Candidate's Corner

In this episode intern Emma Young had a chance to interview Ethan Hunter, candidate for Seattle City Council District 4. The Seattle Municipal Primary Election will be held August 6. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

Transcription

School shootings are on the rise in the U.S. The Washington Post counts 237 school shootings since the Columbine shooting in 1999. In Washington state, there have only been three school shootings according to the K-12 School Shooting Database: Frontier Middle School in 1996, Marysville Pilchuck High School in 2014, and Freeman High School in 2017. Of the three, the Marysville Pilchuck High School shooting was the only one in the Seattle Metropolitan Area. In this incident 5 were killed and one was injured. In one Seattle Times article called “What we know about school mass shootings since Columbine and how to prevent them”, the author argues that focusing on fostering an inclusive school climate would be one of the most productive actions to take to reduce school shootings. It will be up to the local and state governments to determine the best path forward.

Another issue they will have to take up is salary increases for civil servants. Seattle is one of the most expensive cities in which to live in the country. The wages paid to city’s civil servants often leaves them unable to afford the costs of the city. The National Low Income Housing Coalition cites that the minimum salary needed to afford a studio apartment is $56,640. The starting salary for Seattle public school teachers is only $56,947 as of October 2018, leaving them barely able to afford to live in the city in the smallest living space possible. Prior to October, many would not have been able to afford it at all, since all teachers received a 10% salary increase. The starting salary for firefighters of $72,900 and for police officers of $81,444 is not enough for them to afford larger than a two bedroom apartment. These civil servants are so crucial to the city but can not afford to live here, which is why some are arguing for wage increases.

Seattle along with cities across the whole country have been deeply affected by the opioid crisis as well. In 2016, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reported 179 deaths in Seattle due to drug related incidents, of which 123 were caused by opioids. The DEA Seattle Field Division anticipates that deaths will only continue to rise in the area due to opiate addiction. The opioid crisis touches every part of Seattle from stressing police resources, causing increased lawlessness, and disrupting communities.

Seattle as well as Washington state as a whole has taken a multi-pronged approach to combating the opioid crisis...(Transcription edited, only 4000 characters allowed)

In this episode intern Emma Young had a chance to interview John Lombard, candidate for Seattle City Council District 5. The Seattle Municipal Primary Election will be held August 6. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

Transcription

Seattleites will go to the polls on Tuesday August 6th to vote in the primary election. Seattle’s seven district city council seats are on the ballot. Between all seven districts, 56 candidates are running with a wide array of backgrounds ranging from a former spy, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a scientist.

All city council members hold a four year term. To run for district city council, potential candidates must have resided in the district for at least 120 before filing or declaring a candidacy, must live in their district during their term, and must be a registered City of Seattle voter. City council members earn $62.11 per hour resulting in an annual salary of around $120,000.

This election will be the first in which candidates running for district city council seats can use Democracy Vouchers. In 2015, Seattleites approved the Honest Elections Seattle Initiative to make elections more fair and transparent which includes the Democracy Voucher Program. Seattle is the first city in the country to implement a program like this. The program stipulates that the Seattle Ethics and Elections Committee distributes four $25 vouchers to each eligible recipient. The recipient can assign their voucher to any city council candidate who is participating in this program. The Ethics and Elections Committee will disburse the value of the voucher to the campaign of the voter’s choice. Not all candidates participate in the program as it is voluntary. Out of the 56 candidates running for city council, 32 are accepting Democracy Vouchers. To participate in the program, there are certain requirements the candidate must follow including adhering to strict campaign spending rules, not accepting money from Political Action Committees, limiting individual contributions, and participating in three debates.

Democracy Vouchers were first used in the 2017 municipal election. This is the first time district city council candidates have had the opportunity to use these vouchers. As of July 11, 2019, 51,775 vouchers have been used for a total of $1,294,375 distributed.

The whole landscape of Seattle has dramatically changed since the tech boom began around 2014. It was in this year that Seattle first claimed the title of the fastest growing city in the country. Currently, it ranks #2 nationwide as growth starts to slow. The population of the city is currently around 745,000 according to 2018 U.S. Census estimates.

A growing population has accompanied growing income inequalities. In 2016, the top 20% of earners in Seattle took home 53.3% of income earned in Seattle, whereas the bottom 20% took home only 2.6%. Inequality continues to grow because the top earners continue to make more money while to poorest’s salaries remain stagnant, widening the gap between quintiles... (description only allows 4000 characters)

In this episode intern Emma Young had a chance to interview John Lombard, candidate for Seattle City Council District 5. The Seattle Municipal Primary Election will be held August 6. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

Transcription

Seattleites will go to the polls on Tuesday August 6th to vote in the primary election. Seattle’s seven district city council seats are on the ballot. Between all seven districts, 56 candidates are running with a wide array of backgrounds ranging from a former spy, a Peace Corps volunteer, and a scientist.

All city council members hold a four year term. To run for district city council, potential candidates must have resided in the district for at least 120 before filing or declaring a candidacy, must live in their district during their term, and must be a registered City of Seattle voter. City council members earn $62.11 per hour resulting in an annual salary of around $120,000.

