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-I'm Councilmember Dan Strauss,
representing you in District 6.
In my first six months in office,
we faced a global pandemic, a recession,
a civil rights reckoning, and civil unrest.
One of those things alone would knock a normal person down,
and together, we were resilient.
I never quit working for you.
I work from my district office at the Ballard Library
so that you don't have to go out of your way
to have your voice heard by City Hall.
My office focuses on three top priorities --
addressing public safety, addressing homelessness,
and creating housing that is affordable for working families,
because the family I grew up in should be able to afford
to live in the Seattle of today and tomorrow.
I operate public safety task forces,
implementing real time solutions by connecting small businesses,
residents, and the people who can meet their needs.
I support fully funding the police
and critical alternatives.
Today, we have community service officers
patrolling our streets, park rangers in our parks,
Health One responding to emergencies.
And it was my amendment that brought the council's budget
into 99% alignment with Mayor Harrell's SPD investments,
and fully funded the officer recruitment plan.
I've resolved encampments in parks without sweeps,
and now I'm partnering with Mayor Harrell
to scale up our homelessness response by expanding
to have neighborhood-based homelessness response teams.
Things are better, but better isn't good enough.
I want to raise my kids in a neighborhood
that is safer than the one that I grew up in.
Growing up in District 6, I see the horizon.
It has a brighter future than what we have today,
as long as we don't let up.
I've dedicated my life to public service.
I've navigated hard times, and delivered for our district
and city by bringing people together to find common ground.
I'm Councilmember Dan Strauss.
I ask for your vote to keep the momentum,
and to continue working for you.
-Homelessness is now officially a long-term problem --
at least five years to address,
according to the Regional Homelessness Authority.
Translation: encampments for five more years at least.
Compassion is important, but we need to identify
who needs what kind of help by implementing three levels
of designated urban campgrounds --
sober, intermediate, cannabis and alcohol okay,
and permissive -- hard drugs okay within the fenced area.
Public safety is job one.
We clearly need to add more commissioned officers
and unarmed community service officers,
enforce newly enacted laws against open hard drug use
on our streets.
Social justice demands investing in best practices
to ensure civilian safety.
Public infrastructure.
Our bridges, water, and sewer mains are aging.
The state legislature has now mandated six-plexes,
which could triple or quadruple our population.
And we'll have to foot the bill for the new infrastructure.
When you voted in 2019, were you voting to defund the police?
Probably not.
New issues will emerge over the next four years.
I'll take a socially liberal and fiscally conservative
approach toward them.
Leave people alone unless we need laws to keep their conduct
from interfering with others.
Spend tax dollars amply but wisely.
Ability to pay matters.
Don't overburden any one segment of the tax base.
I'm Shea Wilson,
your candidate for change in District 6,
and I ask for your vote to govern responsibly.
For more, go to votesheawilson.com.
-With Mayor Harrell's leadership, we've made some progress
in making our neighborhood safer.
But we have much work still needs to be done.
I'm running for city council in District 6
because we must elect a pragmatic city council
committed to fulfilling its promise and obligations
by focusing on the basics
rather than engaging in divisive and performative politics
that we see currently playing out.
I have 35 years in business experience,
and was the owner of the Red Door in Fremont
for 20 years.
Currently, I hold the position of executive director
for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce,
and am President of the North Precinct Advisory Council.
I feel the city's top priorities are ensuring community safety,
addressing our housing and homelessness crisis,
and returning to responsible financial management.
Supporting and collaborating with law enforcement,
drug treatment and mental health professionals
is absolutely essential for ensuring community safety.
Our goal should be to consistently provide
swift and dependable response
in order to foster a thriving One Seattle.
We must prioritize the construction
of affordable housing to assist our working families
and our seniors.
This goal can be achieved
by expanding the current housing supply,
streamlining the permitting process,
and at the same time preserving our neighborhood's character.
In order to effectively address homelessness,
it's imperative that the city take bold action
to expand the number of shelters and tiny home villages,
while also bolstering mental health
and drug treatment services.
We need to be able to use all the tools available
to move people towards treatment.
Seattle has been my beloved home for over a half century,
and we are in a pivotal time as a city.
I'm running because I believe we need a more pragmatic,
problem-solving approach to shape our shared future.
I'd be honored to earn your vote.
-I intend to be a positive influence in District 6
and the entire City of Seattle.
In the summer Of 2020, our city council
buckled to pressure to defund the police.
