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♪♪

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-Good afternoon and welcome.

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We are delighted here
at Seattle University

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to be hosting Seattle
Mayor Katie B. Wilson

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and King County
Executive Girmay

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Zahilay for our Spring Conversations
program.

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Again, I'd like to thank you both

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so much for the time

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that you are giving us
and for being here

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and being game for this
this whole bit here.

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Seated next to me 
is Ari Winter,

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graduate student in our public
administration program here.

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And Ari has a great
question to lead us off.

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-I want to initially start off
with telling you both

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you can jump in on each

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other's questions at any time
because we want this

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to feel
like a natural conversation.

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So please
feel free to do that.

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Starting off with you,
Executive Zahilay,

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you represent a whole county,
not just its more progressive

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center of the city of Seattle.

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How do you lead regionally,

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mindful of how different parts
of your constituency respond

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to progressive politics
and governmental action?

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-It's a really great question
because before this job

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I was a council member
on the King County Council

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and I represented the district
where I was raised.

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So the district
where I was representing is

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all the neighborhoods

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where I learned
how to ride a bike and where I

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went to high school
and middle school

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and elementary school.

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And so I would just go up

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and down MLK or Rainier Avenue
and see my district

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and also my home.

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And a lot of people think
the same way.

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It's a diverse place,
but diverse within reason.

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Right.

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And then
once I got to this job,

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I got in a car

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one day

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and I had a meeting

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in Federal Way and
then I had a meeting in Duvall.

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Anybody here
know where Duvall is?

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You ever heard of it?

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I was in the car for like,
2 hours

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and I was still in King
County.

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So it was pretty shocking.

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And, you know,
you walk into a room and

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people look different
than they do in district two

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or dress different.

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And there are more
rural areas.

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There are farm towns.

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I know you're doing
your capstone on farmers.

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And so it's just a much, much
different and diverse region.

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We have 39 different cities,
We have unincorporated areas,

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we have suburban,
we have urban,

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we have farm towns,
we have forests and so much.

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And so step

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one is the same thing

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that I did
as a council member,

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which is

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have boots on the ground,
go out there,

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meet people, earn trust,
figure out what their issues

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are, and really understand
them from the perspective

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of a human being and not from
whether they are a Democrat

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or a Republican or
have this label or that label.

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And the most
shocking part to me has been

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how similar
people's issues are, right?

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Everybody has a diversity
of issues.

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Of course,
if you get down to the

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nitty gritty,
there are differences

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based on city or area
or the type of region.

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But at the end of the day,

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it feels like everybody's
issues boil down to

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they want to feel safe

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and they want to be able
to afford stuff.

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That's how I summarize total.

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They want to feel safe

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and they want to be able
to afford stuff.

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And that takes a different
shape and looks different

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depending on where you go.

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But once you understand that
at the end of the day,

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this roomful of people,

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whether they're in Duvall
or Shoreline or Federal Way,

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they want to make sure
that when they send their kids

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to school,
that their kids are safe,

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that when they go to
the grocery store, they can be

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they can afford their food,

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that they have a good job
where one job is enough.

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Those types of issues, once
you start to understand that,

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it gives you the grounding
in the humanity of people.

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And then from there
you get to know them

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specifically
by showing up where they are.

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-Mayor Wilson,

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You have your own
balancing act

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to represent your constituents
in the city of Seattle

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in your first few months
as mayor.

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How have you navigated
political divisions and

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expectations about progressive
policies across the city?

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-Yeah,
I mean, that's a big question,

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and I think a lot of what
the executive

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just said really resonates
with me, right?

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Even though Seattle
maybe has a stronger kind of

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progressive politics identity
than the county as a whole,

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that masks an incredible
amount of diversity

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right across

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kinds,
including political diversity,

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ideological diversity,

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and just

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people in institutions
coming from a

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lot of different perspectives.

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And so, you know,
I came into office

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obviously running
as an unabashed progressive,

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but at the same time

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recognizing that as 
the mayor of the city,

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right, and kind of representing the city in that sense,

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I really
had work to do, building

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relationships
kind of across the spectrum.

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And so,

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you know,

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I put a lot of work in in
these first few months

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building relationships,

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especially with folks
in the business community.

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And I think that some people
in the business community

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probably started out

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with some pretty low

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expectations of me

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and maybe were happy
that I was just

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willing to sit down and
have a conversation. Right.

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And and so
I think the attitude

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that I've tried to come at
this with is like,

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look, we're not necessarily

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going to agree on everything,
and that's fine.

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But I really want to establish
those relationships

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where we can work together

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on the things
where we have alignment

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and then sometimes
we disagree,

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but that doesn't explode
the whole relationship.

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And I think that,

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you know, regardless
of who I'm talking to,

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whether that's people,

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you know, on the left
or people

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on the kind of business,

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I'm not going
to call them the right. But,

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you know, I think that's just

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an important
they don't like to

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be careful of labels.

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But I really you know,

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I think
what the executive said about

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we're in this moment

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where people want to feel safe

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and they want to be able to
afford to live in this city.

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And I think that
that really resonates with me.

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That's what I heard

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so strongly

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during the campaign
as I talked to

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people in neighborhoods
across the city,

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whether that's residents,
small business owners.

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And and so I really think
there's a lot of common

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ground there.

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And that's what I found

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in those conversations
with people

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kind of across
the political spectrum.

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There's a lot of alignment on

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we need to make progress
on the homelessness crisis.

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We need to make progress
on public safety.

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We need to make progress
on affordability.

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And so I'm really looking
for those areas of alignment.

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And, you know, you think about
affordability, right?

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And like initially,
I think of that

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from the point of view
of someone

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like myself, a renter,

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someone who wasn't making
a lot of money

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prior to this job, and,
you know, a mother.

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Right, trying to afford
the cost of childcare.

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But that's really a problem
for businesses, too, right?

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If you're trying to run
a business

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and the people that you're
employing

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can't afford to live
in the city and haven't

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or having to commute
a long way,

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it's really hard to attract
and retain a great workforce

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when we have this
affordability crisis.

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So I think when you begin
to draw out those connections

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and figure out
what are the things

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that we can really make
progress

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on, that people want to see
progress on across the board.

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There's just a lot of ground
there.

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And, you know, again,
that's not glossing over

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the fact

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that there are
some deep differences

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and that there are going
to be issues

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where I do things that not
everyone is happy with.

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And that's already happened.

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But but I think it's
really important to keep

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to keep in mind
that commonality

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and that kind of big work
that we can do together.

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Because, I mean, people

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across the board
want to see Seattle succeed.

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-So still sort of
refining the terms here.

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And speaking of what
flavor of of progressivism

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are we talking about, as you
well know, Seattle, Boston,

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New York, part of a trend
toward progressive policies.

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But in longtime ultra
progressive San Francisco

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Mayor Daniel Lurie,
very popular.

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He changed

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course and leads is,
he would say, more moderately

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than his predecessor on things

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like street disorder,
drug markets and encampments.

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What do you think

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of sort of the difference
between the progressive cities

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and what Daniel Lurie is doing?

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Are there

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any lessons that he has served
up for the city of Seattle?

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-I mean, I think
and I'm not I haven't done

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like a deep dive
on all of those cities.

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But I think if you look
at some of the approach

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that Daniel Lurie
has taken in San Francisco

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and then you look at

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the approach that Michelle
Wu has taken in Boston

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on specifically issues
related to homelessness

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and kind of related
issues of public safety,

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I'm not sure there's
a big difference there.

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So, I mean,

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I think that there are
I think we're in a..

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-So is it more the way he is
describing it?

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-Yeah.

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-And I think you're making him
do 71% approval. -Right.

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And I think there might be
some differences.

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I mean, you know, Boston
and San Francisco,

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I think we're starting

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from different baselines
in terms of like the acuity

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of the homelessness
crisis and everything.

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But you know, I do think
I think we're in a moment.

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And, you know, I

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before deciding to run
for office, right,

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I wrote

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a piece for The Stranger,
which was called, you know,

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“Where the Left
Went Wrong on Homelessness.”

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And so I think we are

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in a little bit of a moment of
of kind of critical self

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assessment
on some parts of the left

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in terms of the approach

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that we've taken
to homelessness and

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some parts of public safety.

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And in my mind,
that's not like we're going

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to become less progressive.

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It's more about
we want to be effective.

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We want to figure out

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what is the best thing
that we can do to help

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the folks who are struggling

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on our streets
with homelessness,

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with substance use disorder,
with mental illness.

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And so it's really about what
works, right?

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Because ultimately we want,
you know, move forward.

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That's what
we're talking about here

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00:09:14,987 --> 00:09:16,923
as as the president said.

258
00:09:16,923 --> 00:09:20,593
And and so it's really about
like what, you know,

259
00:09:20,593 --> 00:09:22,228
what should be
a progressive approach

260
00:09:22,228 --> 00:09:24,530
to these issues,
not about kind of moving away

261
00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:26,432
from a progressive approach
in my mind.

262
00:09:26,432 --> 00:09:28,134
-Executive Zahilay,

263
00:09:28,134 --> 00:09:30,803
I see you shaking your head
there,

264
00:09:30,803 --> 00:09:33,806
reminding folks San
Francisco is also a county.

265
00:09:33,906 --> 00:09:35,107
So what's your take?

266
00:09:35,107 --> 00:09:36,175
Is there something that San

267
00:09:36,175 --> 00:09:39,211
Francisco is doing that
you think would work in

268
00:09:40,012 --> 00:09:43,449
the rural parts of King County
or suburban cities, King

269
00:09:43,449 --> 00:09:44,617
County in general,

270
00:09:44,617 --> 00:09:46,852
something that's that
you find as a takeaway

271
00:09:46,852 --> 00:09:48,921
that would be helpful
as you approach

272
00:09:48,921 --> 00:09:51,090
some of the problems
facing King County?

273
00:09:51,090 --> 00:09:55,094
-I see two different worlds
in our region

274
00:09:55,094 --> 00:09:56,228
and maybe even our city

275
00:09:56,228 --> 00:09:59,999
where it feels like there's
the hyper politicized class

276
00:09:59,999 --> 00:10:00,633
and then there

277
00:10:00,633 --> 00:10:02,768
are the everyday people

278
00:10:02,768 --> 00:10:05,071
who are not
really politically engaged,

279
00:10:05,071 --> 00:10:07,340
and that's a broader
community.

280
00:10:07,340 --> 00:10:10,343
And when I look at the broader
community,

281
00:10:10,376 --> 00:10:14,413
there doesn't seem
to be an appetite for labels

282
00:10:14,413 --> 00:10:16,582
or I'm going to vote
for the Progressive

283
00:10:16,582 --> 00:10:18,684
or I'm going to vote
for the moderate.

284
00:10:18,684 --> 00:10:21,621
They're just like, Who's
going to solve these problems?

285
00:10:21,621 --> 00:10:24,190
Who's just going to help me
live every day?

286
00:10:24,190 --> 00:10:25,591
Who is going to

287
00:10:25,591 --> 00:10:28,027
I don't care what the ideology
is behind it,

288
00:10:28,027 --> 00:10:29,762
who is going to reduce gun
violence,

289
00:10:29,762 --> 00:10:31,530
who is going to reduce street
disorder?

290
00:10:31,530 --> 00:10:32,665
Who's going to help people

291
00:10:32,665 --> 00:10:34,567
who are unhoused
get into shelter?

292
00:10:34,567 --> 00:10:37,303
It is just the
I don't care what your label

293
00:10:37,303 --> 00:10:39,405
is, who's
going to solve the problem.

294
00:10:39,405 --> 00:10:39,805
-I'm sorry.

295
00:10:39,805 --> 00:10:43,109
-But speaking of labels,
you have the same label on a

296
00:10:43,242 --> 00:10:46,145
on an initiative of yours
“Breaking the Cycle”

297
00:10:46,145 --> 00:10:47,880
that Daniel Lurie has.

298
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:49,015
-Yeah. Yeah.

299
00:10:49,015 --> 00:10:52,018
So I agree with the mayor,
which is just that

300
00:10:52,551 --> 00:10:55,721
I think people just want
to see the person who is

301
00:10:55,855 --> 00:10:57,223
solving problems,

302
00:10:57,223 --> 00:11:01,560
not just on a large, abstract
long timeline.

303
00:11:01,761 --> 00:11:02,962
You know, part of

304
00:11:02,962 --> 00:11:04,563
maybe
where the quote unquote left

305
00:11:04,563 --> 00:11:05,031
wing wrong

306
00:11:05,031 --> 00:11:06,932
that the mayor was talking
about is

307
00:11:06,932 --> 00:11:08,300
you can't tell people

308
00:11:08,300 --> 00:11:08,701
we're going

309
00:11:08,701 --> 00:11:12,438
to solve the homelessness
crisis 40 years from now

310
00:11:12,438 --> 00:11:14,840
when the housing crisis
is solved. Right.

311
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:15,975
You have to say,

312
00:11:15,975 --> 00:11:16,642
yes, we're going to

313
00:11:16,642 --> 00:11:20,646
address that long term problem
and we have to get people

314
00:11:20,646 --> 00:11:22,882
the services they need
and we have to

315
00:11:22,882 --> 00:11:25,351
have some answer
for street disorder.

316
00:11:25,351 --> 00:11:27,853
And it's a both and approach.

317
00:11:27,853 --> 00:11:28,988
And I think that comes

318
00:11:28,988 --> 00:11:31,991
from a perspective of I'm here
to solve problems

319
00:11:31,991 --> 00:11:35,261
and not just to,
you know, signal virtue

320
00:11:35,261 --> 00:11:37,596
to a base or whatever
it might be.

321
00:11:37,596 --> 00:11:39,198
So I think that's that's
part of it as well.

322
00:11:39,198 --> 00:11:41,200
-And I would just add, 
like, I think

323
00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:41,500
I think

324
00:11:41,500 --> 00:11:42,935
if you look at the way
this debate

325
00:11:42,935 --> 00:11:45,871
and to some extent
the policy policy

326
00:11:45,871 --> 00:11:47,773
to some extent policy,
but really just the at least

327
00:11:47,773 --> 00:11:50,309
ideological debate has played
out over the last ten years.

328
00:11:50,309 --> 00:11:50,609
I think

329
00:11:50,609 --> 00:11:53,012
we've gotten into
this situation where you have

330
00:11:53,012 --> 00:11:55,147
a little bit of a caricature
of like a left

331
00:11:55,147 --> 00:11:57,750
wing progressive position
and then a kind of right

332
00:11:57,750 --> 00:12:00,352
wing law and order position
where the caricature

333
00:12:00,352 --> 00:12:01,721
of the left wing position is

334
00:12:02,955 --> 00:12:03,689
almost is kind of

335
00:12:03,689 --> 00:12:06,692
libertarian, like just like
let people die in the streets.

336
00:12:06,959 --> 00:12:10,129
You know,
just just enable them

337
00:12:10,129 --> 00:12:13,132
with drug paraphernalia and,

338
00:12:13,332 --> 00:12:14,867
you know,
maybe offer them shelter,

339
00:12:14,867 --> 00:12:16,836
but don't force
anyone to do anything.

340
00:12:16,836 --> 00:12:18,804
And don't
even really pay attention

341
00:12:18,804 --> 00:12:20,539
to the drug crisis
and just let it go on.

342
00:12:20,539 --> 00:12:22,775
So that's like the caricature
of the left wing position,

343
00:12:22,775 --> 00:12:23,743
the caricature, the right wing

344
00:12:23,743 --> 00:12:27,546
position is like, crack down,
throw them all in jail.

345
00:12:27,546 --> 00:12:28,981
There are consequences.

346
00:12:28,981 --> 00:12:29,281
You know,

347
00:12:29,281 --> 00:12:29,949
you just have to make it

348
00:12:29,949 --> 00:12:31,550
really uncomfortable
to be homeless

349
00:12:31,550 --> 00:12:34,153
and then people will solve
their problems.

