Seattle City Council Special Meeting of 1/22/2024

All right, good morning, everybody.

The January 22nd, 2024 special meeting, special city council meeting will come to order.

It is 9.33.

I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Moore.

Present.

Council member Morales.

Here.

Council member Rivera.

Present.

Council member Saka.

Here.

Councilmember Strauss.

Present.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Present.

Councilmember Kettle.

Here.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Pete.

Present.

Thank you very much.

All right.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Seeing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

And now, if there is no objection, the council rules will be suspended to allow public comment at today's special city council meeting.

And because this is a special meeting, speaker's comments must be limited to items on today's agenda.

Hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended and we will proceed with public comment.

Colleagues, at this time, we'll open the hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

We have 35 in person and counting.

And online or remotely.

And remote public speakers.

We have a total of 20. Okay.

We will give each speaker one minute to speak and we'll begin with the, with with alternating between public and remote speakers.

So would you please provide the instructions for today's public comment?

Public comment period for this meeting is 20 minutes and each speaker will be giving one minute speak.

We will alternate between in-person speakers and remote speakers.

Each speaker will be called on an order in which they are registered on the website or on the sign-in sheets available in council chambers.

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

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

And once you hear the chime, we ask that you begin to wrap up your public comment.

If speakers do not end their comments at the end of the allotted time provided, the speaker's microphone will be muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open, and we'll begin by in-person speakers.

One moment, please.

I just have one other thing to say.

Because we have so many speakers, It's my intention to get through everybody, even though our public comment period is only 20 minutes.

So I would, to make things go as efficiently as possible, when you are, we'll say the next, say, three or four speakers or so, and please line up and be ready to speak at public comment so we don't have to wait for you to get up to the podium.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Okay, the first in-person speaker will begin with Bill Caldwell, followed by Kathleen Brose and Jen Oxley.

Good morning.

My name is Bill Caldwell.

I live in District 3.

Try again.

Good morning.

My name is Bill Caldwell.

I live in District 3. Seattle has possible good news in the future.

This comes from Sound Transit deciding to host a major transportation hub in Pioneer Square, adjacent to Chinatown International District.

The expansion of accessible mass transit from Everett to DuPont means that the ease on Seattle will be there for needed housing.

So that will be very helpful.

Decrease the number of cars on the road for daily commutes and visitors.

But most importantly, it can also revitalize Pioneer Square downtown in the Chinatown International District.

Yet success will be largely dependent on people feeling safe enough to use mass transit and to walk around in those neighborhoods.

The current state of Chinatown, Pioneer Square, and portions of downtown frighten away many people.

Crime and chaos associated with open-air drug use has made the area unsafe for residents and visitors.

Can things get better?

Will people ever feel safe again visiting, commuting to, or living in Pioneer Square, the CID, or downtown?

Tonya Wu has been unique among Seattle civic leaders by facing these issues direct.

Please appoint Tonya Wu for better.

Kathleen Brose and Jen Knoxley and Jamie Fackler.

Good morning.

My name is Kathleen Brose.

I am a resident of District 6. And I had a chance to meet some of the candidates for the vacant position as well as listen to them.

And there's two people I would just love to see on the council, either Tanya Wu or Stephen Strand.

Thank you.

One moment, please.

Folks, I ask that you please stop talking in the chambers and take your seats if possible, because it's difficult for us to hear folks when they're speaking at the podium.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Hi, I'm Jen Oxley, and I live in District 5. And I wanted to thank all eight of our candidates for stepping up, and I think everyone brings something important that would be wonderful on council.

The theme of our elections this year really seems to be public safety.

And in that vein, I really throw my support behind Tanya Wu, who's been working so hard in the Chinatown International District.

And second choice in line of public safety would be Captain Steve Strand, who would bring that accountability and the draw for more police in Seattle.

Thank you.

After Jen Oxley was Jamie Fackler and then Eduardo Raif.

We're almost there.

We have two more people ahead of you.

Jamie?

Yeah, hi.

Jamie Fackler.

I'm a City of Seattle employee.

I'm here on my own time.

I'm also a Pro Tech 17 member and MLK labor delegate for Pro Tech 17. I've had the pleasure this election season of sitting on multiple endorsement committees and interview candidates and talk to folks and and really get a feel on who these candidates are.

I know that there's a number of folks up here that we've endorsed, and I think I've met most all of you council candidates, and first off, congratulations.

You guys have been duly elected to this role.

To me, when we were selecting candidates and making those assessments, we were looking for folks that had values, had progressive values, understood about representing marginalized communities, but also demonstrated experience doing the work.

And to me, there's one candidate that has that, excuse me, and has demonstrated ability and has been duly elected, and that's Vivian Song.

So I encourage your support.

Thank you very much.

After Jamie, it's Eduardo Reif, and then it's Betty Lau.

Good morning, council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you.

I'm here to provide comment in support of Vivian Song as your appointee to the vacant at-large position.

I'm originally from Venezuela, an immigrant.

and have made Seattle my home since 2006. I live and have a small business in District 6. I operate a childcare center that provides bilingual childcare to over 200 students.

We have a preschool and an afterschool program.

Vivian has been very sensitive to our needs and to our demands as educators and as parents.

But I wasn't always in the education business.

I come from the business side.

I worked at Amazon for 15 years.

I know what it takes to run an efficient organization, and that's what I see emphasized in Vivian.

Vivian can not only be very empathetic to the needs of our community, but she knows how to deliver results.

And many times I have the opportunity to share my concerns with her, and she has listened.

I encourage you all to provide an open mind.

I know many of you have already nominated people, but vote for Vivian.

Betty Lau and then followed by Roy Chang and Elaine Ishihara.

I'm Betty Lau, community advocate.

Tanya has one more qualification for you to consider.

She's a champion of arts for all, having been a TV producer on arts and culture.

She knows the importance of public art to inspire and enrich all lives.

She works with nonprofits on arts education, and you could even see her performing all around town at various festivities.

Seattle City Club opened a straw poll after the public forum, and people were asked to rank our top choice for number one.

Was Tanya Wu the people's choice?

Listen to the people and choose Tanya Wu to fill position eight.

Thank you.

Roy Chang, Elaine Ishihara, and Bailey Medilo, or Mesilo, excuse me.

Thank your respective council members for receiving my statement.

My name is Roy Chang.

I'm the Executive Director of School Connect Washington, a local nonprofit providing academic intervention-based programs for BIPOC students.

I'm here to express my wholehearted support for Vivian Song to fill the vacant council seat.

Vivian embodies the qualities and qualifications essential for Seattle's post-pandemic recovery.

Vivian Song brings a robust background in business administration and finance, crucial for envisioning the best version of Seattle, coupled with the wisdom and clarity needed to turn that vision into reality.

Additionally, Vivian enjoys a strong support from Seattle Public Schools families due to her role as SPS board director.

She's the sole nominee with experience working closely with SPS, possesses the sense of urgency to address academic gaps that many have given up on.

Having worked with Vivian in the education space, I found her to be kind, intelligent, empathetic, and a connector.

She can tackle a billion dollar budget.

She is also full of vision for what our city can become.

Above all, I trust her character to act justly, to be a unifying force on the Seattle City Council.

Can't imagine a better co-council member who

Good morning.

My name is Elaine Ishihara.

I consider Southeast Seattle my home neighborhood.

It's where I grew up and currently live.

But the Chinatown International District became my community when my grandparents immigrated here over 100 years ago and lived there, raised their families until they were interned during World War II.

I have had a relationship with the CID for over 50 years.

This is where I learned about community-centered leadership in making change.

I'm here today to support Mari Sugiyama.

I believe that she has the qualities and the experience working in the city that will bring a good voice for all communities and being able to address issues.

Well, I just think that she has the qualities to make sound judgment and informed decisions and that we need this type of leader.

We have Bailey Masilo, Paul Quiros, and then Dawn Mason.

Good morning, council members.

My name is Bailey Medillo and I am from Southeast Seattle.

I come to this new body today in greetings and congratulations of your recent elections.

And today we're going to continue the conversation of elections and appointing a citywide council member to this council.

And for the record, I personally support either Mari Sugiyama or Vivian Song.

But I want to speak to the values of this appointment.

I urge this council to appoint someone who embodies the spirit of progress and will meet the challenge of governing Seattle with an open, solutions-oriented mindset, catering towards the needs of the working families who power this city far above the interests of the wealthy few.

If this council shall fail to provide leadership on this issue, then the working people of Seattle will not be afraid to find a leader of our own.

I know that this council intends to appoint this new member with the purpose of them running for reelection.

And I want to let them know that the people of Seattle are watching closely and we hope to organize alongside, but not hopefully.

We have Paul Kurose, and John Mason will be the last in-person speaker for the set.

It's Paul Kurose.

Good morning.

My name's Paul Kurose, as I just said.

I'm here to voice my support and the support of members of my family for Mari Sugiyama.

I support Mari because of the person who I know her to be, just like I supported you, Councilmember Hollingsworth, because the person I know you to be.

and not only know who you are, but from where you came.

And that makes so much difference.

Just like your grandma started Project Head Start and hired my mom to support her in getting that program off the ground.

Mari's dad started Center for Career Alternatives and hired my brother Guy to work with youth in South.

south and south, the south end of Seattle, central and south Seattle.

So Mari, I know that we trust her to act in support of our community and act in support of social justice.

So that's why.

Thank you.

And Don is Don Mason is the last in person speaker for this set.

Thank you so much.

My name is, thank you, council.

And I hope that all of you received my letter.

I sent a letter to the whole council.

Everyone should, did everyone receive it?

Just a little nod of your head.

Okay.

It was long, but thorough because this is a city that needs good leadership.

I have been very involved.

I'm a former state representative.

I'm an elder of distinction for the African-American community.

And I know people.

I know people across the city.

I'm here to support Tonya Wu because I watched her mount a campaign that was not contentious.

And that's what this city has asked for.

She is not asking to be now appointed to a district, but the whole city.

I've watched her work with people.

I have watched her work with my community, the African-American community.

I came here to the city council.

I asked for help at 12th and Jackson with our children in the school.

She stepped up and helped.

It is now a calmer place.

That's what Seattle will be.

Our first remote speaker will be Brendan Colding, and Brendan will be followed by Mike Day.

And as a reminder, after you hear your name called, please press star six to unmute yourselves.

Go ahead, Brendan Colding.

Good morning.

My name is Brendan Colding, and I live in District 1. I served with Steve Strand on the Seattle Police Department, and I endorse him for Position 8. Seattle is experiencing a public safety crisis, which is exacerbated by critically low staffing at the SPD, and the community has given City Council a mandate to address this.

Appointing Steve to City Council is the single most impactful move you can make toward retaining the officers who currently serve on the SPD and encouraging prospective officers to apply.

Previous councils have been unsupportive of the SPD, most notably by advocating to defund the departments.

This has driven officers away and led to a dire staffing crisis.

By appointing Steve to City Council, you will send an immutable signal to current and prospective SPD officers that a transformation has occurred.

In the interest of public safety, I urge you to appoint Steve to position eight.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mike Day.

Mike will be followed by Nicole Grant.

Go ahead, Mike.

Good morning.

My name is Mike Day.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

I am speaking in support of the appointment of Captain Steve Strand to the Open City Council position.

I live in West Seattle and I'm the current president of the Fauntleroy Community Association, a volunteer group representing about 3,000 residences in West Seattle.

I have known Captain Strand for a little over 10 years as both in his official capacity as a police officer and also as a neighbor and friend.

I've witnessed Captain Strand working with disadvantaged youth and their families trying to build bridges and open lines of communication throughout the city.

I've worked with him to address community concerns about public safety.

And as a neighbor, I've seen Steve and his family at community events supporting the community and the city at large.

Steve brings to the city a wealth of knowledge and experience.

uh both in the police department and has the opportunity to revitalize the city as the former speaker just said here our next speaker is nicole grant and nicole will be followed by jeremy uni go ahead nicole good morning my name is nicole grant i use she and her pronoun and i'm a member of the international brotherhood of electrical workers local 46. Our union represents over 6,000 workers in King County who bring light and heat, make it so you can charge your cellphone and microwave a burrito.

We are here in strong support of Vivian Song for the Seattle City Council.

She is a brilliant woman and is experienced in elected office.

I love that she has already done so much work to support the children of Seattle, including my own, and so much in support of workers and workers' rights.

I'm a proud member of the Seattle Building Trades and MLK Labor, and Vivian Song is our choice.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jeremy Uni, and Jeremy will be followed by Katherine Schubert Knapp.

go ahead jeremy okay jeremy is not present we're going to move on to catherine schubert knapp following catherine schubert knapp will be christina sawiski go ahead catherine good morning council members my name is catherine schubert knapp thank you for this opportunity to comment

I urge you to appoint Mari Sugiyama to the vacant Seattle City Council position 8. I am a 36-year City of Seattle employee who retired in 2022 and with family and friends living in Seattle.

I care deeply about the council working together to provide effective services and opportunities for Seattle's residents.

I've worked in mayor's offices and city departments and understand how important and effective council is in helping meet the challenges Seattle faces.

I also work closely with Mari's mother, Kathy Tagawa Sugiyama, for nearly the last 20 years of her career.

I had the pleasure of seeing Mari develop into a true blend of her father Alan Sugiyama's passion for justice and her mother's commitment to work through government structures.

Mari is smart, conscientious, hard worker, and will be an ideal addition to your council.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Christina Sawicki.

And Christina will be followed by Yvette Dynish.

Jodi, before you begin with this caller, can you please double the time?

I believe this is the caller with requests for the ADA accommodations.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

Christina?

Christina may need to press star six to unmute herself.

One minute please.

I'm Christina.

i ask that the council vote for lynn thai he is dedicated and hard working and will make a difference for seattleites thanks

I believe Christina is finished and we will move on to Yvette Dynish.

Yvette will be followed by Raul Vasisht.

Go ahead, Yvette.

Good morning, council members.

Yvette Dynish, native Seattleite, and I live and work in Rainy Beach.

My nonprofit, the Color Girls Garden Club, distributes free food twice a week for going on to four years without fail.

And so I recognize what steadfast is, and that's how I would describe Tanya Root.

She's steadfast, she's out there, and she can be relied upon.

Also, kudos to Don Mason.

I liked your comments, and I agree thoroughly.

And again, Tanya Root is my number one choice.

Mark Solomon will be my second.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Raul Vasist, and Raul will be followed by Lillane Balestris.

Go ahead, Raul.

Hello.

I would like to urge the City Council to elect Neha Naria for the vacant seat.

My family and I live in District 4. As many residents do we believe this city is filled with people who make pragmatic and responsible decisions to improve Seattle's legacy and future vision.

That was the main reason my wife and I bought a house here and raise our children in this area.

The council has a fantastic fantastic opportunity to elect Neha as the candidate who would nurture this shared belief.

Her ability to listen to people balance with her nuanced decision making will undoubtedly lead to excellent public policy.

We share in her vision of an equitable and prosperous community, and we're confident the council will make the right decision in electing her.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lillian Balestros, followed by Henry Lee.

Go ahead, Lillian.

Hello, council.

My name is Lillian Ballesteros.

I'm a resident of District 6. I'm also the executive director of Latino Community Fund and Progreso.

We represent hundreds of families and small Latino businesses across the city.

I believe Seattle's working families deserve a fair and transparent appointment process for the current bank and council seat.

Seattle is a leader for higher wages and long-term investments for the services we need, and we urge the council to not be pressured by big business to appoint a candidate to roll back regulations, and to really support our working families and our small businesses and workers.

I support the City Council appointing Vivian Song to the Seattle City Council because she's a tried and tested leader, someone who governs with people like our community members in mind and is the person for the job given her role as the citywide elected school board director.

Thank you for your consideration and for supporting our small businesses and our working families across the city.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Henry Lee, and Henry will be followed by Lisa Bowie.

Go ahead, Henry.