At the same time, I was leading a campaign on the streets
and freeway overpasses of Seattle
with signs of truth about the COVID pandemic response.
I stood up to bullies like Antifa, and others,
that sought to suppress free speech
or any effort to have a public dialogue on the topic.
I stood to defend our freedom of speech,
an element crucial to both science and democracy.
Early in the pandemic,
qualified epidemiologists like Knut Wittkowski
showed that COVID-19 cases had tapered off
before the lockdowns began,
showing that herd immunity was already achieved.
He and many other experts were ignored.
The lockdowns, masks, and vaccine mandates damaged people
physically, mentally, and financially.
These measures didn't make sense then,
but continued nevertheless.
How much taxpayer money was used to fight the virus?
My campaign continued as I organized the community,
and led over 30 marches in the Seattle area,
and this year in Olympia.
It was largely due to my tireless efforts
that the COVID mandates in Washington state finally ended.
We all want to see an end to homelessness,
but let's not chase another expensive solution.
The proposal on the table
with King County Regional Homelessness Authority
would cost taxpayers $11.8 billion.
That's $882,705 per homeless individual in King County.
Let's shift our focus to supporting our business owners,
homeowners, and wage earners --
those stuck with high mortgages and rent.
Our city needs to work for the taxpayers, not burden them.
We can find community-based solutions to end homelessness.
Let me bring my courage to our city council,
to face up to these pressures that want us to buckle.
Vote for me, Victoria.
-Hi.
My name is Dale Kutzera,
and I'm running for Seattle City Council District 6.
Like a lot of you, I feel Seattle
has been heading in the wrong direction
for quite a few years now.
We're heading down a path to a higher cost,
lower quality of life.
We used to be known for our planes, software, and coffee.
Now, we're known for homelessness, crime,
and expensive housing.
It's not too late to take a different path.
We need to take people living on the streets
with mental illness or addiction problems
into protective custody,
and put them in treatment facilities.
We shouldn't criminalize homelessness,
but treat it like the public health crisis it is.
Instead of relying on hundreds of outside vendors,
we need a new Social Services Department
to help people in crisis.
We've also taken the wrong approach to housing,
believing that increasing supply will lower prices.
But despite all the new housing we've built,
rents and prices still go up.
That's because private developers
will only build market-rate housing
as long as market rates remain high.
We need to prioritize affordable housing for people
who earn at or below the median income.
The new Social Housing Office
is a hopeful step in this direction.
Addressing homelessness and housing affordability
will go a long way to charting a new path for Seattle.
People in crisis will get the help they need.
The police can stay in their lane.
The Fire Department won't have to deal with camp and RV fires.
Our libraries can be learning centers
instead of de facto homeless shelters.
Our jails will no longer function as mental institutions,
and our parks will be free of tents and needles.
I hope you'll pay attention to these issues
through this election season.
You can learn more about where I stand on them
at dalefordistrictsix.com.
Thanks for your time.
-Hi.
I'm Jon Lisbin, and I'm running for city council
because I'm passionate about Seattle.
I moved here over 25 years ago,
when Seattle was rated the most livable city in the country.
Ask yourself if you can say that now.
I have a vision of Seattle once again
leading the country in livability.
This is an historic time in Seattle,
particularly because growth management
has been an unmitigated failure.
Traffic is a mess,
housing is unaffordable, bridges are crumbling,
residents fear for their safety,
and our neighbors are literally sleeping in the streets.
The recent update to Seattle's tree ordinance
is an example of the failure --
failure of our city's leadership.
Multiple amendments recommended by the Urban Forestry Commission
were summarily rejected.
Combined with the state's Middle Housing Act,
which requires multi-family zoning throughout Seattle,
who stands for trees?
Are we the Emerald City or beholden to special interests?
Subsidized multi-family housing close to transit
is part of the balance that Seattle needs.
We can have trees and we can have affordable housing, too.
Before I built a small business from scratch
into one of the fastest-growing companies in Washington,
I was a starving radio announcer
barely able to pay rent
while working three or four part-time jobs at a time
just to get by.
I know what it is to live paycheck to paycheck.
We must require developers to build affordable housing
on site, not pay a fee to build it somewhere else,
on cheaper land, four years later.
As president of Seattle Fair Growth,
I've been advocating for housing for people of all incomes.
And as your future city councilmember,
I will not be taking contributions
from the Master Builders of King County.
I'll be working for one constituency -- you.
Together, we can make Seattle livable again.