25 th Legislative District Democrats

Transcription

1 25 th Legislative District Democrats Candidate Endorsement Request (County Council) Full Name (as shown on ballot) Suzanne Skaar Office Sought: Pierce County Council District 5 Today s Date: May 28, 2018 Years in the district that you want to represent: 6 ½ Campaign Information Name of Campaign: Committee to Elect Suzanne Skaar Campaign Manager: Field Coordinator Nikie Walters Campaign Address: PO Box 8666, Tacoma, WA suzanneskaar2018@outlook.com Website: suzanneskaar.com Social media: Facebook: Committee to Elect Suzanne Skaar Twitter: Not yet Other: Not yet What is your win number? Estimated 8,400 in August Primary; 21,420 in November. How much money do you intend to spend on this campaign? $10,000 est. How much in personal funds do you intend to spend? I ve spent a little under $300, and don t anticipate needing to spend more of my own funds. How much have you raised so far? Approximately $1400 How many volunteers do you expect to have supporting your campaign? Approximately 50 How many volunteers have you recruited so far? About 10 to 15, but we re in the process of getting an accurate count this week. Party Affiliation: Democratic Party Are you using union printers and/or sign shops to do your campaign printing? Yes Questionnaire Please keep your answers brief. Please list your qualifications for seeking office: I earned my B.A at The Evergreen State College (Olympia) in I earned my M.A. through the UW Jackson School of International Studies Russian East European Central Asian Studies program; my major was Political Science and my minor was Cultural Anthropology. I earned my CDMS (Certified Disability Management Specialist) in 2017.

2 As a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VRC), I work with injured workers and their employers across 3 counties, including Pierce County. I previously worked in higher education, both in Washington State and abroad. Consequently, I have an indepth knowledge of the local labor market, strong research skills, and experience building relationships with a variety of community stakeholders, such as healthcare professionals and representatives from non-profits, educational institutions, and governmental agencies. Since moving to Tacoma in 2000, I have been an active volunteer for a variety of arts and social justice causes. I served on the Board for Radio Tacoma in 2017, the City of Tacoma Human Rights Commission from late mid-2016, and the Board for Okongo, a small-tacoma based non-profit working with Congolese refugees in the DRC and Washington State on and off from I am a strong advocate for reproductive health justice, a living wage, improved accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and our environment. Why do you seek this office? I want to improve accessibility to resources for underrepresented populations in our county. As a working mother, activist, and South End Tacoma resident, I would bring new perspectives and experience to the current council. It is my goal to help those who don t feel like they have a voice in governmental decisions feel heard and be heard. Have you previously been involved in partisan politics? Please give details: Although women s health care should not be a partisan issue, I have volunteered for reproductive health parity through Planned Parenthood s WA State Lobby Day and outreach events. I have volunteered with the Pierce County Democrats to register voters, and brought a platform amendment to the 2016 Pierce County Democratic Convention to address the dangers of non-lethal weapons such as CS gas. In the fall of 2017, I co-wrote a resolution to automatically expunge offenses connected to cannabis possession based on the disproportionate impact such charges had on communities of color. I was recently informed by a member of the 29 th LD Democratic Party that this would be brought forward to the Washington State Democratic Convention this year. Have you run for an office before? Please give details: I ran for Tacoma City Council Position 7 in I was NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and Equal Rights Washington s soleendorsed candidate, and received dual endorsements from the 28 th LD Democratic Party and the Pierce County Democratic Party. I spent approximately $150 on campaign material and was working in Tanzania for about 3 weeks leading up to the general election. I received 10,474 votes. Have you held office, either elected or appointed? Please give details: I was elected to the South End Neighborhood Council Board in 2017 and was appointed to the City of Tacoma Human Rights Commission in What do you believe will be the three most important issues in your campaign? Accessibility and Equal Representation in the Workforce Accessibility and Equal Representation in Government Environment/ Climate Change Whom will your campaign hold accountable for the lack of progress on these issues? By running for office, I am taking the stance that I need to do my best to work with partners both inside and outside our community to find solutions to complex problems. It is easy to pass the blame onto others, but we all have a responsibility to make our community livable for all residents. Name an action you would push in the County Council to cope with climate change? I want to challenge the County Council to join me and conduct more research into how climate change is being tackled internationally. We need to work with climate change and emergency preparedness experts to determine how these measures can be implemented locally. Name an action you would push in the County Council to slow climate change? I want to encourage incentives for companies pursuing clean energy projects to come to Pierce County. Developments in the field of solar energy and increasing use of biofuels (to follow the example of Linkoping, Sweden s bus transit system) have the potential for decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels and decreasing greenhouse emissions.

