2021 SHSC Candidates Forum Online Survey Questions 

Our Candidates Forum will take place on September 16th and all City of Seattle and King County candidates are invited. Click here for more details. 

1) For which position are you running? 

2) We recognize the importance of sustaining the gains of investments in early learning and childcare through the continuum of supports from early age to youth development and transitions to adulthood -- including services that comprehensively meet the social and emotional, behavioral, physical, and financial health needs of our community.  As mayor, how will you lead Seattle to ensure that the city’s children, youth, and families are able to access a continuum of wrap around services that would holistically meet their needs?    

3) For years childcare and early learning broadly for children birth-5 has been underfunded and undervalued. Not only is this period the most critical in a child’s development but, the people who do this arduous and generous work have been underpaid and professionally minimized throughout the post-civil rights era. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical importance of this field in one other area: economic stability. When children are in safe, culturally relevant, quality care, their parents are more likely to engage in the workforce and therefore participate in our economy. What are your views on the next steps in stabilizing the field and expanding access to childcare? What is your position on increasing compensation for childcare and early learning professionals? 

4) Do you support Compassion Seattle’s proposed charter amendment? Why or why not? 

5) The number of people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County has steadily increased over the years and has seen a steep incline during the pandemic. All of the solutions to the crisis of homelessness that have been presented are reactive, rather than preventative, and seek to treat the symptoms and not the root causes. In your opinion, what are the root causes of homelessness? What are some of your strategies in addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness, but also what is your plan for preventing further crisis from arising? How will you ensure that there is a robust, holistic response to homelessness so that when one ‘generation’ of people who are unhoused receive housing and support, another ‘generation’ will not follow? 

6) A livable community should offer safe, walkable streets; age-friendly affordable housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents of all ages and with disabilities to participate in community life. Additionally, economic gentrification and high property taxes are pushing seniors, disabled neighbors and others on fixed income out of their homes and communities. What are some specific policies you will seek to implement to make Seattle and King County more a more sustainable and affordable living place for people of all ages, especially for older adults ages 55+ and persons with disabilities? 
 

7) It is expected that by 2025 about 25% of people living in King County will be 55+. Older adults, like people of all ages, want respect and to be involved on issues that impact their lives. As a local leader, how will you ensure there are age-friendly opportunities for older adults to contribute meaningfully to their communities and have their voices heard? How will you ensure that ageism is addressed and combatted? 

  
8) What do you believe to be the root causes of gender-based violence? 

9) At least one-quarter to one-third of people in our community will experience gender-based violence in their lifetimes, yet solutions and responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking are significantly under-funded. Given this systemic shortfall, what specific solutions will you bring forward for addressing issues of gender-based violence in our city? If elected, how would you use your position to prioritize the needs, wants, and decisions about services by the people the most impacted? 

10) Survivors of domestic and sexual violence frequently enter the criminal legal system due to their victimization, but criminal legal responses are problematic for most survivors for a variety of reasons, especially for Black, Indigenous, and other survivors of color, refugee and immigrant survivors; and gender non-conforming survivors. What do you see as the role of the criminal legal system in responding to gender-based violence? What are some community-based alternatives to responding to violence that you would promote or support? 

11) How do you define an Equitable Recovery? If you are elected, how will you work towards building an Equitable Recovery post- pandemic? 

12) The City of Seattle released bias crime data for 2020 that showed there were 791 hate or bias incidents reported to the police, more than two per day, and an increase of 63% in 2019. The vast majority of hate crimes and other crimes where bias played a role are centered around race or sexual orientation, with anti-Black hate acts increasing the most, from 96 incidents in 2019 to 171 in 2020 – a 78% jump. What are your ideas for how the city can respond to these hate crimes without criminalizing communities of color and people with diverse gender identities? 

13) The pandemic highlighted the stark racial divide in access to resources and opportunity across the country, including in Seattle and King County. We recognized that we were all in the same storm, but not all in the same boat. Providers and officials made a concerted effort to prioritize relief efforts by and for BIPOC communities who were hit hardest by COVID-19. Now, a multi-racial, multi-cultural cry has gone up to build an Equitable Recovery, and sustaining the investments made in our BIPOC communities is an integral component to building this Equitable Recovery. If elected, what measures will you take to ensure that the investments made in our BIPOC communities are not only sustained, but also expanded? What efforts will you make to move away from reliance on regressive taxes that keep many BIPOC and low-income families trapped in poverty and dispersed beyond our borders? 

14) At the start of the global pandemic, we all saw a sharp increase in people at risk for food insecurity after just one missing paycheck. At the same time, food banks and other parts of our food system grappled with years of underinvestment while working quickly to meet demand. What are some key learnings you took away from seeing the spike in food insecurity, and what are some ways that you will partner with food banks and food systems to ensure that we are prepared as a city to provide relief from hunger during the recovery?