-What I will bring to the legislature
is really deep leadership experience.
-I hear you.
I care about what you have to say.
-Housing advocate Emily Alvarado and school librarian
Leah Griffin are vying to fill State Representative
Eileen Cody's seat in the 34th legislative district.
-There are barriers throughout the system.
-Both candidates have similar priorities
but would bring very different backgrounds to the job.
-I heard you mention some of your priorities.
-Whom should voters send to Olympia?
-I believe in shared prosperity
and I believe in justice for all.
-It was us showing up over and over and over again
demanding change.
-The race to become the 34th District's
next state representative.
Next on City Inside/Out.
Welcome to this edition of City Inside/Out.
I'm your host Brian Callanan.
With state representative Eileen Cody
deciding not to seek another term,
the race for the 34th District from Pioneer Square
out to West Seattle and Vashon Island is wide open.
Emily Alvarado, an affordable housing advocate
who used to work for the Seattle Office of Housing
was the top candidate in the August primary,
earning more than half the vote. Her opponent is Leah Griffin,
a school librarian who overcame her own personal trauma
to help create state and federal policies on sexual assault.
It's a choice between a candidate
who's worked inside local government
versus one who's pushed from the outside in the 34th
District that's primed for new leadership.
-I live a few blocks away.
-Emily Alvarado started talking to neighbors
across West Seattle
and beyond when another neighbor,
State Representative Eileen Cody,
decided not to run again this fall after 27 years
representing the 34th legislative district.
-What I will bring to the legislature
is really deep leadership experience.
-Alvarado is Vice President of a national housing nonprofit.
She's a long-time affordable housing advocate
who served as the director of the Seattle Office of Housing
from 2019 until last year.
-I Emily Alvarado -- -Alvarado says her work
inside and outside local government
is exactly the experience that 34th District needs.
-I've spent my entire career in public service,
fighting to improve the lives of working families
and to build healthy communities.
-Alvarado was the top vote-getter
in the August primary, earning 54% of the vote.
She's raised more than $112,000 for her campaign
as of mid-September
and is endorsed by the Stranger newspaper,
the Seattle Times, One America Votes,
and the Washington State Labor Council.
-Take care.
-Alvarado's top priorities include
increasing housing density, supporting renters,
and pushing for more publicly financed living areas
to help people who are unhoused.
-Permanent supportive housing
is the proven solution to homelessness
and we need to make sure that the state is taking steps
to continue that kind of proven investment.
-She says her career has prepared her
to lead on many issues,
from health care to public safety to education,
and says compared to her opponent,
she knows how to navigate the bureaucracy of Olympia,
build consensus, and get things done.
-We need someone in Olympia right now
who will make progress,
who will not just fight about policies at a slogan level
but will pass and enact meaningful reform.
-Alvarado's opponent, Leah Griffin,
knows she's in for a struggle.
-When regular people stand up and fight back
against massive systems of power,
that's always going to be an uphill battle
but that's the uphill battle that I fought as a survivor.
-Griffin, a librarian at a private school in Seattle,
is a rape survivor who has worked with state
and federal leaders to develop new sexual assault protocols.
She spoke to Washington State police officers
this fall at a summit for sex assault investigations.
-I went to the closest emergency room.
-Griffin earned just over 31% of the vote
in the August primary
and as of mid-September has raised
more than $99,000 for her campaign.
She's endorsed by Pro-Choice Washington,
the Alliance for Gun Responsibility,
the online publication the Urbanist,
and AFSCME 28, a union for state employees.
-I hear you.
I care about what you have to say.
-Griffin says she's tuned in to the personal stories
of people in the 34th District.
And says her top issues include protecting abortion access,
building affordable housing,
and dealing with a growing mental health crisis.
-We have a huge deficit
of mental healthcare practitioners in this state
and there's a lot of work to be done
to make sure that we're shoring up that workforce
so that everybody can heal from their trauma.
-She calls her opponent a government insider.
-This bill is an important next step.
-But Griffin says with her advocacy background,
she joins with her constituents
if elected to make change happen.
-Those regular people, those workers don't always have
a voice in Olympia and I want to be a person
that makes sure to prioritize their voices.
I took that advice and had increased PTSD
because of that decision.
-It's a librarian with a compelling story
of overcoming trauma up against a housing leader
with a compelling record within local government.
It's time for voters to make the choice
on some new leadership for the 34th District this November.
And here they are the two candidates
for state representative position 1 in the 34th District,
for Pioneer Square out to Vashon Island,
we're talking about Emily Alvarado and Leah Griffin.