Hello, my name is Henry Lee.

I live in District 7. I'm represented by Councilmember Kettle.

I want to use my time to endorse Tonya Wu for the role of Citywide Council, Position 8. Tonya Wu has an extensive background in public safety, affordable housing, historical preservation, small business advocacy, and community organizing.

For those of you who were on the council last year, you would have also witnessed how Tanya brought in people before the council who have never been there before.

Isn't the whole point of our government?

We have somebody who's out in the community actively engaging and bringing people in.

She speaks on behalf of these marginalized groups who have never had a voice before.

Tanya is out there every day helping our unhoused neighbors.

Every Friday, she's out there walking the neighborhoods, providing food, clothing, and other supplies.

There's a direct relation when we meet the needs of unhoused and reduction in crime.

Tonya, as a private citizen, has worked for years, thanklessly, to improve our city.

I hope to see her on City Council to further her impact in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Lisa Bowie, and then we'll move back to in-person speakers.

Go ahead, Lisa.

Good morning, Council Members.

I'm Lisa Bowie.

Thank you for your opportunity to speak with you.

I'm here to provide comment in support of Vivian Zung as your appointee to the vacant at-large position.

I'm a parent of two students, both elementary and middle school in Seattle Public Schools.

I've worked closely with Vivian on our PTA school board.

The thing I admire about Vivian is her ability to achieve consensus on difficult topics and her ability to dive deep into data to make more effective decisions.

She always listens to families and brings them along in the decision-making process.

She was instrumental in working to find a safe way to get kids back to in-person school, working with staff, teachers, and families to ensure their voices would be heard.

This required her to work through issues like spacing in classrooms and addressing windows that wouldn't open to increase airflow.

Communication was also a major pain point in our school, so she took the initiative to set up a communication platform that we still use today.

Vivian has a critical eye for using data.

While PTA president, she reviewed the budget line by line with our treasurers and was able to identify a significant surplus.

This allowed the board to make new ideas and then consolidate the budget and prevent

We will now go into in-person speakers, and the first three are Paul de Baros, and then Stephanie Morris, Matt Harrington.

I'm Paul DeBarros.

I'm here to support Tanya Wu.

Tanya called me when she discovered the murals in the Louisa Hotel.

I'm a jazz historian, so she asked me to help her do research about where those murals came from and who was in them and who painted them, and we didn't find out a heck of a lot, but we did find the context for them, and I wrote up some information that we put on a plaque that will go outside the building.

And I was just impressed by Tanya coming forward to preserve our cultural history.

And when somebody bashed down the glass door she put there on the corner so people could look at the murals, she just put another one back up.

She's an undeniable force.

And the fact that she took on renovating the Luisa Hotel in the CID gives her a lot of points for me because a lot of people just complain it's impossible to do that.

And now we have dozens of low-income housing there.

Thanks.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Morris, and I am here today to ask that you appoint Vivian Song to the at-large position, which was vacated earlier this month.

I have lived in Seattle since 2002, have a background in tax, and have been involved in advocacy for Seattle Public Schools, which my kids have all attended, since 2009. Vivian is far and away the best and most competent board member I have seen in my tenure as an SPS advocate and parent.

No one else on the board, past or present, is able to handle the budget or work with colleagues, both the ones she agrees with and disagrees with, remotely as well.

Like many Seattleites, I'm concerned with public safety, homelessness, and the ability for regular people to raise families and live safely here.

Before the pandemic, my oldest child could ride the bus all over the city to get places, and I want that safety back for my youngest.

So much has gotten better about our city over the last year or so, but I'm worried with our budget deficit, we'll go backwards, especially on safety, if we don't have someone with deep financial skills and great capacity to work in groups.

Followed by Matt Harrington will be Shelly Morrison and Box Lunke.

Good morning.

My name is Matt Harrington.

I am here to urge you to appoint Vivian Song for the open council member position.

I am one of the owners of a downtown business.

I commute downtown every day and we ask our colleagues to commute downtown as well.

And I support Vivian because I think she will because I trust her to enact the mayor's plan for downtown revitalization.

I also support her because of her financial skills.

She has a background working for an investment bank, working in various tech companies.

And that sort of skill is all too rare for public service and I think would be a real asset to this council.

That's also what I've observed of her on the Seattle School Board.

She has brought those financial skills.

to the school district and bring that competence as well as a spirit of collaboration to this council.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Shelly Morrison.

I'm a lifelong resident of Seattle.

as is Tanya Wu.

I went to public school, as did she.

And I'm a small business owner, as is she.

I am supporting Tanya because I feel like she has so much credibility.

She shows up.

And I have lived in the Rainier Valley for 35 years.

And we've had a number of challenges.

Chania came to meet with our small business owners who had all had multiple incidents of violence and property damage and theft.

She listens.

She's a hard worker.

She really has street credibility for all that she's done in Chinatown.

And so I feel like she's the voice we need and has the experience and background that's going to be really important for Seattle going forward.

Thank you.

After Box, it'll be Alex Zermanman and Allison Stetson.

And please remember, there's two mics that you can speak at.

Good morning, Council President Nelson, council members and attendees.

My name is Bob Lunkey, not Fox.

But thank you.

I've known Steve Strand for many years.

He is honest, kind, generous, diligent, thoughtful, smart, professional, and discreet.

As one of you, he will bring instant and frank access to Seattle policing and its many changes over the last few decades, among many other professional and personal life experiences.

If you want fast and factual answers, there they are.

You can turn to your council partner and ask, Steve, what happened and what were they thinking?

or what happens and what are they thinking?

Steve is a living encyclopedia of all pieces of Seattle policing practices, policies, personnel, history, the union and leadership.

He knows all the players past and present, and they know him.

There are wondrous, tense and turbulent times globally, nationally and locally.

Please choose Steve Strand.

And thank you for your time and for your service.

Sieg Heil.

Der Redem Nazi-Faschist-Hunde.

My name is Alec Zimmerman.

Please pause.

Your abusive language constitutes disruptive behavior, as is your failure to speak respectfully to counsel.

I ask that you discontinue.

Speak only to an item on the agenda, and then if you do not, your mic will be cut, and you will be asked to sit down.

Thank you very much.

I will do this.

For 20 years, I come to this place.

A new generation, elect, elect, elect.

It is all identical.

Right now, the 700,000 people who live in Seattle, you know what is mean a concentration camp for my understanding, will elect same people and nothing will be changed.

You cannot make a change.

Why?

Because you all identical.

You're not different.

Oh, you have white shirt, you have black shirt.

It's only different what we have.

And I spoke to you a thousand times before.

You're more dangerous than Nazi or communist because you're primitive, aggressive, and stupid.

Please pause.

That's it.

Name-calling does not count.

So what are you talking about?

I cannot use the word stupid?

Please cut the mic and sit down, Mr. Zimmerman, please.

Why are you acting like a Nazi?

I'm only one man who you trespass.

Why?

So we will have Alison Stetchen, Jacqueline Siska, and Travis Joe Cuffley, if you don't mind coming to the two mics.

Thank you.

Allison Steichen.

I'm a longshore worker with Local 19 here in Seattle.

What attracted me to the waterfront wasn't the amazing views or operating the big machines.

It was our guiding principles and deep history in activism and equity.

Those are values that I cultivated in large part because of the Sugiyama family.

I have been fortunate enough to have known Mari since the sixth grade.

The Seattle Times recently had a quote stating that Mari has the potential to be a no-drama, trailblazing council member.

I would like to echo that sentiment.

Last Thursday at the public forum, many of the candidates had good answers.

But Mari was head and shoulders above the rest with her pragmatic approach and knowledge and experience on how to solve these issues, making an immediate impact.

With Mari, there is no learning curve.

She is already there and can hit the ground running on issues that this city needs desperately solved yesterday.

Coupled with her compassion, complete and rounded approach, she is the, excuse me, she is the standout candidate.

Thank you.

Good morning, council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you.

My name is Jacqueline Siska, and I'm here to provide a comment in support of Vivian Song as your appointee to the vacant at-large position.

I'm a PTA leader at a Seattle Public Schools elementary school.

I'm a mom to two kids and live in District 4. Last year, there was a large tent encampment adjacent to my kids' elementary school.

It's called the Pasadena Encampment.

I came to the city council to speak on this issue several times to no avail, as the encampment was on state property and the city seemed powerless to help.

There were multiple propane tank explosions and fires, two shootings, one murder, all within yards of the front entrance to the school.

Even though the encampment was on state property and not school district property, school board director Vivian Song met with us regularly, listened to our concerns, and worked diligently to help us navigate all of the different stakeholders and levels of government to bring safety to our kids, encampment residents, and neighbors.

I'm grateful to Vivian Song for her public service to our community.

I believe her ability to listen, her relationships with multiple levels of government, and her focus on positive change makes her the ideal candidate for this vacancy.

Thank you.

We have Travis Joe Cuffley, Brian T. Lally, excuse me, and Gina Owens.

Good morning, President Nelson, council members.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today in support of Vivian Song for your appointee to the vacant at-large council position.

My name is Travis Joe Cuffee.

I live in District 4. I have two children that are school age and attend SPS, and I am a nurse practitioner.

I have been practicing for nearly 15 years.

I support Vivian for this appointment based on what she has demonstrated through her work as school board director.

She's truly a dedicated public servant.

She holds regular public office hours, engages in site visits to all the schools in her director district, and spends a lot of time reaching out to families, principals, staff, teachers.

And she does the many hours of her work as a volunteer without any staff to support her.

In addition to her robust financial background, she cares deeply about student mental health, safety, gun violence, as well as cost of living for SPS families, all which directly translates to work in Seattle.

To wrap up, in preparation for my testimony today, I reviewed each of your biographies and you are an impressive group.

I believe Vivian fits right in and can add to this to provide us

Madam Council President, members of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Brian Lally.

I'm a resident of Seattle, and I'm here today to request that you appoint Stephen Strand to the open council position eight.

I've had the privilege of knowing Stephen for almost five years.

I found him to be even-tempered, a good listener, and open to different ideas.

His 35-year career with the United States Army gave him valuable leadership skills, and he's a decorated war veteran.

Additionally, his career with the police department gave him valuable insights into public safety.

I think that having a police officer on the council could help to ease the tension between the council and the police department.

I respectfully submit that appointing Stephen to this position would be one that serves this body and the citizens of Seattle.

Thank you, Madam President.

After Gina, we will go back to remote speakers.

Good morning.

My name is Gina Owens.

Thank you for having me here.

And I really like the look of our new council.

I just want to say that.

As I said, my name is Gina Owens.

I am a District 3 Central Area resident.

I'm here today because I think it's sad that Tim Cease has openly dishonored our council by suggesting his wealthy donor colleagues that their contributions earned them the rights to your votes.

There should never be an instance where a public servant should feel obligated by their donors.

Big business should not be pressuring council to appoint a candidate who they think will roll back taxes and regulations on corporations so they can go back to underpaying workers and letting regular Seattleites put the entire bill.

Your time is expired, please.

Please stop.

I have to give everybody the same amount of time.

And we'll move back into remote speakers.

Our next remote speaker is Benjamin Byers and Benjamin will be followed by Kim Convan.

Go ahead, Benjamin, please.

Remember, you may need to press star six.

Good morning.

I believe that I'm now unmuted.

My name is Benjamin Byers.

I'm a resident of District 7 and a lifetime Seattle resident.

I am calling in support of Neha Nuria.

I've had the opportunity to work with Neha on Sound Transit advocacy and found her to be not only incredibly educated about Sound Transit, but also the City of Seattle issues as a whole.

She owns a small business with her family, lives in the city, and I think that she is the ideal fresh-faced candidate to join Seattle City Council as opposed to some of the alternatives who are all too familiar.

In any case, I urge the Council to strongly support Neha Nuria and look forward to her serving on Seattle City Council.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kim Convan.

Kim will be followed by Keith Ulbrich.

Go ahead, Kim.

Yes, thank you, Council.

My name is Kim Convon.

I've spoken before.

I'm here in support of Tanya Wu.

She has heart to begin with, and I've seen her work throughout the pandemic and even before that.

I want to start really speaking about my family, and we've lived in Seattle.

Now I'm in Renton, but I'm speaking on behalf of my 20-plus family members throughout Seattle, particularly for my 82-year-old mother who takes transportation from South Seattle to Renton.

and particularly to all the family and community members that I know from North Seattle to South Seattle.

We've done a lot of organizing work throughout the pandemic, but let me ask a question.

Who of all the council members, who of all the community members that showed up when a Japanese teacher, Mariko Nasu, was really hurt?

When Chinatown went throughout the whole city, we were not getting support.

It was Tanya Wu.

She has heart.

She's the people's choice.

and I support Tanya, and I encourage you all to support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Keith Hawbridge, and following Keith will be Purva Merchant.

Go ahead, Keith.

Hi, my name is Keith in District 3 since 2005. During the Candidates Forum last year for District 3, I was impressed by the depth that Alex Hudson gave to the issues, although I do like Joey Hollingsworth as a fellow vegan, so it was kind of a hard vote.

But Alex Hudson is my choice.

Now, also, as far as enforcement of crime in the city, the crime that is going on is landlords and employers cheating their employees and renters.

And I've caught them on wage theft, I've caught them on SDCI violations, and the big problem is the OLS and the SDCI are severely underfunded and The cases are put on hold for way too long.

So I want a candidate that will push for full funding of these agencies that are meant to protect working renters.

That's pretty much it.

Thank you very much.

And please keep working renters in mind, not corporations.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Perva.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Perva is no longer present.

So our next speaker will be David Haynes.

Following David Haynes will be Kelly Anderson.

Go ahead, David.

Hi, David Haynes.

We don't need the previous council's bad policies.

We need to reject the previous council's nominees because the school board has miseducated kids and has a huge budget deficit.

The human services has exacerbated the crisis and wants to repeat the same racist, well-perverted prioritizing of criminals instead of innocent homeless.

We really need a true, fresh voice, somebody who's proven themselves, and that's Tonya Wu.

She has culminated her big budget dealings with transit-oriented affordable housing.

She understands the reality of what is taking place in our society and within our community, and she's willing to make a huge difference using the laws of the council.

the council needs to reject the previous council's agenda they're trying to repeat the same majority of bad policies of the past we need to move forward beyond that we need fresh voice tanya wu thank you our next speaker will be kelly anderson and following kelly anderson will be perva merchant go ahead kelly

Kelly, you may need to press star six.

Good morning, Seattle County members.

Thank you for giving me the chance to speak.

My name is Kelly Anderson and I'm a homeowner in Seattle.

I have a brief statement and then just a couple of questions to leave with you.

Transparency and accountability are central to good governance, which the Seattle City Council says it values.

And therefore, any funding from big business or labor or that enables a candidate for position eight to have professional so-called advocacy services should be disclosed.

So my questions are, as a city council, look into if there has been any funding involved in this appointment process from big business or labor, either money or professional services to any of the candidates or their campaigns.

um if no you haven't looked into it i guess that would be why not and will you and if yes you have looked into it will you publicly disclose which candidates have received this funding and which have not because that that wouldn't seem fair to me thank you that completes our remote speakers that are signed in

All right, we'll pick up public comment.

We have Roy Martin and Dr. Cliff Hino and Dana Lambrum.

And again, there's two sets of mics here.

So if you want to stack them up so we can get people in and out.

Thank you.

Good morning, counsel.

Congratulations on your seats.

And I don't have a specific candidate that I'm representing.

meaning to bring before you right now.

But I hope that the candidate that you do choose is somebody that has a community background that is working for the community members where they are going to represent the whole city with position number eight.

It's been very important for me as someone who has lived most of my life in Seattle.

I go back to the time when I grew up with Sam Smith's brothers or children.

And the brothers that I knew in my madrona days are people that I still have some contact with.

So my time here has been over 60 years.

I'll just leave it at that.

But I hope that as we look forward to how Seattle is going to progress, we find ways to bring the voices that have not necessarily had access to your body.

