Black wealth remains near zero due to centuries of systemic anti-Black racism and is on a trajectory to only worsen. In Seattle, white wealth is nearly 20x more than Black wealth. What specific actions will you take to close the Black-white wealth gap?
How much of the Black-white wealth gap will you close while in office?
Who are you working with in the Black community to close it?
How will you support investing federal funding directly and specifically into the Black community in the next two years?
Answer
Taking on the wealth gap and ensuring economic fairness, justice, and opportunity for our region’s Black residents must be a major priority for the County Council. I believe COVID presents us with a chance to build a stronger foundation for truly safe and healthy communities – where we build a new and more inclusive economy, address injustice head-on, protect and expand access to rights and care, and improve access to clean air and water for every resident. Inclusion and equity for vulnerable and historically marginalized communities must be at the center of our recovery efforts.
For too long, District 9 has received less than its fair share of investments, especially marginalized communities who’ve not received the targeted support they need and deserve. On the County Council, my agenda will be based on the principles of recovery, opportunity, and community – rebuilding from COVID-19 by creating a more equitable region. By expanding transit options, creating job and apprenticeship opportunities, and bringing down costs for things like housing and childcare, King County can do its part to help close the wealth gap.
We will need additional help from state and federal governments. When it comes to federal funding, I will work to invest disbursements from the American Rescue Plan, as well as hopefully funding from a federal infrastructure package, into programs and projects that benefit Black residents, informed by direct input from the Black community.
As a Renton Councilmember, I’m proud of the strong relationships I’ve built working directly with the Renton-King County Alliance for Justice and other Black-led groups such as Renton Residents For Change and Renton Anti-Racism Coalition. Together, we’ve worked to make Renton’s government anti-racist by purusing bold equity initiatves that are directed toward supporting BIPOC residents. I look forward to continuing to organize and act with these groups and with others throughout King County.
I’m grateful for the support and endorsement of leaders like Reverend Dr. Linda Smith and former County Councilmember Larry Gossett – leaders in the Black community who trust my commitment to building opportunity for Black communities and know firsthand that I will bring an intersectional lens to the County Council.
My opponent was the only member of the County Council to vote against declaring racism a public health crisis. With me on the Council, you will get a totally different approach on this issue. We need a representative who recognizes the significance of racism across our society and who is committed to acting boldly to addressing it and fighting for equity in our region. I believe I am better able to represent our diverse community and be a strong advocate on this issue. While my experience with racism is different from many Black neighbors, as a woman of color and an immigration attorney, I understand the urgency we face, bring a lived perspective, and am a skilled listener and advocate.
Question
There is a crisis in Black health in this region. In King County: Black babies are more 2x more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies; Black birthing people die 3x more than white birthing people; Black residents die of diabetes at 3x the rate of white residents; Nearly half of all Black adults in King County are food insecure; Black adults are 3x more likely to be living in poverty; Black adults are evicted at 6x the rate of white adults; Black people in King County contracted COVID-19 at 3x the rates of whites; and yet Black community received less than 2% of federal relief funding.
This region boasts some of the most sophisticated, renowned hospitals and medical facilities in the world. The disparities in medical treatment received by Black communities are appalling, with COVID-19 serving as just the most recent flashlight into this dark and disturbing reality. What are your specific plans to invest in Black community health?
In the entire Pacific Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, WY) there are zero Black community-owned, federally qualified health clinics. What are your specific plans to support base-building Black community-owned clinics? Specifically, the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom (TCHF), Somali Health Board (SHB), Surge Reproductive Justice (SRJ), African American Health Board and more?
Answer
Responsible for leading our region’s public health department, King County must work to ensure Black residents have access to culturally-appropriate healthcare clinics and coverage. We’ve seen throughout the nation that Black communities are not well-served by our current system – not only the extreme lack of affordability, but also simply accessing accurate information about their health.
When Black patients see Black doctors and care providers, they receive better care. That is one reason it is very problematic that there are no Black community-owned, federally qualified health clinics in our county or state and a dearth of Black-focused clinics and care options. I will strongly support additional investments to expand access to healthcare, especially for Black residents.
We also need to focus on access to mental and behavioral health. I have been a staunch advocate for expanding behavioral health treatment options, and I will specifically call for resources to be directed toward Black communities to address the same issues previously raised. We must find ways to provide county-level support for healthcare access and distribution, along with support for immigrants and non-English speakers. Accessible, affordable care will require local efforts and state and national solutions, and I will gladly support that needed change.