Thank you both very much for being here.
We had a coin flip before the show
and we're going to start with Emily.
If you wouldn't mind an opening statement,
keep it to about a minute.
-Great. Well, I'm Emily Alvarado,
excited to be running for the state legislature in the 34th.
I'm running because I believe that everyone should have access
to quality affordable housing, health care, child care,
and education in a safe, thriving community.
I believe in shared prosperity,
and I believe in justice for all.
And I've spent my entire life in public service
fighting for just that. Most of my life I've worked
on creating more affordable communities,
creating affordable housing, early learning facilities.
I'm a former planned parenthood organizer,
and I fought for reproductive justice.
I'm excited to be able to bring experience, leadership,
collaboration to the state legislature.
And I'm excited to get the support of the district.
-Okay. Thanks very much for that.
Leah, if you would an opening statement,
please keep it to about a minute.
-Yeah. My name is Leah Griffin
and I'm a school librarian is my day job.
And I love teaching information literacy
and getting books into the hands of kids.
And I had an experience where I encountered a systematic barrier
in the health care and criminal justice system
after being sexually assaulted,
and have worked for the last near decade
to reform those systems. And when I got to Olympia,
I saw a lot of people in the inside,
a lot of people with connections.
And survivors, we didn't have a lobbyist,
we didn't have that infrastructure in place,
it was us showing up over and over and over again,
demanding change.
So, I'm running because I think we need more people in Olympia
that are going to prioritize the value
of lived experiences of everyday people.
And I'm enthusiastic about being that voice.
-Okay. Thank you very much both for that.
So, looking at this, you're both progressive Democrat candidates,
I think it's safe to say that.
And in the district you're trying to represent,
the 34th District Democrats have endorsed both of you.
I wanted to make sure I did this with you.
Help us out, what should voters know
about how you're different from your opponent?
I'm sure you've heard this from a few voters too.
Leah, you first, please.
-I think probably the big difference between Emily and I
is that Emily has had years of experience
on the inside of city government,
was in charge of the housing and homelessness
in the City of Seattle,
and has that Rolodex and backing from the establishment players.
And I'm a scrappy outsider. I'm just a regular person.
I'm a survivor, I'm a teacher,
I'm somebody who said this isn't good enough
and showed up over and over and over again demanding change.
I believe in grassroots advocacy.
I believe in the power of everyday people.
And that's what I would say is the biggest difference.
-All right. Got it. Emily, your thoughts on that,
how are you different from your opponent in this race?
-Yeah, well, I think I bring a track record of experience
and real leadership on some of the biggest issues
facing our communities,
affordable housing, early learning,
and I've spent my career in nonprofit organizations
working on the ground with community partners
who are doing the frontline work.
I've led at the City of Seattle both investing resources,
building coalitions, passing legislation,
working with broad groups of people,
and I have experience on some of the issues
that matter most right now.
I have deep community support and support
from leading progressive organizations.
So, I think I both have the progressive values and vision,
and the experience to really get things done in Olympia.
-Thank you both for breaking that down here.
Emily, let me go back to you here.
I want to dive into affordable housing
a little bit more with you here,
it's a place where you've spent most of your career.
I want for you to talk about your goals
for affordable housing if you're elected.
And if you could also, how would that experience
translate into another policy area
if you wanted to be a leader there if you were elected?
Pick a topic like public safety, homelessness if you would.
Can you help me with that, please?
-Sure. So, as many people know,
we have a real housing crisis right now.
We have over 250,000 homes shortage statewide,
we have people experiencing homelessness,
we have folks who are being displaced from the communities
where they've lived their whole life.
We need a comprehensive approach
to solve our affordable housing challenges.
And I would look at three key things.
One, we need more housing options of all types
and sizes in all communities.
We have to make sure that there's zoning and regulatory
reform at the state
so that there are duplexes and triplexes
and ADUs in all communities for first-time home buyers
and multi-generational families.
We also need to deeply scale our permanently affordable housing,
housing for extremely low-income people,
permanent supportive housing for people
experiencing homelessness. These are proven solutions,
the proven humane and cost-effective solutions.
And at the state level, I would not only advocate
and seek to get more resources
but to have policies in place to spend those wisely.
-Could I jump in real quick? I know this was a big argument
with the state legislature this past session here,
this idea of the state
preempting some local authorities like cities
when it came to zoning regulations.
Do you have some thoughts on that?
Is that something that that state should do?