And it's not just race and culture I'm talking about, it's also the way people think about the city they want to bring forward in the future.

Thank you for your service and thank you for the time.

Good morning, City Council.

Thank you for having me.

I'm here to support Captain Steve Strand.

I'm Dr. Cliff Hino, former owner of the Rainier Veterinary Hospital, a business that served the central Seattle communities for over 50 years.

Therefore, I was at a grassroots level of public service.

I'm an 80-year-old resident of Seattle and witnessed a great deal of physical and social evolution.

To that point, in terms of public safety, the social evolution has not been for the better.

That is why I support Captain Steve Strand for the council position.

I have known him for several decades.

He is a top drawer in terms of integrity and caring for the safety of the community.

It is known and served so well.

I have known him to work very well with others and also importantly looking for solutions.

In summary, it would be hard to believe that anyone here would be more and have more firsthand knowledge and experience regarding shootings, violent crimes, drugs, homeless issues, the stuff that makes headlines in the news than Captain Steve Strand for public safety.

Thank you.

Following Diana would be Maria Ho.

Hi, my name is Diana Labrum.

Thank you for letting me speak.

I'm here to support Steve Strand.

I have been a member of the city.

I was born in Seattle 80 years ago, and I've been a member of the city or worked in the city off and on for my entire life.

As you know, the city has changed a lot in the last decade.

and we have problems that we didn't have before with fentanyl and with the crime rate and the homeless rate.

My husband and I now live in senior housing in West Seattle, and there is a big homeless issue all around us, and hearing gunshots at night, it's kind of scary.

I feel like Steven has the experience in the working in all different parts of the city that he can help bring a change.

I believe he's the voice that the city council could use.

Thank you.

After Maria Ho, we have Julie Rawls and Vanessa Clifford.

And again, these mics are adjustable if you don't mind adjusting them so we can hear you clearly.

Thank you.

Maria.

Who's first, Julie first?

Maria first.

Oh, Maria first?

Yes.

Good morning, everyone.

I support Tanya Wu, position eight.

She's a hard worker.

She's intelligent.

She's kind, she's good voice.

I support Tanya Wu as a position eight.

Very good.

I support Tanya Wu as a position eight.

Thank you.

Have a good day, everyone.

I ask that people please not clap and otherwise express yourselves because it does take more time.

Thank you.

After Julie, be Vanessa Clifford and Lexi Salas.

Ni hao.

I'm Julie Rawls.

I'm born in the year of the tiger, but I'm a water tiger.

I am here to support Tonya Wu, born in the year of the horse.

I bring you a haiku that was inspired by the city of Seattle, the year of the wood dragon, the green wood dragon, and Tonya Wu.

Emerald city, sage wood dragon, turquoise gem, she is aloha.

So don't say boo, vote for woo.

And notice we didn't have a Cantonese translator, which was requested.

I'd also like the council to consider looking at the book on Robert's Rules of Order and thinking about noting people can do air applause.

and Gung Hai Fat Choi.

The Albuquerque Library has ukulele classes and I present you, Sage, you might wanna smudge this room, get rid of the negativity, thank you.

Thank you very much.

One comment.

I will follow up on the request for that interpreter because I did hear that that was requested and I need to find out what happened there.

And you are correct that silent gestures are fine.

I am just trying to make sure that we can move along

Madam President, I could actually follow up with that.

Please do.

Unfortunately, with the request coming less than 24 business hours in advance of the meeting, we just could not find any available interpreters, though we did search.

Thank you.

Continue, please.

Vanessa, please.

Hey, good morning.

I'm Vanessa Clifford.

I'm a resident of Ballard.

I do not have a haiku.

I'm just here as a daughter of a small business owner and a daughter of my mother who really sustained our family with a good union job.

Myself and a thousand other residents are here to submit a petition with an extreme amount of disgust that there is an attempt for super PACs for corporate donors and corporate special interests to try to influence the appointment process for the vacant city council seat.

we believe in transparency and a fair process which we hope that the council would agree to as well and not take the influence of large corporate donors or super PACs but listen to people and be fair and transparent thank you

Lexi Salas will be followed by Betty Luke,

Good morning.

My name is Lexi Salas.

I live in Capitol Hill and work throughout the city.

I'm here today to remind you who Seattle is.

Seattle is not a corporation.

Seattle is the people that corporations exploit.

We're the people who suffer the consequences of greed.

Contrary to what Tim See thinks, businesses don't have the right to buy seats in the council.

That's not democracy.

That's oligarchy.

The people of Seattle have already told you in November that the corporate puppet you want to install, we don't want her.

Isn't a corporate stooge as council president enough?

Over the last few years, our city has made incredible strides as a national leader for workers' rights and investments in services that house, feed, and stabilize our most marginalized community members.

We deserve a city council that will protect and build upon this progress.

I urge you to appoint someone who is backed by purpose, not by big business.

Thank you.

And we have Betty Luke and followed by Ellen Ta and then Billy Hetheringston.

Betty Luke?

Oh, Betty, you're next.

But I can touch him.

If anyone else needs it.

Thank you.

I apologize.

I have a hearing impairment.

I'm Betty Luke, and I've watched Tanya Wu in action.

She has met with and built trust with communities across interest group, age group, cultural group, and generations.

She met with the Vietnamese at 12th and Jackson, Little Saigon, met with the black community on the Rainier Beach shooting, met with the Asian community of the 14 home invasion cases, For four years, she established a public safety patrol in the Chinatown International District.

armed with water, sandwich, and Narcan.

They talked to the homeless, and just last week, they de-escalated a situation that would have turned violent.

Tanya met with the elders in Chinatown, which they threatened to be a mega project.

She encouraged these limited English-speaking elders, 67 to eight,

They got the courage to march down the city council and talk.

Please finish.

The city council.

Followed is Ellen Ta, Belly Heatherston, and Gilbert Chan.

I don't see Ellen Ta.

Thank you, Council.

Good morning.

My name is Billy Heatherington.

Sorry for the voice.

I left it in stadium high school yesterday coaching youth wrestling.

So you have to bear with me a little bit here.

But I wanted to call your attention to two support letters that were sent over in support of Vivian Song, one by the Seattle Building Trades, which I'm a part of and one by that I'm also a delegate to MLK Labor.

Both those support letters did pass unanimously among the bodies that were voting on those.

And if you haven't read them, please take a moment to read those.

They can kind of go into different specifics of why we support Vivian.

A couple highlights there.

Vivian's a leader in the K-12 education system.

You know, workforce development, those type of things will be strong on the council.

Has won a citywide race by nearly 72%.

Is known by the voters in this city, and it is a citywide position.

You know, her financial experience...

In light of an email that came out first thing this morning that city of Seattle is freezing all hiring in all departments.

We need somebody with the financial experience moving forward to rectify some of those issues.

Thank you.

So we have Gilbert Chan, Ember Clavins, Kate Wilson.

It's Katie Wilson.

Excuse me.

So Gilbert Chan.

I'm not seeing Gilbert coming up.

After Gilbert, it was Ember Clavins.

Good morning, my name is Ember Clavins and I'm a resident of District 4. For decades, Seattle has been a pioneer in urban transportation.

We built the longest floating bridge in the world.

We adopted some of the first wheelchair accessible transit vehicles in the U.S. and constructed the incredibly unique downtown Seattle transit tunnel.

The bus lane, bike lane, road maintenance and sidewalk safety improvements carried out under the 2015 move Seattle transportation levy made the city safer and more accessible.

than ever before for people like me who don't have access to a car.

But certain roads like MLK Way South and Aurora Avenue North have still killed over a dozen people, a dozen city residents in the past five years.

With the renewal of the transportation levy coming up, this is your chance to bring someone with the financial and business experience that it's going to take to let Seattle keep leading the charge for better urban transportation around the U.S.

I urge you to make this appointment based on experience and qualifications and not the interests of campaign donors.

Thank you for your time.

Katie Wilson and then Jim Buchanan and then Tim Klaus.

Hi, council members.

Thanks for hearing our testimony this morning.

My name is Katie Wilson, and I'm here representing the Transit Riders Union.

Our members voted to support Vivian Song for this council appointment because of her record of public service and her other relevant experience.

Like many others, we were incredibly dismayed to see the Chamber of Commerce consultant telling business interests that they have a right to this council seat because of all the money they poured into our elections.

We ask you to listen to the residents of this city and to understand that organizations like ours that represent the people who ride our public transit system and the labor unions that represent the people who work in our grocery stores and on our construction sites are very different than the big business interests that are trying to profit off of our city.

And we ask you to make the right decision.

Thank you very much.

I'd like to say good morning to everyone, and good morning to Elder Mason.

I am Jim Buchanan, and I'm a consultant for King County Equity Now, president of Washington State African American Cannabis Association, and a first-generation community member of the Central District.

We found through this spring with the introduction of Tanya Wu to our community specific, meaning the black who may do elder Mason that she has a heartfelt desire.

To do the right thing.

And for us, that's what's important.

Even if experience isn't there.

Even if, uh The the the fact of of a person being able to have accomplishments to say that they've done as opposed to Folks that that they're that they're running against displayed her abilities to be able to want to do the right thing for the black community.

So with that being said, we fully support and that's our ecosystem, which is reaches over.

On your will.

We have Tim Klaus, Luke Legren, if I'm mistaken, excuse me for mispronunciation, Sue Talaba.

Again, my apologies for the mispronunciation.

And then after Tim, it'll be Luke, Sue, and then Marcus White.

My name is Tim Klaus.

I'm a resident of the Central District, District 3 Council.

Been in Seattle since 1971. Former journalist for a world news organization, covered many political races and organizations and events in the city over 25, over 30, almost 40 year period.

I'm calling to ask that you support the candidacy of Mark Solomon today in the spirit of probably the greatest politician, political leader ever the state has produced, Warren Magnuson.

Maggie, as he was called, used to say that there were two kinds of senators, the ones who delivered speeches and appeared on television, showed up on front pages, and they were the ones who got the job done.

He said they were the show horses and the work horses.

I've known Solomon for more than 20 years.

I guarantee you, you will get a workhorse.

Luke was next.

After Luke, it's Sue.

And then Marcus...

Luke Ice Cream Man.

I was one of the 72 applicants.

Before I get to my endorsement, it's important that I preface this by bringing up something said about the process in the nomination meeting.

I was a bit dismayed when Councilmember Saka began lecturing Seattle about who the enemy is.

I found it insulting and more than a bit jingoistic to imply that his or Bob Kettle's military experience make them uniquely qualified to determine who is or who is not the enemy.

As if to say our nation's history is not littered with a bunch of violent exploiters.

Thus, it's extremely hard to pick an individual handpicked by this handpicked group.

But since Tammy Morales has shown a material understanding of the city's crises, namely the greed of big business and the callousness of cops, I lodge my support behind her nomination, Mari Sugiyama.

Ms. Sugiyama seems humble.

She's a fellow ethnic studies major.

And her parents, Kathy and Al, seem like the kinds of lovely parents who would never allow their daughter to double-cross a multiracial...

In closing, I will say that it would be a complete joke if the council chose between a corporate landlord or cops.

The corporate landlord whose building I was in last week had what appeared to be an eviction notice in the middle of 15 degree weather as Tanya was building the Luis Hotel or worse.

Your time has expired, please.

From the police department that laughed after running over and killing an immigrant.

Please, your time has expired.

Please sit down.

The next speaker is Sue, followed by Marcus and Teresia and Sugu.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

I've had the privilege of working in the CID for many decades.

And I've had the privilege of working with some of our community legends, like Bob Santos, Ben Wu, Donnie Chin, who, by the way, his murder has never been resolved.

And I'd like you to think about that.

But I'm here to say one of the things that I've learned is that collaboration is really important.

That working together is really important.

Passion is really important.

Caring about the right things are really important.

And I'm here to support Mari Sugiyama.

One of the things that I think is really important about Ramari is that she has a background in the city.

She'll hit the ground running.

And she has passion.

She has the passion for equity that her parents gave her.

Thank you.

Since we are getting on in time, I do ask that you stop when the time is expired.

Thank you.

Marcus and then Tricia.

I don't see a Marcus coming up or a Tricia.

Oh, he's right there.

Sorry.

Right behind me.

Thank you.

Just want to step up and advocate for Mark Solomon to be chosen to fill the city council aperture.

And Tanya Wu is a very close second and a special consideration to Neha.

Mark Solomon has the education expertise and most importantly, the experience to step in and be efficacious in this role.

As a crime prevention specialist, he's been doing it for a third of 100 years.

That's a very, very long time.

And so with the salient issue here, coupled with homelessness is the crime.

Urban crime is the crux of what we need to do at this point in time.

Timing is everything, okay?

Having known Mark for about a year now, he really cares too, just switching gears.

He really cares, and he didn't have to.

He doesn't have to care, but it's like on top of caring, he knows a lot of people in the city, and this is inherently an adjunct role, and he's going to have to fill the gaps through the other seven council members here, and I think he would fit in.

He would dovetail perfectly with this council, and I just want to say, give special consideration to Mark Solomon to fill this momentous role, and I think he can do it and provide an instant impact for the city.

Thank you.

Followed Marcus' Tricia Khan and Segu.

And last name begins with a V. Good morning.

I'm here to advocate for Tanya Wu.

I'm an old timer of Seattle.

I've worked here and played here for over 50 years and raised my three children.

Seattle is my home.

I know Tanya Wu personally and have experienced her brilliance, and the way she gets things done through organization, teamwork, and hard work.

I say this in representation of my many family members, over 60 people in Seattle.

We want Tanya for this position because she has a pulse on our community.

She knows how to represent the people in her community.

She knows the ins and outs of our culture, our heritage, and our minds.

Together, Tanya will bring necessary energy that will return all the challenges that we have into solutions.

Please respect the people's choice.

Excuse me.

Hi.

My name is Sugru Venkatachalam.

I'm a resident of District 7. I'm here in support of Neha Naria.

I believe that Neha is the best candidate for this vacancy, not just for this year, but for the long term.

I believe that Neha can competently represent not just her district, but the full breadth of Seattle experience and help us manage our great city's challenges.

Please vote for Neha for the vacant council position.

Thank you for the time.

Nisha?

Oh, thank you.

Yes, thank you.

Hello, I'm a resident of District 7 and I urge City Council to point Neha to the vacant position.

She'd be a fantastic addition to the City Council and someone you want on your team as you tackle the tough challenges Seattle is facing.

She is someone who shows up and does the work.

She isn't in it for the credit and she does it because she cares.

She'd be an asset to the city council.

She's helped families who have immigrated to America assimilate and get settled.

She's managed a local business through numerous economic downturns.

She's been an advocate for those that are marginalized.

She thinks about things like climate change, public safety, and how to create a city her children would want to live in once they are grown.

She puts in the work and exhibits the type of leadership that we need to help tackle the current challenges our city faces and set the city up for success in the future.

Thank you.

The next three speakers are Betty Wong, Sandy Reddy, and Eve Keller.

Oh, do I start?

Hello, good morning, Council.

I am a resident and homeowner of Litton Springs in Seattle, and I wholeheartedly recommend Neha Naria for the Open Seattle City Council position.

Neha's unique experience as a Seattle resident, a family hotel business owner, and an Asian community member give her a distinct perspective.

This, I believe, is crucial for uniting diverse communities, fostering compromise, and shaping Seattle's future.

In these challenging times, Neha's commitment to addressing issues truly stands out.

Her passion for the city, dedication to growth with inclusivity, and remarkable example is converting their small hotel into an emergency shelter for the unhoused.

This truly showcases her innovative problem solving and deep commitment to the Seattle city's wellbeing.

her welcoming aura and genuine warmth, translating into action, create an inclusive environment where everyone feels part of a larger community.

I'm confident in her ability, dedication, and inclusive approach to contribute meaningfully to the Seattle City Council, thank you.

