Lisa Keating was our first interview this year with a school board candidate this year (and our only one with someone with purple hair!). Keating, who founded and heads an organization that advocates for LGBT youth, is challenging the formidable 30-year incumbent Debbie Winskill for position 1 in November.



Keating explains why she decided to run, and we talked at length about equity and inclusion in the school district and her work in Tacoma schools over the last decade. We also vented frustrations with some of the school board's actions during the strike last year, and she told us how they might have been handled differently. 



Check below for some original Channel 253 reporting by Sean Robinson on this high profile school board race. And become a member, everyone's doing it.



Links



One local school board race typifies generational shifts in Tacoma



A first-time candidate is raising most money in Tacoma school board races. Does it matter?



My Purple Umbrella



Friends for Lisa Keating website



Public Disclosure Commission: Keating Lisa J



Channel 253 membership

Episode 62: Lisa Keating, candidate for Tacoma school board

A podcast about local government in the City of Destiny

News

Politics

Welcome back to another episode of Citizen Tacoma! Michelle Douglas joins the podcast to discuss hunger in Pierce County. She gives an update on some of the ways Emergency Food Network and the food pantries across the county are serving those who need food.

We also check-in about the arts, the economy, downtown Tacoma, and more.

Enjoy!

Links

Emergency Food Network

Channel 253 membership


Michelle Douglas—Emergency Food Network

Did you know that Tacoma is governed by a "charter?" And that every ten years, a group of citizens gets together to review it and propose new changes. It's true!

Steve Wamback is the chair of the committee that is tackling this process. With more than 50 meetings planned in six months, they have a big workload ahead of them.

So what are they looking at? How does the process work? And how can you share your input? All that and more on the next episode.

Links

Tacoma's Charter Review Committee

Flyer for extended public comment session on Monday, February 26 (.pdf file)

Support Channel 253 as a member

Steve Wamback – Tacoma’s Charter Review Committee

Welcome back to another episode of Citizen Tacoma! Melissa Malott joins the podcast to discuss the health of Commencement Bay and what's threatening it. She gives an update on some of the industrial uses in the port and the work CHB is doing on that front. We get into the proposed rebuilding of the animal rendering plant and much more.

She also speaks a little bit about the Tacoma Charter Review Committee and what's happening there.

Enjoy!

Links

Melissa Malott at Communities for a Healthy Bay

Tacoma Charter Review

Channel 253 membership


Melissa Malott — Communities for a Healthy Bay

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland joins the podcast to talk about the recent speakership elections, government shutdowns, conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, bridging the digital divide, her view on what's at stake in the 2024 elections, and more.

Links

Marilyn Strickland

Channel 253 membership

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland

On this episode, we welcome Deputy Mayor Kristina Walker, who is a commissioner with Pierce Transit and a board member with Sound Transit. We discuss what's happening with transit in Tacoma and the wider region. We focus on the opening of the extension of the Link T Line in Tacoma. We also look at bus rapid transit, access to transit, and we check in on projects in Seattle and on the Eastside of Lake Washington.

Links

Kristina Walker

Channel 253 membership

Episode 62: Lisa Keating, candidate for Tacoma school board

Download our free app to listen on your phone