Seattle’s newest mayor-to-be may regret what happened on Oct. 29. After winning the Seattle mayoral election on Nov. 7, Jenny Durkan — the proud recipient of an endorsement for office from her rape and molestation-accused predecessor, Ed Murray — is a woman who has distributed verbal allyship to two spheres of interest that don’t share the same lunch table: the community and corporation.
Will Durkan — federal prosecutor, career politician, corporately endorsed and absent community member — match with the Durkan who signed a commitment to Seattle communities.
On Oct. 29, mayoral candidates Durkan and Cary Moon faced off head-to-head in a highly anticipated, community-led debate, moderated and hosted by former mayoral candidate Nikkita Oliver and the Seattle Peoples Party.
After the debate, the Seattle Peoples Party, in collaboration with some of the area’s most cause-affecting organizations and grounded community leaders, compiled a list of the most important issues underserved Seattle residents face on a rapidly normalized basis.
The “Commitments and Expectations” document was given to the candidates to look over. Oliver asked the candidates to mark off anything on the list they didn’t agree with and include anything that the candidate wants to expound upon.
A few key items on the document: 1) Develop a plan to learn about systemic oppression. 2) Divestment in fossil fuels using the historical methods of Black and Native people. 3) Progressive hiring practices to front-line-affected communities. 4) End homeless sweeps. 5) Stop use of intimidating police practices to discourage protests. 6) Commit to working with No New Youth Jail to achieve zero youth detention. 7) Host district-specific town halls to encourage transparency between politicians and the communities they serve.
These are a number of the expectations and commitments outlined by the community that the Seattle Peoples Party gathered and gave the candidates.
Durkan has signed, and it is sealed, and it is delivered to the city and to the people. It can be viewed online. She has close friendships with mega corporations — that don’t show any alignment with decreasing fossil fuels, recognizing stolen land, decreasing militarization and intimidation tactics of the police — but has signed this document committing to invest in the people of the city, versus the corporations like Amazon that cause gentrification. She signed a document pledging to end it.
A full version of the community agreements and commitments your next mayor signed can be found by visiting the Peoples Party Facebook page or by visiting their website.
Gui Jean-Paul Chevalier is a Seattle-based recording artist and author from rural Washington, living counter-small-town mind for the cause of humanity.
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