Hello, my name is Sandeep Reddy and I'm a resident of the Queen Anne neighborhood located in Council District 7. I would like to voice my support for Neha Naria to fill the open Seattle City Council seat for which you will all be voting for.

Neha is truly passionate about leading Seattle forward and using innovative solutions to solve the most critical problems the city faces.

She has an extensive history of collaborating with diverse groups of people to reach consensus and find practical solutions.

As a mother, woman of color, and local small business owner, Neha also has the life experience to understand how policies at the city level can impact all of Seattle's citizens.

So in closing, I sincerely believe that amongst the finalist candidates, Neha is uniquely qualified to represent our interests as residents of Seattle and would recommend that you select her to fill the vacant council seat.

Thank you.

After Sandy, it's Eve Keller.

Hello, my name is Eve Keller.

I live in District 2, Mount Baker neighborhood.

I'm here today to support Mark Solomon.

For three years, I served as president of the Mount Baker Hub Alliance, an only in Seattle grant-funded neighborhood group that supports the development of a vibrant town center focused around the Mount Baker light rail station.

As Hub president, I saw Mark tirelessly address the safety of small businesses in the Hub Alliance business district.

Mark understands and advocates for greater safety in Seattle for all of its residents, equally from our homeless neighbors to our wealthiest neighbors.

Feeling safe engenders well-being.

Mark's skills with people is formidable.

His calm, grounded presence fills everyone with an immediate sense of greater security.

That sense of well-being supports every aspect of life in Seattle.

Recently, I spoke with a developer who owns several properties in the Mount Baker Hub Business District.

I asked him when they were going to break ground on a pivotal housing project.

He said that getting funding to build has been the problem.

He does...

The next speaker is Rahala Naraya, and then followed by...

I'll be back with that name.

Hello, my name is Rahala Naraya.

and district, small business owner.

Neha and I work together, but Neha always so calm and so patient for handling any problem.

I believe she can be a good candidate for city council and she will be really present to work with you guys.

That's my personal, but she always had really good intent to work with people, no matter how bad it is, no matter how bad the situation is, but she never raised her voice.

She always be calm and always be ready to work.

And she's been helping in our community about maybe more than 200 people she had established here and aboard.

More and more coming, calling, and she always be ready to help them.

That's why I believe she's a good candidate.

Thank you.

The next speaker, I believe the pronunciation would be Hugh?

Hugh?

It's number 52, Hugh Kew.

I'll proceed and I'll follow up.

Then it's Amy Chen Lozano and Beth Kew.

Kew, excuse me, Beth Kew.

It's coming up, okay.

I'll try this again.

Amy Chen Lozano and Beth Kew.

Good morning, honorable council members.

My name is Amy Chen Lozano.

I'm a resident of District 2, and I'm a community organizer and advocate for the Chinatown International District.

I don't want a keyboard warrior.

I'm not interested in the opinion of someone who's registered but votes for people like Good Space Sky on a ballot because it's funny.

I don't want a candidate who spends their time pontificating ideas.

I want a person who takes action.

I want a person who listens to community, who is in community, someone who looks out for the best interests of community and the best interests of Seattle.

Whether or not she's appointed, Tonya Wu will continue to work for her community, for the residents and small business owners of color.

This is what sets her apart from other candidates.

This is why approximately 50 senior citizens made a very challenging uphill walk this morning to come here and support her.

Please appoint Tonya Wu to position eight.

Let her do for our city what she already does for our community.

How many more speakers do we have?

We have about eight.

Eight more speakers.

Thank you.

Can I ask for permission to translate my speech?

Because my neighbors, they don't understand English at all.

Okay, thank you.

I appreciate it.

Good morning, City Council members.

I'm Beth.

I'm a GID Public Safety Council member.

My community neighbors are here today from CID to support Tanya Wu.

Can we say hi?

Thank you.

For the last four years, we have seen Tanya Wu and her team work with community members and working hard for a safe Seattle for everyone.

She's reliable, honest, and friendly, very friendly.

We all vote Tanya Wu, hope use her passion, her outstanding leadership experience in recent years to work together with our council team for a civilized, safe, and tidy Seattle for everyone.

We love Seattle.

We need Seattle back to its beauty soon.

Thank you.

Sorry, excuse me.

Thank you.

Okay, sorry, I forgot.

So, can I translate for her?

Yes, okay.

Hello.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Wan Wei Chu.

I'm living in CID for more than 10 years.

We hope Seattle Chinatown, like the whole Seattle, will be safe for everyone, for us to enjoy the life here.

All my neighbors appreciate all your hard work to keep Seattle safe for everyone.

Thank you.

Oh, yeah.

She vote for Tanya Wu too.

Thank you.

She's my neighbor.

Thank you.

The next four speakers are Manuel Kawalings and Jasmeet Singh, Samu Naraya and Kimberly Walif.

Good morning, honorable president and members of Seattle City Council.

As you recall, I am the executive director for Inspire Washington.

We are the state's cultural advocacy organization in our urban, rural, and suburban areas.

Communities are lifted up by the power of science, heritage, and the arts.

I'm also a resident of District 3, third generation.

I'm here representing the hundreds of businesses and creatives that call Seattle home, that really look for vital support from city investments through the Office of Arts and Culture.

Inspire Washington is a nonprofit, so we are not here to endorse.

We are very excited by this crop of candidates, and we are thrilled by the public process and all of this civic engagement.

Great listening.

You have important work to do.

This citywide position is very important to the cultural sector.

The investment through the Office of Arts and Culture ensures that creative people make Seattle a home because we are losing creative people because of all the challenges they face.

So I just ask you to keep that in mind as you vet the candidates.

Dear Seattle City Council members, I'm here to recommend Neha Naria, a working mother of two, to the vacant Seattle City Council position.

My name is Jasmeet Singh.

I'm a queer daughter of Asian immigrants living in District 2 of Seattle, represent King County District 2 on the King County Behavioral Health Advisory Board, and work for Crisis Text Line, one of the 988 providers.

I want to highlight Neha's commitment to civic service.

and a future way of thinking that the city needs.

She is the embodiment of compassion and empathy, someone who's comfortable taking action while considering both sides.

This is how she was able to find unique ways to build partnership between the private and public sectors, much like what she did with the family hotel and traditional housing, in a way that helps the greater good for everyone.

Neha encourages folks like me who come from a life plagued with behavioral health issues, domestic violence, and alcohol abuse to find a voice in moving the needle forward for progressive change while respecting the government processes in place.

Respect being one of the core tenets of the Asian American community.

I trust in her ability to bring folks together to disagree and commit on a path forward.

We need more people like her.

Is it Samu Naraya and Kimberly?

Our last speaker is Kimberly.

Is it Kimberly?

Yes, please.

I thought it was a different Kimberly.

Good morning, Council.

My name is Kimberly Wolf.

I'm currently in Capitol Hill District, soon to be back up in the North End.

I think it's time to use Occam's razor.

you have a moral obligation to appoint someone that has some of the same priorities and issues as the person who was in the spot, in this case, Mosqueda.

So right there, that cuts some people out.

that are a little too far from her agenda because that is who her constituents voted in.

And that's what they wanted for this term.

So I think it's important that you do that.

Secondly, ethically, This email that came out.

It cannot be the same person listed in the email as basically a shoe because of donor money donors.

It just can't.

And you know what?

What was done a lot for the city and I'm sure she will and you know more power to her.

She wants to run again, but.

That concludes public comment.

Council President.

I will allow, while the candidates are coming to the table, I ask that you come and sit down at the table.

We will provide a three-minute break, if that is sufficient.

Does everybody?

Three to five.

Okay.

Three-minute break for folks to use the restroom if necessary.

Recording stopped.

you

Oh, that's nice.

It wasn't me.

Wild.

I'm always, like, nervous.

Like, super close.

Uh-huh.

And do we have to touch a button?

Oh, my goodness.

And then we...

Okay.

Okay.

Do you want coffee, Joy?

Okay, we're almost ready to go.

We're just waiting on the restroom to be.

Okay, we do have a quorum.

IT, you can begin recording.

Stand by, please.

Recording in progress.

It is now 1108.

We are recording.

Thank you very much for allowing us this brief break.

We broke at 1103. It is now 1108. Welcome back to the meeting.

And thank you very much, candidates, for sitting at the table and for coming this morning.

We'll proceed with your presentations.

Here's how it'll go.

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

you will hear a chime, and that chime will indicate that you have 30 seconds remaining before your time expires.

And I will just say the names of the finalists in alphabetical order.

They are Juan Cato, Niha Nuria, Mark Solomon, Vivian Song, Steve Strand, Mari Sugiyama, Lin Tai, and Tanya Wu.

Hi, everybody.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Good morning.

All right.

Juan, you are...

Free to begin.

Thank you.

Alphabetical.

Honorable members of the Seattle City Council, thank you for this opportunity to be with you today.

I am honored to be one of eight finalists with these finalists selected to be considered for the Seattle City Council appointment, recently vacated by Teresa Mosqueda.

In the last 10 days, I have been humbled by the support and encouragement pouring in from the community.

I have an unwavering commitment to public service and have for my entire life.

I was born and raised here in Seattle.

My mother graduated from Garfield High School, and I grew up on Hazel Street in southeast Seattle.

My journey in public service began alongside courageous leaders like U.S.

Senator Patty Murray and Governor Gary Locke.

Their courage, determination, and vision inspired me to contribute to transformative change in our state, Joining their campaign staffs and joining their staffs instilled me a passion for making positive impact in our community.

However, it is the spirit of this past summer when our community elected our new group of leaders with a focus on innovation and collaboration, which has inspired me to put my name into this process.

In roles as government strategist at Bloodworks Northwest and community relations manager at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, I've garnered valuable experience navigating complex issues and building meaningful partnerships and relationships.

My commitment to diversity, equity, and social justice has been demonstrated through leadership roles on boards such as Transportation Choices, Homesite, El Centro de la Raza, where I was the president for three years, and the Seattle Urban League.

I have also served on the boards of Sound Mental Health and Amara.

I am married to a licensed mental health therapist who runs her own business in the city.

We are raising our two children in the city.

The matters that will come before us, such as safety of our city, impact my family and my community.

We have the responsibility and honor to make Seattle better than it currently is.

Regardless of the outcome tomorrow, I plan on running for this position in the upcoming election.

I have been inspired by the incredible comments received following Thursday's forum.

As I have my entire life, I am committed to continuing serving this community and contributing to the bright future we all envision for Seattle.

I am an experienced, passionate leader, and I am ready to sit on the council.

As a team, we can tackle what has to be addressed.

I'm asking each of you for your vote.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Neha, you are next.

Good morning, council members.

I believe in an inclusive, accessible Seattle for all.

A Seattle where residents feel safe.

A Seattle which builds housing wisely and tackles its affordability challenges.

A Seattle where all residents have the opportunity to thrive and succeed, just as my family and I were afforded.

Seattle holds a special place in my heart.

I feel a deep connection to our incredible city.

We have challenges ahead, no doubt, but collaborating together as a community to meet these challenges will ensure that Seattle will continue to prosper into the future.

I'm Neha Naria, and I'm prepared and committed to deliver results for all Seattle.

The last decade has brought explosive growth, but we have not always met the challenges this growth brought when it came to affordability, housing, and public safety.

Seattle is at a turning point, and I want to be a partner with you in building a foundation that not only supports our growth, but embraces everyone who calls Seattle home today and in the future.

As a first-generation Asian American, small business owner, and someone who has experienced the impact of growth in South Lake Union, I have a unique perspective on how we must promote growth while not losing our city heritage and culture, lessons I will bring to the upcoming Comprehensive Plan Review.

As a small business owner, I develop strategic budgets and forecast for economic conditions.

I've ridden the ups and downs of the economy, made adjustments to processes to find efficiencies, and made difficult decisions to maintain the viability of our business.

Skills which prepare me to thoughtfully address the forecasted city budget deficit.

I believe action, not words, are necessary to deliver results our community deserves.

This is why we converted our family hotel into an emergency shelter during COVID to house the unhoused.

I'm a firm believer in partnerships and collaboration.

We need everyone at the table, housing advocates, developers, first responders, social workers, transit specialists, residents, employers, employees.

I'm a connector who knows how to bring people together to tackle tough challenges.

We need to work across the sectors to find the solutions that work for all of us.

Public safety is paramount for Seattle to be its best self.

I believe in police reform, not defunding.

We need a police force that reflects the diversity of our city and aligns with our values.

It's time to mend the trust that's been strained between council, our community, and the police department.

Only then will we achieve the positive results we want and need for our community to thrive into the future.

I am thrilled for the opportunity to roll up my sleeves and dive into the nitty gritty alongside each one of you.

Together, we can tackle urgent issues, public safety, homelessness, affordability, budget deficits, comprehensive planning, and transportation challenges.

But let's not just fix what's broken.

Let's be proactive and set the stage for a Seattle that thrives not just today, but for the next hundred years.

As we embark on this journey, let's keep alive the diversity and character and soul that makes us proud to be Seattleites.

It would be an honor to serve alongside you all.

Thank you.

Before you continue, I do apologize for mispronouncing your name.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Mark.

Good morning, city council members.

I come before you today to ask for your vote to be appointed to Seattle City Council position eight.

And the choice before you is gonna be a difficult one because all of us bring and possess great qualities that will serve our city well.

That being said, I feel that I'm the best person to fill that role at this time.

Having served as a crime prevention coordinator for over 33 years, I have a deep understanding of the various challenges faced by our communities.

I've worked closely with community members, businesses, city and county agencies, and local organizations to craft public safety solutions and implement things that will improve quality of life in our neighborhoods.

I have touched every corner of our city, from holding safety sessions for low-income seniors in Lake City to conducting security assessments for our iron condos on Queen Anne, meeting with neighbors in the Arroyos to address neighborhood access issues, developing gun violence and corruption strategies in Rainier Beach neighborhood, as well as working with our business communities to make sure that, you know, working with the Office of Economic Development that qualified businesses could access the storefront repair programs.

And there's a lot of examples I have, and I would love the opportunity to share more about those.

I engage in a collaborative problem-solving style, analyzing problems from a complexity of issues, and working with others to draft solutions for those.

I believe in collaboration and partnership and relationships.

My approach is one of building relationships, not just conducting transactions.

That's how I've been able to get things done around this city, by working in partnership and collaboration, whether it's community organizations or government organizations.

Given my background, you would think that, yes, I am focused on public safety.

I am focused on our homelessness issue.

I am focused on housing affordability and economic vitality of our communities.

But above all else, I'm focused on customer service, being accessible, being available for the people of our city.

People don't call the city because they're having a good day.

They're calling us because there's an issue they want addressed or a problem they want solved.

And I think it's incumbent upon us to be available, accessible, and be of service to those folks.

Your decision comes down to, can I work with this person?

Do their priorities align with mine?

Can we work together and develop policies?

Working on council together, we may not always agree on policy issues, but we can agree to work side by side, shoulder to shoulder to get things done for the people of the city.

And that is my commitment.

Thank you for your time.

I ask for your vote.

Thank you very much.

Go ahead.

The next person in line is Steve Strand.

Good morning, I'm Steve Strand.

My background and experience make me a perfect match for this seat at this time.

At last week's forum, I spoke about the need to increase housing, consider density along transit lines, and to provide affordable housing options.

I detailed how our development needs can be balanced with our green spaces, increasing our tree canopy, to mitigate our climate impacts.

Finally, I discussed transportation and integrating multiple modalities to provide safe, reliable options.

Forgive me.

Today, I want to speak about my strongest characteristic, one that I think some could view as a weakness.

My police experience.

My story should help reassure the council and the public about my noble profession and help to rebuild that trust that is missing.

I started my career in the army as a military police officer.

I was stationed in West Germany for three years during the Cold War.

This taught me a lot about law enforcement, but it also taught me about being a stranger in a foreign country and not speaking the language.