350
00:12:34,153 --> 00:12:37,123
And so, you know, and surprise,

351
00:12:37,123 --> 00:12:39,959
neither of those approaches
actually works.

352
00:12:39,959 --> 00:12:43,062
And so I think what
what I am trying to get to

353
00:12:43,562 --> 00:12:46,699
as as a progressive
is what is going to work

354
00:12:46,899 --> 00:12:47,900
and what is an approach

355
00:12:47,900 --> 00:12:50,202
that is really rooted
in compassion

356
00:12:50,202 --> 00:12:53,639
and respecting the dignity
of every human being

357
00:12:53,839 --> 00:12:56,342
and also recognizing
those big systemic issues

358
00:12:56,342 --> 00:12:58,711
that have led to the crisis
that we're in from,

359
00:12:58,711 --> 00:12:59,879
you know, the housing crisis

360
00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:02,748
and historic levels of income
and wealth inequality

361
00:13:02,748 --> 00:13:04,650
and like all of these
kind of root causes.

362
00:13:04,650 --> 00:13:06,919
And what is the actual
realistic pathway

363
00:13:06,919 --> 00:13:09,522
that is going to address this
crisis?

364
00:13:09,522 --> 00:13:12,091
And to me, that is
a progressive thing to do.

365
00:13:12,091 --> 00:13:15,194
And, you know, I think
I don't want to endorse like

366
00:13:15,928 --> 00:13:18,230
Daniel Leary's entire approach
in San Francisco.

367
00:13:18,230 --> 00:13:19,298
I probably have
some differences

368
00:13:19,298 --> 00:13:19,899
of opinion with him.

369
00:13:19,899 --> 00:13:21,267
But I think,

370
00:13:21,267 --> 00:13:21,934
you know,

371
00:13:21,934 --> 00:13:23,836
there is probably some overlap
there, right,

372
00:13:23,836 --> 00:13:26,205
in the approach
that that that we're taking.

373
00:13:26,205 --> 00:13:28,908
-Can I just add
one thing to that?

374
00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:31,377
Just to build off the wisdom
of what the mayor is saying,

375
00:13:31,377 --> 00:13:34,814
I think the correct approach
is never going to just be

376
00:13:35,114 --> 00:13:38,818
all the ideas from one wing
of a party or the other.

377
00:13:38,818 --> 00:13:42,555
There's going to be a grab bag
of what works and waiting

378
00:13:42,588 --> 00:13:43,789
and trying and failing.

379
00:13:43,789 --> 00:13:46,792
And I would like
to give an example of that,

380
00:13:46,792 --> 00:13:47,993
if that's helpful.

381
00:13:47,993 --> 00:13:50,429
So, you know,
a couple of months ago

382
00:13:50,429 --> 00:13:52,531
there was that horrible
shooting outside of Rainier

383
00:13:52,531 --> 00:13:55,534
Beach High School
where two students were killed

384
00:13:55,568 --> 00:13:58,838
and we as King County, invited
some of the Rainier Beach

385
00:13:58,838 --> 00:14:01,841
High School students
to King County to receive

386
00:14:01,974 --> 00:14:04,977
an award for winning the state
basketball title.

387
00:14:05,244 --> 00:14:07,046
And as part of that,
we had some of the students

388
00:14:07,046 --> 00:14:07,546
come forward

389
00:14:07,546 --> 00:14:09,048
and share some of their ideas

390
00:14:09,048 --> 00:14:10,850
on what are some of
the solutions

391
00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:12,651
that they want
to see around their school.

392
00:14:12,651 --> 00:14:15,321
And some of those students
got up and said things

393
00:14:15,321 --> 00:14:17,623
that are not
cleanly progressive, right?

394
00:14:17,623 --> 00:14:19,258
Some of them stood up
and said,

395
00:14:19,258 --> 00:14:21,393
I want more police
around the school.

396
00:14:21,393 --> 00:14:22,261
That's what they said.

397
00:14:22,261 --> 00:14:24,230
-Yeah. -It's not the clean
progressive answer.

398
00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:26,065
-Also asked for the 
surveillance cameras.

399
00:14:26,065 --> 00:14:28,734
-Yeah, yeah.
That's what they and like.

400
00:14:28,734 --> 00:14:31,237
We posted that
I posted that video

401
00:14:31,237 --> 00:14:35,307
and when I tell you
how many DMS I got from people

402
00:14:35,307 --> 00:14:37,576
who want the clean 
progressive answer

403
00:14:37,576 --> 00:14:40,512
telling me “delete this,
you're parroting right

404
00:14:40,512 --> 00:14:43,249
wing talking points.
How dare you elevate this!”

405
00:14:43,249 --> 00:14:46,518
And I'm like, “You are talking
about the demographic

406
00:14:46,518 --> 00:14:49,521
that is most at risk
for being shot and killed

407
00:14:49,588 --> 00:14:51,390
and you're saying
erase their voice

408
00:14:51,390 --> 00:14:53,893
because they said something
that doesn't cleanly align

409
00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:55,494
with the thing
that you want to hear.”

410
00:14:55,494 --> 00:14:58,130
That's absurd,
that's super frustrating.

411
00:14:58,130 --> 00:15:01,166
And so absolutely,
you have to listen and partner

412
00:15:01,166 --> 00:15:02,801
with the people
who are most impacted.

413
00:15:02,801 --> 00:15:05,070
And that's not always going
to look like the the

414
00:15:05,070 --> 00:15:07,706
the clean
virtue of progressivism.

415
00:15:09,141 --> 00:15:12,811
(applause) 

416
00:15:13,312 --> 00:15:14,046
-I want to jump

417
00:15:14,046 --> 00:15:14,580
I want to jump

418
00:15:14,580 --> 00:15:17,917
back into the homelessness
conversation with you

419
00:15:18,384 --> 00:15:22,288
and ask about King County,
because the county declared

420
00:15:22,288 --> 00:15:25,291
a regional homelessness
emergency a decade ago

421
00:15:25,591 --> 00:15:28,494
and millions of dollars
or more have been spent trying

422
00:15:28,494 --> 00:15:30,362
to resolve those issues.

423
00:15:30,362 --> 00:15:31,463
And I'm wondering

424
00:15:31,463 --> 00:15:34,466
what do we have to show
for those dollars?

425
00:15:34,767 --> 00:15:38,337
-So I think that we have
a lot more work

426
00:15:38,337 --> 00:15:41,340
to do on homelessness.
At a high level,

427
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,210
there is an issue of no matter
how effectively

428
00:15:45,210 --> 00:15:48,847
you respond to the people
who are currently unhoused,

429
00:15:49,581 --> 00:15:52,217
the number of people entering
homelessness is still

430
00:15:52,217 --> 00:15:53,485
happening at a high rate.

431
00:15:53,485 --> 00:15:56,322
So yes,
a lot of money is being spent

432
00:15:56,322 --> 00:15:58,891
and yes, also
people are being removed

433
00:15:58,891 --> 00:16:00,926
from homelessness
and into housing

434
00:16:00,926 --> 00:16:04,296
and the scale of the
production of the response

435
00:16:04,563 --> 00:16:06,131
is nowhere near

436
00:16:06,131 --> 00:16:07,599
the scale of the problem

437
00:16:07,599 --> 00:16:10,069
and the scale
of the growth of the problem.

438
00:16:10,069 --> 00:16:11,603
And so every year,

439
00:16:11,603 --> 00:16:13,572
every two years,
the Regional Homelessness

440
00:16:13,572 --> 00:16:16,575
Authority does a point in time
count to see how many people

441
00:16:16,575 --> 00:16:20,312
are living not just unhoused
but unsheltered, unhoused

442
00:16:20,312 --> 00:16:23,282
meaning they are literally
living outside in the street.

443
00:16:23,382 --> 00:16:24,917
And if you asked it

444
00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:28,320
last two years ago when it was
last done, it was 16,000.

445
00:16:28,587 --> 00:16:30,522
Two years before
that was 14,000.

446
00:16:30,522 --> 00:16:32,758
Two years
before that it was 12,000.

447
00:16:32,758 --> 00:16:35,561
And I wouldn't be surprised
if the number comes out

448
00:16:35,561 --> 00:16:37,730
this year
and it breaks 20,000.

449
00:16:37,730 --> 00:16:39,331
I, I don't know that for sure.

450
00:16:39,331 --> 00:16:41,367
I haven't seen that,
but I wouldn't be surprised

451
00:16:41,367 --> 00:16:45,404
because that number of people
who continue to be priced out

452
00:16:45,404 --> 00:16:48,841
and impacted by all of
the overlapping crises of

453
00:16:49,375 --> 00:16:51,243
the housing crisis
and the behavioral health

454
00:16:51,243 --> 00:16:55,114
and violence and trauma,
that's stuff keeps going up.

455
00:16:55,114 --> 00:16:58,017
And so we need more roofs
over people's heads,

456
00:16:58,017 --> 00:16:59,284
we need more services,

457
00:16:59,284 --> 00:17:00,753
and we need
some accountability

458
00:17:00,753 --> 00:17:03,122
with you doing the things
that are most effective.

459
00:17:04,323 --> 00:17:05,657
-Mayor Wilson,

460
00:17:05,657 --> 00:17:08,927
your signature issue is
emergency shelter and housing.

461
00:17:09,228 --> 00:17:12,064
You've set an ambitious goal,
4000 units

462
00:17:12,064 --> 00:17:13,832
in the next four years, 1000

463
00:17:13,832 --> 00:17:16,935
this year, and 500 before
the CFA tournament in June.

464
00:17:18,103 --> 00:17:20,873
The Seattle Times today
reported that you're running

465
00:17:20,873 --> 00:17:23,375
into challenges
with citing pricing

466
00:17:23,375 --> 00:17:25,644
and cost of wraparound
services.

467
00:17:25,644 --> 00:17:26,912
How are you going
to meet these goals

468
00:17:26,912 --> 00:17:28,514
with those challenges?

469
00:17:28,514 --> 00:17:30,282
-We are working on it
every single day.

470
00:17:30,282 --> 00:17:31,383
So yeah,

471
00:17:31,383 --> 00:17:32,918
I have not read
that Seattle Times

472
00:17:32,918 --> 00:17:35,921
article yet, but yeah, no,
I mean we have,

473
00:17:36,455 --> 00:17:36,722
you know,

474
00:17:36,722 --> 00:17:38,057
the team in my office

475
00:17:38,057 --> 00:17:39,558
and in the various departments
in the city

476
00:17:39,558 --> 00:17:40,259
that are involved in

477
00:17:40,259 --> 00:17:41,994
this work
have been working really hard

478
00:17:41,994 --> 00:17:43,529
over the last few months
to figure out

479
00:17:43,529 --> 00:17:46,532
how do we accelerate a process
that,

480
00:17:46,632 --> 00:17:48,000
first of all, really happens,
right?

481
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,802
I mean,
I think The Seattle Times

482
00:17:49,802 --> 00:17:52,938
also reported last year
that the city had added a net

483
00:17:52,938 --> 00:17:55,207
13 units of shelter
over the last four years.

484
00:17:55,207 --> 00:17:56,108
So we are really,

485
00:17:56,108 --> 00:17:59,111
really aiming high
in terms of ramping things up.

486
00:17:59,311 --> 00:18:01,680
And so we've done
a ton of work

487
00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:03,482
to figure out
how we accelerate

488
00:18:03,482 --> 00:18:06,685
opening a site from what
normally can take, you know,

489
00:18:06,718 --> 00:18:09,655
nine months to a year
or more into a few months.

490
00:18:09,655 --> 00:18:13,225
And so we've identified
a bunch of sites

491
00:18:13,225 --> 00:18:16,028
and we've been working with,
you know, property owners.

492
00:18:16,028 --> 00:18:17,863
In some cases,
these are private property,

493
00:18:17,863 --> 00:18:19,598
in some cases public

494
00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:22,367
and with service providers
to figure out

495
00:18:22,367 --> 00:18:24,069
what we need to do
to get those sites online.

496
00:18:24,069 --> 00:18:28,173
So we're moving
and we'll see what we can get

497
00:18:28,173 --> 00:18:29,274
to before the World Cup.

498
00:18:29,274 --> 00:18:31,343
But I think the utility
of establishing

499
00:18:31,343 --> 00:18:32,444
an ambitious goal like that

500
00:18:32,444 --> 00:18:34,713
is really rallying
everyone around it.

501
00:18:34,713 --> 00:18:36,648
And not just people
at the city, right.

502
00:18:36,648 --> 00:18:39,084
And the service providers, but
also the business community.

503
00:18:39,084 --> 00:18:39,251
Right.

504
00:18:39,251 --> 00:18:39,751
We've got some

505
00:18:39,751 --> 00:18:41,787
philanthropic support
coming for

506
00:18:41,787 --> 00:18:43,589
at least one of these sites.

507
00:18:43,589 --> 00:18:45,657
And then just everyone out
in the community. Right?

508
00:18:45,657 --> 00:18:46,492
Because I think it's going to

509
00:18:46,492 --> 00:18:49,561
be really a team effort
of like we want people to be,

510
00:18:50,028 --> 00:18:50,262
you know,

511
00:18:50,262 --> 00:18:54,533
when there is a shelter,
a tiny house, a village or a,

512
00:18:54,867 --> 00:18:55,501
you know, a building

513
00:18:55,501 --> 00:18:57,336
that's going to be opening
in a neighborhood,

514
00:18:57,336 --> 00:18:58,670
we want the neighbors to come

515
00:18:58,670 --> 00:19:00,939
and welcome
their new neighbors in

516
00:19:00,939 --> 00:19:02,641
and really establish
those relationships.

517
00:19:02,641 --> 00:19:05,244
And yeah,
so it's a massive undertaking.

518
00:19:05,244 --> 00:19:09,081
And I'm I'm really excited
by the progress

519
00:19:09,081 --> 00:19:12,050
that we're making so far
and we're going to keep at it.

520
00:19:12,050 --> 00:19:13,252
-Executive Zahilay, how

521
00:19:13,252 --> 00:19:16,622
I'm a lot of things price
people out of their homes

522
00:19:17,189 --> 00:19:17,890
and rental

523
00:19:18,991 --> 00:19:19,591
units.

524
00:19:19,591 --> 00:19:22,561
King County property
tax bills are eye poppingly

525
00:19:22,561 --> 00:19:23,228
high this year.

526
00:19:23,228 --> 00:19:26,398
I know you have heard
from so many different people.

527
00:19:26,398 --> 00:19:28,133
A couple of reasons for it.

528
00:19:28,133 --> 00:19:30,602
The collapse of commercial
real estate values

529
00:19:30,602 --> 00:19:33,906
and the experts
say voter approved levees.

530
00:19:34,540 --> 00:19:37,776
How do already high property
tax bills affect

531
00:19:37,776 --> 00:19:38,544
your thinking?

532
00:19:38,544 --> 00:19:41,313
You're talking about a county
housing levy next year.

533
00:19:41,313 --> 00:19:44,316
-Yeah, it's a a great question.

534
00:19:45,551 --> 00:19:50,055
We are entering an era of,
from what I've seen,

535
00:19:50,622 --> 00:19:54,059
an unprecedented level of tax
sensitivity in our community.

536
00:19:54,459 --> 00:19:57,462
I can't open my social media
without people

537
00:19:57,462 --> 00:20:00,399
talking about property
taxes and sales taxes

538
00:20:00,399 --> 00:20:01,567
and how those contribute

539
00:20:01,567 --> 00:20:04,102
to the overall
affordability crisis.

540
00:20:04,102 --> 00:20:08,540
And that makes me have
a lot of anxiety

541
00:20:09,007 --> 00:20:12,010
and a lot of,

542
00:20:12,211 --> 00:20:14,613
I guess, paralysis around
decision

543
00:20:14,613 --> 00:20:16,381
making because at King County,

544
00:20:16,381 --> 00:20:18,450
we don't have progressive
taxing options, right?