-Yeah, I mean, I think we have to have a partnership
between the state and local governments
to really take action.
Right now, we see that housing impacts
more than beyond a single city.
The decisions that a city makes impacts neighboring cities,
it impacts the state.
So, I believe the state has to take action
to make sure that we're meeting baseline goals
and then ensure that cities can go farther to do more.
-Got it. I'm going to come back to you
with that how your experience in housing is going to help
with other policies. But, Leah, please.
-I just want to sneak into this conversation
that when the state passes a missing middle housing bill
that allows for duplexes and triplexes
and gets rid of some of the zoning restrictions,
they are also sticking up for property owners
who are being denied by municipalities the right
to use their properties the way that they want to.
So, I'm also hugely supportive of Bateman's bill
and hope that we can change zoning laws in our state
to make sure that we can build more housing
and solve those crises.
-Thank you for that. Let's get back to this idea,
and, Emily, let me have you continue here.
How your experience in housing translates
to another topic area here?
I threw out homelessness, I threw out public safety
but please choose one that you think adapts to that well.
-Sure. Well, there are so many.
One thing that I'm really passionate about
is making sure that we have complete communities.
And the housing and child care really fit together
in making sure that working people,
all people have their basic human needs met.
We've seen really strong models
come out of the state legislature where we create
housing alongside new early learning facilities.
We have some of the greatest shortages of slots
for early learning in the country.
And as a working mom,
I totally know that working families need access
to child care in early learning.
That's critical for families, it's critical for our economy.
So, I think we have to take really proactive steps
at the state legislature to not only create more subsidy
for early learning and child care,
to stabilize and support early learning providers
so that there's workforce growth retention good wages,
and then also make sure we're building
more early learning facilities
that are culturally competent in all communities.
-Thank you for that. Leah, let's dive into this question.
You've talked about how your experience
as a sexual assault survivor,
you've been a successful advocate in that field,
and you've pegged reproductive health
as a top issue, I know that.
I want to talk about some of your goals on that front
to begin and then how that might translate
into one other policy area, please.
-Yeah. So, I actually have been fortunate
to be able to work in a variety of subject areas
because of my experience.
I've worked on law enforcement training.
I've worked on health care access.
I've worked on reproductive access.
And it all intersects.
And that's part of what makes me a strong candidate
is that I recognize the intersection
of all of these issues
and how everything plays off of each other.
When it comes to access to reproductive health,
now that Roe has fallen,
we're going to see a 385% increase in pregnant people
coming to this state to seek abortion health care.
And as safe as we like to think that we are in Washington,
we're, one, only as safe as our next election.
And, two, I know from my work
trying to create access for forensic examinations
that just because we have the right to a procedure
doesn't mean we have meaningful access to it.
So, Washington has a lot that we can do.
I think that we need a constitutional amendment
to ensure abortion access.
I think that we are past time to pass to keep our Care Act,
which I serve on the coalition for.
I don't just talk about it, I am in the field doing the work
on that piece of legislation right now
to make sure that we can prevent discriminatory hospital mergers
that limit abortion access, gender-affirming care,
and end-of-life care. We need to make sure
that we're especially providing funding for people
that are most marginalized in our communities
because as appointments fill up,
it's going to be people in rural communities,
poor people, people of color, gender non-binary people
who have the hardest access to these procedures.
And then we also need
to regulate crisis pregnancy centers
that are going to pop up at the border.
They're going to try to trick pregnant people
into not receiving the health care that they need.
We have work to do there.
And on top of that, we also need to think about medical training.
Other state schools are going to cease
training medical practitioners,
and we need to pick up that slack here in Washington.
So, I hope those are five or six points.
-No, I appreciate it all. Thanks for diving into that.
I wanted to make sure we covered some other ground too
because I think it's important to look at the 34th District,
it's changing, there are some new boundaries
there when we talk about Pioneer Square,
SoDo, South Park, Vashon Island.
And we're talking about new leadership here.
Eileen Cody is stepping down after 27 years in the role.
Considering those things, Emily, maybe I'll start with you here,
do you see yourself taking this district in a new direction?
Do you take it in the same direction
representative Cody has been taking it?
How do you describe that, please, could you start here?
-Yeah, well, for me, what I would do
is I would continue to meet
and advance the progressive values of the district
because it is a district where people want us to be bold,
to be visionary, to take on the long-term big challenges
we face like climate change and racial equity,
and transportation, and housing.
We have a district who wants us to be real leaders.
And I'll follow in that vision of strong leadership.