In 1991, I was hired by Chief Patrick Fitzsimons to the Seattle Police Department.

He was ahead of his time in changing police culture and accountability.

During my interview, he gave me a book to improve my conflict resolution skills.

I still have that book and read it regularly.

He emphasized how important it was to use our words and not force.

I'm proud of the work I have done.

I have embraced police reform, civilian oversight, accountability, and alternatives to policing.

In 2020, because of my community work and the trust I had built, I was invited to join a march for George Floyd.

They wanted police involved to show it was not anti-police, but pro-justice.

I met Slick Watts that day, a childhood hero from the Supersonics.

In 2022, my first action as precinct captain was to implement an emphasis in the Little Saigon neighborhood.

There were numerous homeless encampments, an open-air drug market, organized retail theft, and critical police staffing crisis.

The Chinatown ID awarded me the Outstanding Public Safety Award for my efforts that year.

The voters want better public safety and a fully staffed police department.

We are still losing more police officers than we are adding.

Nominating a police captain to the open seat sent a strong message of support to the honorable men and women of the Seattle Police Department that have stuck with us.

Appointing a police captain to the city council would send a message to quality candidates around the country that it's time to come to Seattle.

Voters were clear about what they want, and I am answering that call.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Mari Sugiyama.

Madam President, point of order, a minor one, a nit, but in our agenda, we are an alpha by last name, and I think we skipped over candidate Vivian Song, so I'll move to...

I'm sorry.

Much apologies.

I was going along the line.

I am sorry.

Should I go ahead?

Yes, please do.

Good morning, council members.

Last Friday, I met with the executive director of one of the largest arts nonprofits in Seattle.

His young daughter, like me, is hard of hearing.

He asked me what it was like growing up with a disability.

I sensed that he was worried that somehow his daughter would be held back.

I told him that I considered my hearing loss to be a source of strength.

My hearing loss insists that I listen hard, listen intentionally, to listen more than I speak, to understand before being understood, and to value the voices of those that I serve.

Since this appointment process, I have been doing a lot of listening.

And what I've heard is that we need to focus on establishing an effective approach to public safety, make rapid progress on homelessness, increase our housing supply, and build a more robust and inclusive economy.

We heard this in the forum on Thursday.

It echoes my many conversations with labor unions, business leaders, service providers, and community advocates.

It echoes what I've been hearing from the 50,000 students, families, and educators of Seattle Public Schools.

And yes, it's what I've heard from you, our elected city council members.

I have listened, I've heard it, and now I'm ready to get to work.

I will work to successfully serve in a city-wide office, listening to a diverse set of stakeholders and constituents, understanding how policy will be operationalized throughout Seattle, and using my firsthand experience in serving as an elected school board director.

I will work to chair the committee that oversees Seattle City Light and its $1.5 billion budget, the largest of any city department, just as I effectively oversaw the school district's $1.2 billion budget.

I will use my finance and budget skills to help us lead a public process to close our city's $250 million general fund gap.

We will do this first by setting spending priorities, second by looking for efficiency opportunities, and then if needed, building a public case for additional progressive revenues.

Finally, I will work with you as a team.

I understand the dynamics of a small legislative body.

I have developed and passed significant policy measures of each of my school board colleagues, even those I occasionally disagree with, because I believe in shared success.

As a team, act as a team.

This is what our constituents expect of us.

I'm not just asking for your votes for the appointment.

I'm asking for your trust that together we can get to work and turn the vision that we have heard from the great people of Seattle into results.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I apologize for messing up on the order.

So, OK, continuing on.

Mari Sugiyama, go ahead.

Good morning, thank you to the council for being, allowing me this opportunity to be part of this appointment process as a nominee.

I firmly believe that to know where you're going is to know where you're from.

As a fourth generation Japanese American born and raised on Beacon Hill, a product of Seattle Public Schools proudly wearing Franklin Quaker Green and the University of Washington, as well as a family history filled with resilience committed to activism and racial and social justice, I have a deeply embedded commitment to Seattle and the well-being of all of our communities, from Ballard to Beacon Hill and from Lake City to Columbia City.

I know where I'm from, the great-granddaughter of Jitsuji and Komei, who lived and ran businesses in Japantown, a thriving component of the CID.

the granddaughter of San and Teco, and Takeo and Masako, who experienced war and wrongful incarceration, but supported their children to fully embrace the American way, and the daughter of community activists, Allen and Kathy, who instilled a sense of responsibility to working with and within institutional systems to do what is right.

As a mother of two biracial children and with a husband who had to find new work as a result of COVID, I am committed to a diverse and thriving Seattle future.

Working in the Safe and Thriving Communities Division of the Human Services Department has provided me with a significant insight into the innovative strategies to support and improve public safety.

Public safety priorities are not either or, they are really both and.

Gun violence prevention and intervention, pre-file diversion and re-entry, plus domestic violence and sexual assault investments are conducted by community-based providers on the ground, which alleviates our Seattle Police Department from always having to both be social workers and police responders.

With over eight years of professional experience, I know the city budget process.

I know council budget actions and necessary internal budgetary steps.

I am acutely aware of how the budget also impacts our community based organizations.

One example of personal importance to me is the International District Emergency Center, which is coincidentally, a contract my team oversees.

It was led for years and decades by Donnie Chin and his volunteers.

They were on the front lines of keeping our CID safe, providing first aid, working with homeless and drug addicts, helping elderly residents get their groceries or medications, and also doing security for both festivals and black-tie community events.

They also worked with SPD and SFD and are credited with saving lives.

Even today, the Seattle Fire Department recruits learn about Donnie Chin and his legacy and the IDEC.

It was a major loss with his murder when he was doing CID security back in 2015. But back to my quote, to know where we can go is to look back on our collective histories, listen to community and strategize to do the best job we can.

As we face the realities of this budget process, I can lend a well-rounded perspective that pulls from my professional and institutional knowledge, as well as my lifelong personal experience.

Council Member Morales, I humbly thank you for your nomination.

And to the entire Council, I pledge to collaborate with you and legislate effectively.

It is our job to serve the community, and I wish to be a productive part of the City Council.

That is the Council's job, and I trust we can work together.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Going on to Mr. Lin.

Lin Tai, please.

Thank you.

Good morning, esteemed council members, fellow candidates, and the cherished citizens of Seattle.

Today, I am before you with deep humility and gratitude for the nomination bestowed upon me by council member Joy Hollingsworth, and for advancing this far in the process.

My heartfelt appreciation extends to my family, comrades, friends, colleagues, and the community whose unwavering support has prepared me for this pivotal moment.

Throughout this process, I've emphasized that my only agenda is for the Council to succeed, because when you succeed, Seattle succeeds.

I'm a team player.

I spent a decade in the U.S.

Army, first as a paratrooper and then as an intelligence officer, culminating in my leadership role as the youngest company commander in the Pacific Theater Command at the age of 26. I learned so many things during my service, but one of the main ones was how to function and battle test it as a trusted member of a team on how to move forward together, how to be stronger than our individual parts and achieve collective impact.

Deep awareness of cultural sensitivity is not a checkbox for me, it's my civic DNA.

This practice is at the core of my lived experience as a former first-generation refugee from Vietnam, and my servant leadership style that led to an instrumental role in the success of Census 2010, directly funding language access ballots to tens of thousands of eligible voters in our city.

It is being culturally sensitive that enabled me to do my best work in a leadership role at the Escalade Washington, where I inspired and worked with many other civic leaders to pass statewide initiative 940. This law helps our police to be better trained, better equipped to serve our communities.

For me, working collaboratively with community is just as natural.

I have a strong, longstanding commitment in the neighborhoods by bringing nonprofits such as We Heart Seattle, Friends of Little Saigon, Interim CDA, SCIPTA, Rainier Beach Action Coalition, and Corporate Giants, such as the Seattle Seahawks, Starbucks, together to mobilize and inspire thousands of volunteers and service hours to improve underserved communities from Rainier Valley to North Gate.

This type of listening to community and convening experts together is exactly one of the things that council members does.

Another core responsibility is budget.

And I have an extensive background as former officer, as well as regional of a national nonprofit.

For me, public safety is not a new thing.

My work in public safety have earned me a Citizens of the Year Award from Seattle Neighborhood Group and Seattle Police Chief that impacts many that I've made at CID and Rainy Beach.

I served on the Citizen Selection Committee that select Chief Carmen Best.

On good covenants, my main interest again.

Thank you very much.

Our last speaker is Tanya Wood, go ahead.

So we find ourselves at a moment that calls for unity, a shared focus to address the challenges that define the very essence of our city.

This is not a time for division.

It's a time to confront head on the urgent issues of public safety, homelessness, and housing that touch every corner of Seattle.

I've witnessed the challenges that have shaped our city throughout my entire life, but I didn't just observe them, I took action.

I co-founded the Community Watch, an alternative to policing group.

We've deescalated fights, but a year ago, a gunfight erupted a few tents from us, and it taught me the critical need for a fully staffed police department.

For the past three years, I've walked our streets and gone into encampments leading a volunteer group that provides mutual aid and connects our unhoused neighbors to services.

I've knelt on the pavement administering CPR on Narcan to those who have overdosed.

It really...

their faces etched in my memory.

And so while sweeps are distressing, they are necessary.

I aligned with Mayor O'Hara's plan to offer housing coupled with comprehensive wraparound services.

Our commitment to public safety must be balanced with compassion, addressing the root causes of homelessness and addiction.

I'm an affordable housing developer.

I spearheaded the Louisa Hotel Redevelopment Project, where 84 people now call home.

So only paying a percentage of their income, I know we can preserve our historical buildings, build more affordable housing while fighting gentrification and displacement.

So growing up in my family business that had locations in Wallingford, Lower Queen Anne, and the Youth District, I have the small business owner mindset, learning to make tough decisions and prioritizing.

Our city budget is a moral document reflecting our priorities.

And so we must listen to people, ensuring their voices shape our financial decisions.

I face the battle against city discrimination, standing up for one of the most endangered neighborhoods in our nation.

Connecting people to local government has been a cornerstone of my efforts, amplifying voices that often go unheard.

So unions are integral to our city, and they represent the backbone of our workforce.

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with unions sharing a job and a focus on job creation, apprenticeships, and underserved communities.

The problems faced by one community aren't unique to just one neighborhood.

They are problems that the entire city faces.

We share a common goal, whether you're from black and brown communities, live near Aurora, Northgate, or Delridge, let's work together, leveraging the strength of everyone on the council to solve problems for our entire city.

So I've been doing the work in housing, homelessness, public safety and social justice.

My vision is one of collaboration, listening and learning from our diverse communities.

I've always and will continue to represent everyone and the best interests of our city.

I will persist in working together towards a safer Seattle, a better Seattle, one Seattle.

Thank you very much, everybody.

I appreciate your words.

Very well spoken.

So now we will proceed to the next section, and I'll explain what we're going to do here.

At this time, each council member will have 10 minutes to engage with candidates, and the chime will sound when you have one minute remaining.

I sent an email about this procedure I believe it was last Friday.

And I realize that 10 minutes may not seem like very much time, but we are constrained by the fact that we've got our regular council briefing this afternoon at 2 o'clock.

And so the goal is to end this meeting by 1. And I must say that any structure chosen for this procedure has its drawbacks.

And the underlying principle for this format is fairness.

You've had the opportunity to meet with candidates individually since January 12th, and this is the opportunity to ask questions in open session, and I want everyone to have the same amount of time.

As I've explained by email, council members can use their time in any way you choose.

For example, you can ask each candidate the same question.

You can ask a subset different questions.

You can ask for clarification on a response to a previous question.

Whatever you choose, I just ask that you guide the candidates on how much time they've got to answer and respect the overall time limit of 10 minutes.

So we'll go in the roll call order, starting with Council Member Moore and proceed from there.

So are there any questions?

All right.

Okay.

So let's go forward.

Council Member Moore.

Thank you very much, Council President.

I want to thank everyone for being here today.

Can you hear me?

Okay.

And for putting yourselves forward to serve our city on the City Council.

Going through this appointment process is in and of itself an act of public service.

So I do greatly appreciate your service.

I'm going to be using my 10 minutes to do a lightning format, lightning round format, so it will all be yes and no questions.

You should all have sheets of red and green paper in front of you.

Obviously, if your answer to a question is yes, please hold up the yes.

If the answer is no, please hold up the red no.

So let's just do a quick check-in to make sure our system is working.

Are you all seeking the appointment to fill the vacant position eight seat on City Council?

Great, okay, thank you.

So my first category of questions is going to relate to public safety.

My first question is, do you support Mayor Harrell's plan to increase the Seattle Department staffing up to 1,400 officers?

Thank you.

The use of technologies to police such as CCTV, license plate readers, ShotSpotter is rapidly expanding.

In general, do you support the use of these technologies and others in policing?

Thank you.

And just to note that my chief of staff is taking notes.

So if you don't see me, someone is paying attention to your answers.

So thank you.

In July 2021, the King County announced plans to shut down the downtown jail in a phase closing with no replacement.

Do you support this decision?

Thank you.

Do you support supervised consumption sites?

Thank you.

The recent public use and possession bill encourages diversion into substance use treatment, but there is a critical shortage of treatment options and facilities.

In the face of a looming multi-million dollar deficit, would you support an increase in one of the city's tax sources to fund expanding treatment options and facilities?

Thank you.

Would you support expanding the calls the care department is authorized to respond to beyond person down and wellness check calls, even if opposed by the Seattle Police Officers Guild?

I cannot see.

Mari, is that a waffle?

Maybe?

Okay, fair enough.

Thank you.

In 2017, the City Council passed a robust police accountability ordinance that was later changed during contract negotiations with SPOG.

Should any new contract with SPOG include the original accountability provisions passed in 2017?

Mr. Strand?

Ms. Wu?

Okay, I'm gonna ask that question one more time and I'm gonna ask each of you on the record to say what your answer is.

So in 2017, the city council passed a robust police accountability ordinance that was later changed during contract negotiations with SPOG.

Should any new contract with SPOG include the original accountability provisions passed in 2017?

Vivian?

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

Need more information.

Okay.

Definitely need more information.

Want to see the original, want to see the amendment, and then what may be proposed.

Okay, thank you.

And I support police accountability, but I also support the union's right to negotiate, and so if that was an agreement, then I would have to support that.

Thank you.

Yes.

Yes.

I also want to see the original agreement and what has changed.

Thank you.

Next round of questions.

Are trees critical climate infrastructure?

Great, thank you.

The Seattle Times editorial board recently called upon the newly elected council members to deliver on their promises to revisit and revise last year's controversial tree protection ordinance.

Would you join as a co-sponsor on such legislation?

Thank you.

As the chair, as the next chair of the sustainability committee, would you support the creation of a department of climate resiliency that would bring together under one department all the city's work on climate?

Maybe, okay.

Would you support requiring a carbon note like a fiscal note for every city project?

Okay, thank you.

Housing.

Under the mandatory affordable housing scheme, developers are offering to pay in lieu fees instead of providing onsite affordable units.

Studies have shown that mixed income communities are highly beneficial for all community members.

Would you require supporting, would you support requiring higher onsite requirements?

So right now you have an option to build on-site or to pay in lieu.

My question is, would you support requiring a higher percentage of on-site units?

Thank you.

Would you support expanding the time period covered by the multifamily tax exemption from 12 years to 50 years?

Thank you.

Okay.

Projections show Seattle will need 112,000 new units of housing in the next 20 years.

Out of the three area median income ranges, which is 80 to 100 percent, 50 to 60 percent, and 30 percent and below, which range should the city prioritize funding?

80 to 100 percent?

50 to 60. Mr. Solomon, I need an answer.

I thought we had a third option coming.

Oh, I'm going through them.

If the one I announce is the one you would support, please answer yes or no.

And then 30 to zero.

Okay, so between, you need to pick one.

80 to 100?

50 to 60. Okay, and 30 or below.

And I need an answer.

