Candidates for the open Position 9 citywide seat on the Seattle City Council talked homelessness, climate change, and policing in a forum hosted by the 43rd District Democrats Thursday evening as the campaigns race with two months until the primary.
Council President Lorena González’s bid for mayor has opened up this citywide seat.
One of those candidates, Brianna Thomas, has worked in González’s office since 2015 and ran for council that year to represent West Seattle and Delridge before placing fourth in the primary with about 10% of the vote.
Nikkita Oliver, who has been a fixture in the push to defund the police department and ran for mayor in 2017, might be the candidate looking to most radically upend the status quo.
Sara Nelson, the co-owner of Fremont Brewing who ran for a citywide council seat in 2017 but finished third in that primary, would likely be a more moderate voice on the council. She has previously voiced opposition to the JumpStart tax on big businesses passed last year and defunding the police.
The only candidate to have never run for public office before who participated in Thursday’s forum was Corey Eichner, a Seattle high school administrator.
Oliver, whose pronouns are they/them, called for an end to sweeps of homeless encampments and for “radical accessibility” in Seattle parks, which would include mental health support, access to housing, handwashing and shower stations, and sewage and trash support.
They also posed several short-term solutions to the city’s homelessness crisis, including tiny houses and hotels as temporary shelter, instead of “traumatizing” congregate shelters.
Oliver
Nelson
“It’s much bigger than just homelessness,” said Oliver, who noted their own experience sleeping in their car in college. “We literally have people teetering on the edge of being pushed into homelessness, so we need to both stop people from being pushed into it and get people who want to come inside housed.” Oliver called more progressive taxation to pay for social housing.
Thomas similarly called for an expansion of tiny houses and hotel shelter and said there should be a focus on repayment plans for renters after the eviction moratorium is lifted as they look to pay back built up rent costs. She also touted the council’s right-to-counsel legislation to get evicted tenants lawyers free of cost and noted support for a Councilmember Kshama Sawant-pushed proposal to prohibit evictions of school children, their families, and educators during the school year.
Thomas also said “what we have seen in the last couple of years from the Durkan administration is a fiscally and racially-motivated bias against working people and people of color. Real talk.”
Nelson, who missed the first 40 minutes of the hour-long forum, said the current council’s approach to homelessness has been going the wrong way.
“When I say wrong direction, I’m talking about ineffective solutions, lack of political will to do something different so that we don’t keep going down the path that we’re on,” she said.
Thomas
Eichner
Eichner said the city needs rapid rehousing options for unsheltered people with no preconditions so there are fewer barriers to finding housing.
He also said he supports “reallocation” of some of the Seattle Police Department budget, but not necessarily the 50% activists have pushed for.
“We should be looking to utilize our funds to invest into providing supports first and foremost that serves the basic needs of our citizens,” Eichner said. “When conflict arises, we should be looking for restoration and not punitive consequences.” He also wants to decriminalize some behaviors that could be resolved through community-based interventions.
Oliver, who noted they are an “abolitionist,” came out most stridently for defunding the police. Thomas said she didn’t have a specific number for defunding, but said “I do absolutely believe in divesting from that system and investing in community-based solutions.” She added the city needs to “get out from under the consent decree.”
On climate, Nelson said the city needs to engage the private sector to eliminate carbon emissions and argued, as a small business owner, she is the best candidate to do so. Oliver pushed for green apprenticeships, environmentally-friendly housing, and a municipal bank to break away from institutions that are invested in fossil fuels.
Thomas noted the disproportionate impact climate change has had on communities of color.
“I think making sure that the investments that we do make and the action that we do take is based in the communities that have already been most impacted by a failure to address the problem,” she said.
Oliver leads the fundraising race handily, bringing in over $185,000 since launching their campaign in March, according to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission. Nelson has raised more than $120,000; Thomas $68,000; and Eichner $8,000.
Nelson was the only candidate in attendance Thursday who is not participating in the Democracy Voucher program. Oliver has collected the maximum vouchers for the primary election, which is set to take place Aug. 3.
The full forum can be viewed here.
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I just don’t understand the people who want to defund our police ?? Like any group of people in real everyday lie we have bad cops And we have good cops . Some of the same people complaining also make me wonder if they got a crime committed against them would be some of the first ones to want the cops to come help them . And then if the cops were defunded then they would say where’s the cops ? Oh don’t you remember you defunded them .
