Seattle City Council candidates address major issues ahead of primary election

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SEATTLE – Voters will decide the future direction of Seattle in the upcoming August 3 primaries. The ninth position on the Seattle City Council will be vacated when Council President Lorena Gonzalez enters the race for mayor.

The three top contenders in the race have their own approaches to key issues such as homelessness, policing, local business and the council’s political principles.

Meet the candidates for position 9 on the Seattle City Council

Lawyer and community organizer Nikkita Oliver wants Seattle to be the progressive city people across the country think it is.

Candidate Brianna Thomas, the President’s chief of staff who ran for the city council in 2015, says she is the best person to bridge disparate ideologies.

The third candidate is co-owner of Fremont Brewing and councilor Sara Nelson, who also ran for a seat on the council in 2017.

“I’m the best person for the job because I offer pragmatic, experienced leadership,” said Nelson.

Homelessness crisis

When addressing the growing homelessness crisis, Oliver emphasized that communities of color are disproportionately affected.

“When I think about it, we have been in a state of emergency for homelessness since 2015,” they said. “We had a housing affordability crisis that has worsened. And we see that black indigenous color communities have the most exacerbated crisis. “

Oliver stressed that Seattle must develop short-term strategies to ensure people’s safety and health before the city can build affordable housing.

Nelson said she would look to other cities that have dealt with the issue.

“I would create a model that works in other cities. Bakersfield. San Diego are two examples,” Nelson said. “We don’t have to recreate the will, we need the political will to do something else.”

“Our attitude, not my backyard, has resulted in homelessness in every backyard,” said Thomas. “And our parks, our sidewalks, and our schools. We’re making sure we get away from that attitude because I think people are ready to go along with it. “

Police reform

The police reform also turned out to be a divisive issue among the top candidates.

“I believe that the necessary strategy is to part with a failed public safety system and invest in a system that works,” said Oliver.

“I believe the wrong way to compensate the police with an arbitrary number out of nowhere. We need good police, not necessarily less,” said Nelson.

“What we have to do is take a look at how we use the police. Not everything has to be answered with a gun and a badge. There are many ways for community-based responses to shorten response times, “said Candidate Brianna Thomas.

Community opinion of the Council’s policies has fluctuated – some question the actions of leaders on behalf of voters.

Nelson claimed that the city has become deaf to the spectrum of political opinions of Seattle residents, but Thomas sees it differently.

“I think the city council is a body elected by the city of Seattle,” said Thomas. “If this policy is liberal, that was clearly the will of the voters who got these people there.”

The primary votes must be postmarked by Tuesday, August 3, and the election will determine the two best candidates who will run for the November parliamentary elections.

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