80 to 100, okay.

House Bill 1110 allows cities to preserve limited amounts of single-family residential land.

Do you support preserving single-family homes in historically redlined communities such as the Central District and the China International District?

Thank you.

If you were to vote today on the comp plan, would you vote for, and I'll read it out, tell me which one you would vote for, alternative two, alternative three, alternative four, alternative five?

Mr. Solomon and Mr. Strand?

Okay, thank you.

Do you support the mayor's approach to addressing encampments?

Thank you.

Do you support allowing people to remain in tents on public property until they have some form of permanent housing?

Ms. Wu?

Thank you.

Do you support increasing the number of tiny home villages throughout the city?

Thank you.

Do you believe KCRHA has been effective thus far in its work to provide a regional approach to end homelessness?

Thank you.

The council is receiving emails requesting a ban on encampment removals during winter months.

Do you support such a ban?

Thank you.

All right, moving on to budget.

If after careful review and or audit, the budget necessitates additional and or increased revenue, do you support adopting new progressive revenue streams?

One minute.

I have time?

One minute.

Okay, thank you.

The past two years, Jumpstart has been used flexibly to fill the general fund deficit.

Moving forward, do you support using Jumpstart to fill any general fund deficit in the future?

Okay, thank you.

Transportation.

Seattle's sidewalk network is significantly lacking in D2 and five.

To remedy this will require dramatic increases in investment in sidewalk infrastructure.

Would you support including this needed level of investment in the upcoming move Seattle levy?

Thank you.

And last but not least, labor.

Seattle is a union town.

On the council, will you be a strong advocate for labor priorities, including family wage jobs, improved working and safety conditions, and expanded unionization opportunities?

Great.

Thank you so much.

Okay, thank you very much for those questions.

We're now moving on to Councilmember Morales.

Thank you.

Okay.

Sorry, let me get to my notes.

Good morning, everybody.

Thank you for being here.

I'm going to use just a little bit of my time to make some remarks, and then I do have a few questions.

So first of all, I want to thank all 72 people who put their names forward for this position.

It's really hard to open yourselves up to public scrutiny like this.

And to really make yourself vulnerable, it takes courage.

And so I do want to thank everybody.

We heard from an array of people throughout this process who submitted applications, urban planners, educators, business people.

We heard from dedicated public servants.

And many were people who applied because they believe in the importance of this work.

They believe that good things can be done through legislative action and through public service.

That's important because this job isn't easy.

It isn't glamorous.

Oftentimes it's thankless, as you may have heard in public comment today.

And it's really often not what people believe this job to be, not what you're signing up for.

But in the end, it is really important work.

We serve an important function here for the residents of Seattle.

At the end of the day, having people dedicated to public service dedicated to the public welfare of everyone in the city.

Everybody who calls Seattle home, regardless of their particular housing situation, is really important.

And making the city successful depends on all of us up here serving all of our neighbors.

So for those who didn't make it through the selection process, I want to urge you to consider engaging in public service.

Now more than ever, we need people who understand that local government is not the problem.

It's how we provide critical services to the most vulnerable in our community, and it's how we create thriving neighborhoods and thriving communities.

Much of what we heard today from members of the public is disappointment in this appointment process.

And so to those community members, I want to say I share your frustration and I understand it.

I also want to say that I think the candidates deserve an apology for the unseemly politics that have played out in this process.

We received a lot of email from people all over the city, in fact, a lot of email from people who don't even live in Seattle, sending their support for candidates, for all of you.

All of you received lots of email.

But to read in the media that big political donors who spent over a million dollars to support certain candidates have earned the right to tell council who to appoint is not just disappointing, it's dangerous.

Democracy only works if we can ensure a separation of powers, if we know that our institutions are strong.

Otherwise, we erode the trust of the public and we stoke cynicism, and this is not a time for cynicism.

We have too much important work to do.

And so to the candidates, if it feels like this decision is a foregone conclusion, I'm sorry.

Our job here is to pass and amend laws, to pass a budget, and to be a check on executive power.

And I'll remind my colleagues, current and future, that the executive is not our boss, he is a peer.

We all work with the executive, but none of us work for the executive.

Our success as a council is determined by our actions, by what we do for the common welfare of the people who, like you, love this place and want Seattle to succeed.

So with that, I will begin my questions.

And I just have a few.

And I want to start with Mari.

So I think we have made lots of allusion already to the fact that it is no secret that council does not always have the same point of view about policymaking.

We will agree to disagree on some things.

So I'd like to hear from you a little bit about how you would work with your colleagues to get something done.

If you could talk a little bit about what your governing style might be and maybe talk a little bit about your work with community to achieve a policy solution.

Thank you for the question.

I think something that is really important for any position that someone takes on, whether it's on city council or within your job, it's important to get to know people on a personal level to know where they're coming from.

I think before you can make any sort of movement as a group, it helps to have that added backstory.

Something that seems really minor that we do in my current position is we have checking questions.

And it could be as simple as what's your favorite sandwich?

But that small little personal piece can really help you when it comes time to have some of those hard discussions or some of those hard debates.

And that's something that I've seen work in my current job right now is how do we collaborate across divisions?

How do we collaborate across units where we may not always have the same opinion or we may not have the same views?

And how do we get to that solution?

Because we have to work together to get to that end goal.

And even if we don't have, agreements on all policy aspects, you have to work through those struggles.

And so I think just kind of taking that step back from the issue at hand to have those one-on-one conversations can be really helpful to get some of those decisions.

My work with community has really been something that I've enjoyed in my current position, working with a number of community-based organizations and providers.

And not all community-based organizations, even though they get funding from Citi, they don't necessarily trust the city sometimes.

It can be a big institution that can be really daunting.

The various performance metrics or reporting requirements that we have for them can be really difficult.

And so how do you build that trust with them?

And I've encouraged my team, I've done it myself, to just have those face-to-face conversations.

I think in COVID, we haven't had as much opportunity to go out and do actual site visits, but having those actual video phone calls and just talking it through, or even just picking up the phone, just like old-fashioned style and being able to talk through some of those things, say, I know this is where you're finding difficulty or frustration, but making sure that I can be transparent with them as much as possible, but then also share with them, there are some things that I can't share that are still confidential, and I hope you trust me enough to know that I will come to you as soon as I'm able to share that information.

I've been able to do that with a number of agencies, both professionally and personally.

And it's very similar to how you work with others, is how do you sort of get through some of those hard points to get to that end product where maybe it's a less adversarial meeting, conversation, or phone call.

Thank you.

Vivian, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about, there's a question about the committee.

So you would be chairing the arts included in your committee.

Can you talk a little bit about what some key economic sector strategies might be to help in the creative industry?

It's a very vibrant part of Seattle's economy.

And so I'd like to know what some of your priorities there might be.

Yes, I think it's not only important to the vibrancy of this city, but it's also really important to the economy.

A lot of our arts opportunities are located in the downtown sector and really draw people to the downtown core.

And so when we're thinking about economic vitalization, I think it's really important to bring the arts community along in that process.

The second approach I have to the arts community is thinking about the artists and what their experience is like living and working in Seattle.

And something I hear often from our artists is that Seattle is no longer an affordable I think the 12 Arts Loft in the Capitol Hill is a really wonderful example of private-public partnership that is directly in support of our artists.

I would look for opportunities where our city can also invest in places for our artists to live and work comfortably and affordably in the city and recognize that these are critical jobs to have in our city's infrastructure.

Thank you.

And in the last minute and a half, Mari, I'll go back to you with the committee question.

Can you talk a little bit about what some of the climate or environmental priorities might be as chair of that committee?

Sure, when I think about climate and sustainability and City Light, I go back to education, sort of at its core, is how can we get our youth to understand the impacts of what the world will look like when they grow up?

When I think about sustainability, one of the questions was about tree canopy, and then how does that tree canopy then impact our City Light grid?

especially in summer months.

And then we also know that tree canopy is lesser in communities of color.

And so what are some of the other impacts that come from that and sort of cascade down from there?

When I think about City Light, I also think about the education piece and how do you make a utility interesting or not that it's not interesting, but how do you connect with people so they understand the impacts of City Light on their daily life?

And I think about as a kid, my mom worked for City Light, but we were part of some of the annual reports or some of the fires that would go out just to say like, oh, this is something you can do at home or this is how electricity even works as a light bulb.

I think it's really important for us to make city systems accessible and understandable for people on different levels.

And so not everyone's going to want to see the annual report from a dollars and cents perspective or how many kilowatts per hour.

So how can you just make it a little bit more understandable so they see those direct impacts in their lives?

Thank you.

I will yield the last 16 seconds of my time.

Wow.

Or save it for clarification later.

Okay.

Go ahead.

Council Member Rivera.

Yes.

Good morning or almost afternoon, everyone.

I'm going to be asking a question, and then everyone will get a minute to answer the same question.

I first want to reiterate my comments last week about how grateful I am that all of you and so many folks signed up for this appointment.

I really appreciate the commitment.

And as someone said earlier, there's a varied skill set amongst all of you that makes this a really hard decision.

So my question is, and then you'll get on the timer a minute.

The city's face, and we'll go backwards in alphabetical order just to make it fair since we started with Juan last time.

So the city's facing a roughly $250 million deficit.

It's a two-part question.

Do you support auditing some of our underperforming programs before we seek to raise new taxes?

And how would you determine whether and which cuts we should make?

And for some of you that in your opening remarks talked about engaging in a similar budget exercise, we'd love to hear an example of how you implemented it in your specific instance.

So I believe our budget is a moral document, and we need to really focus on priorities.

And I approach looking at the budget from a small business mindset.

We really have to work with what we have.

I do support having an audit and making sure that every department, agency, and organization has set matrix on how they can achieve success, able to show results so that there's accountability and transparency.

So I think we have to go through that exercise where we find out if it's working.

And before we look at progressive revenue taxes, I think we should look at that as a last resort because we just can't keep taxing, asking for more money from small businesses and from property taxes.

So in my redevelopment of the Louisa Hotel, I worked on a $30 million budget that really focused on building the building and making sure it's sustainable now that we are leased out and we have commercial businesses on the ground floor.

I've also worked on budgets with small organizations, nonprofits, helping to preserve the murals as well as with the community watch.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm fully in support of having a comprehensive audit, just to see as a baseline where we are, to be honest with you.

For me, that also is a guiding principle for us to see where we can potentially move forward.

I think it's important for us as strategic leaders to ask some important questions about what we know through that audit, but to also to come back and ask the questions, what else that we don't know?

What else that are out there?

What are the opportunities that arise from this audit?

And not necessarily just to see it through an exercise so that you can say, oh, that's underperforming, let's cut that thing.

But if it's going through the thought exercise of being curious, having a strategic thought leadership around what's our priorities, you know, that my fellow candidate Tanya Woods mentioned, it is our moral document.

It is where we put the money with our mouth is going to be.

So it's important to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I would support auditing department budgets before we look to raising taxes.

I really feel that departments are the subject matter experts when it comes to their budgets.

And what I would really like to hear from them is the story behind the numbers.

And so if we come and we're looking at their budgets and we just look at the dollars and cents, that sometimes forgets what that story is, whether it's with direct service providers or even the impact it would have on our own city employees.

And that really leads into the next question around how would you determine how to make cuts, is that we need to look at more than just the dollars.

Like, I know that, you know, $250 million as a deficit is not a small amount, so when I say look beyond the dollars, I don't make light of that, but how can we make cuts that have the least impact first?

So is that looking at putting a higher...

Someone mentioned a hiring freeze that I hadn't heard of, but is that something that we could consider because it's not impacting people who are currently employed?

How can we collaborate across departments?

I heard some of the candidates mention redundancies, and I think we need a little bit more information to see really if we do have redundancies or if there is just a better way for us to collaborate and not be so siloed as departments within the city.

Thank you.

Yeah, absolutely.

I agree with performing an audit and looking at what is working and what is not working.

I think as good stewards of the public funds, it's our responsibility to ensure that the dollars are being spent appropriately.

I know in our household, that's what we do is we look at where we can cut and we determine what size of a cable package we'd like.

And once we make all the cuts we can, then it's important to start working and bringing in more money to pay those bills that we have found essential.

For me, we need to, Reward those that are performing well with the money they're receiving and we need to look at the data for that We mentioned King County Regional Homelessness Authority I think there is some overlap between the city's unified care team the Third branch of our public safety now the care department I think is going to take on some of that work and there's other departments where we are Duplicating our efforts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I

Yes, definitely we need to audit department by department.

One thing I've said multiple times is, what are we spending?

What are we spending it on?

What are our measurable results?

And if we're spending money on things that don't work, let's stop doing that.

But that's going to mean a deep dive into those.

It's going to mean getting into the weeds to make those kind of decisions.

And realize that if we're starting talking about cutting funding, That's going to have an impact that we may not see right off the bat.

So that, again, means we need to be very mindful, do our homework, and not just rush into something.

It does mean doing the research and talking to the folks who are not only doing the work, but those folks who will be impacted by those cuts.

And I'm going to stop there to give them more time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I do believe in auditing the budget and I also believe that we need to look at everything.

And I did mention redundancies, but the county is doing a lot of the similar work.

And if there was a way that we can share that burden with the county, it would help alleviate both of our budgets almost.

But also as a small business owner, I did an extensive renovation in 2017 and budget savings is as mundane as toilet handles.

I had to source about 100 toilet handles.

I did not like the ones the contractors had.

And many phone calls later, I was able to find the same one, just different packaging, for about a third of the price that they were listing it.

So I think we need to go through the budget.

We need to be creative.

It doesn't mean that we need to lower our standard of quality, but I think we can get a lot of things maybe at a lower cost if we dig a little deeper and help.

Thank you.

Councilmember Rivera, echoing everyone else, I would certainly support the audits and looking into it.

I think that should be a standard practice.

It's a standard practice in my own world, and I certainly am audited within my own department and show the needs for the spending that I do in terms of the approach I have at my own job.

But it's been interesting because we've been banding about the term or the total $250 million.

in regards to overruns.

And certainly, on the surface and looking at it on paper, that's a lot of money.

But compared to a $7.3 billion city budget, that's only 3.2% of the budget that we're looking at.

So I would encourage us, I mean, the community does not want tax increases.

Our businesses don't need tax increases.

But I'm hoping that we can look at different ways to stimulate our economy in terms of where we get revenues.

And if we can look at those things, whether it is providing opportunities for businesses to expand revenues and get people out of this pandemic mentality, where I think that we can really stimulate the economy by getting people together.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Auditing is a financial term that refers to accuracy of financial reporting, and I do think that the accuracy is there.

I actually looked at the 569-page budget yesterday, and the city has done an incredible amount of investment in making a very transparent public tool about our budget.

What I think is missing is that from this budget book, and I think what we're kind of alluding to is that We don't have clarity on what our spending priorities are.

So we technically know what we're spending on department by department, but we're not prioritizing what it is we are trying to achieve as a city.

So I'd like to share the example of how I approached the budget deficit at the school district.

We have a $1.2 billion operating budget and $100 million deficit.

And we undertook this exercise where we identify three academic goals that we wanted to achieve for our students.

And from there, we looked at how we were spending money.

What are the sizes of the classrooms?

Are we investing in the right curriculum?

And just ensuring that some- Okay.

Your minute's up.

Thank you so much.

I think my 10 minutes are up.

Thank you.

Thank you all very much.

Okay, let's proceed with Council Member Saka.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Madam President.

So I have a couple quick remarks, and then I have one question under which you all receive equal opportunity to answer.

45 seconds specifically, and I ask that you stay true to that North Star of 45 seconds, given the timing constraints here.

So first and foremost, I just want to shout out our public servants who not only did their jobs in this process, but went above and beyond to really ensure that this is under this very, very short timeline, that everything was done efficiently and effectively and adhering to the fullest set of transparency principles possible.