545
00:20:18,450 --> 00:20:20,452
We only have property
taxes and sales taxes.

546
00:20:20,452 --> 00:20:21,086
So we're

547
00:20:21,086 --> 00:20:24,423
constantly stuck between
this rock and a hard place of

548
00:20:24,623 --> 00:20:26,558
do you raise the revenue

549
00:20:26,558 --> 00:20:28,560
you need to solve
pressing problems

550
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:30,963
or do you avoid raising
regressive taxes?

551
00:20:30,963 --> 00:20:32,431
And that's not
an easy decision.

552
00:20:32,431 --> 00:20:33,999
And that's why
when I talked about

553
00:20:33,999 --> 00:20:36,501
the potential housing levy,
I didn't just come out

554
00:20:36,501 --> 00:20:38,637
and say,
we're doing a housing levy,

555
00:20:38,637 --> 00:20:40,973
I said,
we're going to look into this.

556
00:20:40,973 --> 00:20:43,942
And a big
part of the analysis has to be

557
00:20:43,942 --> 00:20:45,344
what is the tradeoff

558
00:20:45,344 --> 00:20:47,479
of raising people's
property taxes

559
00:20:47,479 --> 00:20:48,947
versus raising the revenue

560
00:20:48,947 --> 00:20:50,682
you need to build affordable
housing?

561
00:20:50,682 --> 00:20:51,850
That's tough.

562
00:20:51,850 --> 00:20:53,318
A tough conversation to have.

563
00:20:53,318 --> 00:20:56,321
And I'm putting the pressure
on our analysts, our budget

564
00:20:56,455 --> 00:20:58,924
and the coalitions
who are asking for this

565
00:20:58,924 --> 00:21:01,293
to show me the work
show me how

566
00:21:01,293 --> 00:21:03,595
this is going to impact
overall affordability

567
00:21:03,595 --> 00:21:05,130
and who it's going to help
if we do this.

568
00:21:05,130 --> 00:21:06,865
So that's how it factors in.

569
00:21:06,865 --> 00:21:11,236
It's a really tough trade off
and you got to make sure that

570
00:21:11,236 --> 00:21:13,639
people are going to be able
to afford to live here.

571
00:21:13,639 --> 00:21:16,908
-Mayor Wilson, Downtown
Seattle is not growing jobs

572
00:21:16,908 --> 00:21:17,409
these days.

573
00:21:17,409 --> 00:21:20,412
It's just not it's losing them
to places like Bellevue.

574
00:21:20,579 --> 00:21:24,516
The city has lost
25,000 jobs over four years.

575
00:21:24,516 --> 00:21:26,084
And the thinking is the data.

576
00:21:26,084 --> 00:21:27,019
Folks say

577
00:21:27,019 --> 00:21:29,021
that if you extend that out
five years,

578
00:21:29,021 --> 00:21:31,590
it could be as high as 37,000
jobs.

579
00:21:31,590 --> 00:21:34,026
What is your plan
to turn that around?

580
00:21:34,026 --> 00:21:35,060
-Yeah, great question.

581
00:21:35,060 --> 00:21:37,529
And I think I mean,
I want Seattle

582
00:21:37,529 --> 00:21:40,532
to be a great place
to do business and,

583
00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:41,133
you know,

584
00:21:41,133 --> 00:21:41,700
part of this,

585
00:21:41,700 --> 00:21:43,669
I think, is
really understanding

586
00:21:43,669 --> 00:21:47,072
the multiple issues
that influence businesses

587
00:21:47,072 --> 00:21:50,075
when they're determining
where they want to locate.

588
00:21:50,342 --> 00:21:53,312
And so when I talk to folks
in the business community,

589
00:21:53,812 --> 00:21:55,681
the affordability crisis,
like I mentioned before,

590
00:21:55,681 --> 00:21:57,883
is something that's very much
on their minds, too. Right.

591
00:21:57,883 --> 00:21:59,351
And the fact that

592
00:21:59,351 --> 00:22:01,920
you really need to be able
to recruit a workforce

593
00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:03,789
that is able to work

594
00:22:03,789 --> 00:22:05,057
downtown,
wants to work downtown,

595
00:22:05,057 --> 00:22:05,857
that means they need
to be able

596
00:22:05,857 --> 00:22:07,392
to afford to live in the city.

597
00:22:07,392 --> 00:22:10,395
Homelessness and public safety
are also really

598
00:22:10,595 --> 00:22:12,764
prominent issues
for the business community.

599
00:22:12,764 --> 00:22:14,833
And that's something where,

600
00:22:14,833 --> 00:22:17,736
you know, I'm hopeful that
if we can make some really

601
00:22:17,736 --> 00:22:20,806
tangible, visible progress

602
00:22:21,239 --> 00:22:23,342
in downtown
and surrounding neighborhoods

603
00:22:23,342 --> 00:22:26,278
on the homelessness crisis
and on public safety,

604
00:22:26,278 --> 00:22:28,380
that that's something
that will really help

605
00:22:28,380 --> 00:22:30,148
when we're
thinking about trying to

606
00:22:33,085 --> 00:22:33,952
have jobs

607
00:22:33,952 --> 00:22:36,955
grow again right in our
in our downtown core.

608
00:22:37,022 --> 00:22:40,625
And then the tax environment,
I think is one kind of factor

609
00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:43,128
among many
and definitely something

610
00:22:43,128 --> 00:22:44,596
where, you know,
I've said before,

611
00:22:44,596 --> 00:22:46,932
it's not good for Seattle
to be like

612
00:22:46,932 --> 00:22:48,633
wildly out of step
with Bellevue

613
00:22:48,633 --> 00:22:52,104
in terms of the cost
of doing business and also,

614
00:22:52,904 --> 00:22:55,907
you know, at the city,
we have a very challenging

615
00:22:55,907 --> 00:22:57,776
budget ahead of us, right,
where we have

616
00:22:57,776 --> 00:23:00,178
a really significant budget
deficit.

617
00:23:00,178 --> 00:23:03,014
And, you know,
looking back to 2020

618
00:23:03,014 --> 00:23:05,817
when the Jumpstart payroll
expense tax was passed,

619
00:23:05,817 --> 00:23:08,653
that tax has floated
the city budget for the last

620
00:23:08,653 --> 00:23:09,721
five or six years.

621
00:23:09,721 --> 00:23:10,989
And it's a really good thing

622
00:23:10,989 --> 00:23:12,791
that we were able
to get that passed. Right.

623
00:23:12,791 --> 00:23:14,893
So I think there
is. But it angers business,

624
00:23:16,128 --> 00:23:16,495
right?

625
00:23:16,495 --> 00:23:17,796
And so what I'm saying that,
you know,

626
00:23:17,796 --> 00:23:19,164
we need to keep that
in proportion.

627
00:23:19,164 --> 00:23:19,297
Right.

628
00:23:19,297 --> 00:23:22,434
Again, taxes are one
among many factors that are

629
00:23:22,934 --> 00:23:24,236
kind of on businesses minds.

630
00:23:24,236 --> 00:23:24,903
And so

631
00:23:24,903 --> 00:23:25,537
in my mind,

632
00:23:25,537 --> 00:23:27,005
if we can make
a lot of progress

633
00:23:27,005 --> 00:23:28,807
on homelessness
and public safety,

634
00:23:28,807 --> 00:23:32,511
we can be mindful of the cost
of doing business,

635
00:23:32,511 --> 00:23:33,311
including taxes.

636
00:23:33,311 --> 00:23:35,447
But there's obviously a lot
of factors there as well.

637
00:23:35,447 --> 00:23:35,747
I think

638
00:23:35,747 --> 00:23:38,950
the other thing is just to
you know, you look at the

639
00:23:39,851 --> 00:23:41,119
what's been happening
with jobs, right?

640
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:42,988
There's also a lot of reasons
for that.

641
00:23:42,988 --> 00:23:43,388
We've seen

642
00:23:43,388 --> 00:23:47,192
layoffs in the tech sector,
which are maybe related to AI.

643
00:23:47,192 --> 00:23:49,394
Right.
To other things as well.

644
00:23:49,394 --> 00:23:52,864
And and so part of
this is a bigger conversation

645
00:23:52,864 --> 00:23:55,033
around kind of the future
of our regional economy, like

646
00:23:55,033 --> 00:23:57,636
how can we encourage
diversification, right?

647
00:23:57,636 --> 00:23:59,671
Because it's also not healthy
to have an economy

648
00:23:59,671 --> 00:24:03,108
that is so dependent
and focused on one sector.

649
00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:04,976
So what
can we do to, for example,

650
00:24:06,011 --> 00:24:07,946
really foster development

651
00:24:07,946 --> 00:24:11,316
in like the clean energy
economy, Right?

652
00:24:11,316 --> 00:24:11,516
Like,

653
00:24:11,516 --> 00:24:12,851
are there ways
that we can attract

654
00:24:12,851 --> 00:24:15,387
other kinds of businesses
to Seattle?

655
00:24:15,387 --> 00:24:17,522
And I think also
in terms of downtown

656
00:24:17,522 --> 00:24:21,026
really thinking about it
not just as a 9 to 5 kind of

657
00:24:21,526 --> 00:24:22,561
office neighborhood,

658
00:24:22,561 --> 00:24:24,362
but what are we doing
to really make it

659
00:24:24,362 --> 00:24:26,865
into a more 24 seven
residential neighborhood?

660
00:24:26,865 --> 00:24:29,301
And there have been some good
progress in that direction.

661
00:24:29,301 --> 00:24:31,503
You know, housing continues
to grow downtown.

662
00:24:31,503 --> 00:24:33,672
Can we do more office
to housing conversions?

663
00:24:33,672 --> 00:24:34,473
Like what can we do

664
00:24:34,473 --> 00:24:35,440
to really

665
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:36,908
live in the neighborhood
in a way

666
00:24:36,908 --> 00:24:39,077
that will help
to fill those vacancies?

667
00:24:39,077 --> 00:24:39,945
But that's

668
00:24:39,945 --> 00:24:40,712
but that's

669
00:24:40,712 --> 00:24:42,180
kind of a multi-prong
strategy,

670
00:24:42,180 --> 00:24:44,716
working with our arts
and culture sector.

671
00:24:44,716 --> 00:24:46,885
And so I think there's a lot
of a lot of potential there.

672
00:24:48,353 --> 00:24:49,020
Something else that

673
00:24:49,020 --> 00:24:52,190
impacts the city of Seattle
is climate preparedness.

674
00:24:52,190 --> 00:24:55,494
And 17 states in our country
have already seen record

675
00:24:55,494 --> 00:24:57,062
heat waves this year.

676
00:24:57,062 --> 00:24:58,697
I'm wondering
what you're doing

677
00:24:58,697 --> 00:25:00,632
now in preparation
for another heat wave

678
00:25:00,632 --> 00:25:02,934
this summer in Seattle
or even sooner,

679
00:25:02,934 --> 00:25:04,402
and what policy changes

680
00:25:04,402 --> 00:25:06,671
residents
might see within the city?

681
00:25:06,671 --> 00:25:08,406
Yeah, I mean,
that's a great question.

682
00:25:08,406 --> 00:25:09,407
You know,
there are some things

683
00:25:09,407 --> 00:25:12,477
that predate me
which the city's been working

684
00:25:12,477 --> 00:25:14,079
on, which are really good in
this respect.

685
00:25:14,079 --> 00:25:16,715
One is turning
many of our community centers

686
00:25:16,715 --> 00:25:18,750
into climate resilience
hubs, right?

687
00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:21,753
Making them places that people
can go during a heat wave

688
00:25:22,587 --> 00:25:24,756
and making sure
that especially for folks

689
00:25:24,756 --> 00:25:27,759
experiencing homelessness,
that we have locations where

690
00:25:28,126 --> 00:25:29,661
where there
is, you know, cooling.

691
00:25:29,661 --> 00:25:32,497
And if there's wildfire smoke,
right where there's also,

692
00:25:32,497 --> 00:25:33,231
you know, clean air.

693
00:25:33,231 --> 00:25:35,033
So there's a lot of aspects
to this.

694
00:25:35,033 --> 00:25:36,301
One thing
I'm really interested in

695
00:25:36,301 --> 00:25:39,838
exploring is how
the city can work, especially

696
00:25:39,838 --> 00:25:42,841
through Seattle City Light,
our publicly owned utility,

697
00:25:42,874 --> 00:25:45,944
to make heat pumps
more available to residents.

698
00:25:45,944 --> 00:25:46,144
Right.

699
00:25:46,144 --> 00:25:47,879
That's something where,

700
00:25:47,879 --> 00:25:50,348
you know, many,
many residences in Seattle

701
00:25:51,416 --> 00:25:53,485
do not have
any form of air conditioning.

702
00:25:53,485 --> 00:25:56,488
How can we get heat pumps know
electric

703
00:25:56,521 --> 00:25:58,690
electric powered heat pumps
that can both do heating

704
00:25:58,690 --> 00:25:59,991
and cooling

705
00:25:59,991 --> 00:26:02,661
installed in more residences,
in more businesses?

706
00:26:02,661 --> 00:26:04,796
And how can we also make
those available to renters?

707
00:26:04,796 --> 00:26:06,665
So I think there's
a lot of interesting

708
00:26:06,665 --> 00:26:09,668
possibilities there that I'm
looking forward to working on.

709
00:26:10,168 --> 00:26:13,204
-Executive, climate preparedness
has proven to be a really

710
00:26:13,204 --> 00:26:16,207
pressing issue for King County
since December,

711
00:26:16,374 --> 00:26:18,410
especially with flooding.

712
00:26:18,410 --> 00:26:21,580
How has flooding urgency
impacted your understanding

713
00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:22,747
of climate concerns

714
00:26:22,747 --> 00:26:25,016
for different regions
within King County?

715
00:26:25,016 --> 00:26:28,019
And how are you working to
improve local infrastructure?

716
00:26:28,587 --> 00:26:31,489
A lawsuit filed this week
alleges King County knowingly

717
00:26:31,489 --> 00:26:32,791
allowed aging levees

718
00:26:32,791 --> 00:26:35,760
and flood barriers to go
without repairs.

719
00:26:35,927 --> 00:26:39,030
-Yeah, climate change is no
longer abstract or far away.

720
00:26:39,030 --> 00:26:41,733
It's being experienced
every single day.

721
00:26:41,733 --> 00:26:44,970
And we had to enter
this office

722
00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:49,240
as a new administration
on the heels of a

723
00:26:50,408 --> 00:26:52,310
once in a century flood

724
00:26:52,310 --> 00:26:54,379
that impacted
so many of our communities

725
00:26:54,379 --> 00:26:55,981
all around King County.

726
00:26:55,981 --> 00:26:58,950
There were some towns
that were turned into islands.

727
00:26:59,317 --> 00:27:02,320
Critical
infrastructure was destroyed.

728
00:27:02,754 --> 00:27:05,924
We had to respond
in very urgent ways,

729
00:27:05,924 --> 00:27:09,894
and fortunately
we didn't have any deaths

730
00:27:09,894 --> 00:27:10,929
related to the floods.

731
00:27:10,929 --> 00:27:15,033
And that's a testament to
the power and the commitment

732
00:27:15,033 --> 00:27:18,670
of our first responders
and our government staff

733
00:27:18,870 --> 00:27:20,972
and all the communities
who came together.

734
00:27:20,972 --> 00:27:23,274
So much gratitude to them.

735
00:27:23,274 --> 00:27:24,275
But it's just a reminder

736
00:27:24,275 --> 00:27:27,278
that those types of once
in a century

737
00:27:27,412 --> 00:27:30,415
climate disasters are going
to happen much more regularly.

738
00:27:30,715 --> 00:27:33,084
And so we have to be prepared.

