Equitable Renewal

The events of the past year have laid bare the extent of health and economic inequality in our city. We can’t just assume  that our most impacted neighbors and small businesses will recover equitably from the overlapping crisis facing us. The status quo simply isn’t working for most of the people in our city. 

Central to Colleen’s people-first platform is an investment in community-based organizations and businesses. Many of the most promising solutions to displacement and economic injustice are already taking place within Seattle neighborhoods. These community-assets deserve support from City Hall, not an obstruction to progress. 

Colleen is committed to a holistic approach to our city’s renewal. By bridging silos to connect the already-people-first champions working within City departments, we can reshape how government employees and programs engage with their public neighbors: from childcare and early learning, access to local and nourishing foods, neighborhood-based mental health workers, economic and artistic partnerships, and providing meaningful opportunities for public input. 

For example, the City of Seattle has $1.11 Billion right now in current capital projects, but those infrastructure contracts and profit aren’t getting into the hands of people of color owned businesses. An Echohawk administration will restructure city procurement practices to invest in capacity building, mentorship and apprenticeship programs, and explicit equity requirements as part of the proposal bidding process.

Affordability and Rapid Rehousing

Seattle’s cost of living has consistently outpaced both housing and locally-sourced jobs, creating an affordable housing crisis. To meet not just the current needs of those experiencing housing instability in our city, but also the future growth that is projected, we have to take unprecedented action -- today. 

We need more housing in general, more affordable housing in application, and more of that affordable housing to be located within 15 minutes of where people work. That’s going to require rezoning, productive disagreement, and a people-first approach. 

We must be committed to respecting the dignity and humanity of all our relatives struggling with and at risk of homelessness, and create sustainable and culturally resonant solutions to keep people safe and securely housed.

Keeping the Public Safe

Everyone who lives in our city wants it to be safe. And public safety is at the forefront of that work. But policing as we know it in America has its origins in the slave patrols. This is a systemic issue that requires a systemic change in how we view policing. 

As Mayor, Colleen would put an end to sweeps, and move jobs like traffic safety and mental health crisis support into the community. She proposes the establishment of a Public Safety Department, with community-based mental health workers and neighborhood liaisons to care for the members of our community that have been hit hardest by racial injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

That change will also extend into the criminal justice system, where institutionalized racism has led to drastically different outcomes for people of color than for white defendants. 

No one should go to jail for trying to stay alive. No one should be separated from their family unless it's an absolute last resort. No one should go into debt trying to defend themselves. And absolutely, no one should be punished for being mentally ill.

It's time for our justice system to become about resolving conflict, not perpetuating multi-generational trauma.