I cannot possibly name all the names in the city clerk's team or the council central staff, but I also wanna acknowledge and thank the Seattle City Club who hosted that community forum last week.

I watched it.

Thank you all for showing up.

And also, Thank you, the work of our staff does not go unnoticed from my perspective.

We're at this point today because of your tireless efforts, so thank you again.

I ran on a campaign of centering transparency, accountability, and collaboration.

And with respect to the latter, collaboration, to really reset the culture here at Seattle City Hall.

reset the culture here at Seattle City Hall.

In my view, there's no way in heck we can serve our constituents and focus on the great external communities that make Seattle such a terrific, vibrant place to live and work if we're constantly fighting, bickering, and attacking each other.

And yes, in my view, I think we need to be intentional about rejecting the enemy mindsets, and the cantankerous approaches of the past.

We all, whoever is appointed to this seat, will have that opportunity to join me and my colleagues here today in resetting the culture here at Seattle City Hall.

Budget experience is really important, transformative, profound, so is making progress, helping us collectively make progress on all these really important complex issues like public safety, homelessness, and affordability.

But we need to start from within.

So this vacancy is very important, as I just stated, and it's equally as important as the other positions across this dais.

We have eight finalists here, and I thank every one of you.

You all bring different expertise, professional and life experiences, credentials, and more.

Many constituents took the time to communicate to us about your candidacy, and I appreciate that, and I've read every single email While only one can be appointed, know that each and every one of you stand ready to be a public servant for this great city.

You bring honor to the city, especially in the wake of the most devastating events of the past couple years.

We're elected to make tough choices, and this is one of them.

As for those who supported candidates, who may not be selected for this important vacancy know that your voice will always matter.

And I hope we can all count on you to help make our city better in a variety of capacities.

So my question to each and every one of you, 45 seconds again, and I hopefully have someone to help time.

But we heard a lot of great questions during the Seattle City Club Forum about revolving around budget, which is really important.

In my view, yeah, budget skills and expertise is important at all times, not just during down shortfall years like this one.

I think we have a particular responsibility to make sure we're spending wisely and investing wisely and achieving good results in the more rosy, flowery budget years.

So yes.

Budget experience is important, so is public safety.

So that said, 45 seconds, because public safety is a top concern, what would be your top strategies to improve public safety for all and to reduce 911 response times for our most urgent calls?

I will ask that we move in reverse alphabetical order, but in fairness to the person that went first last time, I think we'll start with Lynn and then kind of work our way back.

Thank you, sir.

You know, I echo you on the importance of the solution.

You know, the solutions of the very important question that you have on the priorities go fundamentally to the notions of creating and build trust.

As a potential council member with you, I promise as a personal pledge, but also in all of my personal and professional life, that I will never be critical of you or any of you publicly on anything.

If anything, I will be complimenting you, making sure that we work together to achieve a common mission.

As for this top strategy to reduce those 911 calls, I think it's important to empower and engage the public as well as the 911 call center and educate the public more on that.

And I have actually been working to actually help translate some of those things so that the public is aware of the 911 call.

Thank you, Lynn.

Thank you.

When it comes to public safety, I think something that we could really think about is accountability.

For my husband, who has been driving for the last four years doing gig work, he has seen a real lack of accountability.

I think this does go back to some of the goals to get our Seattle Police Department staffed up.

It comes down to even monitoring the speed limit on different streets.

That's something that has a cascading effect that we've talked about, too.

What impact does it have on the people who are walking around If there are, you know, drug exchanges or black markets that are set up, what impact is that having on the people who are trying to walk from transit stations or, you know, just simply walk home from the grocery store?

So I would say that my route would be just figuring out how we can get back a sense of accountability, and part of that would be through hiring.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you.

I appreciate this question.

Obviously, this is a softball for me or one I think that I have the strongest qualifications among my fellow candidates on.

And this is the number one priority that the voters mentioned in this last election, which is why I'm here today.

and put my hat in the ring.

I think staffing will help us with reducing our 911 calls.

I think appointing me to the city council would go a long ways in our recruiting efforts.

I think it would also be very powerful in our retention efforts of keeping our police officers on the job, seeing that you respect us enough to appoint me to the council.

And I want to touch briefly on Councilmember Kettle, because he is the chair of the Public Safety Committee, and I'm not on it.

Thank you.

Time.

And I will stay off of that committee.

Thank you.

45 seconds.

Okay.

One, we definitely need to increase the number of officers we have.

According to the International Association of the Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, There should be 3.4 officers for 1,000 residents.

Right now, Seattle is at about 1.2.

Secondly, we need to retain the good officers that we do have, right?

I would actually want to increase 911 calls because we know that there's a lot of crime that goes unreported.

So we need folks to actually tell our systems what's going on.

And to that end, if we really want to reduce crime and disorder in our community, we need to involve community in the solutions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I think we need to staff the police force to capacity, but to do that, we need to restore trust.

People that sign up for public service are not there for the money, and, you know, they're there because they have a moral compass that's leading them there, and I think that trust has been severely broken.

I think we need to restore community policing, foot patrols, bike patrols.

We need a nonviolent...

civilian-led response, but we also have to remember that all of these problems are intertwined with affordability, homelessness, opioid addiction, so we need to get a handle on all of our problems to really get a handle on public safety.

We can't focus on one.

Councilmember Sacca, I was a high school football coach at three different schools, Nathan Hale, Franklin, and I had the opportunity to work with Coach Corey Sampson down at Rainier Beach, and he did one of the most unique things I've ever seen.

He invited police officers and their families to practice, and the police officers would come, and they would bring their wives and kids, and then after practice, the officers and their families would sit down and talk with the kids.

And I thought it was such a unique way to build relationships.

And Coach Sampson was trying to create a community culture to get the police officers to know the kids and feel and be a part of the program.

And I think those are the types of creative things that we need to do to get our community involved.

Thank you.

Madam President, I ask for 45 more seconds if needed.

I would take a data-driven approach to this problem and look at where the crimes are happening.

And as it turns out, there is a real concentration of crime happening by location, and so we need to be effectively allocating our police force in those specific areas.

We also need to be looking at who is causing the most crime.

So as it turns out, a lot of the crimes that are happening in Seattle are perpetrated by a very small number of people.

So we need to start working and we need to invest in long-term programs that work with this specific population to help them to stop repeating crimes.

What are the services they need so they can move to a different path in life?

Perhaps they need stable housing.

They need access to jobs.

So my approach to public safety would be to look at the data and concentrate.

Thank you.

So I believe we do need to change the tone forward regarding how we recruit and making sure that we improve the morale of the Seattle Police Department.

We need fully staffed department.

We need to support all of our city employees, including our officers.

I also believe we need community engagement and empowerment, alternatives and opportunities for youth, resources for mental health and conflict resolution, and economic development and job creation.

I believe every single department has a hand in how we improve public safety for the city.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Let's move on to Council Member Strauss.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Council President.

First candidates, I'd like to thank each of you for answering the call to fill the vacant citywide seat, position eight.

Of the approximately over 750,000 Seattleites, you are one of eight people who have the credentials, experience, and the the choice of current sitting council members to fill this vacancy.

It's an accomplishment in and of itself.

Frankly, I wish we had more time to get to know each other better.

During my time today, I'm going to be running down through some of the conversations that I've had with you to save the time from going in between speakers, and then I'll have questions prepped to ask each one of you, and I'll give you that before we jump into it.

What stood out, so before the forum last week, I wrote Captain Strand a note that said, thank you for putting service before self.

What I noticed at the forum was that element is the connecting factor between each of you.

Each of you put service before self.

It's something that is, it's a quality that cannot be taught.

It's a quality that we need more of.

And it's a quality that would fit very well here on our new council dais.

Sorry, I wrote all these notes and then I just said everything.

And it's just that I wish that we had more people like you in our world and in our government.

It's really amazing to get to see each of you as finalists.

And as I said, it is an accomplishment in and of itself.

I notice common themes throughout everyone's conversation.

Everyone is worried about or wants to address public safety, increase public safety, address homelessness, create affordable housing.

Everyone here is worried about displacement, as am I.

Everyone wants to have efficient use of tax dollars.

everyone does civic education in their own lives and with young people.

And so if City Club is watching, the answer is yes.

Please set up a youth program.

That was very clear.

For those of us sitting on the dais today, addressing public safety, addressing homelessness, and creating affordable housing are three priorities I've heard from every seated council member.

As well, this year we'll be taking up three very large issues, addressing the budget gap, updating the major update to the comprehensive plan, and passing the transportation levy in addition to everything else.

I will say that through the conversations that I've had with each of you, you've brought insight and wisdom to this process.

Tanya, you said a couple of times, people closest to the problem have the solutions.

And when we were talking, you mentioned, how do we engage people furthest from power and closest to the problem?

I've witnessed you do this.

You're the daughter of Seattle and you're out there doing the work.

When I asked, how will you get things done for Seattle?

You responded, I'm a person of action.

And I can't, I have to say I've witnessed it firsthand and I look forward to working with you.

You're the only person to bring up unreinforced masonry and council colleagues will have some long conversations about that.

Thank you.

Lynn, you were very vulnerable in the public forum.

You shared personal parts of your history that I think made us all stronger.

I really appreciated your response about voting.

You said, I love voting so much, this is why I joined the service.

And your wisdom, just in our conversations, I feel like kindred spirits, and I really appreciate everything that you've done for our city already.

And I think one of the wisest things you said was about the budget process is beyond just stop growing the problem, make the plan to fix it, and implement the fix.

Insert the feedback loops.

Look at what others have done before us when faced with the same situation.

I can't thank you enough for your wisdom.

I look forward to continuing our relationship, absolutely.

Mari, you know, the words that I could use to describe you is firm, compassionate, urgent, and humble.

I have to say that I agree with Mr. Karosi, if he's still in the audience.

I think, I guess you're the one that I don't, I knew the least, and I am incredibly inspired by you.

I look forward to a place for you sitting in, taking that next step in your public service and your civil service to our city.

It's clear that we need you.

I have a lot more notes and I realize I'm only getting halfway through, so I'm gonna speed up a little bit here.

I have so much more to say.

Captain Strand, we could sit here all day and talk about public safety, but what impressed me the most was your take on transportation, actually, that you'll do everything possible for a safe and reliable transportation system for all modes.

that our transportation system is reliable, safe, and effective.

Mass transit needs to shift from just being for commuters to weekends with families.

And how do we fix, improve, and protect the people on our streets?

Your commitment to Vision Zero is impressive, and it's something that we need.

Mark, I really...

I, in the forum, every, like, this is why I hate the, the shorts, the short minutes is because you were just getting going and then your minute ended.

I can't, I mean, I can't even remember what question it was, but it's, you know, when, when faced with the tough question of a gotcha question of tax cuts or tax, you know, raising taxes or making cuts, you said it's not either or it's both and.

You followed suit with Juan of saying, I don't know.

I guess I'm getting down the line to sharing with this.

But, you know, you've, as the person mentioned earlier today, people deliver speeches or get the work done.

No truer words have been said about you.

You are a workhorse.

You're somebody who is absolutely committed to our city.

And I can't thank you enough for your service.

Neha, I got to say, being born and raised, now raising your kids here, in addition to your youth civics program at home, you are building our future.

The person that I see here is a future leader, is a current leader in our city.

You don't just speak words, you take action.

And I think that the work that you did, personally reflective and making the pivot for the Civic Hotel, aptly named from being the...

the front porch of South Lake Union to being the home for people who didn't need them and needed it most.

Incredibly impressive.

I look forward to working with you as well.

I'm really getting low on time.

Sorry.

Juan, the wisest thing that was said at the forum was, I don't know.

And it wasn't that I won't know.

It is that I need the information to make a good decision here.

It like your wisdom was beyond words.

And I will also make this plug right now for one that anyone wanting to donate blood can do so at Bloodworks Northwest.

It's an important, it is important that we all do our civic duty in any way.

Vivian with two and a half minutes left.

So just, it looks like my questions are getting short.

I'm gonna ask Vivian and Mari.

Vivian, your question is going to be about working with a budget whole and being a citywide elected.

And then Mari, your question will be about in the forum you'd talked about when we make decisions at council, how that cascades into departments and how that cascades into community.

But because I gave everyone else a summary, Vivian, I have to say, It's been incredibly impressive to see your understanding of the committee work.

No one else has brought up snowpack.

You're the only one I've heard of finding the budget document that is publicly available.

And your conversation about arts really speaks to your knowledge base.

But if you could take a moment, maybe a minute to tell us about your experience at the Seattle Public School being a citywide elected official and how you're dealing with a budget gap that is about half of our size.

I think it's been an honor and privilege to serve all 106 schools across Seattle.

I've been really lucky to take advantage of many, many school visits.

I'm about halfway through my term, and I visited about half of that list at 52 schools.

And my learning and reflection about serving a citywide role is that there are certainly themes when it comes to challenges and issues and even opportunities that are felt in all corners of our city.

but there are unique circumstances in individual school communities.

So it is really incumbent on each one of us to take time to talk to a diverse base of stakeholders and try to understand one specific issue how that will be borne out in an individual community.

It's also really important to be cognizant of what voices you're not hearing because it's not always easy to engage with your elected leaders.

Translation is often a point of challenge.

And I'm really lucky to be able to speak Mandarin fluently and engage with some of our stakeholders directly that way.

When it comes to the budget process, cuts are extraordinarily painful.

We always center the kids in our decision making and try to avoid cuts that directly impact our kids and our classrooms.

We look at opportunities where we're duplicating efforts and we can streamline some of our work that we are doing.

And we always look back at data.

What is the data telling us?

What is working?

What is not working?

Invest in the things that are working and move forward that way.

And it looks like I'm out of time.

We didn't give the minute warning.

And so we are out of time.

But I will allow the next person to, the other person who you directed your question to, to speak.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss.

When I think of some of the cascading impacts of budget cuts, I really want to think about the impacts to direct service staff, not just within the agencies we fund, but also within the city itself.

And oftentimes those people are probably making the least amount of money in the organization, the city included.

And so how can we, I spoke about this a little bit earlier, but how can we get that story behind the is that sometimes what may appear as a duplication of services on paper is actually our way of being responsive to community, that it has to look a little bit differently to make sure we're reaching the people who are impacted by public safety or have reentry needs or pre-file diversion needs.

that, you know, it really does take a little bit more than just looking solely at the numbers when we think about the impacts that we'll have in making cuts.

I also spoke a little bit about how we can maybe eliminate some of the things that aren't already being funded.

And so are those vacant positions?

Are there ways for us to call our resources together across departments to maybe address things collectively as a full city as opposed to being siloed?

And just looking at maybe alternative sources of revenue, whether that's through different public or private partnerships.

Thank you.

Thank you for the grace, Council President.

Thank you very much.

And we'll continue down here with Council Member Hollingsworth.

Thank you, Council President.

I was going to say good morning.

My apologies.

Good afternoon.

I want to thank all of you.

I want to echo the...

I want to echo some of my colleagues' remarks about thanking the 72 applicants also that put their name in the hat, and then you all, the eight finalists that are here today.

I know it's been a long process putting your name in, submitting your cover letter, then also engaging in the community forum, having conversations with all of us, and then also being here today on a Monday morning.

We just want to respect some of you.

You know, everyone's working right now, you all took that time off to come down here to be able to give us your time and just really want to send a heartfelt thank you and appreciation having run a recent election myself i also know that there's a lot of politics involved and i know that my colleagues all have their own individual minds.

They're also very independent, and they're also very intellectual.

And I think Seattle, we've had a rich history of progressive politics and activism and policies that we are all very, very proud of.

And I also know that there is this piece where we also want to ensure that we are not performative, that we are actually making progress in our city.

And I know that's what a lot of people have expressed to me, to a lot of our colleagues as well.

And having been on the tail end, you know, during election and seeing a lot of those pieces play out and also being a community to that has...

you know, just seeing how these policies have played out on that ground level, I think it's important that we all remind ourselves of the communities that we're serving.

