(This is a sponsored post, written by the Abel Pacheco for City Council campaign.)
Wallingford is a great place to live. I know this first hand – I’ve lived here since graduating from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs. However, we need new leadership to tackle our neighborhood’s greatest challenges; confronting a broken development process, Waterway 20, Northlake Way safety, parking and cyclist concerns, and many more. This is why I’m running to represent our district on the Seattle City Council.
We need a leader who truly knows our community. I’m the only candidate running that is from Wallingford. That is what we need in a district representative – a person who understands the challenges faced by Seattle, but has the intimate knowledge of our neighborhood to make a difference.
This election is personal for me; just like you I have seen and experienced how issues such as housing and transportation impact our way of life. I live in a mother-in-law apartment here in Wallingford and deeply understand the difficulty of trying to find affordable housing in Seattle. This experience is why, if elected, I’m the greatest advocate for the expansion of mother-in-law units. We need to find creative solutions to provide affordable housing options for students, families and seniors, while preserving and protecting the character and vibrancy of our neighborhood.
The broad range of issues we face demands a leader with a broad range of experiences and I am uniquely qualified. I’ve been a leader on the Wallingford Community Council, serving as the Quality of Life Chair and I’ve worked hard with community based organizations such as The Seattle Foundation, the Seattle Police Foundation, and the University of Washington. I also sit on the young professionals’ boards of United Way and Plymouth Housing – I live my commitment to service.
At 28 years old, I acknowledge that I am young, but as a fellow Wallingford resident told me last week when I knocked on her door, “You’re old enough to know something, and young enough to do something about it”. I know the issues facing our community, I’ve lived them, and worked on them. I’m a graduate of one of the nation’s top graduate programs in public policy and governance, and I have professional experience as a community leader.
I’m supported by many Wallingford community leaders and neighbors, including the following Wallingford Community Council members: Vince Lyons, Greg Hill, Erika Bigelow, Norm Davis, Ted Hunter, Reid Haefer, Kim England, and Lee Raaen & Jim Fryett, both former Presidents. I hope I can count on you to join them in supporting neighborhood, Wallingford leadership on the Seattle City Council and please remember to vote by August 4th.
You can learn more about me by visiting www.abel4seattle.com.
I’m curious where Abel stands on police reform. He’s worked closely with SPD in the past and lists an endorsement from the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild prominently on his website.
Hi Doug,
Thanks for your question. The issue of police reform is personal for me as a man of color. Professionally, I have worked to build community partnerships to improve the safety of our neighborhoods. Here are the responses I submitted to The Stranger when they asked me about police reform. I hope you find them useful.
Q: Should the Community Police Commission become a permanent body?
Yes. The CPC provides an opportunity for the SPD to become a model for reform as it fosters ongoing dialogue about police practices with community members. This mechanism of engagement builds trust and strengthens community-police relations, leading to goodwill within the community and increased cooperation by all stakeholders. Officers want the trust and support of their community, and the community wants to trust and support their officers, so we all have to mindful of this collective vision at all times.
Q: Should the Discipline Review Board be abolished? (I understand this is something that would likely have to be done through bargaining between the executive branch and SPOG, but that doesn’t prohibit council members from taking a position on policies, even those that may have to be bargained for.)
While I understand the complexity of this issue and the desire to do so, I support efforts to increase the transparency of this board. Abolishing the Discipline Review Board would cause us to review the discipline review boards cross all of our city agencies and I’m not sure this is our intended effect. I would rather focus on how we can increase the transparency of this board so that the public can again trust their public servants.
Q: Should the Office of Police Accountability be allowed to hire civilian investigators?
In collaboration with OPA investigators, yes. OPA must not only investigate what transpired, but also if the officer did or did not follow protocol. Hiring civilian investigators to work with OPA sergeants can allow us to increase confidence in the accountability mechanisms we have, and potentially allow OPA to work more efficiently. Officers want the trust and support of their community, and the community wants to trust and support their officers, so we all have to mindful of this collective vision at all times.
Q: Should the Seattle Police Department join the CPC in requesting that the Department of Justice mediate a series of forums on how the department has treated Black Lives Matter protesters?
No, because the forums should be led by council members, not the DOJ. The DOJ cannot be doing the job of council members by hosting forums and taking the lead on this critical issue- passing the buck is not leadership. Members of the city council, in collaboration with the leadership of the SPD and the CPC, need to be taking the lead on hosting forums so that collectively they can hear what communities feel and experience and identify solutions. When I reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement I think of our collective failures as a society to not provide a quality education for every child, lack of economic opportunity for some communities, or the lack of leadership to address our mental health crisis. The Black Lives Matter movement to me is not just about a sole police interaction, rather the entirety of the challenges our community faces.
Hey, Abel-
Thank you for coming by my door and really reaching out to the neighborhood. You have my vote!
Drew