Read Mai Hoang's in depth story about this race.
Read Mai Hoang's in depth story about this race.
Lisa Brown represented the Third Legislative District as a state representative from 1993-1997 and as a state senator from 1997-2012. In 2005, Brown became Senate Majority Leader, becoming the first democratic woman in state history in that position. She has also served as the chancellor of WSU Spokane and as director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, in addition to a wide array of community service work. Brown has challenged many aspects of the Woodward administration, and says there is too much turnover and conflict in City Hall. If elected, she promises to address public safety, expand community behavioral health facilities, secure funding for homelessness response and affordable housing, address youth gang violence, and more. Brown has raised over $442,780 and has spent more than $253,200. The political action committee Fuse Votes also spent $268 in support of Brown. Political action committee Spokane Good Government Alliance has spent $175,100 against Brown. Brown has received endorsements from dozens of political organizations and individuals.
What is your top policy priority for addressing homelessness in Spokane? How would you pay for these efforts?
My top priority is creating a “Navigation Center” model of coordinated intake, assessment and referral of unhoused people to services and housing options. I will join the effort to create a regionally coordinated system. I will work with a table that includes the city council, Spokane Continuum of Care, Spokane Homeless Coalition, neighborhoods, and people with lived experience. I will also bring health and behavioral health care providers to the table to discuss coordinated street medicine outreach to people in crisis on the street. Identifying and expanding emergency beds will be a top priority.
Spokane home prices remain high despite a recent cool down. What are your plans to address the city’s ongoing housing affordability issue?
The city will take an “all of the above” approach to expanding housing supply. This includes: extending land use changes already approved by the city council, pursuing state resources in the Housing Trust Fund, Apple Health and Homes, and home ownership programs, consideration of ways to use city land in partnership with tribes and other partners, streamlining the City’s permitting process, working with our financial sector on financial products for those who want to build ADUs or are first-time homebuyers, providing rental assistance to people at risk of losing housing and enforcing tenant protections.
The region has grappled with wildfire this summer. Building moratoriums in the Latah Valley, where there’s a lack of road and emergency infrastructure, has been proposed as a way to address this issue. How do you think the city should address this issue?
My administration will lead a joint planning process for the infrastructure and public facilities necessary to support the current and planned development of Latah Valley. Investment is over a decade overdue and hundreds of millions of dollars are short in identifying necessary infrastructure investments to support a growing population of over 6,000 and for which nearly 3,000 new housing units are in the pipeline. My commitment is that my administration will convene a joint planning process quickly, but until it begins to achieve some identified investments in public safety and transportation infrastructure, I support pausing and phasing-in new residential development in Latah Valley.
Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown represented the Third Legislative District as a state representative from 1993-1997 and as a state senator from 1997-2012. In 2005, Brown became Senate Majority Leader, becoming the first democratic woman in state history in that position. She has also served as the chancellor of WSU Spokane and as director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, in addition to a wide array of community service work. Brown has challenged many aspects of the Woodward administration, and says there is too much turnover and conflict in City Hall. If elected, she promises to address public safety, expand community behavioral health facilities, secure funding for homelessness response and affordable housing, address youth gang violence, and more. Brown has raised over $442,780 and has spent more than $253,200. The political action committee Fuse Votes also spent $268 in support of Brown. Political action committee Spokane Good Government Alliance has spent $175,100 against Brown. Brown has received endorsements from dozens of political organizations and individuals.
What is your top policy priority for addressing homelessness in Spokane? How would you pay for these efforts?
My top priority is creating a “Navigation Center” model of coordinated intake, assessment and referral of unhoused people to services and housing options. I will join the effort to create a regionally coordinated system. I will work with a table that includes the city council, Spokane Continuum of Care, Spokane Homeless Coalition, neighborhoods, and people with lived experience. I will also bring health and behavioral health care providers to the table to discuss coordinated street medicine outreach to people in crisis on the street. Identifying and expanding emergency beds will be a top priority.
Spokane home prices remain high despite a recent cool down. What are your plans to address the city’s ongoing housing affordability issue?
The city will take an “all of the above” approach to expanding housing supply. This includes: extending land use changes already approved by the city council, pursuing state resources in the Housing Trust Fund, Apple Health and Homes, and home ownership programs, consideration of ways to use city land in partnership with tribes and other partners, streamlining the City’s permitting process, working with our financial sector on financial products for those who want to build ADUs or are first-time homebuyers, providing rental assistance to people at risk of losing housing and enforcing tenant protections.
The region has grappled with wildfire this summer. Building moratoriums in the Latah Valley, where there’s a lack of road and emergency infrastructure, has been proposed as a way to address this issue. How do you think the city should address this issue?
My administration will lead a joint planning process for the infrastructure and public facilities necessary to support the current and planned development of Latah Valley. Investment is over a decade overdue and hundreds of millions of dollars are short in identifying necessary infrastructure investments to support a growing population of over 6,000 and for which nearly 3,000 new housing units are in the pipeline. My commitment is that my administration will convene a joint planning process quickly, but until it begins to achieve some identified investments in public safety and transportation infrastructure, I support pausing and phasing-in new residential development in Latah Valley.