Here’s a prime example: Lisa Herbold District 1 she has actually called the police on multiple occasions.
https://nypost.com/2020/12/16/seattle-politician-who-defunded-the-police-called-911/
The “defund” crowd are extremists and do not allow for any nuanced, complex thinking or discussion.
Any candidate that uses this language is an automatic NO from me.
The people who want to defund the police that wanted to report a crime would report the crime to the relevant service that didn’t employ a bunch of racist murders that drive around in cars with guns all day for no reason.
It might be interesting for you to read the editorial in the Seattle Times today, written by DeVitta Briscoe. She lost a son to violence and her brother Che Taylor was killed by the police. She states, “There’s no question that policing must change. Yet, I see a bigger picture of the violence harming Black and brown people, especially youth, and I am not convinced that abolishing police is the most effective strategy to help those impacted every day by crime and policing.” She makes some excellent points.
“ Sara Nelson, the co-owner of Fremont Brewing who ran for a citywide council seat in 2017 but finished third in that primary, would likely be a more moderate voice on the council.”
It looks like you misspelled “conservative”.
Against raising the minimum wage, against more progressive taxation, against paid sick leave, pro-police, businesses should dictate environmental policy, and no concrete solutions for homelessness other than more sweeps – those are all conservative positions.
When all your views are pro-business and anti-poor you are not a moderate, regardless of what party you run under and what you call yourself.
Hey A.J. Can you give me an example of a moderate politician in Seattle? If not Sara Nelson, then who?
Sara Nelson is not a moderate, she’s a business-focused conservative. She is against raising the minimum wage along with against ignoring changes to our regressive tax system that favors the wealthy. That’s not moderate, that’s a right-winger.
Seattle is not a centrist city, we are leftist. We are a progressive city in an equally progressive region of the country. Big business politicians are anathema to our way of life. When you come an hour late to a chance for you to speak to the public you want to represent that shows me how you value people. A business owner who wants to sweep the homeless, wants to let represent the rich, wants to maintain the status quo of an oppressive tax system against the middle/lower classes, and can’t be bothered to show up on time. If that doesn’t show you the text book example of a right-wing elitist you’re watching too much Fox News.
On top of Sara Nelson being a well known alcoholic struggling with addiction. She’s been pretty clear about her times in rehab. I’m not inclined to take that risk.
I think the author meant “more moderate” in the sense of “less radical”.
Exactly, aka MAGAt who doesn’t care about anything that doesn’t benefit himself/herself financially.
I wouldn’t call Nelson a moderate either. Centrist, maybe. The practical difference between the two is that a “moderate” takes no firm ideological positions and seeks common ground on virtually every issue — compromise is their default political instinct. A “centrist” takes firm ideological positions but has an inconsistent ideological orientation overall. (Joe Biden was a pretty hard-assed centrist for most of his political career, although he ran for president as a moderate and now governs as mildly progressive.) A supporter of LGBTQ equality who also opposes a higher minimum wage and progressive taxation might well qualify as a centrist, but is not a moderate.
Mmmm. Let’s see. Shall we review the current makeup of the City Council. There’s Left. Lefter. Leftist. Lefty. Even More Left. Left of Left. Left Over. Left of That. And Socialist. I’m thinking that Sara Nelson, the only candidate that would be considered a moderate in this race, seems like a pretty good person to actually represent those moderate folks like me who live here in Seattle. And believe me, I’m 300 miles left of a Republican.
I just wanted to mention that Nikita Oliver finished a distant third in the primary when she ran for mayor in 2017. That was, of course, a citywide race, just as this council race is. I mention this because you pointed out that candidates Thomas and Nelson finished third in their previous Council races. If you are going to mention the results of previous failed attempts to secure citywide office you should do so for all the candidates. Fairness don’t you know.
Agreed, well said.
Anyone else assume that the candidates who push for a Municipal Bank have no idea how a bank works?
They don’t have to. You want to start a bank, you hire people who know how banks work, same as everything else. There’s no reason why a bank can’t be publicly owned. South Dakota has one. The Post Office ran one for decades until the 1960s.
No
Unwillingness to enforce existing laws for drug use/possession, property crimes, trespassing and other low-level criminal behavior has now blossomed into the morass that Seattle now finds itself in. It’s all about proactively enforcing laws that lawmakers and citizens had created many generations ago. Those laws were created to maintain a civil society, where it’s safe to go outside, enjoy the park, appreciate the beauty of your city.
