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Issues
Facing Seattle
My
old boss used to say: "Don't bring me problems,
bring me solutions." Well, nobody is listening
to my old boss. And we have problems. I'm the guy
with solutions.
The
Big Issues
The
Economy
The City can do its part to improve the local economy
by:
1. Creating jobs for people. This can be best
accomplished by creating an environment that allows
small businesses, our biggest source of employment,
to thrive. This means no tax hikes for pet projects
and no unfair increases in utility rates. The B&O
Tax must not only be capped, it should be restructured
to be based upon on net income instead of the current
gross sales. This puts an unfair burden on businesses
selling durable goods. And cap or remove the "head
tax".
2. Cutting the fat. We need to show a lot more
fiscal prudence in our upcoming series of large capital
infrastructure projects. See Transportation.
We can reduce city spending and its $3.8 billion budget
by getting the entire City of Seattle work force to
increase productivity and efficiency. Having worked
for the city myself, I have seen first hand how City
employees can sometimes get complacent. Strong, vigilant
leadership from department heads and managers along
with incentives can work to reverse these attitudes.
Let's instill a sense of pride in our city employees.
3.
Entrepreneurship. We are entering a new era. In
many ways it is similar to the dot com boom. Only
this boom is an "Energy Revolution". The
same sprit of invention and pioneering will permeate
our business community. As we already know, a boom
like this can boost the economy to improved growth
and good health. An incredible opportunity. The City
must at least improve the context for this spirit
to flourish and at best provide an improved environment
for clean and sustainable energy creation and a reduction
in our dependence on fossil fuels. This sprit is fostered
by entrepreneurs like Stacy Noland and his
Moontown organization.
4.
More Entrepreneurship and Technology. As an IT
major and a veteran of the dot com era, nobody knows
better than I do the economic energy that it produced.
One technological idea I have is to install a fiber
optic network throughout the city. This network would
be the uber-high speed conduit for deploying the City's
digital media services. But the beauty would be in
licensing this network to entrepreneurs who in turn
would compete for our communications dollars resulting
in better service, lower prices and better features.
Imagine getting only the television channels you want.
Or changing vendors when you are dissatisfied. We
could see an end to the current oligopoly.
Transportation
Big projects like The Viaduct, 520, Spokane St. and
Mercer St. dominate the conversation. Are we getting
the most bang for our billions of bucks? Are we getting
multiple, strong, competitive bids for these projects?
Is beautifying Mercer St. the best use of $200 million
when our other streets have been neglected for years?
I have more questions for City Hall.
Bicycles
We can dramatically reduce our carbon output by
fostering further reliance on the bicycle as a means
of transportation. The City is doing a good job
so far but more can be done. Let's get a bike-sharing
program working here. The City can help.
There
is entirely too much controversy and ambiguity surrounding
bicycling in Seattle and its rules of the road.
I propose that we gather a panel of various interests
- a bicycle summit including the Cascade Bicycle
Club, Bicycle Alliance of Washington, Seattle Bicycle
Advisory Board, .83, Critical Mass (that's right)
SDOT, SPD, DMV, AAA and others to create a comprehensive
bicycle code for Seattle. The code would provide
the necessary guidelines to provide much needed
bicycle safety. It would be go a long way in clearly
defining the relationship between bicyclists, drivers
and pedestrians. The goal is to ensure the safety
of everybody. It would be as much for drivers as
it would for riders.
The
best way to increase ridership is to increase bicycle
safety. Bicycle lanes are nice but they are not
very reassuring. The City should consider creating
more of a boundary than just paint. One idea would
be to instal l"road turtles" to help define
the left edge of a bicycle lane.
Education
and the State Sales Tax
The Seattle Public School System is
letting 172 teachers go due to a $34 million
shortfall. That is close to the same deficit as the
entire City of Seattle. How did we get to this? One
reason is that we fund our schools with state money
generated by a state sales tax. In our down economy
the sales tax is dramatically affected. It's
time to replace the regressive sales tax with a state
income tax. This will smooth out the severe
ups and downs in state revenues caused by swings in
the economy and improve the budget process. As a city
councilman I would muster all the influence and resources
Seattle has to offer including lobbyists and our local
state legislators and put as much pressure on Olympia
as possible to achieve this end. Skeptics in the rest
of the state could be assured by making the income
tax contingent on the end of the sales tax.