I also think that it's time
to bring fresh community connections,
new coalitions, and new experience to the legislature.
As I said, I have not only experience
in working on housing issues
but I grew up in a multicultural household.
I'm Latina, I'm Jewish,
and I bring a sense of commitment and integrity
around advancing racial equity,
bringing folks together to lead on policies
when they've experienced the outcomes of unjust policies.
And I'm excited to bring that kind of personal leadership
and professional leadership to the table.
-Thanks. Leah, the same question here.
It's a new district,
it's getting some new leadership here.
Are you following in the same path as Representative Cody
or how would you describe it if you're elected?
-Yeah. I want to be a little bit bolder.
I think that we deserve better systems here in Washington
and we can have those systems.
I am endorsing the whole Washington.
I think that we can have universal health care,
single-payer health care here in Washington.
And I know that that had been a sticking point
with Rep Cody for a lot of years.
I agree with Emily that we need big bold ideas.
And we need people who are unafraid
to put forth ideas from the community
and that is exactly why I'm running.
-Okay. Thank you for that.
I want to move on to another piece here
talking about some of the concerns
that are going on with inflation and the recession
that has been talked about the last couple of months,
statewide polling over the summer
at least show that inflation is the top issue.
I know a lot of people are concerned
about that moving forward here.
I wanted to talk to you both about you've spoken
about some sort of progressive tax programs
and other measures out there.
Emily, would you mind talking with us
about some of your economic plans
as a state rep if you're elected and how you'd achieve them?
-Yeah. Thanks so much for that.
And certainly, with inflation
and with a lot of economic factors at play,
working families are really feeling the squeeze.
And we have to as a state
prioritize policies and solutions
that make sure that working families stay stable
and have their basic human needs met.
And that's the platform on which I'm running,
making sure that people have access
to affordable housing and child care and health care.
A few things, one, at times like these,
we know we have to put resources back
in the hands of working families,
the working families tax credit is a really great tool for that.
As we seek to get more revenue to invest in critical programs,
we also have to make sure that we're reinvesting
in working families who have far too long borne
the brunt of an inequitable tax system
that disproportionately impacts low and moderate-income people.
So, I think we need, right now we talked about boldness,
to continue bold investments that will serve our communities,
not only now to withstand changes in our economy
but for generations to come.
And we're going to have to do that
by generating new progressive sources.
Obviously excited to keep moving forward on the capital gains tax
and to look at a wealth tax.
And multiple other options to make sure
that we have the resources we need to invest in education,
to invest in transportation,
to invest in high-quality public services,
and the working people of our state.
-Thank you for that. Some thoughts from you, Leah?
Inflation, recession, taxes, where do you want to go
with this? Let's talk economy here.
-Let's talk about taxes.
-Okay.
-So, I think that there's a lot that we can do
to make sure that we can build the revenue that we need
to have these strong middle-income out policies
that are going to actually help working-class people
in our state. I believe in a wealth tax.
I believe in looking
at some of the 749 tax loopholes on our books
to see what disproportionally benefits the wealthy
and that we can take a look at and repeal.
I also believe that we need to remove high-end caps on programs
like paid family medical leave.
This is something I learned during this campaign
that if your income is over --
or if your income is over $147,000,
you pay up to $147,000 a certain percentage of your taxes
into this paid family medical leave.
But if you make over that amount of money,
that's all tax-free on top of that,
which means we're missing out on the opportunity
to have more robust social programs
by exempting high-income earners from paying their fair share.
-Thank you for that.
I wanted to move on to another topic if I could.
Mental and behavioral health certainly a big concern,
especially coming out of the pandemic here.
So, back in 2018, Governor Inslee
unveiled a five-year plan to shift mental health
out of the big state hospitals
into smaller community-based facilities here.
The pandemic, of course, has had a big impact on this plan,
but are we as a state heading in the right way
when it comes to behavioral mental health?
Emily, maybe I can start with you.
What's right, what's wrong?
What can you fix? Some thoughts about this.
-Well, a few things that are right
is we're talking about the fact
that we need massive investment and change.
And so, that's really the right direction.
But now, we need to step up with the actual action
and continued action.
And for me, that means investing,
not only in crisis facility centers
and in mental health supports and facilities,
but it's also about investing in our workforce.
We have fewer workers in the mental health fields
and it's a real tremendous shortage,
and that impacts the ability for people to get,
not only quality care but to get the care when they need it
and to have it be more preventative
so that we're minimizing crises.
