Quiz: You vs. the candidates | Election Guide 2017

Yes

As U.S. Attorney, I crafted the consent decree that led to reforms in the Seattle Police Department, which is strengthening our civilian-led accountability system with ongoing community oversight, transparency, and embedded processes for continual improvement, and I agree with the move to include civilian investigators in the Office of Police Accountability.

Yes

Yes, we need adequate citizen oversight of police, deeper anti-bias training, more integrated community policing and a focus on restorative justice and alternatives to incarceration.

No

While I support community oversight and the expanded role of the [Community Police Commission] in holding the police department accountable, the ultimate authority, responsibility, and accountability for the hiring and firing of a police chief — as with any department head in the city - should rest with the Mayor.

No

The responsibility and authority to hire or fire a police chief is the mayor’s, but as mayor I would actively consult with and involve the Community Police Commission.

No

There should be more transparency, and there are ways to incorporate public interest into negotiations but completely opening union negotiation to the public will undermine working people’s power and could open the door to right-to-work efforts by groups like the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

No

The mayor must be accountable and responsible for the management of our police force and as mayor I will assertively and transparently represent the interests of the public in contract negotiations without undermining the rights of public sector union members to collectively bargain.

Maybe

We must continue examining whether the deployment of body-worn cameras strikes the balance between police accountability and law enforcement aims with a critical need to protect victims, minors, vulnerable communities, informants, and others with reasonable expectations of privacy.

No

The State Public Disclosure Act prevents the city from fully protecting the identities of victims or innocent bystanders.

No

Recognizing the need to constantly examine whether the implementation is working adequately to address privacy concerns, we need to continue to fully deploy this critical tool for accountability.

Maybe

I agree with the Seattle City Council’s pursuit of greater transparency by equipping police officers with body cams, however, we must also be careful to protect the privacy of victims, young people, and undocumented residents via collaboration with the state to ensure we have the infrastructure to address unintended privacy consequences.

No

I disagree with my opponent who has said she supports an ordinance guaranteeing a right to shelter — while I believe housing is a human right, an ordinance would divert millions of dollars in scarce resources to warehousing people experiencing homelessness in sometimes degrading shelters rather than providing people the housing they need to permanently exit homelessness.

Maybe

As I said weeks ago, we should consider housing as a fundamental human right, like access to food and water, and our city should be doing everything possible to shelter homeless folks.

No

I absolutely and unequivocally reject policies that criminalize homelessness, but a better approach to moving people experiencing homelessness into more stable housing would be expanding and improving interventions for people living in cars and RVs, which I’ve proposed a detailed plan to address.

Yes

People living in vehicles account for more than 40% of the homeless population in Seattle, and I am encouraged by Councilmember O’Brien's leadership to find the best ways to connect vehicle residents with the services and outreach they need while also ensuring that Seattle's traffic and public safety laws are being followed.

Maybe

With living conditions often unhealthy and unsafe, unsanctioned encampments are not a humane solution for people experiencing homelessness, which is why the City needs to connect people who are currently living in encampments with services, and provide them with long-term solutions whether that is mental health treatment, treatment for substance abuse or chemical dependency, or access to low-barrier shelters as they transition into long-term stable housing; and before moving anyone, we need to do significant outreach to connect people with services, offer people an alternative place for shelter, and ensure that they are able to maintain their possessions.

No

Unlike my opponent, I oppose the sweeps of homeless encampments and I would stop the sweeps immediately if I were elected mayor while expanding low-barrier shelters and tiny house villages to give homeless folks a way to come inside.

No

While our growth requires that every part of the city increase in density, a one-size-fits-all approach will not be successful in how we handle growth in each of our diverse neighborhoods - there are a number of ways to add more density in single-family neighborhoods including more townhomes, mother-in-laws, and ADUs/DADUs.

Yes

I believe altering our zoning code to legalize duplexes, backyard cottages, rowhouses, and congregate housing in single family residential neighborhoods is an important part of building enough housing for all the folks moving here while working with the community to decide where and how.

Yes

Rent stabilization is one tool, and I’ve proposed a rent voucher program to provide immediate support to keep families and individuals in their homes, which would not need approval by Olympia.

Yes

As mayor I would work with our delegation in Olympia to lift the ban on rent stabilization and adapt best practices from other cities, as this could be an effective method to keep rents affordable.

No

My opponent said she would throw out the current agreement that requires developers pay for and build 20,000 units of affordable housing unit; we can’t afford to start over, and I will make sure developers keep their commitment to helping solve Seattle’s affordable housing crisis.

No

Let me take a moment to be clear: I do not want to restart the HALA process -- I think HALA was a good first step, and I support the upzones and MHA requirements, but there is more that we can do to improve housing affordability in Seattle, and must work carefully with neighborhoods trying to survive displacement and gentrification.

Yes

I would support borrowing against the City’s credit in order to build more affordable housing as long as we have an identified revenue stream to pay for it.

Yes

We have an affordable housing crisis in our city and we should be looking at all the tools and options available to us to fund the construction of more affordable housing as quickly as possible.

Maybe

I believe that growth should pay for growth, but we have to ensure that we’re not hurting our small businesses; this is why I’ve proposed a Small Business Agenda to eliminate B&O taxes for startups during their first three years.

Yes

I support making our B&O tax more progressive by making larger corporations pay their fair share and reducing the B&O tax burden on small local businesses.

Maybe

I will explore ways to go to Olympia and reduce the property tax burden for older homeowners, lower income owners, and landlords providing affordable housing, but in addition to next year’s Families & Education Levy, I would explore and possibly ask voters to support a measure to expand addiction and behavioral health services.

No

Our city and state’s reliance on regressive taxes like property taxes and sales taxes are putting the financial burden disproportionally on working families and seniors, and I would push for Seattle to look at and adopt other more progressive sources of revenue.

Yes

We need to do better to make growth pay for growth, but unfortunately, impact fees aren't currently allowed for affordable housing.

Yes

I support the appropriate use of impact fees and would work to find the right level of fee and best targeted investments for generated revenue, recognizing it is important to strike the right balance so the fee doesn’t exacerbate the escalation of housing prices and the proceeds are focused on highest returns to the neighborhood.

Maybe

All current taxes, like REET, dip in economic downturn and hurt the city's ability to budget, so to create more affordable housing, I would leverage my strong relationships in Olympia to authorize an additional .25% to the existing Real Estate Excise Tax.

Maybe

If you mean property tax: Yes, we need more progressive sources of revenue and I would work with our state delegation and our local advocacy groups to identify the best sources to balance the tax code.

If you mean REET: No, we are not too dependent — we should consider expanding REET by securing the authority to charge an additional .25% local option REET, perhaps on properties above a threshold like median sales price.