Seattle mayoral candidates showed up at the Downtown Volunteer Fair March 10 with lots of things to say about homelessness, income disparity and affordable housing, but their ideas and platforms varied little.
Attendees of the fair, hosted at the Christ Our Hope Catholic Church in the historic downtown Josephinum building, asked candidates about how to end homelessness, increase affordable housing amid the rising costs of city dwellings, and combat “not in my backyard” attitudes that frequently hinder the placement of homeless camps and new affordable housing structures.
Mayor Mike McGinn, who is seeking re-election, joined candidates City Councilmember Tim Burgess, City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, David Ishii, neighborhood activist Kate Martin, real estate broker Charlie Staadecker and former Seattle city councilmember Peter Steinbrueck. State Sen. Ed Murray was absent, and did not reply to a request for comment from Real Change.
Harrell pointed to the spiritual aspects of homelessness advocacy as a foundation for both the movement and for possible solutions to the problems. Homelessness isn’t just a problem for the people who experience it, or who see it every day, he said.
Harrell said it’s the responsibility of Seattle citizens to work toward ending discrimination. To that end, he touted his proposed legislation regarding criminal background checks and employment as a way for many people affected by homelessness to overcome barriers to employment.
Martin, former Greenwood Community Council President, said homelessness can be combatted by “stressing prevention,” and encouraging citizens to take individual actions to help their homeless neighbors through grassroots actions.
Martin also pointed to the diversity of needs among Seattle’s homeless population as a primary starting point for the development of policy and of popular dialogue.
“Make it a neighbor to neighbor issue,” she said.
Similarly, Burgess referred to the city of Seattle as what Martin Luther King, Jr., called a “beloved community.”
Burgess called for a “reconciliation of the people through justice and compassion,” through which the area’s poor and vulnerable populations could escape from income inequality.
He said education is a foundation of that compassion. As the city’s leaders foster efforts to open minds and doors in the community, public support of the homeless — and of the camps and affordable housing solutions — will grow, Burgess said.
Staadecker, a real estate broker, said the role of the political leader is to bring the kind of business to Seattle that will encourage personal growth and result in the decline of poverty.
“If the public and private
partnerships embrace that change,” Staadecker said, people will adapt and fund the kind of change that is needed.
Mayor Mike McGinn, having decided to go another round in the election ring, responded to concerns about the cost of proposed basketball arena developments and the effects on city funding for the needs of Seattle’s homeless community.
“The building of the arena won’t affect the budget,” he said.
McGinn’s said he’ll continue efforts to reduce homelessness in Seattle.
He aims to facilitate the conversations necessary to bring public support to the integration of affordable housing into all Seattle neighborhoods, he said.
Steinbrueck, a former Seattle city councilmember, said if elected he’d focus on safe, effective and independent housing solutions. Steinbrueck said that he sees Seattle as a competent city, full of promise, yet with a poverty rate higher than that of the state of Washington.
“Why is this?” he asked. “Sometimes compassion only goes so far, and understanding [of the issues surrounding homelessness and income disparity] is limited.”
Steinbrueck said that as a city, Seattle has the resources to succeed in putting a stop to devastating problems, but lacks the “political will.”