This election will be the first in which candidates running for district city council seats can use Democracy Vouchers. In 2015, Seattleites approved the Honest Elections Seattle Initiative to make elections more fair and transparent which includes the Democracy Voucher Program. Seattle is the first city in the country to implement a program like this. The program stipulates that the Seattle Ethics and Elections Committee distributes four $25 vouchers to each eligible recipient. The recipient can assign their voucher to any city council candidate who is participating in this program. The Ethics and Elections Committee will disburse the value of the voucher to the campaign of the voter’s choice. Not all candidates participate in the program as it is voluntary. Out of the 56 candidates running for city council, 32 are accepting Democracy Vouchers. To participate in the program, there are certain requirements the candidate must follow including adhering to strict campaign spending rules, not accepting money from Political Action Committees, limiting individual contributions, and participating in three debates.

Democracy Vouchers were first used in the 2017 municipal election. This is the first time district city council candidates have had the opportunity to use these vouchers. As of July 11, 2019, 51,775 vouchers have been used for a total of $1,294,375 distributed.

The whole landscape of Seattle has dramatically changed since the tech boom began around 2014. It was in this year that Seattle first claimed the title of the fastest growing city in the country. Currently, it ranks #2 nationwide as growth starts to slow. The population of the city is currently around 745,000 according to 2018 U.S. Census estimates.

A growing population has accompanied growing income inequalities. In 2016, the top 20% of earners in Seattle took home 53.3% of income earned in Seattle, whereas the bottom 20% took home only 2.6%. Inequality continues to grow because the top earners continue to make more money while to poorest’s salaries remain stagnant, widening the gap between quintiles... (description only allows 4000 characters)

This week intern Olivia had a chance to speak with Jonathan Allen, candidate for District 9 City Councilor in the City of Boston. The Boston Preliminary Municipal Election will be held September 24th. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week intern Olivia had a chance to speak with Jonathan Allen, candidate for District 9 City Councilor in the City of Boston. The Boston Preliminary Municipal Election will be held September 24th. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week we had a chance to speak with Priscilla Flint-Banks, candidate for At-Large City Councilor in the City of Boston. The Boston Municipal Election will be held September 24th. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week we had a chance to speak with Priscilla Flint-Banks, candidate for At-Large City Councilor in the City of Boston. The Boston Municipal Election will be held September 24th. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week intern Cloris had a chance to speak with Reuben Dockery, candidate for At-Large City Councilor of the City of Nashville. The Nashville Municipal Election will be held August 1. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week intern Cloris had a chance to speak with Reuben Dockery, candidate for At-Large City Councilor of the City of Nashville. The Nashville Municipal Election will be held August 1. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

This week intern Emma had a chance to speak with Jimmy Lawrence, candidate for Mayor of the City of Nashville. The Nashville Municipal Election will be held August 1. Learn more about the candidates running for office in your community at www.Vote-USA.org!

Narration Transcription:

Nashville has experienced massive growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that in 2018 Davidson County had a population of almost 700,000 people, which was a 10% increase from 2010. This growth has challenged the city’s affordability. The 2018 Nashville Chamber of Commerce Vital Signs Report found that 40% of residents had difficulty covering their monthly expenses, which was 6% higher than the previous year. Rising housing costs is one of the main contributing factors. In just the past 10 years, the median house price has jumped from $159,800 in 2008 to $246,500 in 2018. Housing markets have been unable to keep up with demand, causing prices to skyrocket while median household incomes have not experienced corresponding raises.

Tourism has also increased in recent years. In 2018, according to the Nashville Conventions and Visitors Corp, 15.2 million visitors came to Nashville. Tourism is a 6.5 billion-dollar industry which has been partially fueling the growth of the city. To attract tourists, Nashville invested in several large public works projects. One such investment was the Music City Center, which opened in 2013. Taxpayers have been picking up the bill for many of the Center’s expenses, such as police overtime for covering events and infrastructure upkeep for increased tourist traffic. Many would argue that the Center should cover these expenses instead of the city since it is the one generating these costs. In order to assuage its critics, the Convention Center Authority which runs the Music City Center agreed to give $10 million from its surplus funds to the city’s general fund to make up for some of the costs the city has covered in the past. However, some say that the $10 million isn’t enough nor is it a long-term solution.

Even though Nashville generates great wealth from its tourism industry, debt still plagues the city leaving tight budgets for all elements of the metro government.

The Metropolitan government has $3.6 billion in outstanding debt obligations. Last year, for every $10 spent by the city, $1 went to servicing its debt. The city’s debt problems can be traced back to policies implemented during the Great Recession and to borrowing that continued following its recovery. A Blue-Ribbon Commission was recently designated to address Nashville’s debt. It was tasked with trimming $20 million from the budget, and, in April of this year, the Commission released its first report with an extensive list of recommendations.

Mayor Briley proposed an operating budget of $2.3 billion for the next fiscal year. Unanticipated revenue shortfalls limited his budget proposal which leaves public schools severely underfunded. Metro Nashville Public Schools requested a $76.7 million increase in their budget to pay for 10% raises for its teachers and staff, but, in Mayor Briley’s budget, the school system was only awarded a $28.2 million increase. The Nashville School Board has proposed an alternative to raise the remainder of the money where a referendum would be put to Nashvillians to vote on whether to raise their property taxes to make up for the shortfalls of Mayor Briley’s budget. This plan is still being considered. Under Mayor Briley’s budget, property taxes would not be raised.

Today, we will be speaking with Jimmy Lawrence, one of the candidates for Mayor of the metro government. He is known not only as a local businessman but also as a musician. He does not have prior political experience.

Now, let’s dive in with Mr. Lawrence.