I also want to say Councilmember Moore stole my format of the lightning round, and so I'm going to be doing that as well, Instead of holding up yes or no, I would love for you all to speak in the microphone and also you'll have like 10, 15 seconds to maybe explain your answer if you're waffling or you just don't know.

These are not intended got you questions.

These are specifically intended to understand where you draw the line at some things.

Some things might be a maybe because I also know that some things are nuanced as well and want to give you all that time to be able to explain maybe what are those, you know, what are those nuanced pieces are.

So, anyways, we will get started.

I took out some of the questions that I kind of got an answer from.

That's the beauty of being on the tail end of Roll Call, you get some of your answers.

So, one of the answers, and we'll start with...

We'll start with Ms. Song, and we'll just go to the right as well.

Would you support And then after I finish the questions, my apology, I'll explain everything.

We'll do yes or no.

You'll go down the line to the right and then we won't start with the same person.

I'll call on that person and then we'll start to the right just so we're fair and we're not going in line every single time.

Would you support, Ms. Song, would you support legislation that compels developers to plant mature trees on lots?

Yes.

Oh, no, yeah, just the next person.

I'm sorry, could you repeat the question for me?

Absolutely, yes, Mr. Cotto.

Would you support legislation that compels developers to plant mature trees?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, save and plant.

Thank you.

And then next we'll start with Mr. Cotto, we'll move to the right.

Do you believe that a return to office mandate is important part of a larger downtown revitalization plan?

No.

Yes, with exceptions.

We're in a new reality and we need to kind of adjust to the new reality.

Yes.

Yes, our economy thrives on it.

I'm a yes and no.

I think this is a nuanced thing as well, that there are things that we've learned as a result of COVID that we should probably take into consideration in this new world.

I am with Mari on this one as well.

Yes, and for slow rollout with exceptions.

Yes.

Do you support implementing policies that address the displacement of Black residents due to gentrification and Black legacy homeowners, specifically in the Central District?

And we'll start with Ms. Neha.

Do I support policies that displace Black homeowners?

No, no, do you support implementing policies that address the displacement of Black residents due to gentrification and also Black legacy homeowners?

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

I also have pedestrian fatalities are at levels that we have not seen since 2006. You know, we always hear about, unfortunately, someone getting hit on our streets.

Would you support additional traffic infraction enforcement in our city?

Yes.

Yes, I think we have to start enforcing.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, especially the school speed zone cameras.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you.

We also have I think you all at, excuse me.

Okay, so now we have a scale one to 10. Okay, so it's not yes or no, one to 10. You can also expand on your answer as well.

On a scale one to 10, one being the least, 10 being the most, Seattle parks are the emerald jewel of our city.

How important is it to keep our playgrounds and parks clean, safe and welcoming for residents?

10. 10. 10. 10.

10. 20. 10. 31. No one said 100, but okay.

From scale one to 10, again, 10 being the least, or excuse me, one being the least, 10 being the most, how important is it for Seattle to be a hub for small businesses, either an incubator or be able to make them...

For them to be, you know, a staple in our community, a lot of small businesses, unfortunately, are paying for their private-owned security and, you know, safety going on in our city.

How important from scale 1 to 10 is it that we ensure their safety for their people that they're serving and also them themselves as well?

Sorry, 10.

10. 100.

and I think it's also important to remember a lot of our big companies started as small companies.

Ten.

Ten.

Ten.

Uh, ten.

Awesome, and I see we have two and a half minutes.

Um, also, if you could explain from a scale of one to ten, one being the least, ten being the most, how important, and I think, uh, Ms. Song, you answered this about how important are the arts and culture to the revitalization of downtown to you?

We talk a lot about, you know, we need businesses downtown.

We need, you know, people coming again downtown.

I know that arts and culture for me personally is just very important to, you know, having in our city because a lot of the...

neighborhoods that we have are echoes of what they once used to be.

And so wanting to know from a scale, I probably told you how I want you to answer, but sorry.

But scale one to 10, how important is it for the arts and culture?

10, at the center of every civilization is great arts and culture.

100.

10, because I think what's slowing us down in downtown is people who live within 10 miles of downtown not going to downtown.

I think arts is going to be instrumental in that.

10.

And I can firsthand say The Ring and CIFF and a lot of other festivals, Bumper Shoot, Folklife, they bring a revitalization and economic input to our city in ways in a weekend that, I mean, the city wouldn't experience without that bump.

So we need arts and culture.

Tim, I remember how many movie theaters were downtown within walking distance of each other.

Yeah, no, I'm a 10. And I would also like to say our small business security is in line with bringing our employees back to the downtown area so they can enjoy the arts and culture and sports and other things that we have to offer down here.

I would say eight only with the nuance that we have arts and culture facilities all over the city.

So wanting to be able to support those businesses too.

Some of them are small business venues that support live music or theater or what have you.

And so wanting to support efforts across the city.

Thank you.

Last question.

I know we have 30 seconds.

We'll make it a little quick.

Do you support increasing every neighborhood to have 30% tree canopy cover in the entire city to work towards that at a minimum?

Ten.

I give this an eight.

I think a lot of our trees are located in our parks, and I need to think about where our parks are located.

Ten.

Eight to ten with nuance.

We can't, I think a lot of times the argument of trees is there to disguise affordable housing or just housing building, and so we need to make sure we're building enough housing for our residents, but also maintaining our tree canopy and expanding it.

Ten.

I believe I'm a 10. I can't think of a neighborhood that couldn't get to 30% coverage.

10.

10. Agree with Captain Strand on this.

Awesome.

Neha, would you support going up an extra floor in order for us to have more housing in those affordable housing places, but also saving those trees as well?

So height requirements and additional floor to be able to have trees.

To save the trees?

Correct.

If it pans, if it plays out on paper and the numbers work, yes.

Understood.

All right.

Thank you.

Was that, I think I ended my time.

Is that it?

Sorry.

Thank you so much for your patience.

Thank you very much, and go ahead.

Thank you, Madam President, and going to your point about questions, interesting.

We have citywide and district representation.

From my community experience, I saw the need for district representation, and I fully support that, but I also understand that we do need to have the citywide look AND I REALLY BELIEVE IN THIS KIND OF HYBRID SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE WHERE WE HAVE DISTRICT REPRESENTATION PLUS THE CITYWISE.

I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT.

I THINK FROM A COMMITTEE PERSPECTIVE, LIKE HAVING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BEING COVERED BY POSITION NINE, BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT, HAVING THAT CITY LOOK IS VERY IMPORTANT.

AND SAME THING FOR POSITION EIGHT ON SUSTAINABILITY.

NOW, I HAD SOME GENERAL TOPICS TO INCLUDE TREE CANOPY, PORT AND HOUSING INVENTORY.

But looking at the committee assignments to positionate, you know, the chair of sustainability, you know, the vice chair with libraries, education, and particularly neighborhoods, but then also being a member of the transportation, land use, and then plus housing and human services.

I will stick with my tree canopy example, despite the fact that you just ended with that.

Can you use the tree canopy issue and walk through those committee assignment pieces?

You know, use the transportation or land use considerations, housing, human services, neighborhoods, and ultimately sustainability in your answer as you look through using tree canopy as an example when walking through those assignments.

So about a minute each, and we'll go towards from the order.

So Mr. Cotto, go first, please.

One minute each, please.

In terms of the tree canopy, I mean, it's actually a personal mission.

My daughter and I went to a concert to see a singer by the name of Lauren Daigle, and she came to Seattle earlier in her career, and she got off the phone and she said to her mom, all the trees in Seattle are like Christmas trees.

I just think that's such a special part of our community.

In terms of libraries, I went to O'Day High School, and I would trudge down the hill because I always feared a little bit of threat from my mother and father if my grades weren't good, and I spent so much time in the old library on 4th Avenue, and also in the library in Rainier Beach, where the number 7 would go by, and I would jump in and get assignments done.

I just think that the libraries, and sometimes the libraries have kind of fallen down below our perception, but they're so important, especially for young kids in terms of learning how to read, and that's where I really got my start.

Transportation, I was on the Board of Transportation Choices, and I believe in moving people instead of cars.

And I think that's a critical matter that we have to have conversations about.

Okay, moving next, using tree canopy as a topic.

Walk through the committee assignments.

Tree canopies are important.

We are experiencing extreme climate events, as we just experienced last week.

And so, to sustain City Light, we have a 4.5% surcharge because the RSA has been depleted due to...

you know, major weather events that we've been experiencing, shortage of rainfall, you know, super cold temperatures, warmer climates.

And so you've done a wonderful job with the development in Queen Anne with the Toll Brothers to kind of protect the old growth trees while still doing development.

And I think that needs to be looked at.

because we need to build more houses.

We need to protect our green space.

And I mean, who doesn't want to climb trees when they were little?

So I think trees help with the arts and imagination and creative play.

So we need all of the above, but also looking at it to make sure that we can live in a thriving, growing community and support everyone.

Thank you, Mr. Solomon.

When I think about the tree canopy, I think about the work that we've done with the Beacon Hill Council.

I'm on their board.

One of the things we're looking at is microparticulates and air pollution that's impacting our community because we're underneath the fly pack of SeaTac Airport.

And one of the ways that we feel that that can be mitigated is by planting more trees to help with air quality, help with the air pollution and the microparticulates.

When I think about transportation, one of the things I've worked on quite a bit is working with Department of Transportation on vegetation maintenance along our arterial so that we improve lines of sight for both pedestrians and vehicles to reduce the instances of vehicular pedestrian collisions.

And I would continue to do that work.

Okay.

Ms. Song.

Thank you for sticking to alphabetical order.

So I think the big opportunity here is around in the sustainability committee is around climate resilience.

And so this committee is going to be tasked within tapping into the Inflation Reduction Act and try to bring more climate resiliency to our city and into our neighborhoods.

And I think that the tree canopy is important consideration of how we're going to make sure our neighbors stay cool because it's increasingly getting hot in the summer in Seattle.

I think that with the Transportation Committee, we're going to have to balance the competing interests of a very limited amount of space.

Cars, freight, pedestrian, bike, and then of course trees.

Similarly with land use and housing, we all understand that we have an affordable housing crisis in our city and we need to really drive the supply of housing, but we need to do it in this way that balances the quality of life for our neighbors.

And although I won't be serving on the parks committee, I think the biggest opportunity for tree canopy is parks.

Okay, Mr. Strand.

Yeah, I think trees are incredibly important for our climate impacts, for the clean air, for the shade, to mitigate the heat.

I'd also like to throw in the snowpack for City Light as being important.

That is a...

committee that the position eight would sit on.

Land use I think is obvious for the tree canopy discussion, but I think there's more we can do with our public spaces like libraries and transportation.

I know for crime prevention and public safety we talk about open sight lines and trimming vegetation, but it always is maintaining those big old trees.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The timer's going, but we'll keep it about a minute, Ms. Siguiano.

Okay.

As someone whose house stays cool in the summer because I'm surrounded by three really large trees that don't make it fun for us to clean our gutters, I do clearly understand, though, how tree canopy can really benefit when heat increases, and we have a lot of those 100-degree days.

And so that has direct correlation when we think of city light and, like I stated earlier, the impacts to our power grid.

Clearly tree canopy, when I think about that, I go back to education roots.

And so that has a lot of connection to education and libraries and human services.

I think of my own daughter who is learning about oxygen and trees and how we get clean air and how do we build that in the youth so that way we can have citizens who are coming up and they understand the value and they understand that if we are doing like what Council Member Hollingsworth is if we increase tree canopy to 30%, how is that going to change their life, you know, in 20 years?

Some of the other candidates up here also talked about land use, Department of Transportation and Housing, and how do we increase tree canopy while also not creating barriers to...

Sorry.

How can we increase tree canopy but not create barriers when it comes to transportation or housing developments or like Captain Strand mentioned is sight lines too.

And so it's a really fine balance that we have to try and figure out.

Thank you, Mr. Tai.

Thank you.

You know, I recently came back from NYC, New York City, and it's cold there, and it's cold here.

The difference is, I found fresh air.

I feel so much more refreshed in coming back here, and it's because of the trees.

and give you that, you know, first-hand testimony.

But for me, tree canopy is so important in our sustainability because, you know, trees provide fresh oxygens and clean the air itself.

It's just a fantastic venue to do that.

On the sideline, we're talking about environmental safety for that, but it's also improving, it helps support young people and old people alike, so they can go outside and be mobile and improving their physical and mental health.

That is incredibly important, having treated canopy as a great way to sustain and providing ways for them to do that.

It's also around, it's a great way to educate the public and the next generations about sustainability.

Trees are immediate.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Ms. Wu.

So yes, I agree with everybody.

I live in a tree desert, a heat island in Beacon Hill because of redlining and segregation.

And so I think first and foremost, have sustainability committee meetings.

I heard like last year, they only met twice.

But also make sure we bring in the Urban Forestry Commission to make sure they inform us in all of our ordinances and everything going forward.

I heard that there's about nine forestry divisions in the city.

How do we unite them?

Because they all act in silos.

How do we...

combine resources together to inform all decisions.

I'm not an expert, but I know there are many people who love trees and have been focusing this on their entire lives and in their professions.

How do you bring people in to inform us on decisions going forward in every committee?

All right.

Well, thank you very much.

And with the timer going off, I just think it's, you know, there's so many topics out there.

I just picked one, but you can see how your committee assignments, these angles play out through all the topics that we face.

And we're just using that one as an example for the committee assignments and the idea of having that citywide look as opposed to a district look.

So thank you very much.

I probably went over a little bit, but...

Council President?

I'll make up for it.

So, go ahead.

Thank you very much for coming today, and thank you, colleagues, for such great questions.

I'm going to jettison the one question that I was going to ask and ask everybody to answer because we've got less than 10 minutes, and that was simply, As the chair of economic development, I was going to ask, what do you think is the biggest problem facing neighborhood business districts and individual small businesses today, and what's the solution?

And you are spared answering that because several of my colleagues already asked about about public safety and economic development, I think the two are inextricably linked and indeed rely on each other.

So that's what I was going to ask.

I will, however, ask this really short question before closing.

This is my, and I'm going to ask it in a way that you will be asked to raise your hand if you agree or if you don't agree, and I'll take that in sequence.

Okay.

Last year on June 6th, Council voted five to four against adopting Council Bill 120586 to align our Seattle Municipal Code with the new state law making the possession and public use of illegal drugs a gross misdemeanor.

Please raise your hand if you would have voted yes.

Thank you very much.

Please raise your hand if you would have voted no.

Okay.

Thank you very much for answering that question.

I will not take any more time.

You can turn off my time there.

Thank you so much.

So I believe that we have reached the end of our agenda and that we don't have any additional business.

And I wanted to provide enough opportunity for people to take a break.

Seattle Channel to change.

the reels, whatever they do to get us ready for our council briefing.

So I will note that I really appreciate Council Member Saka's comment about resetting the culture on council.

And I do think that we have demonstrated today and leading up to today and on the brink of this really important decision tomorrow that we are in fact doing that.

And while there has been mention of the noise out there in the media and the sort of guilt by manufactured association around certain candidates, et cetera, et cetera, I really trust my colleagues to rise above that noise.

In fact, most of you, everybody except for me, was on the campaign trail.

So you're pretty much used to that and you can sort of put it to one side and take in all the information that you received from the candidate's answers today, everything that they wrote in their letters, your personal conversations, et cetera.

I trust you to make a choice based on the merits of what folks have said and your individual conversations with them.

So thank you very much.

I'm not concerned.

So our next regularly scheduled meeting is, our next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be held tomorrow, January 23rd at 2 p.m.

And that's when city council is scheduled to vote and appoint a finalist for position eight.

And I will say that in my president's report at today's briefing, as is the normal procedure, I will talk a little bit about how that vote will go down.

So tune in after two o'clock today.

And if there is no further issue or comment, we are adjourned.

It is 1255.