Prioritizing Public Safety

Public safety should and will be my number one priority. Recently many of us have seen troubling images and news reports regarding our Seattle police department. The vast majority of our police officers do an outstanding job in light of the incredible risk they take on each day. We have to be careful not to paint our police force with a broad brush. But at the same time these images are not going away and we need to address them. We need to stand with our police force to ensure that each member is living up to the values that our police department expects and our community deserves. Over the next few weeks I will be outlining my proposal for improving this situation. It’s clear we need stronger participation from the council on police issues.

Keeping Seattle As The Economic Engine Of The Pacific Northwest

Our City competes with other cities in the Puget Sound, other cities around the country and industrial hubs around the world. We need to ensure our city has a comprehensive plan to ensure this is the best place to work and do business. This means streamlining processes, promoting economic development and working with our local and regional businesses to make government work for them.

Promoting A City-Wide Transportation System

One of the first votes I would like to take as a City Councilmember is putting a city-wide transportation proposal on the ballot. This proposal needs to connect our neighborhoods to our regional light-rail system, neighborhoods to neighborhoods and give people the choice of taking transit over sitting in their car.

Protecting Taxpayers With Clear City Contracts

Too many of our city decisions are turning into political footballs. Citizens should have a clear understanding of what they’re paying for and what they’re getting. We need transparent city contracts that spell out clearly the responsibility of our city taxpayers for the cost of new government projects and services. We should negotiate proactively and fairly with other regional governments so city taxpayers are protected. I will take my background in the city’s transportation department and public works contracting to help our city council tighten up its city contracting.