynamics as well.

And we had a regional homelessness task force and a regional housing homelessness program.

And I would want to bring that experience and experiences I've had in other places to bear.

But also my experiences as a manager of organizations and understanding how work gets done and how things get done.

I think that advice and guidance could be very valuable in this instance.

Okay.

That is, I'm not going to, thank you very much everybody.

I'm not going to throw any really short questions at you.

Just take a deep breath.

I don't have any further questions.

So you've gotten through the tough part.

That was the second of the The first was the forum.

All right, so we're at the end of today's business, and I would just like to open it up to see if there are any questions about the process going forward.

This is my timer going off.

That is the last minute and 30 seconds, excuse me.

All right, I don't see any questions about the process going forward.

Is there any further business to come before the Council?

All right.

Okay.

Well, then we've reached the end of today's agenda.

The City Council will meet again on Monday at another July 28th at 9.30 a.m., where the City Council is scheduled to vote and appoint a finalist at the July 28th meeting.

So hearing no further business, it is 3.47.

We are adjourned.

And thank you very, very much, everybody, for coming.

Thank you.

You're great.

Thank you.