What's up, South End?
This week marks the 100th day in office for some of our newly elected politicians.
To mark the occasion, we ran stories this week on the new City Hall folks who have the most impact on our neck of the woods. This coverage included contributor Connor Nash’s write-up on Mayor Katie Wilson’s first 100 days and the supporters who celebrated with a “Communities Not Cameras” rally — if “supporters” means “protesters” and “celebrated” means “criticized her decision to keep the majority of the city’s surveillance technology online.”
Connor also caught up with the South End’s new city councilmember, Eddie Lin, for an update on Lin’s first 138 days. Connor’s article included an honorable mention of citywide Councilmember Dionne Foster, but unfortunately, the timing didn’t work for a formal interview with Foster, who’s a District 2 resident.
But it’s all good. We’re a team here in the Emerald newsroom, so I reached out to Foster to conduct the check-in, which means all of you — The Roundup family — will get first dibs on my sit-down with Foster.
I know that for some people in our community, local politicians can feel like nameless, faceless figures who disappear into City Hall and don’t have a tangible connection to the communities they serve. But that’s not the case here. We know it’s important to maintain a connection to the electeds and keep an eye on what they’re up to. We will continue to maintain a relationship with our representatives so that all of you can always stay up to date on what’s going on.
I chatted with Councilmember Foster about her first 100 days in office, what she’s accomplished, what she’s working on for the future, and, in true Emerald fashion, I asked about the last South End restaurant she ate at (we have to make sure she’s still kicking it in the neighborhood).
The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
MD: A lot of people are going to associate you with the South End, but, to be fair, you’re officially the citywide seat. How do you balance being viewed as a South End candidate with your true duties, which are citywide, while knowing that our community will have expectations of you that we may not have had for your predecessor?
DF: I love the way you framed that, and I want to deliver on those expectations. Part of the way I think about being citywide is that there’s a bit of an equity lens to how to think about it. So, I know that not only does D2 have expectations of me, but D2 has things that it needs and deserves. For example, in these first however many days it’s been, we’ve sent some letters to our federal representatives supporting increased money to come around the light rail stations for pedestrian improvements. Because we know that’s a priority. And that’s got to be a priority for D2. If you’re looking across the city — and we just had a briefing yesterday on Vision Zero — and if you think about traffic accidents or traffic fatalities, two of the most dangerous streets in the city are in D2. That’s MLK and Rainier. So, it’s my job to work on making those improvements and being a voice to say, “This is where we need partnership.”
One of the first community things we did was sitting down with folks at Rainier Beach Action Coalition, and they walked us through a slide deck around the station over there and said, “This is the plan that we were promised 20 years ago, and it still hasn’t been delivered.” So, with my team, which has been working collaboratively with Councilmember Eddie Lin’s team, we’re working on follow-ups for that.
When we’re looking at any piece of legislation that comes in front of us, we’re looking at those questions: Where does this impact the neighborhoods where economic development and safety have been under-delivered?
MD: Anybody who’s followed Seattle politics for the past decade or so knows that City Council sometimes will have these little factions within it. For you stepping in fresh, how has it been building relationships with the other councilmembers?
DF: It’s been overwhelmingly positive. To give you some examples, the first thing that I did in office was work on a social housing bill. It’s just to get the interlocal agreement, to get the money from the city over into the social housing developer. I’m the chair of housing. Councilmember Dan Strauss is the chair of finance. We co-sponsored that together.
For the library levy I worked on — investments in English as a second language programs and multilingual play and learn programs for kids — Councilmember Debora Juarez co-sponsored that with me. That’s going to deliver on multi-language programs in Lake City. It’s also going to keep some of the programs that are already existing in South Seattle safe. We have them in Rainier Beach, Beacon Hill, and South Park.
Councilmembers Lin, Strauss, Joy Hollingsworth, and Alexis Mercedes Rinck and I have worked on a couple of things together, so I would say it’s been very collaborative so far.
MD: Moving forward, what are some things you hope to work on?
DF: We’re going to get the implementation plan, the Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy, which voters passed last year, and one of our priorities is to look at expansion for the Teen Late Night program. I [recently] got a chance to go to the Teen Late Night program over at the Rainier Beach Community Center alongside Councilmember Lin, and it was great. There were so many young people there, and they were so generous in sharing their time and their experience with us. I want to work on ensuring that program is fully supported.
As I mentioned, we moved forward this funding for libraries to help make sure that the English for Speakers of Other Languages programs would be stable. They had funding from a federal grant, and that grant would end in two years. So, we moved to an amendment that keeps that funding supported over the next seven years. I think that’s really important when we think about the diversity of communities in the South End and people who are accessing services. I want to make sure that funding continues.
In the longer term, I’ll go back to traffic safety in South Seattle. When I think about being able to look back four years from now, I want us to have those improvements around the stations. That’s really important.
MD: Bonus question for you. I won’t ask your favorite, but what was the last restaurant you ate at in the South End?
DF: I ate at Bang Bang last weekend. But you know where my new spot is? It’s Billiard Hoang. You have your meal, then you go across the restaurant and you play pool. We love it. The food is good. And the vibes are good.
Mayor Katie Wilson has now been in office for 100 days. I know y’all are all wondering the same thing: How’s it going so far?
I’ll give you a clue … contributor Connor Nash attended an event hosted by some community members and people representing organizations on the political left. They titled the rally “Communities Not Cameras.”
Connor has all the tea on the rally and what led up to it in his report. If you want the inside scoop on the new mayor’s current predicament, you should definitely check out Connor’s article.
The headlines, analysis, conversations, and general presence of immigration have been front and center in our country for what feels like forever. And it ramped up with President Trump deploying ICE into cities across the country.
I’m phrasing all this in this way because sometimes scrolling social media, watching the news, and conversing with friends and family can make this topic, which is extremely important, blend into political mush.
But let me remind you: We’re talking about real people. These are our neighbors. Our friends. This is us.
The amazing Lola E. Peters penned a column that humanizes immigration by telling a real story about a real family (and yes, the subject lives in the South End) and how they’ve been impacted by the politics of immigration over generations.
A library is more than just a place to get books. This is a place for internet access, which means applying for jobs or contacting family. This is a place for community events. A free place to host meetings.
Public libraries are a community hub, and the Seattle City Council believes they need our support.
Connor Nash reports that a vote is headed our way that will decide on critical funding for libraries, including our Columbia City Branch.
Be sure to read Connor’s article, which includes both sides of the funding argument, and decide for yourself.
This is an abbreviated version of The Roundup newsletter. To get the entire newsletter, including a weekly list of events to check out and my shout-out to South End Gems, subscribe here. See you next week!
Mike Davis is the newsletter editor and Voices editor at the South Seattle Emerald. Born and raised in Seattle's South End, Mike is a longtime journalist who's covered everything from arts and culture to sports to politics.
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