Incumbent Nadine Woodward was elected to the mayoral office in 2019. During her 2019 campaign, she described herself as right-of-center. Before pursuing office, she worked as a Spokane news anchor for 28 years. During her first term, Woodward worked with City Council members to outlaw drug use in public spaces and change zoning ordinances to create more affordable housing. Working with the Spokane Police Department, she also helped create the Violent Crime Task Force and a hire-ahead program to minimize understaffing. She has stated she hopes to continue prioritizing law enforcement and public safety if re-elected. Woodward has raised more than $491,700 in campaign contributions and has spent at least $327,900, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. The political action committees Spokane Good Government Alliance and National Association of Realtors Fund also have spent $275,200 in support of Woodward.
What is your top policy priority for addressing homelessness in Spokane? How would you pay for these efforts?
In my first term I added more than 500 low barrier beds to our regional shelter system to get more people off the streets, into shelters and connected to mental health and substance abuse services.
I have also been working to create a Regional Homeless Authority with the County, and surrounding cities to move the region’s funding, resources and services under one entity to more efficiently and effectively address homelessness. In my next term, we will expand on this authority in order to better serve our community and demand real accountability and results in the way we address homelessness.
Spokane home prices remain high despite a recent cool down. What are your plans to address the city’s ongoing housing affordability issue?
Housing availability is a top priority of mine. In my first term, we led the state by allowing for multi-family housing units to be built on single-family zoned lots. That change creates new opportunities for home ownership, the largest builder of wealth for most families, in an increasingly challenging environment. In my second term, I will keep finding new and creative ways to expand Spokane’s affordable housing market. As a potential next step, we are exploring ways to encourage turning unused commercial space downtown into condos and apartments.
The region has grappled with wildfire this summer. Building moratoriums in the Latah Valley, where there’s a lack of road and emergency infrastructure, has been proposed as a way to address this issue. How do you think the city should address this issue?
The city has expanded emergency management coordination and wildland urban interface zone management to both reduce fire risk and plan for future wildfire seasons.The infrastructure in the Latah Valley is in need of improvement, especially the state highway. Much of the city infrastructure has to be funded through new development, so I’m concerned a moratorium could further delay that much needed infrastructure. I will continue to work with the neighborhoods to explore different ways the city can update its infrastructure to meet the needs of the neighborhood without stopping new growth during a housing shortage.
Nadine Woodward
Incumbent Nadine Woodward was elected to the mayoral office in 2019. During her 2019 campaign, she described herself as right-of-center. Before pursuing office, she worked as a Spokane news anchor for 28 years. During her first term, Woodward worked with City Council members to outlaw drug use in public spaces and change zoning ordinances to create more affordable housing. Working with the Spokane Police Department, she also helped create the Violent Crime Task Force and a hire-ahead program to minimize understaffing. She has stated she hopes to continue prioritizing law enforcement and public safety if re-elected. Woodward has raised more than $491,700 in campaign contributions and has spent at least $327,900, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. The political action committees Spokane Good Government Alliance and National Association of Realtors Fund also have spent $275,200 in support of Woodward.
What is your top policy priority for addressing homelessness in Spokane? How would you pay for these efforts?
In my first term I added more than 500 low barrier beds to our regional shelter system to get more people off the streets, into shelters and connected to mental health and substance abuse services.
I have also been working to create a Regional Homeless Authority with the County, and surrounding cities to move the region’s funding, resources and services under one entity to more efficiently and effectively address homelessness. In my next term, we will expand on this authority in order to better serve our community and demand real accountability and results in the way we address homelessness.
Spokane home prices remain high despite a recent cool down. What are your plans to address the city’s ongoing housing affordability issue?
Housing availability is a top priority of mine. In my first term, we led the state by allowing for multi-family housing units to be built on single-family zoned lots. That change creates new opportunities for home ownership, the largest builder of wealth for most families, in an increasingly challenging environment. In my second term, I will keep finding new and creative ways to expand Spokane’s affordable housing market. As a potential next step, we are exploring ways to encourage turning unused commercial space downtown into condos and apartments.
The region has grappled with wildfire this summer. Building moratoriums in the Latah Valley, where there’s a lack of road and emergency infrastructure, has been proposed as a way to address this issue. How do you think the city should address this issue?
The city has expanded emergency management coordination and wildland urban interface zone management to both reduce fire risk and plan for future wildfire seasons.The infrastructure in the Latah Valley is in need of improvement, especially the state highway. Much of the city infrastructure has to be funded through new development, so I’m concerned a moratorium could further delay that much needed infrastructure. I will continue to work with the neighborhoods to explore different ways the city can update its infrastructure to meet the needs of the neighborhood without stopping new growth during a housing shortage.