3 The Pierce County Economic Development Department often pursues growth through seeking to attract existing businesses to the area. Do you see a role for Pierce County in providing support for community members who wish to start small businesses or worker-owned co-ops here? Definitely. Spaceworks Tacoma, which offers training and works with property owners to rent unleased property at lower rates to entrepreneurs and artists, has launched several successful businesses in the Tacoma area. If expanded or emulated, it could have a lasting impact on the greater Pierce County community. Do you support a $15 per hour minimum wage for Pierce County? Yes. What should be done to make rental housing more affordable in Pierce County? A major step would be to narrow the gap between the minimum wage and a living wage. This step alone would greatly help workers in the education, childcare, non-profit, social services, retail, and customer service sectors to stay in their homes. What should be done to make commuting more efficient in Pierce County? Pierce Transit needs more funding to increase the number of operating hours per day to accommodate low-income workers (who often have to work earlier or later than the first and last buses), decrease intervals between bus routes, and focus on improving lighting and bus stop shelter conditions (security measures, rapid repair of windows, etc.). In the South End, we are missing large sections of sidewalks leading up to the bus stops, which means those with wheelchairs, canes, balance issues, and strollers have to navigate in the street. Funding needs to be allocated to address these problem areas. [Some concerned citizens in our Neighborhood Council have decided to map out the areas where accessibility is the worst so that we can bring this forward to City officials.] What costs should be included in development impact fees to reflect the costs that new housing imposes on existing residents? Roadway expansions and/ or increased public transit services to accommodate higher numbers of commuters (dependent on project size), increased demand on schools, parks improvements, and public safety (increased demand on police and fire departments). Would you support higher impact fees based upon the value of the new housing? If so, would you temper the increased fees by exempting the first $100,000 of value for each new unit of housing and correspondingly increasing the rate on all value above $100,000 so that the full impact of new housing is felt by the new residents rather than the existing residents? Yes and yes. Much of residential Pierce County is either unserved or under-served by transit. If elected to the County Council what will you do to coordinate new housing and improved transit in Pierce County so that traffic might be reduced rather than continually increased? I would work with the Pierce County Transit Advisory Board, the local Neighborhood Councils, and local Business District groups, and solicit feedback from residents/ commuters to better understand where the biggest gaps in service are. Once sufficient data is collected, I would work with the above stated stakeholders and Pierce County Council/ staff to identify potential solutions and barriers. In addition to improving existing transit service (increasing hours; exploring the idea of free and reduced shuttle service along major roads such as Meridian, Pacific, or 56th St; etc.), incentives to encourage development along pre-existing bus routes and decreasing the trend of suburban sprawl are possible solutions. Your budget priorities: Name the top three county budget expenditures (if any) that you believe should be increased. Behavioral health, housing and homeless fund, and public transportation. Name the top three county budget expenditures (if any) that you believe need to be decreased.

4 What county revenue sources if any do you believe should be increased? What county revenue sources if any do you believe should be decreased? Fines & Forfeitures. Do you think it would be a good use of County money to annually mail to each household a brief summary of the County s budget and a percentage breakdown of expenditures by department that would be signed by the members of the County Council? Yes. Many residents don t have access to computers or have the time to research this information. By providing the information to citizens with material that was already going to be sent out, the added transparency and access to government information would be worth the cost. What should be done to provide transitional facilities for residents of Pierce County ready to leave facilities like Western State Hospital? Because mental health is stigmatized, access to mental health practitioners is not prioritized in the same way that access to physical health is. The wait times for those seeking counseling or visits required for prescription refills through private insurers is unconscionable. Lack of access to proper mental health care in a timely fashion can make easily treatable conditions worse, and negatively impact patients existing support systems, financial stability, ability to maintain a job and home. If we want to reduce the strain on existing transitional housing, we need to focus on providing better preventative care. We can t reduce patients to only receiving care once they are in an active crisis. Another contributing factor to the lack of local transitional facilities is that many residents are not from this area originally. We need to work with state representatives to ensure access to quality mental health care does not depend on one s zip code. If patients are able to remain in their communities instead of being forced to seek help elsewhere, the period of time spent in transitional facilities could potentially be reduced. Would you support a county code provision requiring landlords to allow political candidates, campaign representatives, and political party representatives access to their properties thereby leaving the decision of whether an individual tenant speaks to a candidate up to that tenant? It would really depend on the wording of the provision. I want Democratic candidates to be able to campaign in underserved neighborhoods and apartment complexes, but I would want to make sure that individuals living in group homes and assisted living settings are protected. Do you support Public Campaign Financing for: (1) Local government offices? Yes (2) State government offices? Yes (3) Federal offices? Yes (4) Judicial offices? Yes Why should the 25 th Legislative District Democrats support you over any other candidates running for this position? I am running to speak up for populations who have not been traditionally represented by the government. My professional career in higher education and rehabilitation services, academic background, and service to this community have prepared me to serve in the role of Pierce County Council Member. If elected, I will continue to serve my community with integrity, transparency, and a strong commitment to uphold the values of the Democratic Party.

5 Are there any additional comments you would like to share with the 25 th Legislative District Democrats? It is the intent of the 25th District Democrats to support qualified Democrats seeking political office for both partisan and nonpartisan races. To that end we are looking for individuals who adhere to Democratic principles as demonstrated by Democratic Party activity, community activities, their reputation among Democrats, and statements they make supporting the Democratic Party, fellow Democrats, and Democratic values. Endorsed candidates are discouraged from giving support in any partisan race to non-democratic candidates. If an individual is running against another Democratic candidate(s), such endorsed candidate is encouraged to draw clear distinctions and differences with his/her opponent in a friendly, informational, and non-confrontational fashion. My signature below signifies my agreement with these principles and that I understand that the 25th District Democrats may withdraw its endorsement if I do not adhere to them. Candidate Signature: Suzanne Skaar Today s Date: 5/28/2018 Please return your completed questionnaire to edwherde@gmail.com