739
00:27:33,084 --> 00:27:33,818
For example,

740
00:27:33,818 --> 00:27:35,253
we have a flood control
district

741
00:27:35,253 --> 00:27:37,689
that has been investing
millions of dollars

742
00:27:37,689 --> 00:27:39,391
in flood infrastructure
all around

743
00:27:39,391 --> 00:27:41,660
the region
is part of the reason why

744
00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:44,496
the flood impacts
weren't much worse is because

745
00:27:44,496 --> 00:27:46,531
the flood control
district has been investing

746
00:27:46,531 --> 00:27:48,333
in that infrastructure
for a long time.

747
00:27:49,367 --> 00:27:52,537
We also need to
make sure that we're advancing

748
00:27:53,038 --> 00:27:55,940
what King County calls our
Strategic Climate Action Plan.

749
00:27:55,940 --> 00:27:57,542
It has three broad categories

750
00:27:57,542 --> 00:28:00,745
of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, building

751
00:28:01,279 --> 00:28:02,914
climate resiliency,

752
00:28:02,914 --> 00:28:05,316
and partnering
with frontline communities

753
00:28:05,316 --> 00:28:06,885
who are most impacted
by these issues.

754
00:28:06,885 --> 00:28:09,220
So on greenhouse
gas emissions,

755
00:28:09,220 --> 00:28:10,889
we know that the number one
contributor

756
00:28:10,889 --> 00:28:13,892
to carbon
in our region is cars.

757
00:28:13,925 --> 00:28:15,427
And so the more we can invest

758
00:28:15,427 --> 00:28:17,262
in a frequent, interconnected,

759
00:28:17,262 --> 00:28:19,264
reliable public
transit system,

760
00:28:19,264 --> 00:28:21,166
the more we can get people out
of cars.

761
00:28:21,166 --> 00:28:23,334
We've been making a lot
of progress on that front.

762
00:28:23,334 --> 00:28:25,303
We did the Cross
Lake Connection this year,

763
00:28:25,303 --> 00:28:29,007
which was huge, opening
multiple transit stations,

764
00:28:29,207 --> 00:28:30,275
increasing bus

765
00:28:30,275 --> 00:28:31,443
service hours by hundreds

766
00:28:31,443 --> 00:28:34,112
of thousands of hours
around the region.

767
00:28:34,112 --> 00:28:35,080
Second

768
00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:36,715
biggest contributor
are our buildings

769
00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:38,583
and doing things
like clean energy

770
00:28:38,583 --> 00:28:39,317
in our buildings

771
00:28:39,317 --> 00:28:40,785
and giving communities
heat pumps

772
00:28:40,785 --> 00:28:43,354
like the mayor was talking
about are critical.

773
00:28:43,354 --> 00:28:46,091
More heating
centers, cooling centers,

774
00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:48,593
and then just co-designing
all of these solutions

775
00:28:48,593 --> 00:28:51,996
with the communities
who are living under airports,

776
00:28:51,996 --> 00:28:53,832
living next to pollution,

777
00:28:53,832 --> 00:28:56,267
who are have disproportional
rates of asthma,

778
00:28:56,267 --> 00:28:57,869
like the communities
that I grew up in

779
00:28:57,869 --> 00:28:59,671
in South Seattle
and in Skyway.

780
00:28:59,671 --> 00:29:00,872
Those are all really critical

781
00:29:00,872 --> 00:29:03,842
to making sure
that we're delivering tangible

782
00:29:04,109 --> 00:29:06,878
safety results
for all of our communities.

783
00:29:08,747 --> 00:29:10,115
-Mayor Wilson, you recently

784
00:29:10,115 --> 00:29:13,351
paused the planned addition
of surveillance cameras.

785
00:29:14,018 --> 00:29:16,020
Notably,
you did not kill this program

786
00:29:16,020 --> 00:29:17,088
that now includes

787
00:29:17,088 --> 00:29:17,522
and I think

788
00:29:17,522 --> 00:29:19,524
will continue
to include 62 cameras,

789
00:29:19,524 --> 00:29:22,527
although you may be turning
one off, I think.

790
00:29:22,827 --> 00:29:25,497
What are you planning
long term for these cameras?

791
00:29:25,497 --> 00:29:27,799
You know, we all know
the cameras are everywhere.

792
00:29:27,799 --> 00:29:28,666
They're in our hands.

793
00:29:28,666 --> 00:29:31,669
The room on the ferryboats,
you know, all over the place.

794
00:29:31,803 --> 00:29:34,806
And the police
find them enormously helpful,

795
00:29:35,340 --> 00:29:37,041
as you as you stated earlier.

796
00:29:37,041 --> 00:29:37,809
Right.

797
00:29:37,809 --> 00:29:39,110
-Yes.

798
00:29:39,110 --> 00:29:41,279
So there are several things
going on.

799
00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:45,183
So as you said, I paused
the planned expansion,

800
00:29:45,183 --> 00:29:48,186
which the city council
had approved last year.

801
00:29:48,453 --> 00:29:51,856
And the reason that I did
that is primarily around

802
00:29:52,457 --> 00:29:54,192
concerns
about federal immigration

803
00:29:54,192 --> 00:29:56,895
enforcement
and wanting to do more

804
00:29:56,895 --> 00:29:57,862
to really understand

805
00:29:57,862 --> 00:29:58,630
and secure

806
00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:01,633
the data that we're collecting
through those cameras.

807
00:30:01,633 --> 00:30:03,368
And so what we've done is

808
00:30:05,069 --> 00:30:07,272
we're working on starting an audit

809
00:30:07,272 --> 00:30:10,275
that the NYU policing
is going to be conducting

810
00:30:10,408 --> 00:30:13,978
into the data security storage
and sharing

811
00:30:13,978 --> 00:30:16,114
practices around our real time

812
00:30:16,114 --> 00:30:18,016
crime center
and the CCTV cameras.

813
00:30:18,016 --> 00:30:21,019
So that's going to take
probably a few months.

814
00:30:21,085 --> 00:30:23,822
And so and that will cover,
I think, also

815
00:30:23,822 --> 00:30:26,691
kind of privacy more broadly.

816
00:30:26,691 --> 00:30:28,626
And then at the same time,

817
00:30:28,626 --> 00:30:30,795
you know,
the initial 62 cameras

818
00:30:30,795 --> 00:30:31,896
that were I mean, they only

819
00:30:31,896 --> 00:30:33,731
they turned on last April.
So they've only

820
00:30:33,731 --> 00:30:36,167
been in operation
for about a year now.

821
00:30:36,167 --> 00:30:38,036
And so there was a planned
evaluation

822
00:30:38,036 --> 00:30:41,539
that is going on this year
that are Office of

823
00:30:42,507 --> 00:30:44,676
the Inspector
general in collaboration with

824
00:30:44,676 --> 00:30:47,912
UPenn is conducting, which is
basically an evaluation of

825
00:30:48,980 --> 00:30:50,415
basically
the ways that the cameras

826
00:30:50,415 --> 00:30:52,884
are being used
in investigating crimes

827
00:30:52,884 --> 00:30:54,919
and kind of
assessing their usefulness.

828
00:30:55,887 --> 00:30:59,023
And so that evaluation is
ongoing and will be completed

829
00:30:59,290 --> 00:31:02,026
hopefully
by the end of this year.

830
00:31:02,026 --> 00:31:05,029
And so basically there's

831
00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:07,232
I'm going to be making

832
00:31:07,232 --> 00:31:10,368
another decision
once we get the results of the

833
00:31:11,603 --> 00:31:14,973
NYU policing audit around
whether to

834
00:31:15,273 --> 00:31:17,675
commence immediately
with the planned expansion

835
00:31:17,675 --> 00:31:19,444
into three
additional neighborhoods.

836
00:31:19,444 --> 00:31:21,379
I don't know if everyone
has the context, but right now

837
00:31:21,379 --> 00:31:25,316
the 62 cameras are in downtown
kind of business district,

838
00:31:25,383 --> 00:31:26,584
the Chinatown International

839
00:31:26,584 --> 00:31:29,587
District and North
Aurora Corridor

840
00:31:29,621 --> 00:31:33,558
and the
and yes, we have turned off

841
00:31:33,892 --> 00:31:36,261
as it's a little complicated,
I was going to say

842
00:31:36,261 --> 00:31:37,962
one of the 62 cameras,
but actually

843
00:31:37,962 --> 00:31:42,066
each of the 62 cameras
is five cameras on a post.

844
00:31:42,333 --> 00:31:44,002
And we have turned off
a couple

845
00:31:44,002 --> 00:31:44,802
of one of those

846
00:31:44,802 --> 00:31:47,872
clusters of five
because they're aimed at it's

847
00:31:47,872 --> 00:31:48,640
very kind of, again,

848
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:50,642
aimed at a facility
that provides

849
00:31:50,642 --> 00:31:52,644
reproductive health care
and gender affirming care.

850
00:31:52,644 --> 00:31:54,279
And although the

851
00:31:55,513 --> 00:31:57,949
images that those
cameras collected were masked,

852
00:31:57,949 --> 00:31:59,083
being masked,

853
00:31:59,083 --> 00:32:02,387
we just wanted to make extra
sure through this audit

854
00:32:02,387 --> 00:32:05,390
that that was something
that couldn't be undone.

855
00:32:05,723 --> 00:32:08,660
So I'll be making a decision

856
00:32:08,660 --> 00:32:10,361
around
whether the planned expansion

857
00:32:10,361 --> 00:32:12,630
into three
additional neighborhoods

858
00:32:12,630 --> 00:32:13,798
Garfield Central District

859
00:32:13,798 --> 00:32:16,801
near Garfield Capital home
that we have district and

860
00:32:17,235 --> 00:32:20,238
the stadium district
should move forward.

861
00:32:20,571 --> 00:32:23,141
But then I think once that

862
00:32:23,141 --> 00:32:25,310
evaluation is complete,
I just really think

863
00:32:25,310 --> 00:32:27,412
we need to have
a bigger public conversation

864
00:32:27,412 --> 00:32:30,248
that is informed
by really an understanding

865
00:32:30,248 --> 00:32:33,851
of this technology,
the risks involved in terms of

866
00:32:34,552 --> 00:32:38,690
both kind of civil liberties,
privacy and potential abuse

867
00:32:39,691 --> 00:32:42,260
and the utility of the cameras
in primarily

868
00:32:42,260 --> 00:32:43,461
in solving crime. Right.

869
00:32:43,461 --> 00:32:45,396
So I think there's some
there's some question

870
00:32:45,396 --> 00:32:48,433
and kind of muddy research
about whether cameras

871
00:32:48,433 --> 00:32:51,502
actually deter or prevent
crime in any significant way.

872
00:32:51,703 --> 00:32:53,271
But I think from what

873
00:32:53,271 --> 00:32:55,340
I have seen, that
they are undoubtedly useful

874
00:32:55,340 --> 00:32:58,843
in solving crimes, including
serious crimes like homicides.

875
00:32:58,843 --> 00:32:59,844
Right.

876
00:32:59,844 --> 00:33:02,013
But, you know, the magnitude
of that utility.

877
00:33:02,013 --> 00:33:02,246
Right.

878
00:33:02,246 --> 00:33:03,414
That's another thing
that I'm hoping

879
00:33:03,414 --> 00:33:04,749
that we can get
some more information about.

880
00:33:04,749 --> 00:33:06,751
So I think there needs to be
a public conversation

881
00:33:06,751 --> 00:33:10,088
around those kind of tradeoffs
between the usefulness

882
00:33:10,088 --> 00:33:12,924
of the surveillance technology
and the risks

883
00:33:12,924 --> 00:33:14,392
and downsides of it

884
00:33:14,392 --> 00:33:15,693
and then just the place of it

885
00:33:15,693 --> 00:33:17,462
in our larger
public safety strategy,

886
00:33:17,462 --> 00:33:19,897
because I think it's really
important to recognize that,

887
00:33:19,897 --> 00:33:21,699
like a lot of focus gets
put on this

888
00:33:21,699 --> 00:33:24,202
because it's like a switch
that you can turn on or off.

889
00:33:24,202 --> 00:33:25,436
But what we actually need

890
00:33:25,436 --> 00:33:27,238
to do
to make our communities safer

891
00:33:27,238 --> 00:33:30,241
is so much bigger
and multifaceted.

892
00:33:30,241 --> 00:33:32,210
You know,
cameras are not by themselves

893
00:33:32,210 --> 00:33:34,145
a public safety
strategy at all.

894
00:33:34,145 --> 00:33:36,514
But I do personally at this
point think that they are

895
00:33:37,849 --> 00:33:40,952
probably a
modest but useful part of it.

896
00:33:40,952 --> 00:33:42,653
And so the question is really

897
00:33:42,653 --> 00:33:45,690
when is this appropriate and
and what is too far.

898
00:33:46,491 --> 00:33:48,693
-Executive, the county grants program

899
00:33:48,693 --> 00:33:51,829
for social services
is to be kind of almost

900
00:33:52,397 --> 00:33:54,198
you walked into this
as an executive,

901
00:33:54,198 --> 00:33:57,201
but you also served on the
county council years prior.

902
00:33:57,735 --> 00:33:59,937
What steps
are you taking to clean up

903
00:33:59,937 --> 00:34:02,707
this pretty significant
and problem?

904
00:34:02,707 --> 00:34:05,410
-Yeah, so I'm sure people have seen

905
00:34:05,410 --> 00:34:08,413
the stories and the Seattle
Times and beyond,

906
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:13,451
but the steps
that we are taking are,

907
00:34:13,484 --> 00:34:16,554
number one,
making this a top priority.

908
00:34:17,755 --> 00:34:21,659
In my first 100 days,
we put forward

909
00:34:21,659 --> 00:34:23,127
an executive order

910
00:34:23,127 --> 00:34:25,797
that makes sure that we are

911
00:34:25,797 --> 00:34:27,698
directing
all of our departments,

912
00:34:27,698 --> 00:34:30,768
all of our agencies
to be a high performing,

913
00:34:30,968 --> 00:34:33,971
accountable,
transparent government.

914
00:34:34,639 --> 00:34:36,908
That means making sure
that we have

915
00:34:36,908 --> 00:34:40,411
an internal auditor
in our executive office

916
00:34:40,411 --> 00:34:43,614
that is leading a subcabinet
for accountability,

917
00:34:43,848 --> 00:34:44,882
making sure that they are

918
00:34:44,882 --> 00:34:48,519
looking at any risky programs,
risky systems,

919
00:34:48,686 --> 00:34:51,722
and proactively fixing them
before they produce problems,

920
00:34:52,023 --> 00:34:54,659
making sure that we're doing
a base budget analysis

921
00:34:54,659 --> 00:34:56,861
for the first time
in the history of King County,

922
00:34:56,861 --> 00:34:59,197
meaning most of the time
when we do budgeting,

923
00:34:59,197 --> 00:35:00,865
we just roll over

924
00:35:00,865 --> 00:35:03,868
90, 95% of the budget
from one year to the next,

925
00:35:04,335 --> 00:35:06,304
and just change things
on the margins.

926
00:35:06,304 --> 00:35:08,806
This year, for the first time,
because of our executive

927
00:35:08,806 --> 00:35:10,775
order,
we're directing all agencies

928
00:35:10,775 --> 00:35:12,110
to start from the bottom up.

929
00:35:12,110 --> 00:35:15,113
Look at all programs,
look at all initiatives,

930
00:35:15,513 --> 00:35:17,882
make sure that every program

931
00:35:17,882 --> 00:35:19,517
or initiative
that we're funding

932
00:35:19,517 --> 00:35:21,219
is effective and accountable.

933
00:35:21,219 --> 00:35:22,720
And that's the way
that we're going to

934
00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:25,156
continue a program
and move away

935
00:35:25,156 --> 00:35:27,925
when it's not producing
the results that we want.