In order to do that, we have to make sure
that we're having investments in workforce development
and recruiting new talent.
We have to make sure that workers in this field
have strong family-wage jobs
and have the supports that they need to continue in that field.
So, those are a couple of things that I would focus on next
to make sure that our workforce
is there to serve the people who are seeking care.
-Behavioral mental health, what have we got, Leah?
-This is an issue that is extremely personal to me,
you know, I had the experience of, after my assault,
waiting on a waitlist for five to six months
before I was able to get seen.
I know how hard it is to navigate the behavioral
and mental health care field because I tried to do it.
And it was hard. I think access to education
to get more people into the field
is exactly what we need.
We have a huge shortage of mental healthcare practitioners.
I've actually delivered nationally on training
for healthcare providers
and look forward to continuing on that work.
I also know that there's a union
that is working on certification for peer support counselors.
And I think creating these alternate pathways
into this profession in order to bolster that workforce
is another great way that we can address this problem.
I want to give a shoutout to Representative Orwall
down in the 33rd for just launching the 988 crisis number,
which I think this is a great opportunity to say
if you're experiencing a mental healthcare crisis,
we now have a service where you can call.
-Yeah, just heard it up this summer.
Leah, let me stick with you, I'm going to try to jam
in one more question before the closing statement here.
Homelessness, I know it's a tough one to jam in anywhere
but some thoughts about this,
what you could do as a state rep if indeed you are elected?
-The way that we solve homelessness
is build more housing. That's what we need to do.
And I think Emily and I are going to agree on that.
We have a housing crisis.
And it's easy to point at other causes
and to blame the people that are struggling for their position,
but at the end of the day, we're 250,000 units shy
of having enough housing for people to live.
And so, to turn around and blame people
for not being able to access housing in a market
where it doesn't exist for them, I don't think is fair.
So, I think what we need to be doing
as a state is building more housing.
-Okay. Emily, some thoughts on this, please.
-Yeah. Absolutely agree that we need more housing.
But people have been experiencing homelessness now
because of our housing crisis for so long
that we also need some targeted housing solutions
like permanent supportive housing.
Housing that combines and provides services as well,
behavioral health services, mental health,
chemical dependency and addiction services
to make sure that people
who have been suffering on the streets
because of our inaction cannot only move inside
but have the supports that they need
to have strong thriving lives.
I would make sure because I have real deep expertise
in how to fund and create support of housing.
I would make sure that the state is doing it effectively
and efficiently to combine the resources necessary
to not only support building the building
but to support providing the services
and paying for the incredible staff
who work on-site to support people
who are experiencing homelessness.
-Thank you very much for that.
We need to get this last statement in here.
And, Emily, you're first. Please keep it to a minute.
-Thank you so much.
Well, again, we're ready for bold, progressive,
compassionate, collaborative leadership in the 34th District.
And what I'll do is I'll bring leadership experience,
a track record of success, deep community connections,
and an open and listening ear
to bring some real leadership to the 34th
to make sure that everyone has the basic human needs
that they need met to make sure
that we have thriving communities
and to make sure that we're taking
bold action for the future.
-Thank you. And we'll wrap up. You'll get the last word, Leah.
-I spent the last almost decade fixing problems
that I encountered in broken systems.
And in doing this, I've learned the power of everyday people.
During the course of this campaign,
I've knocked over 15,000 doors
in every neighborhood in this community.
And overwhelmingly what I feel at the doors
is a sense of despair.
People feel like they can't do anything
about all of the problems that we have.
And I'm here to say you can.
I'm here to say that your story matters,
that you can make a difference. And we need to elect a leader
that's going to prioritize you and work with you.
And that's how we make change
is by regular people coming together and demanding better.
-Okay. Thank you both very much for this.
And we will be right back.
What are people saying on social media
about the two candidates running to represent
the 34th legislative district? One writes, "Vote Leah Griffin.
Other candidates sent me a mailer.
Leah came to the neighborhood to talk about what matters to us."
Another says, "So happy to have a candidate in Emily Alvarado
who is a part of and will support our public schools!"
We'd like to know what you think.
Send us an email at contact@seattlechannel.org
or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Coming up next week, musical chairs
in Seattle's 56th legislative district.
Representative Javier Valdez is running for Senator David
Froct's seat in the state senate,
leaving an open house seat that disability rights advocate
Darya Farivar and pediatrician
Dr. Lelach Rave are vying to fill.
Here from the two candidates who need your vote
to represent the 46th District.
That's on the next City Inside/Out.
I hope you'll join us.