As
a species, educating our children is the single most
important thing we do. The work we are doing to increase
literacy at Van Asselt Elementary School in Rainier
Valley can make a huge difference in society. Reading
at the third grade level is one of the major determinants
of a person's future. Often this is used as the primary
criterion in determining jail sizes during the design
phase of regional jail facilities - third grade reading
ability. Literacy actually keeps people from becoming
criminals.
Even
though the vast majority of funding for education
comes from the State of Washington, the City of Seattle
can and must work to improve education in our public
schools. I am already talking with the Seattle School
Board about creative new ways we can enhance education
in Seattle schools.
Public
Safety
Part of my initiative to advocate the music business
is to take back Pioneer Square and Belltown. It's
not too hard to find the crime. And it's not to hard
to find the violence. But it's not about the bar -
the drug - the alcohol - the profile - the type of
music - it's about the behavior. If we're to start
cleaning up this mess, it's about punishing the behavior.
Have a good time, enjoy a few drinks, but don't do
anything stupid like driving a car or starting a fight.
Stupid behavior will do you in. Like they say in New
Orleans, "Be nice or go home".
Of course we need more police presence. And not just
in Belltown and Pioneer Square. But at least let's
start there and see what can be done. Wouldn't it
be nice to have a safe place to dance and have a good
time? It used to be that way and it can be again.
It will take some tough love and it will take some
time. But that is what has to be done to alter the
perception of downtown being unsafe.
Change is already in the wind. Soon we will have a
new police chief. He needs to be a cop before he is
a politician. He needs to get some of the fundamentals
straight. Shift change can't be at closing time. That's
just wrong. There will be no funding cuts on my watch
for public safety. It is one of the absolute primary
functions of a city government. If we need to trim
the budget, we will just have to look somewhere else.
Current
Issues
Land
Use/Zoning
My background as a commercial real estate broker has
provided me with knowledge of the intricacies of the
City zoning codes. These codes are the most powerful
tool in our arsenal for managing growth. Even slight
alterations to these codes create significant changes
in the way neighborhoods can be developed. This is
one of my biggest strengths. And it will of invaluable
use as we amend and execute the Comprehensive Plan
and the neighborhood plans.
Parks/Open
Spaces
As co-chair of the Friends of Magnuson Park Liaison
Committee I have worked to see that Magnuson Park
becomes the truly great park and open space on the
West Coast. We have had our victories and our defeats.
But we remain undaunted. This is the last great piece
of land within our city where we have the chance to
do something timeless and glorious. Parks cannot have
enough champions. They are often victims of special
interests. I have seen this up close and will not
allow it on my watch.
Natural
Resources - Trees
Mayor
Nickels wants to increase the tree canopy in Seattle.
Good for him. But he isn't doing it. He is replacing
6 inch trunk trees with two saplings, and then paving
with an impermeable surface right up to the trunk.
This is a recipe for a small, unhealthy tree with
roots that will ruin the pavement as they grow to
the surface seeking water and nourishment. Not exactly
a "solution". Planting trees and surrounding
them with permeable surfaces such as pavers 1. promotes
healthy trees and 2. saves taxpayers money by not
having to re-pave surfaces destroyed by tree roots.
You listening, Greg?
Let's
re-forest Seattle. There are lots of places in the
city where we could just plant some trees. Perhaps
some of our local lumber companies could pitch in.
Lord knows they could use some good PR.
Our
Magnuson Park advocacy group is also pressing hard
to see that multiple stands of trees are planted at
the Park. Originally the entire 440 acres was a stand
of trees. Let's get some of that back.
And
for crying out loud, let's completely re-do the ordinance
regarding trees.
It's a disaster!
Additional
Issues
Recycling
and Solid Waste
The new recycling system allows us to recycle more
of our refuse but it is going to take some getting
used to. More can be done on the City's web site to
clarify and add detail to explaining the recycling
plan.
Animal
control
"It's not the dog, it's the owner."
Maybe I'll write a song.
Rusty
Williams Campaign's Profile
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