I would gladly meet with leaders of the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom, Surge Reproductive Justice, Somali Health Board and African American Health Board, among others, to see how the County can best support their important work. Whether that’s through funding support, elevating their message, or partnering together on specific programs and initiatives, I want to make sure they are serving and reaching as many community members as possible.
Question
Equity means ownership. Thriving Black communities require control and agency over land. We prioritize Black land acquisition as a foundational pillar to our work. As demand for land grows at an unprecedented pace, the rapid gentrification, active divestment from, and exclusion of Blacks from Seattle and King County is important not merely due to the dismantling of historical Black cultural and societal spaces, but also the socio-economic, health, wealth, and education fallout resulting from Blacks being pushed out of the State’s largest economic and cultural engine. What is your specific short and long-term plan to rectify this region’s abysmal Black land ownership rates?
What is your plan to rapidly advance Black home ownership rates?
What is your plan to rapidly advance Black community land acquisition and restore historically Black cultural and societal spaces?
How much will you invest in the: (A) Keiro project - the first entirely Black community led and centered homelessness consortium with wraparound direct services; (B) Red (Black and Green) Barn Ranch - Black liberated farming and youth healing center; (C) Youth Achievement Center - a holistic co-housing complex that is designed to support homeless students, historically underserved students, system-involved youth?
What mechanisms will you put in place to halt gentrification across the state, specifically to stop corporate and private developers from buying up once affordable property and pricing out Black communities and families?
Answer
This is a very important issue to me and has been a major focus of mine on the Renton City Council. As mentioned, my city council record is one of addressing racial inequality, striving to support Renton’s diverse communities, and creating an anti-racist government. In particular, working with community, I initiated the RISE program – Racial Investment to Secure Equity – drawing on the Evanston, Illinois model to bridge the wealth gap and support Black homeownership.
Black residents for too long have systematically been denied access to home ownership and the generational wealth building that it powers. And, in addition to existing barriers that have faced Black homeowners, our region faces a tremendous housing shortage, meaning there are fewer opportunities to buy property, and those that do exist, the prices are often out of reach.
Like the RISE program, King County should adopt similar steps to support Black homeownership, and other community-driven equity investments like economic, healthcare, and education resources. As we build affordable housing, we must do so with an equity lens – promoting Black homeownership and working proactively to prevent displacement through a variety of steps, including consideration of land trusts, affirmative marketing, and other anti-gentrification solutions.
We must ensure neighbors are enabled, encouraged, and empowered to not just stay in the longstanding neighborhoods of their choice, but to own property in those neighborhoods. I will also work to strengthen tenant protections and county assistance programs that support those at risk of eviction, whether through monetary or legal help, knowing Black residents are disproportionately affected and at greater risk of homelessness.
I strongly believe in the values of the projects listed above: we must have support systems in place specifically for Black community members experiencing homelessness; must create alternative programs for Black residents to heal and grow; and we must continue supporting Black youth with pathways and support structures that drive success. I hope to learn more from leaders and stakeholders involved in these projects to better understand their needs and how the county can support them.
Question
The public education system is anti-Black. It uses harsh discipline policies that push Black students out of schools at disproportionate rates; denies Black students the right to learn about their culture and whitewashes the curriculum to exclude Black peoples' history, contributions, and accomplishments. It pushes Black teachers out of schools in Seattle-King County, and across the country, and spends entirely more money on imprisoning Black youth than on educating and healing them. How will you support pro-Black education?
How will you create and maintain Black community schools?
How will you establish and maintain restorative justice practices in schools to end the school-to-prison pipeline?
What will you do to ensure Black teachers are hired, that current educators receive anti-racist professional development, that schools implement Black studies curricula?
What will you do to ensure the Black community has control of schools that serve Black kids as well as education resources and levy funds that are meant for but rarely make it to Black youth?
Answer
Every child should receive an education that sets them up for success, and is also honest and comprehensive about the history of our country. While these are ultimately decisions made by school boards and the state, we must do our part to advocate for justice in education at every turn.
In addition to the issues rightfully pointed out above, we have seen during the pandemic the severe equity issues associated with kids learning at home. We must work to support a fully safe return to classrooms, which is critical for kids and their families. And, further, we must address the inequities that have driven both these educational disparities and more longstanding ones, through access to broadband, early learning and childcare, and after school programs and community support. This is especially important for Black communities.