Lack of willingness to enforce law creates the homelessness. Law enforcement require a major boosting of their budget to now clean up the mess that previous hand-cuffing and defunding of the police has created. Politicians created this mess. They need to let law enforcement do its job and provide funds for that purpose.
Heads up to writer Jake Goldstein-Street and everyone on here. I live on Capitol Hill, in the 43rd, am a candidate for this position and was never even invited to participate in this forum. That tells you a lot about how our entire system of politics and governance in Seattle is flawed. This is the first forum I haven’t been invited to since I filed to run. The one in the district I’ve called home for well over a decade. Those who participated didn’t get to hear my specific, bold, practical proposals (something most candidates seem rather short on) that provide long-term solutions through truly systemic change.
You can get an overview of my platform on my temporary campaign website xtiangunther.com (we’re developing a deeper website that’ll replace it with more specifics).
Anyone living on the hill for many years knows things have gone downhill, gotten much more expensive, less-safe, dirtier, more vandalized/graffiti’d than any time indecent history. Streets are falling apart and many of our unhoused have no reason to be optimistic that they’ll have permanent shelter with dignity any time soon. Operating a business on Capitol Hill has become more and more challenging and, for many, impossible -pandemic or no.
Seattle is NOT dying. But, s/he/they is more than a bit battered. Seattle needs real practical, bold, adult-in-the-room fixes. I bring those. And, I promise I will not be mired in dogma or political alliances. I have no grand political aspirations. Just, to fix what is broken with a wealth of knowledge and experience, and the effectiveness, maturity and conviction lacking in these parts lately. But, I have to get elected.
Suffice to say, I hope Capitol Hill Seattle blog will offer me equal time here, to air my solutions and to explain some of the dysfunction we are mired in.
PS- I invited this forum’s moderator -Erica Barnett- to be in touch with me days ago, albeit unrelated to this particular forum (because I had no idea it was happening!). Her reply? Crickets. I wonder if she even mentioned that I appeared to be missing from the forum?
Lordy. Where do I start re: the mountain of dysfunction I’ve witnessed in the entire process since I hopped into the fray a month ago?! If policy, procedure and execution of the same function as poorly as the way elections are run around here (not the voting itself -that, part -thankfully- we do very well -just, everything else), no wonder Seattle is mired in crud right now, even amidst its greatest boom in history.
Mr. Gunther,
While I can’t pretend to be on top of local electoral politics at every moment of the day, and I don’t check the SEEC website on a seemingly hourly basis as do some of my nerdier friends, this comment is the first I’ve heard of you. It could be that the organizers made a choice to invite those candidates who are most recognized at this stage, or who have reached a certain minimum fundraising threshold, or some other threshhold they deem important for electoral viability.
This forum was hosted by the 43rd Democrats, not CHS Blog, as noted in the post. Thus, perhaps your concern is better directed toward the 43rd Dems, or they would help you familiarize your campaign with how they decide who is included in candidate forums.
For the record, though, had CHS Blog hosted this forum, please note that the “equal time” principal applies only to broadcast entities licensed by the FCC. TV and radio stations are required to be licensed by the FCC. Local news blogs are not.
Greetings mixtefeelings
First, please take the following for what it is: a clarification, an explanation, an addressing of your post and a provision of information. That is all…
I never cited any rules about equal time. Good journalist rules dictate that if you are giving equal time to an entire field of candidates participating in a candidate forum in a story and one of those candidates was unfairly left out, it bears mention, at bare minimum. As it stands, I’ve heard nothing from CHS Seattle Blog in the last 36 or so hours. I never faulted them. Why would I? I merely requested equal time and suggested it was only fair to grant me that.
Second, I was not purposefully omitted for any reason. Of course my campaign reached out to the 43rd Legislative Democrats as soon as we found out about the oversight. My noninvolvement had everything to do with their flawed and erroneous management of their outreach and their use of an absurdly illogical method of inviting candidate involvement BEFORE filing week. Think about that last bit.
This is hardly my first rodeo. I’ve been involved in campaigning in two other states, in several large cities. The truth is, Seattle’s system of registering and reporting, as well as endorsement-seeking is by far the most onerous and it’s expensive, too. Ironic. Perhaps the most progressive big city in the USA has a system far more out of step with the spirit of participatory democracy than what I experienced in Portland, NYC and Albany, NY. Even though we have a democracy voucher system!
