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-Welcome to this edition of City Inside-Out.
I'm your host, Brian Callanan. With incumbent
Councilmember Alex Pederson deciding not to run again,
the race for District 4 is wide open.
Tech lawyer and consultant Ron Davis won
the August primary,
and Maritza Rivera, Seattle's former Office of Arts
and Culture deputy director, will be his challenger.
The two have different stances on public safety,
a looming city budget gap, and other key issues.
This week, we take a look at the battle for District 4.
-I'm Ron Davis. -Tech consultant Ron Davis..
-I'm Maritza Rivera -And the former deputy director
of Seattle's Office of Arts and Culture, Maritza Rivera,
want your vote in District 4,
from Wedgewood to the U District,
and Wallingford to Sandpoint.
-Are there particular issues that are important to you?
-Davis, father of two,
is the son of teenage parents and a Harvard Law graduate.
He's running to stand up for the less fortunate.
-I think
other people should be able to have the opportunity
to rise and be taken care of
by their communities when they're not so lucky.
-Rivera grew up in the Bronx, and as a Fordham Law grad,
she decided to run after her two kids lived through a fatal
shooting last year at Ingram High School.
-I'm here to represent you.
Davis won 45% of the vote in the August primary.
He's endorsed by The Stranger, and housing and homelessness
are his top issues.
-We need to bend the curve on housing costs
so that regular families can start a life
here, start a career,
you know, raise a family age safely in place.
-Rivera won 32% of the vote in the primary.
She's endorsed by The Seattle Times.
Public safety and police hiring are her main concerns.
-911 priority response times are up to 12 or 15 minutes.
We need to get those down to 5 minutes.
-She says her opponent is not supportive of ramping up
police hiring.
-That's a huge stark comparison between the two of us.
-Davis says public safety is critical, but calls
Rivera's plan unrealistic in a nationwide cop shortage.
-I think we have to take hiring market seriously.
-The two also differ on the city budget.
-We face a 200-plus million dollar budget gap next year,
and my answer is we need to fill
that in with progressive taxes.
-I am very strong on accountability.
And so before we have the knee jerk reaction
of looking for more revenue, our city budget has grown
exponentially in the last 20 years.
-She's planning
200 million in cuts to that same budget,
which is mathematically impossible.
-D4 voters will make the call
between a former tech CEO, public policy writer
and local activist, and a longtime city employee
who's been a White House liaison,
small business advocate and anti-racism champion.
-We have the opportunity to take the city forward.
-I have 30 years of public service,
and I have something to offer the city.
-What are people saying online about the two candidates
for Seattle City Council District 4?
One person says
Ron Davis is the only sane candidate in this contest,
especially if you
care about urbanism, transit and increased housing density.
Another person writes
Rivera should know how to get things done from the start
due to her experience as a council aide
and as a department head.
We'd like to know what you think.
Send us an email at contact@seattlechannel.org
or find us on social media.
Coming up next week, the race to replace
Deborah Juarez in Seattle City Council District 5
Retired King County Judge Kathy Moore
faces off with social equity consultant
ChrisTiana ObeySumner on the next City Inside/Out.
I hope you join us.
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