936
00:35:27,925 --> 00:35:28,593
And really

937
00:35:29,660 --> 00:35:31,129
making
sure that we're implementing

938
00:35:31,129 --> 00:35:32,763
all of the auditor
recommendations.

939
00:35:32,763 --> 00:35:35,833
I'm proud to say
that our hardworking D.C.

940
00:35:36,234 --> 00:35:39,237
Department, which is
the subject of some of these,

941
00:35:40,004 --> 00:35:43,341
is on track to meet all ten of
the auditor recommendations.

942
00:35:43,341 --> 00:35:45,143
So they're doing
really great work

943
00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:48,012
to promote accountability
and transparency.

944
00:35:48,012 --> 00:35:50,681
And we're going to continue
to get better.

945
00:35:50,681 --> 00:35:52,650
That's our motto, continue
to get better.

946
00:35:52,650 --> 00:35:55,086
That's one of our very top
priorities.

947
00:35:55,086 --> 00:35:56,621
-Executive, what are your thoughts

948
00:35:56,621 --> 00:35:59,157
about Starbucks
moving some jobs out of the city

949
00:35:59,157 --> 00:35:59,991
of Seattle

950
00:35:59,991 --> 00:36:01,592
and Microsoft
and other companies

951
00:36:01,592 --> 00:36:03,528
with offices on the East Side

952
00:36:03,528 --> 00:36:04,862
saying
that the millionaire's tax

953
00:36:04,862 --> 00:36:07,498
could prompt some of them
to leave the state?

954
00:36:07,498 --> 00:36:10,434
In other words,
can we overtax our companies

955
00:36:10,434 --> 00:36:13,337
and hurt our tax base
for public services?

956
00:36:13,337 --> 00:36:15,139
-Everything is a tradeoff
analysis, right?

957
00:36:15,139 --> 00:36:16,440
There's
no that's what I'm saying.

958
00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,242
When there's no like clean,

959
00:36:19,210 --> 00:36:21,078
everything has to be in the

960
00:36:21,078 --> 00:36:25,149
most know
one ideological perspective.

961
00:36:25,383 --> 00:36:26,484
Everything is a tradeoff.

962
00:36:26,484 --> 00:36:28,452
Of course, I think taxes can

963
00:36:28,452 --> 00:36:31,923
make companies make decisions
about staying or leaving.

964
00:36:32,190 --> 00:36:34,292
And at the same time,
we can't be

965
00:36:34,292 --> 00:36:37,195
the most regressive state
tax state in the country.

966
00:36:37,195 --> 00:36:41,165
I think we're 49 out of 50
and how fair our tax code is.

967
00:36:41,165 --> 00:36:42,700
And so absolutely,

968
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:45,703
I think we need to find
progressive revenue options.

969
00:36:45,703 --> 00:36:48,072
I think that that's the way
that we relieve

970
00:36:48,072 --> 00:36:49,807
some of that regressive
tax burden

971
00:36:49,807 --> 00:36:51,909
that I was talking about
of property

972
00:36:51,909 --> 00:36:55,479
taxes and sales taxes which
eat away at the buying power

973
00:36:55,713 --> 00:36:59,317
of our most marginalized
and lowest income communities.

974
00:37:00,218 --> 00:37:01,953
And so whatever
we can do to relieve

975
00:37:01,953 --> 00:37:05,523
that pressure and continue
to raise the resources

976
00:37:05,523 --> 00:37:07,792
we need to solve
pressing problems

977
00:37:07,792 --> 00:37:09,660
and also at the same time
make sure making sure

978
00:37:09,660 --> 00:37:11,495
that the money that we are
collecting

979
00:37:11,495 --> 00:37:13,531
is going to its highest
and best use

980
00:37:13,531 --> 00:37:15,900
and producing the results
that we want.

981
00:37:15,900 --> 00:37:18,903
That's 100% very,
very important

982
00:37:19,437 --> 00:37:20,404
aspect of this too,

983
00:37:20,404 --> 00:37:21,038
which goes back

984
00:37:21,038 --> 00:37:22,240
to the executive,

985
00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:23,674
the better government
executive order

986
00:37:23,674 --> 00:37:24,942
that I was talking about
before.

987
00:37:24,942 --> 00:37:29,547
So we need all of the above
and we need to not dismiss

988
00:37:29,547 --> 00:37:32,683
or diminish the other side
of our decisions

989
00:37:32,683 --> 00:37:33,918
whenever they come up,

990
00:37:33,918 --> 00:37:34,585
which is something

991
00:37:34,585 --> 00:37:35,853
that I feel like
happens a lot,

992
00:37:35,853 --> 00:37:38,522
which is if you support
a decision,

993
00:37:38,522 --> 00:37:40,157
you're almost incentivized
to say

994
00:37:40,157 --> 00:37:41,859
that unintended
consequence, that

995
00:37:41,859 --> 00:37:43,828
that doesn't even matter,
that doesn't even exist.

996
00:37:43,828 --> 00:37:44,829
It's not real.

997
00:37:44,829 --> 00:37:45,830
We can't do that.

998
00:37:45,830 --> 00:37:49,400
We have to take into account
all of the factors and land

999
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,403
in the best decision
possible on balance.

1000
00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:54,705
-Thank you, Mayor Wilson.

1001
00:37:54,705 --> 00:37:56,307
We all know the taxing climate

1002
00:37:56,307 --> 00:37:59,076
has dramatically changed
since your campaign.

1003
00:37:59,076 --> 00:38:00,077
As a new progressive,

1004
00:38:00,077 --> 00:38:01,178
do you still think progressive

1005
00:38:01,178 --> 00:38:04,348
taxes are an
easy and promising solution?

1006
00:38:05,483 --> 00:38:08,052
-I've never
thought that they were easy

1007
00:38:08,052 --> 00:38:10,788
for someone who's been
fighting for progressive taxes

1008
00:38:10,788 --> 00:38:11,589
for a very long time.

1009
00:38:11,589 --> 00:38:13,891
I can tell you
they're not easy.

1010
00:38:13,891 --> 00:38:16,627
It was very, very exciting
to see the billionaire

1011
00:38:16,627 --> 00:38:18,195
tax pass the legislature.

1012
00:38:18,195 --> 00:38:20,765
Actually,
one of my early like,

1013
00:38:20,765 --> 00:38:23,434
I guess I would say
like the first big city wide

1014
00:38:23,434 --> 00:38:24,802
coalition, big campaign

1015
00:38:24,802 --> 00:38:27,271
that I helped to run
was back in 2017,

1016
00:38:27,271 --> 00:38:30,274
right after Trump got elected
for the first time.

1017
00:38:30,708 --> 00:38:33,711
And we ran a campaign

1018
00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:37,381
where we were pushing
the Seattle City Council

1019
00:38:37,381 --> 00:38:40,351
to pass an income tax
on high income households,

1020
00:38:40,618 --> 00:38:41,118
knowing that

1021
00:38:41,118 --> 00:38:42,687
that was going
to be legally challenged

1022
00:38:42,687 --> 00:38:45,690
because we have this
big history in our state of,

1023
00:38:46,257 --> 00:38:46,590
you know,

1024
00:38:46,590 --> 00:38:47,958
1930s court decisions

1025
00:38:47,958 --> 00:38:49,927
saying that you can't
do a progressive income tax.

1026
00:38:49,927 --> 00:38:53,164
So and that that was a measure
that passed unanimously

1027
00:38:53,197 --> 00:38:55,066
through the council
and then got tied up in court.

1028
00:38:55,066 --> 00:38:57,068
So and at that time,
I mean, the idea

1029
00:38:57,068 --> 00:39:00,037
that you would have
the state legislature pass

1030
00:39:00,037 --> 00:39:03,941
a progressive income
tax was pretty far fetched.

1031
00:39:03,941 --> 00:39:06,143
So it's just really,
really exciting.

1032
00:39:06,143 --> 00:39:09,146
About ten years later
to see that actually happen,

1033
00:39:09,647 --> 00:39:11,215
I think the claims
that millionaires

1034
00:39:11,215 --> 00:39:14,151
are going to leave
our state are super overblown.

1035
00:39:14,151 --> 00:39:18,422
And if you know the
ones that leave like by so

1036
00:39:20,491 --> 00:39:26,030
or so, but that is to say so

1037
00:39:27,698 --> 00:39:30,701
in general, we still have
a very regressive tax system

1038
00:39:30,735 --> 00:39:33,871
and my office is doing
a lot of work to look at what

1039
00:39:34,305 --> 00:39:36,741
what our options are in
terms of progressive taxation.

1040
00:39:36,741 --> 00:39:37,641
We do have more

1041
00:39:37,641 --> 00:39:39,343
flexibility at the city
than the county

1042
00:39:39,343 --> 00:39:41,645
in terms
of our taxing authority.

1043
00:39:41,645 --> 00:39:43,848
And at the same time,
I believe what I said before,

1044
00:39:43,848 --> 00:39:46,350
which is that
it's not good for Seattle's

1045
00:39:46,350 --> 00:39:49,353
business environment,
for example, for the cost of

1046
00:39:49,620 --> 00:39:51,122
doing business in downtown
Seattle

1047
00:39:51,122 --> 00:39:52,323
to be wildly out of step

1048
00:39:52,323 --> 00:39:53,891
with for it, for instance,
neighboring Bellevue.

1049
00:39:53,891 --> 00:39:54,792
So, you know, if

1050
00:39:54,792 --> 00:39:57,795
Bellevue wants to pass a tax
like Jumpstart, I will.

1051
00:39:57,862 --> 00:39:59,697
Yeah, let's do it.

1052
00:39:59,697 --> 00:40:01,999
That's one
way to even the playing field.

1053
00:40:01,999 --> 00:40:03,434
But yeah, so,

1054
00:40:03,434 --> 00:40:03,667
I mean,

1055
00:40:03,667 --> 00:40:05,803
I think we're kind of looking
for that sweet spot

1056
00:40:05,803 --> 00:40:07,705
or what are some progressive
tax options

1057
00:40:07,705 --> 00:40:10,741
which don't actually make
the cost of employing people

1058
00:40:10,741 --> 00:40:12,743
in Seattle higher
at this point.

1059
00:40:12,743 --> 00:40:14,678
So we'll see where that goes.

1060
00:40:14,678 --> 00:40:16,680
And I think again,
I'll just say,

1061
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:16,981
you know,

1062
00:40:16,981 --> 00:40:19,650
we have a large structural
budget deficit in the city

1063
00:40:19,650 --> 00:40:21,085
that we're going
to have to figure out

1064
00:40:21,085 --> 00:40:24,188
how to deal with
in this upcoming budget cycle.

1065
00:40:24,188 --> 00:40:25,823
And, you know, my Budget

1066
00:40:25,823 --> 00:40:27,992
office budget
staff are hard at work

1067
00:40:27,992 --> 00:40:31,028
trying to figure out both
how we can use our revenue

1068
00:40:31,028 --> 00:40:32,830
as effectively
and efficiently as possible.

1069
00:40:32,830 --> 00:40:33,831
And I think similar

1070
00:40:33,831 --> 00:40:35,699
similar refrain
to the executive, right?

1071
00:40:35,699 --> 00:40:37,735
If there are programs
that aren't

1072
00:40:37,735 --> 00:40:39,770
fulfilling their promise
that aren't working, like

1073
00:40:39,770 --> 00:40:42,039
we're not going to be afraid
to end them. Right.

1074
00:40:42,039 --> 00:40:43,174
And so I think that being

1075
00:40:43,174 --> 00:40:45,176
a progressive
doesn't necessarily mean

1076
00:40:45,176 --> 00:40:46,944
that we keep
layering on spending

1077
00:40:46,944 --> 00:40:48,779
and we never stop doing things
right.

1078
00:40:48,779 --> 00:40:51,282
So I think that's
really important.

1079
00:40:51,282 --> 00:40:52,550
And at the same time,

1080
00:40:53,851 --> 00:40:56,854
we probably
are going to need new revenue.

1081
00:40:56,887 --> 00:40:59,089
-Good governance i part
of being a good progressive.

1082
00:40:59,089 --> 00:41:01,358
Yes, that's just
part of the top line message.

1083
00:41:01,358 --> 00:41:02,460
Absolutely.

1084
00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:04,462
-And I think the other thing
that I just want to say

1085
00:41:04,462 --> 00:41:07,097
about this
whole narrative around

1086
00:41:07,097 --> 00:41:10,100
kind of city
spending, city funding,

1087
00:41:10,568 --> 00:41:13,637
the amount of money
that we need to spend,

1088
00:41:13,938 --> 00:41:16,207
whether it's at the city or
the county local government.

1089
00:41:16,207 --> 00:41:17,741
Right.

1090
00:41:17,741 --> 00:41:21,011
It really depends on kind
of the scale of the problems

1091
00:41:21,011 --> 00:41:23,547
that local government
is called upon to solve.

1092
00:41:23,547 --> 00:41:24,248
And so I think

1093
00:41:24,248 --> 00:41:25,549
when you look at like

1094
00:41:25,549 --> 00:41:26,550
the larger forces

1095
00:41:26,550 --> 00:41:29,119
that are impinging upon us
and you look at like

1096
00:41:29,119 --> 00:41:31,155
the housing crisis,
for example, right.

1097
00:41:31,155 --> 00:41:32,656
And the way
that the homelessness crisis

1098
00:41:32,656 --> 00:41:35,392
has grown and grown and grown
or climate change. Right.

1099
00:41:35,392 --> 00:41:38,195
And the kinds of ways
that the climate crisis

1100
00:41:38,195 --> 00:41:40,764
is going to call upon us
to make investments

1101
00:41:40,764 --> 00:41:43,067
into resilience
for our communities.

1102
00:41:43,067 --> 00:41:45,603
Right.
Like those are things which

1103
00:41:47,371 --> 00:41:48,272
which are growing.

1104
00:41:48,272 --> 00:41:51,275
And that means more. You know,

1105
00:41:51,408 --> 00:41:53,244
I guess what I'm trying to say
is that sometimes

1106
00:41:53,244 --> 00:41:54,812
there's
this narrative of like,

1107
00:41:54,812 --> 00:41:57,515
you know, spending per
person is growing over time.

1108
00:41:57,515 --> 00:41:59,850
And so that means that
that is wasteful spending.

1109
00:41:59,850 --> 00:42:00,751
Sometimes it's just that

1110
00:42:00,751 --> 00:42:01,952
the problems
that we are being called

1111
00:42:01,952 --> 00:42:04,555
upon to
solve are getting bigger.

1112
00:42:04,555 --> 00:42:07,558
They are. They really are.
-Executive Zahilay,

1113
00:42:07,892 --> 00:42:10,661
some students sitting here
today are studying peace

1114
00:42:10,661 --> 00:42:11,996
and conflict.

1115
00:42:11,996 --> 00:42:14,765
With that in mind,
how often do you folks meet

1116
00:42:14,765 --> 00:42:19,103
together to avoid conflict
and how do you resolve them

1117
00:42:19,103 --> 00:42:22,106
when they come up and tell us
one tell us a good one.

1118
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:26,210
-I mean, we've only been here
for like a few months.

1119
00:42:26,210 --> 00:42:27,211
-Yeah, but, you know, so...

1120
00:42:27,211 --> 00:42:30,214
-And we've met like 100 times.
-So we've had a lot of time.

1121
00:42:30,581 --> 00:42:33,183
-Yeah, we, we meet pretty
regularly and talk...

1122
00:42:33,183 --> 00:42:34,218
-So I mean we have,

1123
00:42:34,218 --> 00:42:36,787
we have like specific meetings
together with,

1124
00:42:36,787 --> 00:42:38,489
you know, just us
or with our teams,

1125
00:42:38,489 --> 00:42:41,659
but also we both serve
on a number of entities

1126
00:42:41,659 --> 00:42:42,159
together, right?

1127
00:42:42,159 --> 00:42:44,295
So we're both new members
of the Sound Transit.