OK, you haven’t heard of me. Had you heard of Corey Eichner before this forum? I’m not a city hall insider and I didn’t come to Seattle 15 years ago to get into politics. Au contraire. However, that should not invalidate or discourage ANYONE from getting a fair shot after clearing their life schedule and spending good money to serve.No wonder so many don’t bother! There are plenty of candidates for a multitude of offices throughout the USA who hit the political stage as newcomers and are afforded equal time until and/or unless their campaigns falter. Including some rather bizarre ones.
And, don’t even get me started on the money. We all want clean, fair elections but we default to bank accounts. To their credit, I doubt money had anything to do with why I never got an invite. Foolishness? Well, that’s another story.
The facts is that this is the ONLY time I’ve run into a situation like this. Ever. Anywhere. Funny, everyone else -including far less political organizations than the 43rd LDs- seems to have found our campaign just fine. Except for them. Because of their lame-brained, absurd methodology.
While the SEEC website pages suck (and are completely unknown to the average citizen), the folks who host these events know where to look and they look often. It’s not like we are hiding. We have a website (xtiangunther.com), social media and we’re registered with the city, county and state.
If Seattleites want new voices and fresh solutions to the issues that only grow worse (homelessness, police/public safety, adequate restroom and hygiene facilities, affordability, displacement, equity, inclusion), they must insist on allowing those voices to be heard. NONE of my proposals are being discussed by anyone else, proposals that experts such as retired police chiefs and housing and planning confirm are refreshingly on the right track.
Don’t you want to hear logical plans for how we can finally address big issues that plague us? Or do we just want to bemoan the state of everything in perpetuity?
Is everyone on here just complaining to vent, to whine and moan? Or, do posters want solutions? I think they do. I’ve worked on policy aplenty, with mayors, councillors and advocacy groups. I’ve won plenty of endorsements in other campaigns. Give me a little credit. I’m not some errant fool who’s whining because he dropped the ball. I didn’t. However, I’m finding, disappointingly, lots of unnecessary walls, obstacles, inappropriate alliances, senseless inefficiencies and nonsensical bureaucracy where the opposite would exist in a fairer process.
People think of machine politics when they think of Chicago or Albany or NYC. Not Seattle. However, this pig with lipstick leaves me unimpressed and wondering.
The Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics, which I hope we can reasonably agree is our best guide to good journalism practices, makes no such “rule” about offering equal time. It is likely that you have the concept of “equal time” tethered to elections in your mind because of the FCC licensing requirement I previously noted. It’s simply not a thing. It’s especially not a thing on a neighborhood blog run more or less by a single individual who has no more or fewer hours in their day than any other individual.
This is not your first campaign rodeo, yet you are an outsider? Are you the same Christian Gunther on design review and who works in the real estate industry here? Personally I have a hard time viewing someone with that kind of experience as a political outsider. And if all your campaign experience and your industry experience haven’t taught you how to get your ideas circulated before you run for office? I don’t know how to assess that.
Ok, I don’t have the time to correct your litany of inaccuracies, falsehoods and wrong conclusions. Suffice to say:
a) anyone can Google or Bing search. That does not mean they come up with an accurate account of anything, especially if they are not a great researcher and analyst
b) I NEVER said “outsider”. YOU did. But, for the record, I am no City Hall insider. You obviously have no idea about the chasm between participating as a citizen and being an entrenched ‘player’ in Seattle politics.
c) I am certainly not employed by the Real Estate industry here, nor am I on any design review board. I participate in our democratic process, offer feedback and occasionally consult.
d) I never called out CHS Seattle, Justin or anyone associated with this blog. Rather, I called attention to and asked for equal time -in the interest of fairness- something you obviously don’t value. And that is your right, I just vehemently disagree.
Let’s just let this lie already, shall we? You’ve provided more than enough misinformation for one post! Peace.
Ah, my mistake to take “not an insider” and stretch its meaning to “outsider.”
FWIW, I participate now and then as a citizen in city politics and keenly feel the disparity between those like me and entrenched connected players.
The reason I asked if you were the same Gunther….is because I wasn’t sure. Because all I did was a quick goggle (sic) search. Because as much as, I admit, I’m getting a bit of a kick out of checking back in these comments, I have work and stuff to do so I’m not feeling up to assembling a dossier on you. Sorry.
Lastly, you wrote in one comment above: “I hope Capitol Hill Seattle blog will offer me equal time here, to air my solutions …”
Good luck!
P.S. Yes, I had heard of Corey Eichner before the forum. Only about two weeks ago, maybe. But, yes.