The South Seattle Emerald asks readers a question each week via social media and our newsletter. This week we wanted to know: What Are You Looking For in a District 2 Seattle City Council Candidate?
"1. Free mass transit. 2. Progressive tax on big corporations to fund affordable housing. 3. Municipal broadband. 4. Repurpose the new youth jail into a community space. 5. Move council elections to only even years to maximize turnout."
—Brett Hamil, Mount Baker (District 2)
"Reduce property crime, law enforcement, less socialism"
—Ethan Freudenburg, South Beacon Hill (District 2)
"Will you commit to ending the racist, classist, climate change denialist single family zoning citywide, as Minneapolis has recently done?"
—Chase Cross, Squire Park (District 3)
"I would really like the homeless epidemic to have some sort of resolution. What we have been doing the past decade has only gotten worse"
—Devereux Riddell, District 2
"Solutions for homelessness, mental health and drug addiction treatment. The city is dirty and it needs to be cleaned up."
—Mickey Loudon, Rainier Valley, Othello (District 2)
I live in Capitol Hill (District 3), but spend a significant chunk of my life working and organizing in District 2, because my office is located near Rainier Beach and one of the community organizations I am connected to (Got Green) is based in South Beacon Hill. As a community organizer, there has been much community conversation about what an ideal District 2 candidate should lift up to "earn" the community's vote. Though my vote won't be in District 2, one major thing I personally would like to see is a comprehensive plan to combat displacement in the district, increase home ownership opportunities, and build deeply affordable (0 to 30 percent AMI) housing. Gentrification has run rampant in District 3 and other areas of the city and now is creeping down Rainier Valley into District 2. The constituents of District 2, many of whom I call friends, deserve a fleshed out plan to keep them in their homes and a champion who is willing to work hard to make that plan a reality. Though I work in the 501c3 world and cannot officially endorse candidates through any of my organizations, I personally will beat the drum for the candidate who makes fighting displacement their No. 1 agenda item.
—E.N. West, lives Capitol Hill (District 3)
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📸 Featured Image: A voter drop box near the Rainier Beach Community Center. (Photo: Aaron Burkhalter)