I support Executive Constantine’s Best Starts for Kids levy renewal plan, and believe it is critical that we ensure child care and after school activities are available for all kids – regardless of where they live or what their parents’ income is. We need to continue to partner with community groups to make sure the opportunities we’re funding are actually reaching those most in need. Those same community members should be regularly involved in the planning, distribution, and implementation of that levy and others.
I support efforts to revise systems of discipline and punishment so that youth receive the mentorship and direction they need through community programs and restorative justice, rather than being entered into the school-to-prison pipeline or simply missing out on the education they deserve. I would suggest King County continue to fund and support diversion programs and partner with school boards to update existing protocols. Let’s determine the best model for supporting our youth and apply it to schools countywide.
Additionally, dedicated outreach and resources must be provided for kids facing homeless and housing instability. It is also critical to offer resources and language support for children of immigrants – and their parents.
I’ll continue to fight I-200 which limits schools' ability to recruit representative teachers. We must have a school system that reflects the children it serves. Current teachers should receive robust anti-racism training so they are well prepared to serve kids of all experiences. I will be a strong advocate for taking needed action and making needed investments so every King County kid can thrive in and out of the classroom.
Question
Already experiencing COVID-19’s economic fallout, conditions for Seattle’s Black community have worsened. Against that backdrop, KCEN and many others in the Black community mobilized to divest from policing and demanded correlating investment in pro-Black public safety solutions that work for us, for the first time in Seattle's history. This movement was driven by Black community and specifically called and continues to call for a reckoning with anti-Black racism (i.e., not a general “racial” reckoning, or a “BIPOC” movement).
Emboldened by the overwhelming support of thousands and thousands of community members, the Seattle City Council briefly upheld their pledge to divest from a percentage of the Seattle Police Department (SPD)'s bloated annual budget and invest modestly in Black communities. It should not have taken such prolonged, sustained community efforts for this change but we acknowledge the small percentage of divestment as a break from decades of votes to expand violent, anti-Black policing.
The work of reshaping this region into one that values all Black lives—and moves away from funding racist policing and towards resourcing true public safety—is overdue and not for non-Black folks, unaccountable gatekeepers or non-rooted folks to dictate. We advocated strongly for monies from the police budget to be invested directly into the Black community and are unmoved on that stance.
Last year’s accountability charter amendments demonstrate clearly the public’s demands that policing change at the County Level. What are your specific plans to divest from policing to invest in true public safety for Black communities for the first time in history? What are the tangible steps you will take?
What date will you close the Youth Jail in the first year of your term?
What specific steps will you take to shift investments from the criminal punishment system towards human services that are controlled, led and center Black community?
Answer
As King County transitions to a new structure for the sheriff’s department as determined by voters last year, the County Council has a critical opportunity to set a new standard for accountability and transparency. In fact, failing to do so would betray the trust of the voters and of our county’s most impacted communities.
Most important is taking significant, tangible, and measurable steps to eliminate the tactics, behavior, and conditions that drive police violence and racist outcomes. We need a council that invests in alternatives where appropriate, including social workers and other teams that reduce our reliance on police, knowing they should not and cannot solve every problem. Black residents, and all communities of color, deserve a public safety system where they can feel safe and protected.
As an attorney, I know from firsthand experience that our current criminal justice system has very serious flaws that drive racist outcomes that disproportionately affect the Black community and especially fail youth and young adults. I support the ongoing efforts to close the detention center at the King County Children and Family Justice Center, and will support a timeline for closure in line with community expectations, ensuring there are arrangements fully in place that support the best outcomes for currently incarcerated youth.
We need to repurpose both that Center and our approach in this regard by further pursuing programs based in community. Important in these efforts are partnerships and diversion programs that are designed to give youth local outlets and the community support needed to thrive. Intentional investments in innovative support programs – from early intervention through to prevention – are essential for truly supporting youth who may face additional risks.
As we look broadly at our criminal justice system, I support further use of diversion programs, including drug courts and mental health courts. This is not a system that can be fixed overnight, but I believe by continuing to invest in upstream services and alternatives, and by working hand-in-hand with communities who have been over-policed and over-imprisoned, we will have the capacity and experience needed to successfully support those in need.