1128
00:42:44,295 --> 00:42:44,995
One, you're not a new member,

1129
00:42:44,995 --> 00:42:46,964
but we're both members
of the Sound Transit board.

1130
00:42:46,964 --> 00:42:48,132
We're both members of the King
County

1131
00:42:48,132 --> 00:42:49,366
Regional Homelessness
Authority.

1132
00:42:49,366 --> 00:42:51,902
So we have actually
a lot of occasion to talk.

1133
00:42:51,902 --> 00:42:53,103
And I mean, one of the things

1134
00:42:53,103 --> 00:42:55,906
that's really exciting to me
about coming into office

1135
00:42:55,906 --> 00:43:00,077
in this moment is that you
also are stepping into office.

1136
00:43:00,077 --> 00:43:04,114
And I think that we are so
aligned on like so many things

1137
00:43:04,114 --> 00:43:06,650
in terms of how we address our
our challenges.

1138
00:43:06,650 --> 00:43:07,017
And I think

1139
00:43:07,017 --> 00:43:10,020
also both are just coming out
that this with the outlook of

1140
00:43:10,087 --> 00:43:12,056
close
coordination and partnership

1141
00:43:12,056 --> 00:43:14,525
between the city and county
is absolutely essential.

1142
00:43:14,525 --> 00:43:15,993
And I think
we're identifying ways

1143
00:43:15,993 --> 00:43:17,995
that that has not worked
well in the past

1144
00:43:17,995 --> 00:43:18,963
and trying to figure out

1145
00:43:18,963 --> 00:43:21,365
how as we move forward,
we can work

1146
00:43:21,365 --> 00:43:22,766
much more and collaborations.

1147
00:43:22,766 --> 00:43:25,035
So, you know,
no conflict here.

1148
00:43:25,035 --> 00:43:27,771
Not yet.
-One of us goes next year.

1149
00:43:28,772 --> 00:43:29,106
I know.

1150
00:43:29,106 --> 00:43:30,107
Famous last words, right?

1151
00:43:30,107 --> 00:43:31,976
One of our overarching

1152
00:43:31,976 --> 00:43:33,911
principles
is that not that we're

1153
00:43:33,911 --> 00:43:35,412
always going to agree
on everything,

1154
00:43:35,412 --> 00:43:38,716
but we have a no surprises
rule amongst one another,

1155
00:43:38,716 --> 00:43:41,986
which is always we,
we we try to overcommunicate.

1156
00:43:41,986 --> 00:43:44,755
Our teams are always talking
to each other.

1157
00:43:44,755 --> 00:43:48,125
And if we are going to have
a departure on something that

1158
00:43:49,193 --> 00:43:50,427
you're not finding out
about that

1159
00:43:50,427 --> 00:43:51,962
in the media
or on the newspaper,

1160
00:43:51,962 --> 00:43:54,932
But we've long given each
other a heads up about stuff.

1161
00:43:55,132 --> 00:43:58,135
-Yeah, for three months
it's been working okay.

1162
00:43:59,870 --> 00:44:02,306
-So executive

1163
00:44:02,306 --> 00:44:05,009
the King County Council,
with your blessing, has banned

1164
00:44:05,009 --> 00:44:07,745
federal immigration enforcers
from using nonpublic

1165
00:44:07,745 --> 00:44:09,580
county property for staging,

1166
00:44:09,580 --> 00:44:12,583
processing or operating
immigration enforcement.

1167
00:44:13,050 --> 00:44:15,386
What is the practical
impact of this,

1168
00:44:15,386 --> 00:44:17,187
and when do
these proclamations start

1169
00:44:17,187 --> 00:44:20,257
to risk drawing on desired
attention to King County?

1170
00:44:20,958 --> 00:44:24,294
-Yeah, it's
it is such a tough time

1171
00:44:24,294 --> 00:44:24,595
that we're

1172
00:44:24,595 --> 00:44:28,465
living in the amount of fear
and anxiety in our communities

1173
00:44:28,565 --> 00:44:29,366
over the actions

1174
00:44:29,366 --> 00:44:33,137
of the federal government
are at an all time high.

1175
00:44:33,137 --> 00:44:36,140
At least from my involvement
in local politics.

1176
00:44:36,573 --> 00:44:39,043
People feel like
they could get smashed up

1177
00:44:39,043 --> 00:44:40,744
and kidnaped at any moment.

1178
00:44:40,744 --> 00:44:43,414
They're seeing all kinds
of excessive use of force

1179
00:44:43,414 --> 00:44:46,784
and even straight up
daytime murders

1180
00:44:47,451 --> 00:44:49,153
by mass federal agents.

1181
00:44:49,153 --> 00:44:50,988
It's a very, very scary time.

1182
00:44:50,988 --> 00:44:53,524
And so what we are
trying to do

1183
00:44:53,524 --> 00:44:57,061
is make our communities
feel heard and showing them

1184
00:44:57,061 --> 00:45:00,064
that even if we don't have
federal jurisdiction,

1185
00:45:00,330 --> 00:45:03,267
that we're taking the actions
that are within our power

1186
00:45:03,267 --> 00:45:04,134
to protect them.

1187
00:45:04,134 --> 00:45:06,970
And so that executive action
that you're talking about

1188
00:45:06,970 --> 00:45:08,972
in collaboration
with our council

1189
00:45:08,972 --> 00:45:11,909
is aimed at saying the places
where we have

1190
00:45:11,909 --> 00:45:14,611
legal authority,
we are going to try to limit

1191
00:45:14,611 --> 00:45:16,213
ICE's reach into them.

1192
00:45:16,213 --> 00:45:18,449
So nonpublic properties
that we own.

1193
00:45:18,449 --> 00:45:21,618
You can't we won't allow ICE
to do staging there

1194
00:45:22,052 --> 00:45:22,886
without a warrant.

1195
00:45:22,886 --> 00:45:25,889
They can't come and do
their enforcement there.

1196
00:45:26,056 --> 00:45:28,525
We've asked our sheriff's
office to clarify

1197
00:45:28,525 --> 00:45:29,460
what is their role

1198
00:45:29,460 --> 00:45:33,197
with respect to ICE and
put out very clear direction

1199
00:45:34,231 --> 00:45:36,433
in the cases where there are

1200
00:45:36,433 --> 00:45:39,636
encounters with ice,
where they're recording

1201
00:45:39,870 --> 00:45:43,407
that they are deescalating,
that they are doing everything

1202
00:45:43,407 --> 00:45:46,543
within their legal power
to protect our communities.

1203
00:45:47,077 --> 00:45:48,812
And so those are the
the actions

1204
00:45:48,812 --> 00:45:49,713
that we're trying to take.

1205
00:45:49,713 --> 00:45:52,716
And absolutely, you're right,
it is balanced against

1206
00:45:53,550 --> 00:45:56,587
the issue
of attracting attention from.

1207
00:45:56,587 --> 00:45:58,088
This president. Right.

1208
00:45:58,088 --> 00:46:00,624
If I could go out there

1209
00:46:00,624 --> 00:46:04,094
and be one of those executives
who is, you know,

1210
00:46:04,928 --> 00:46:08,298
taunting him and and saying
all kinds of things,

1211
00:46:08,532 --> 00:46:10,434
my view is what is the thing

1212
00:46:10,434 --> 00:46:12,069
that's going
to keep our community safe,

1213
00:46:12,069 --> 00:46:14,171
not what's going to make me
look good or

1214
00:46:14,171 --> 00:46:16,607
or raise my national profile
or anything like.

1215
00:46:16,607 --> 00:46:20,177
So we have to protect our
communities and that's my only

1216
00:46:20,644 --> 00:46:22,312
lens. 
-So we have time

1217
00:46:24,148 --> 00:46:27,151
to do this one.

1218
00:46:28,018 --> 00:46:28,652
Keep the answers

1219
00:46:28,652 --> 00:46:31,622
a little short list
to make the time work.

1220
00:46:31,722 --> 00:46:33,090
-All right, Mayor Wilson,

1221
00:46:33,090 --> 00:46:35,592
one hallmark policy
of new progressives

1222
00:46:35,592 --> 00:46:38,662
and from your campaign
is municipal grocery stores.

1223
00:46:39,062 --> 00:46:41,899
Do city grocery stores remain
a practical goal of yours

1224
00:46:41,899 --> 00:46:43,367
within the city of Seattle?

1225
00:46:43,367 --> 00:46:45,602
I know the legislature passed
some laws

1226
00:46:45,602 --> 00:46:48,138
that may help with food
deserts. 

1227
00:46:48,138 --> 00:46:51,608
-Yeah, so we we're looking into this.
I think I mean, in general,

1228
00:46:51,608 --> 00:46:54,211
my goal is to make sure that
people in every neighborhood

1229
00:46:54,211 --> 00:46:57,181
across the city
have access to affordable,

1230
00:46:57,214 --> 00:47:00,417
healthful, you know,
culturally relevant food.

1231
00:47:00,450 --> 00:47:01,451
And right now,

1232
00:47:01,451 --> 00:47:03,453
we do have a number
of neighborhoods

1233
00:47:03,453 --> 00:47:05,522
in the city
where that is not the case.

1234
00:47:05,522 --> 00:47:05,689
You know,

1235
00:47:05,689 --> 00:47:07,591
the closure of the Fred Meyer
in Lake City

1236
00:47:07,591 --> 00:47:10,027
got a lot of attention
last year.

1237
00:47:10,027 --> 00:47:11,261
And so that is one area

1238
00:47:11,261 --> 00:47:12,930
that I think qualifies
as a food desert.

1239
00:47:12,930 --> 00:47:16,767
We've also seen the closure
of a grocery store at 23rd

1240
00:47:16,767 --> 00:47:21,905
and Jackson, and it's come
the Dell Ridge area.

1241
00:47:21,905 --> 00:47:25,142
And Seattle is also
kind of a grocery desert.

1242
00:47:25,142 --> 00:47:25,509
So there's a

1243
00:47:25,509 --> 00:47:28,946
number of neighborhoods
where there's not great access

1244
00:47:29,279 --> 00:47:30,447
to food.

1245
00:47:30,447 --> 00:47:32,049
And so this is something
that we're looking at.

1246
00:47:32,049 --> 00:47:33,283
There's
a number of city departments

1247
00:47:33,283 --> 00:47:35,252
that have food access programs
that are really good.

1248
00:47:35,252 --> 00:47:37,921
And we're trying to figure out
what can we build upon

1249
00:47:37,921 --> 00:47:38,522
and the idea of

1250
00:47:38,522 --> 00:47:39,756
doing
some kind of public option

1251
00:47:39,756 --> 00:47:41,592
grocery store
is very much on the table.

1252
00:47:41,592 --> 00:47:43,026
So we're just
I don't want to do it

1253
00:47:43,026 --> 00:47:44,361
just for the sake of
doing it right.

1254
00:47:44,361 --> 00:47:46,563
I want to do it
if that's time for this year

1255
00:47:46,563 --> 00:47:48,899
or you're not hung up
about what year?

1256
00:47:48,899 --> 00:47:50,934
yeah, I doubt that's
probably not

1257
00:47:50,934 --> 00:47:51,702
something that we're going

1258
00:47:51,702 --> 00:47:54,371
to be actually
implementing this year. Right.

1259
00:47:54,371 --> 00:47:56,106
But we are working on it
in the background

1260
00:47:56,106 --> 00:47:57,341
and we'll

1261
00:47:57,341 --> 00:47:59,910
hopefully get to a point
where we can make a decision

1262
00:47:59,910 --> 00:48:01,044
in partnership
with the community.

1263
00:48:01,044 --> 00:48:02,613
Because I think something
I said

1264
00:48:02,613 --> 00:48:04,481
last year during the campaign
when I talked about

1265
00:48:04,481 --> 00:48:06,283
this was that for some,
for a project

1266
00:48:06,283 --> 00:48:09,286
like that to be successful,
it really has to be

1267
00:48:09,453 --> 00:48:10,988
in partnership
with the community.

1268
00:48:10,988 --> 00:48:12,756
It's not something
that you just like plunk down,

1269
00:48:12,756 --> 00:48:13,624
but it's something that

1270
00:48:13,624 --> 00:48:15,792
there needs to be a call for
and that needs to be done in

1271
00:48:15,792 --> 00:48:19,196
partnership with organizations
and and neighbors.

1272
00:48:20,030 --> 00:48:22,299
-So really quickly,
I have a question

1273
00:48:22,299 --> 00:48:26,103
for you, Mayor,
about AI data centers,

1274
00:48:26,870 --> 00:48:29,840
AI-related data centers,
and they want to come after Seattle

1275
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:30,540
City Lights,

1276
00:48:31,608 --> 00:48:34,611
hydropower,
clean, relatively cheap.

1277
00:48:35,012 --> 00:48:39,182
How do you have a plan
for managing these requests

1278
00:48:39,182 --> 00:48:40,951
that are already
coming into City Light?

1279
00:48:40,951 --> 00:48:42,753
-So I'll say

1280
00:48:42,753 --> 00:48:45,355
I believe that the situation
is a little bit different

1281
00:48:45,355 --> 00:48:47,758
than was portrayed
in that Seattle Times article.

1282
00:48:47,758 --> 00:48:48,926
I don't think there's actually

1283
00:48:48,926 --> 00:48:52,629
any permits
that have been requested,

1284
00:48:52,763 --> 00:48:55,532
so things are a little bit
more of a preliminary stage.

1285
00:48:55,532 --> 00:48:57,601
I think that
it may have been portrayed.

1286
00:48:57,601 --> 00:49:00,570
I will say I learned about
this from that Seattle Times.

1287
00:49:00,637 --> 00:49:02,072
I was not aware.

1288
00:49:02,072 --> 00:49:03,840
I was not aware that there was
I mean,

1289
00:49:03,840 --> 00:49:05,375
so I was aware of that.

1290
00:49:05,375 --> 00:49:08,011
In the larger conversation
around Seattle City

1291
00:49:08,011 --> 00:49:10,314
Light and Power Generation,
because the city doesn't

1292
00:49:10,314 --> 00:49:12,182
just serve
the city of Seattle, right?

1293
00:49:12,182 --> 00:49:13,183
I was aware that obviously

1294
00:49:13,183 --> 00:49:15,419
data centers are kind of a big
and growing issue

1295
00:49:15,419 --> 00:49:17,354
and kind of suck on our
on our power.

1296
00:49:17,354 --> 00:49:19,890
But I was not aware
that there was contemplated

1297
00:49:19,890 --> 00:49:21,325
data centers
within city limits.

1298
00:49:21,325 --> 00:49:23,193
So this is something I'm
very concerned about.

1299
00:49:23,193 --> 00:49:27,264
And we're going to be getting
a briefing very soon.

1300
00:49:27,264 --> 00:49:30,267
-It feel like they're coming,
whether we

1301
00:49:30,867 --> 00:49:34,604
whether it's for sure or not,
because just that's what...

1302
00:49:34,771 --> 00:49:37,708
-I think the city has something
to say about what happens.

1303
00:49:37,708 --> 00:49:40,010
-So first reaction, perhaps.

1304
00:49:40,010 --> 00:49:42,713
-Yeah, very concerned,
very concerned about,

1305
00:49:42,713 --> 00:49:43,280
you know,

1306
00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:46,850
even data centers aside
because of a number of issues,

1307
00:49:46,850 --> 00:49:48,218
including long standing

1308
00:49:48,218 --> 00:49:50,620
infrastructure needs
that Seattle see light.

1309
00:49:50,620 --> 00:49:53,323
We're looking at
significant rate increases.

1310
00:49:53,323 --> 00:49:57,060
So I'm very very concerned
about the potential

1311
00:49:57,060 --> 00:49:58,261
for centers

1312
00:49:58,261 --> 00:50:02,499
to be competing for our power,
driving up prices.

1313
00:50:02,733 --> 00:50:03,967
And also even I mean,

1314
00:50:03,967 --> 00:50:05,402
even in the instance

1315
00:50:05,402 --> 00:50:08,405
where they would be doing
their own power generation,

1316
00:50:08,605 --> 00:50:10,907
that would likely be fossil
fuel power.

1317
00:50:10,907 --> 00:50:14,011
And so in our larger
kind of climate

1318
00:50:14,011 --> 00:50:17,047
context,
just generally very concerned.

1319
00:50:17,047 --> 00:50:18,181
And so this is an issue

1320
00:50:18,181 --> 00:50:20,017
that my office is going
to be really digging into

1321
00:50:20,017 --> 00:50:22,386
and figuring out
what levers we have

1322
00:50:22,386 --> 00:50:25,389
at the at the policy level
and permitting level to

1323
00:50:25,589 --> 00:50:27,958
kind of force a conversation
about the future

1324
00:50:27,958 --> 00:50:32,062
of our region's electricity
generation and use and

1325
00:50:32,362 --> 00:50:34,364
and the place of
data centers. And I in that.

1326
00:50:36,299 --> 00:50:36,666
-All right.

1327
00:50:36,666 --> 00:50:38,301
We just have
a couple of minutes remaining.

1328
00:50:38,301 --> 00:50:41,438
So I want to ask both of you
a big question,

1329
00:50:41,872 --> 00:50:44,608
and we'll start with you,
Zahilay.

1330
00:50:44,608 --> 00:50:46,476
You are both
new and your jobs.

1331
00:50:46,476 --> 00:50:49,646
What is it like governing,
which is challenging enough

1332
00:50:49,646 --> 00:50:52,682
while trying to anticipate
challenges to our region

1333
00:50:52,682 --> 00:50:55,652
from the federal government?

1334
00:50:56,853 --> 00:50:59,856
-Neither of us has known
any other reality.

1335
00:51:01,124 --> 00:51:02,392
I thought
you were going to say

1336
00:51:02,392 --> 00:51:03,960
what's it like governing
with young children?

1337
00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:05,462
Because
we also have young children,

1338
00:51:05,462 --> 00:51:07,464
although I don't know which
which is harder,

1339
00:51:07,464 --> 00:51:08,698
the young children
or the president?

1340
00:51:08,698 --> 00:51:11,668
-Well,

1341
00:51:11,668 --> 00:51:12,402
they both kind of

1342
00:51:12,402 --> 00:51:16,273
behave the same way.
-Similar levels of maturity.

1343
00:51:16,440 --> 00:51:19,676
(laughter and crowd conversing)

1344
00:51:21,111 --> 00:51:22,512
-Yeah, similar levels.

1345
00:51:22,512 --> 00:51:24,347
Yeah.

1346
00:51:24,347 --> 00:51:26,550
I would say that

1347
00:51:26,550 --> 00:51:29,453
the days of feeling
like the federal government

1348
00:51:29,453 --> 00:51:33,290
is this far off thing
that does impact your

1349
00:51:33,290 --> 00:51:34,891
day to day life are over.

1350
00:51:36,093 --> 00:51:37,461
There are

1351
00:51:37,461 --> 00:51:41,164
tremendous consequences
to the president's decisions

1352
00:51:41,164 --> 00:51:43,233
on the ground
at the local level

1353
00:51:43,233 --> 00:51:45,135
in a way
that I've never seen before.

1354
00:51:45,135 --> 00:51:47,237
You feel it every day.

1355
00:51:47,237 --> 00:51:49,739
If you had asked me
a couple of years ago

1356
00:51:49,739 --> 00:51:52,976
what the top issues I hear
about from our communities

1357
00:51:53,176 --> 00:51:54,644
are, I would have said,

1358
00:51:54,644 --> 00:51:55,679
you know, homelessness

1359
00:51:55,679 --> 00:51:58,348
and behavioral health
and public safety.

1360
00:51:58,348 --> 00:51:59,950
Now, the number one,

1361
00:51:59,950 --> 00:52:02,352
the top things that I hear
about from our communities

1362
00:52:02,352 --> 00:52:05,255
relate to the actions of
of of the president,

1363
00:52:05,255 --> 00:52:08,091
which is kind of a shocking
thing to say as a local level

1364
00:52:08,091 --> 00:52:08,892
elected official.

1365
00:52:08,892 --> 00:52:11,962
But the impacts of ice

1366
00:52:12,229 --> 00:52:16,166
and federal overreach
and war and,

1367
00:52:16,733 --> 00:52:19,402
you know, the

1368
00:52:19,402 --> 00:52:22,005
the defunding
of so many of our priorities

1369
00:52:22,005 --> 00:52:24,741
from Medicaid
to our homelessness

1370
00:52:24,741 --> 00:52:27,010
funding to our climate action
funding

1371
00:52:27,010 --> 00:52:29,379
and how those play out
on the ground,

1372
00:52:29,379 --> 00:52:32,616
it's just something
that you have to absolutely

1373
00:52:33,183 --> 00:52:36,486
plan for and create solutions
for literally on

1374
00:52:36,486 --> 00:52:37,454
a day to day basis.

1375
00:52:38,688 --> 00:52:39,923
-Hi. Thank you, County

1376
00:52:39,923 --> 00:52:42,926
Executive Zahilay and Mayor Wilson
for being here today.

1377
00:52:43,527 --> 00:52:44,895
My name is Kenny Ouedraogo.

1378
00:52:44,895 --> 00:52:47,731
I'm a first year
political science student.

1379
00:52:47,731 --> 00:52:51,635
So my question for you both,
mainly Mayor Wilson, is given

1380
00:52:51,635 --> 00:52:56,973
the city's budget deficit
and trying to close that gap

1381
00:52:57,274 --> 00:52:58,175
while meeting

1382
00:52:58,175 --> 00:53:02,479
all of the urgent needs that
there are with the overreach

1383
00:53:02,479 --> 00:53:04,848
from the federal government
funding getting cut.

1384
00:53:04,848 --> 00:53:06,983
But also the immediate things

1385
00:53:06,983 --> 00:53:09,219
to help make people's lives
better,

1386
00:53:09,219 --> 00:53:12,856
what are the kind of
innovative solutions I guess,

1387
00:53:12,856 --> 00:53:16,126
you guys are looking towards
to solve that issue?

1388
00:53:16,126 --> 00:53:18,161
And that would be for
both of you.

1389
00:53:18,161 --> 00:53:19,429
-Yeah.

1390
00:53:19,429 --> 00:53:19,796
Yeah.

1391
00:53:19,796 --> 00:53:20,830
So as I mentioned,

1392
00:53:20,830 --> 00:53:23,733
we are looking at new revenue
options.

1393
00:53:23,733 --> 00:53:25,669
I really don't want to have to
make, you know,

1394
00:53:25,669 --> 00:53:29,206
$150 million a year worth
of cuts to the city budget,

1395
00:53:29,839 --> 00:53:33,009
especially given that there
are areas of the city budget

1396
00:53:33,009 --> 00:53:35,545
that are constrained in terms
of where the money goes to.

1397
00:53:35,545 --> 00:53:36,913
Looking at
where those cuts would happen

1398
00:53:36,913 --> 00:53:39,282
is really hard
to see how we could make $150

1399
00:53:39,282 --> 00:53:40,650
million of cuts

1400
00:53:40,650 --> 00:53:42,519
without, first of all, deeply

1401
00:53:42,519 --> 00:53:43,920
impacting
our homelessness budget,

1402
00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:46,089
which is not something
we want to do in this moment

1403
00:53:46,089 --> 00:53:47,691
where we're trying to actually
step up

1404
00:53:47,691 --> 00:53:49,559
our response
to the homelessness crisis

1405
00:53:49,559 --> 00:53:51,127
and also
our public safety departments,

1406
00:53:51,127 --> 00:53:53,463
which are funded
through the general fund.

1407
00:53:53,463 --> 00:53:56,233
And so definitely
looking at new revenue

1408
00:53:56,233 --> 00:53:57,434
as part of that answer.

1409
00:53:57,434 --> 00:53:59,202
We've also I've I've directed

1410
00:53:59,202 --> 00:54:01,171
all of the departments
at the city to model

1411
00:54:01,171 --> 00:54:04,174
what a 5% cut and a 10% cut
would look like,

1412
00:54:04,207 --> 00:54:07,744
kind of forcing them
to do some internal review

1413
00:54:07,744 --> 00:54:09,779
assessment
prioritization of the programs

1414
00:54:09,779 --> 00:54:10,880
that they're funding in a way

1415
00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:12,983
that will allow my office
and our budget office

1416
00:54:12,983 --> 00:54:16,920
to really assess and be like,
okay, what are those things

1417
00:54:16,920 --> 00:54:18,955
that, you know, programs
that aren't really performing

1418
00:54:18,955 --> 00:54:20,323
as well as they should be
or things

1419
00:54:20,323 --> 00:54:22,692
which are less essential
that we can potentially cut?

1420
00:54:22,692 --> 00:54:24,661
So we're kind of doing
both of those things.

1421
00:54:24,661 --> 00:54:26,863
But I'll say
that my priority is really

1422
00:54:27,931 --> 00:54:30,867
those programs
and services that are really

1423
00:54:30,867 --> 00:54:31,668
supporting people

1424
00:54:31,668 --> 00:54:33,870
in their everyday lives,
that people feel every day

1425
00:54:33,870 --> 00:54:35,839
that are allowing them
to live,

1426
00:54:35,839 --> 00:54:38,642
you know, safe,
dignified lives and be able

1427
00:54:38,642 --> 00:54:39,509
to afford the city.

1428
00:54:39,509 --> 00:54:41,778
And so I don't want to be
cutting programs that are

1429
00:54:41,778 --> 00:54:43,146
that are really helping
people.

1430
00:54:43,146 --> 00:54:44,281
And I also anticipate

1431
00:54:44,281 --> 00:54:46,883
doing some reprioritisation
within our city budget.

1432
00:54:46,883 --> 00:54:49,052
And I think even just within,
for example, the homelessness

1433
00:54:49,052 --> 00:54:49,552
realm, right,

1434
00:54:49,552 --> 00:54:52,322
where I think we need to spend
as much as we're spending

1435
00:54:52,322 --> 00:54:54,758
and probably more,
but also we can do better at

1436
00:54:54,758 --> 00:54:57,761
how we are spending that money
to have the greatest impact.

1437
00:54:58,428 --> 00:54:59,229
-Do you want me to answer that

1438
00:54:59,229 --> 00:55:00,897
too, or go to the next?
-Yeah. Yeah.

1439
00:55:00,897 --> 00:55:03,033
He asked you too.

1440
00:55:03,033 --> 00:55:04,801
-Yes. Very similar answers.

1441
00:55:04,801 --> 00:55:06,703
Trying to look for cost
savings,

1442
00:55:06,703 --> 00:55:09,706
trying to look at new revenue
like we talked about before,

1443
00:55:09,739 --> 00:55:12,609
and reprioritizing
existing resources

1444
00:55:12,609 --> 00:55:16,546
toward the things that, like
the mayor said, communities

1445
00:55:16,546 --> 00:55:20,717
feel most imminently,
most urgently.

1446
00:55:20,850 --> 00:55:23,353
And every day
I'll give you examples.

1447
00:55:23,353 --> 00:55:25,221
We restructured
our executive office

1448
00:55:25,221 --> 00:55:29,392
so that we have
more outreach people

1449
00:55:29,392 --> 00:55:31,528
so we can actually go out
and connect

1450
00:55:31,528 --> 00:55:33,730
with our communities
and we have our central King

1451
00:55:33,730 --> 00:55:35,265
County manager here, Crystal,

1452
00:55:35,265 --> 00:55:39,035
who's who's a stand up crystal
showed them who you are that

1453
00:55:41,338 --> 00:55:43,773
so people
who are actually going out,

1454
00:55:43,773 --> 00:55:45,442
connecting with people,
finding out what

1455
00:55:45,442 --> 00:55:48,044
their issues are,
connecting them to services,

1456
00:55:48,044 --> 00:55:51,047
also programs that

1457
00:55:51,514 --> 00:55:54,951
can capture the volunteer
spirit of our communities

1458
00:55:54,951 --> 00:55:58,088
and really get more
people engaged in civic life

1459
00:55:58,088 --> 00:55:59,522
so that instead of just

1460
00:55:59,522 --> 00:56:00,357
government workers

1461
00:56:00,357 --> 00:56:01,791
doing community
cleanups and stuff,

1462
00:56:01,791 --> 00:56:04,260
we're creating a platform
for volunteerism.

1463
00:56:04,260 --> 00:56:07,263
So then we can have hundreds
of people coming out and doing

1464
00:56:07,397 --> 00:56:08,331
community cleanups

1465
00:56:08,331 --> 00:56:10,166
and outreach
and things of that nature.

1466
00:56:10,166 --> 00:56:12,569
So yeah.
-my name is Cameron Bazemore.

1467
00:56:12,569 --> 00:56:14,971
I'm a second year
computer science student.

1468
00:56:14,971 --> 00:56:18,508
I was wondering
if the courts basically don't

1469
00:56:18,508 --> 00:56:21,911
strike down the state's
income tax that they passed,

1470
00:56:22,846 --> 00:56:25,515
would you consider
a county level

1471
00:56:25,515 --> 00:56:28,518
or city level income tax
for both of you?

1472
00:56:28,885 --> 00:56:32,021
-So I don't
I think that at the moment

1473
00:56:32,589 --> 00:56:35,925
state law would still not
allow the county,

1474
00:56:36,526 --> 00:56:38,161
I think, or the city the city,

1475
00:56:38,161 --> 00:56:40,263
but there might be
more of a question mark

1476
00:56:40,263 --> 00:56:42,065
to do a local income tax.

1477
00:56:42,065 --> 00:56:44,334
If the city can do
a local income tax.

1478
00:56:44,334 --> 00:56:46,169
I am very willing to explore
that.

1479
00:56:46,169 --> 00:56:47,237
I think the county would need

1480
00:56:47,237 --> 00:56:49,205
specific authority
from the state legislature

1481
00:56:49,205 --> 00:56:50,640
in order to be able to do
that.

1482
00:56:50,640 --> 00:56:52,709
-We're prohibited by the state
from doing that.

1483
00:56:52,709 --> 00:56:53,877
Yeah. Thank you.

1484
00:56:54,944 --> 00:56:55,612
-Hi there.

1485
00:56:55,612 --> 00:56:57,914
-Hello there. I'm Brent and

1486
00:56:57,914 --> 00:56:59,949
I first moved to Seattle in

1487
00:56:59,949 --> 00:57:01,384
1993 where I moved on

1488
00:57:01,384 --> 00:57:03,853
to Seattle U. campus
when I was a student here

1489
00:57:03,853 --> 00:57:06,322
and I've been in Seattle
ever since,

1490
00:57:06,322 --> 00:57:08,024
currently
living in Capitol Hill.

1491
00:57:08,024 --> 00:57:11,161
I'm wondering to both of you
what you plan to do

1492
00:57:11,161 --> 00:57:14,931
in terms of vandalism,
shoplifting and graffiti.

1493
00:57:15,532 --> 00:57:18,535
-Big issues in Seattle.

1494
00:57:20,270 --> 00:57:23,273
-Conflict resolution.

1495
00:57:23,273 --> 00:57:23,640
-Yeah.

1496
00:57:23,640 --> 00:57:27,210
So, I mean, the city
has a graffiti program.

1497
00:57:27,210 --> 00:57:31,414
And so, you know, it's
graffiti is being addressed

1498
00:57:31,414 --> 00:57:32,449
at some level.

1499
00:57:32,449 --> 00:57:36,786
It's it's a thing, you know,
how high priority is it

1500
00:57:36,786 --> 00:57:38,555
something we'll be looking at
moving forward.

1501
00:57:38,555 --> 00:57:39,889
I used to manage
an apartment building.

1502
00:57:39,889 --> 00:57:41,891
It was really annoying
when people tagged the bricks.

1503
00:57:41,891 --> 00:57:42,992
I had to go out and scrub it.

1504
00:57:42,992 --> 00:57:45,128
So very sympathetic.

1505
00:57:45,128 --> 00:57:46,996
Also,
there's a lot of things going

1506
00:57:46,996 --> 00:57:50,166
on, so it's not that's not my
number one highest priority.

1507
00:57:51,367 --> 00:57:52,435
And yeah, I mean, I

1508
00:57:52,435 --> 00:57:55,438
think in general, just

1509
00:57:55,805 --> 00:57:58,007
want to try to make sure
that we're establishing

1510
00:57:58,007 --> 00:58:00,043
appropriate rules
for behavior in public.

1511
00:58:00,043 --> 00:58:02,145
And that would include,
you know, not

1512
00:58:02,145 --> 00:58:03,246
shoplifting, things like that.

1513
00:58:03,246 --> 00:58:05,482
Also, I think there's
a bigger question around

1514
00:58:05,482 --> 00:58:07,650
response
to kind of misdemeanor crimes.

1515
00:58:07,650 --> 00:58:08,318
And, you know,

1516
00:58:08,318 --> 00:58:09,085
I've been enjoying

1517
00:58:09,085 --> 00:58:10,620
conversations
with our city attorney

1518
00:58:10,620 --> 00:58:11,020
about what

1519
00:58:11,020 --> 00:58:11,754
the most

1520
00:58:11,754 --> 00:58:14,491
effective approach there is,
because there's also this

1521
00:58:14,491 --> 00:58:16,459
huge case backlog right now.

1522
00:58:16,459 --> 00:58:18,428
And, you know,
I'm really interested

1523
00:58:18,428 --> 00:58:20,430
in figuring out
how we can do more

1524
00:58:20,430 --> 00:58:23,900
in terms of diversion programs
and ways that we can really

1525
00:58:24,567 --> 00:58:27,337
try to get to some of the root
causes of these things,

1526
00:58:27,337 --> 00:58:29,772
because it's also not really
effective to throw somebody

1527
00:58:29,772 --> 00:58:31,741
in jail for a few days
and then they're back out

1528
00:58:31,741 --> 00:58:32,675
and doing the same thing.

1529
00:58:32,675 --> 00:58:34,344
Because you haven't addressed
this root causes.

1530
00:58:34,344 --> 00:58:37,313
So a work in progress.

1531
00:58:37,313 --> 00:58:39,782
-Yeah, you know, jurisdictions,
a lot of that jurisdiction

1532
00:58:39,782 --> 00:58:41,017
is going to be
in the mayor's purview,

1533
00:58:41,017 --> 00:58:43,786
but we have a lot of
connection in other ways.

1534
00:58:43,786 --> 00:58:44,354
You know,

1535
00:58:44,354 --> 00:58:46,990
if stuff is happening
on transit, for example,

1536
00:58:46,990 --> 00:58:48,858
maybe, you know,
but King County provides

1537
00:58:48,858 --> 00:58:50,960
the police
and security service

1538
00:58:50,960 --> 00:58:52,729
on all of our transit systems.

1539
00:58:52,729 --> 00:58:55,732
So some things happen
in on a bus stop or on a bus.

1540
00:58:56,032 --> 00:58:57,233
We have made investments

1541
00:58:57,233 --> 00:59:00,770
in cleanliness and security
in our transit systems.

1542
00:59:01,504 --> 00:59:04,240
We also fund the court system.

1543
00:59:04,240 --> 00:59:06,576
So our our King County courts

1544
00:59:06,576 --> 00:59:08,711
need to make sure
that they have the resources

1545
00:59:08,711 --> 00:59:09,078
they need

1546
00:59:09,078 --> 00:59:13,116
to properly resolve issues
that might be coming through.

1547
00:59:13,116 --> 00:59:14,050
And there's not the

1548
00:59:14,050 --> 00:59:17,287
pandemic era backlog of cases
and things like that.

1549
00:59:17,287 --> 00:59:20,290
We've been aggressively
working to resolve that.

1550
00:59:20,423 --> 00:59:22,292
We have a lot
of the behavioral health

1551
00:59:22,292 --> 00:59:23,693
system
goes through. KING County.

1552
00:59:23,693 --> 00:59:24,494
So to the extent

1553
00:59:24,494 --> 00:59:25,695
some of these issues

1554
00:59:25,695 --> 00:59:26,195
are caused

1555
00:59:26,195 --> 00:59:28,331
because
people have other needs,

1556
00:59:28,331 --> 00:59:31,968
we are putting great resources
into crisis care centers

1557
00:59:31,968 --> 00:59:33,870
and mobile crisis responders

1558
00:59:33,870 --> 00:59:35,905
and nine, eight,
eight and behavioral health

1559
00:59:35,905 --> 00:59:38,041
resources to make sure people
are getting

1560
00:59:38,041 --> 00:59:40,143
any underlying issues,

1561
00:59:40,143 --> 00:59:42,612
the care that they need
to get those resolved,

1562
00:59:42,612 --> 00:59:45,448
and then finally,
we have for culture,

1563
00:59:45,448 --> 00:59:47,684
which is our arts
and culture program.

1564
00:59:47,684 --> 00:59:51,321
So if there are opportunities
to activate areas

1565
00:59:51,321 --> 00:59:52,455
through arts and culture

1566
00:59:52,455 --> 00:59:54,691
and get the people
who are doing graffiti

1567
00:59:54,691 --> 00:59:56,092
and put them on a track
to doing

1568
00:59:56,092 --> 00:59:59,162
so in a way that is additive
to public life,

1569
00:59:59,162 --> 01:00:01,864
those are all things that we
we can and will do.

1570
01:00:01,864 --> 01:00:02,899
-All right,

1571
01:00:03,967 --> 01:00:04,300
last two.

1572
01:00:04,300 --> 01:00:04,934
Hi there.

1573
01:00:04,934 --> 01:00:06,369
-Hi. My name is Jacob.

1574
01:00:06,369 --> 01:00:08,905
I'm a fourth year
public affairs major.

1575
01:00:08,905 --> 01:00:12,075
Mayor Wilson, in your renter
feedback survey, you saw that

1576
01:00:12,609 --> 01:00:13,710
one of the biggest concerns

1577
01:00:13,710 --> 01:00:15,912
is the ratio utility
billing system.

1578
01:00:15,912 --> 01:00:17,981
It's something that I'm
also feeling right now

1579
01:00:17,981 --> 01:00:19,382
because my apartment is under

1580
01:00:19,382 --> 01:00:21,417
the ratio
utility billing system.

1581
01:00:21,417 --> 01:00:22,452
And I was just kind of
wondering

1582
01:00:22,452 --> 01:00:22,852
like what

1583
01:00:22,852 --> 01:00:26,422
your course of action is in
the aftermath of that survey

1584
01:00:26,623 --> 01:00:27,790
and how you're going to help
support

1585
01:00:27,790 --> 01:00:30,059
renters
who are under the rep system.

1586
01:00:30,059 --> 01:00:30,893
-Yeah, totally.

1587
01:00:30,893 --> 01:00:32,362
And actually my apartment
building

1588
01:00:32,362 --> 01:00:35,398
also recently switched to the
the ratio utility

1589
01:00:35,398 --> 01:00:36,099
billing system.

1590
01:00:36,099 --> 01:00:38,434
And so we got the
our utility bills spike.

1591
01:00:38,434 --> 01:00:41,204
So I'm very personally aware
of this issue.

1592
01:00:41,204 --> 01:00:41,537
Yeah.

1593
01:00:41,537 --> 01:00:43,940
So we're you know, right now
in the mayor's office,

1594
01:00:43,940 --> 01:00:47,143
we're developing legislation
around rental fees.

1595
01:00:47,877 --> 01:00:49,579
And I know that
some of the council members

1596
01:00:49,579 --> 01:00:50,980
are also
very interested in this issue.

1597
01:00:50,980 --> 01:00:53,349
And I think I don't think
I'm sharing anything.

1598
01:00:53,349 --> 01:00:55,051
I can't
when I say that Councilmember

1599
01:00:55,051 --> 01:00:56,252
Eddie Lynn in particular,

1600
01:00:56,252 --> 01:00:59,789
I think is very interested
in the in the runs thing.

1601
01:00:59,789 --> 01:01:01,391
And so I think we're working
with his office

1602
01:01:01,391 --> 01:01:04,394
to figure out whether,
you know, how we're kind of

1603
01:01:04,460 --> 01:01:06,329
division of labor
on that legislation.

1604
01:01:06,329 --> 01:01:08,097
But yeah, I think we're trying

1605
01:01:08,097 --> 01:01:10,667
to figure out what a way
is to move forward

1606
01:01:10,667 --> 01:01:15,672
to try to address the problems
that that tenants are facing

1607
01:01:15,672 --> 01:01:18,074
with the lack of transparency
and with, you know,

1608
01:01:18,074 --> 01:01:21,077
increased costs and everything
that that has gone with

1609
01:01:21,344 --> 01:01:24,213
the kind of spread of of
that utility billing system.

1610
01:01:25,214 --> 01:01:25,948
-Last question.

1611
01:01:25,948 --> 01:01:27,617
Thank you for your patience.
Thank you so much.

1612
01:01:27,617 --> 01:01:30,453
-Thank you for being here.
My name is Ava

1613
01:01:30,453 --> 01:01:34,157
and I study applied
math and public policy.

1614
01:01:34,357 --> 01:01:36,793
I was a previous intern
at King County

1615
01:01:36,793 --> 01:01:40,229
and an incoming intern
at City of Seattle.

1616
01:01:40,830 --> 01:01:42,932
I am here. Yes.

1617
01:01:42,932 --> 01:01:44,801
I'm going to

1618
01:01:44,801 --> 01:01:47,904
I'm curious
about how you're supporting

1619
01:01:47,904 --> 01:01:52,275
nonprofits in their works,
given that, you know, just

1620
01:01:52,341 --> 01:01:55,945
the amount of demand increase
that they're experiencing.

1621
01:01:56,612 --> 01:01:59,582
I'm curious
about how you're engaging them

1622
01:01:59,582 --> 01:02:02,585
and those communities.

1623
01:02:03,820 --> 01:02:06,689
-Yeah, I mean, I would say
nonprofits is a big,

1624
01:02:06,689 --> 01:02:08,191
big umbrella, right?

1625
01:02:08,191 --> 01:02:10,593
I mean, the city,
in terms of our homelessness

1626
01:02:10,593 --> 01:02:12,795
and human services work
obviously contracts

1627
01:02:12,795 --> 01:02:14,664
with a wide variety
of nonprofit.

1628
01:02:14,664 --> 01:02:16,399
It's both directly
and through the King

1629
01:02:16,399 --> 01:02:19,502
County Homelessness Authority,
and they're all seeing

1630
01:02:20,837 --> 01:02:23,039
a lot of
increased demand for services.

1631
01:02:23,039 --> 01:02:24,741
I think
just to give an example,

1632
01:02:24,741 --> 01:02:26,709
know with with food
access, right,

1633
01:02:26,709 --> 01:02:28,778
We're at a moment where food
insecurity is really high.

1634
01:02:28,778 --> 01:02:30,346
And so like food banks
and food

1635
01:02:30,346 --> 01:02:33,382
access programs are seeing
an increase in demand.

1636
01:02:33,382 --> 01:02:35,318
So, yeah,
I mean, we're in conversation

1637
01:02:35,318 --> 01:02:37,186
with all those nonprofits
and trying to figure out

1638
01:02:37,186 --> 01:02:40,256
how we can support support
as much as possible with

1639
01:02:40,256 --> 01:02:43,259
with resources and other
other forms of support

1640
01:02:43,626 --> 01:02:47,296
and yeah, I don't know,
we're a work in progress,

1641
01:02:47,296 --> 01:02:48,931
but it's definitely something

1642
01:02:48,931 --> 01:02:50,533
that we're that
we're aware of.

1643
01:02:50,533 --> 01:02:52,902
And I would say
and also our Office

1644
01:02:52,902 --> 01:02:54,904
of Arts and Culture
right in the organizations

1645
01:02:54,904 --> 01:02:58,174
that the city supports
through that office,

1646
01:02:58,941 --> 01:03:00,543
trying to figure out
how we can do

1647
01:03:00,543 --> 01:03:01,477
more on that front as well.

1648
01:03:02,612 --> 01:03:03,212
-Yeah, I would add

1649
01:03:03,212 --> 01:03:06,582
that nonprofits are critical
partners in the work

1650
01:03:06,582 --> 01:03:07,216
that we do.

1651
01:03:07,216 --> 01:03:10,920
We partner with them
on all facets of our services,

1652
01:03:11,721 --> 01:03:14,724
and a lot of nonprofits
are smaller

1653
01:03:14,791 --> 01:03:16,559
community organizations

1654
01:03:16,559 --> 01:03:18,828
that are able
to reach communities

1655
01:03:18,828 --> 01:03:20,730
that maybe King County

1656
01:03:20,730 --> 01:03:23,733
as a big institution
can't effectively reach

1657
01:03:23,833 --> 01:03:25,635
because we don't live
in a place,

1658
01:03:25,635 --> 01:03:27,270
we don't speak the language,
we don't understand

1659
01:03:27,270 --> 01:03:29,539
the culture,
we don't have the trust.

1660
01:03:29,539 --> 01:03:31,174
And so those partnerships
are critical.

1661
01:03:31,174 --> 01:03:31,674
And so that's

1662
01:03:31,674 --> 01:03:32,942
why it's really important

1663
01:03:32,942 --> 01:03:34,243
when we talk about the audit

1664
01:03:34,243 --> 01:03:37,246
that I was asked
about earlier, that

1665
01:03:37,446 --> 01:03:41,818
accountability and equity
are not mutually exclusive.

1666
01:03:41,818 --> 01:03:42,785
Right? We have two.

1667
01:03:42,785 --> 01:03:46,956
Absolutely have accountability
and make sure that we're

1668
01:03:46,956 --> 01:03:49,959
having this financial controls
and making sure that they're

1669
01:03:50,459 --> 01:03:53,629
that the results that we want
are coming out and we're

1670
01:03:53,763 --> 01:03:55,765
being good stewards
of public dollars.

1671
01:03:55,765 --> 01:03:56,732
And at the same time,

1672
01:03:56,732 --> 01:03:57,733
we can't put up

1673
01:03:57,733 --> 01:04:00,002
such a high barrier to entry

1674
01:04:00,002 --> 01:04:01,537
that those smaller
organizations

1675
01:04:01,537 --> 01:04:03,105
that can reach those

1676
01:04:03,105 --> 01:04:06,108
most vulnerable communities
that we want to reach are not

1677
01:04:06,509 --> 01:04:08,311
barred from participation.

1678
01:04:08,311 --> 01:04:09,612
We have to bring them in

1679
01:04:09,612 --> 01:04:10,947
their critical partners

1680
01:04:10,947 --> 01:04:12,748
and at the same time
we have to give them

1681
01:04:12,748 --> 01:04:14,584
the structures
that they need to be able

1682
01:04:14,584 --> 01:04:17,787
to be accountable
with taxpayer dollars.

1683
01:04:17,920 --> 01:04:19,789
-So we are going to
have to wrap it right there.

1684
01:04:19,789 --> 01:04:21,090
There's so much to discuss

1685
01:04:21,090 --> 01:04:23,025
with the mayor
and the county executive.

1686
01:04:23,025 --> 01:04:24,460
We're out of time.

1687
01:04:24,460 --> 01:04:26,429
And thanks to this fantastic

1688
01:04:26,429 --> 01:04:29,332
live audience and thanks to the TV audience. Thank you. All

1689
01:04:30,499 --> 01:04:33,402
(crowd applause)

1690
01:04:34,570 --> 01:04:49,285
♪♪