POD: A (Conservative) City Council Candidate Forum

Speaker: 00:00:00

Hey, it's Aaron.

2

: 00:00:01

This week on the pod, we're playing the

full audio of the City Council candidate

3

: 00:00:05

Forum held Tuesday at Calvary Spokane,

a conservative church north of town.

4

: 00:00:09

It makes the show longer than usual.

5

: 00:00:11

We're doing this because of the crowd

there, which was more receptive than the

6

: 00:00:15

avid audience to some unvarnished rhetoric

from the conservative end of the spectrum.

7

: 00:00:19

In Spokane Fair warning candidates,

Jonathan Bengal and Christopher Savage

8

: 00:00:22

make some comments that might be

considered harmful to queer communities.

9

: 00:00:26

That being said, here's the show.

10

: 00:00:28

Each candidate is going to share for

five minutes about themselves and

11

: 00:00:34

what difference they're gonna make.

12

: 00:00:36

Um, we did have it open to

other candidates if they wanted

13

: 00:00:40

to send us a short video.

14

: 00:00:41

Cody ar, how do you say his last name?

15

: 00:00:43

Ar Welles AEs had sent in a video.

16

: 00:00:46

So after you guys do your five

minute intros, then we'll uh, have a

17

: 00:00:50

chance to see his two minute video.

18

: 00:00:53

And then, um, after those introductory,

um, statements from you guys, I got

19

: 00:00:58

a series of questions here provided

by our Calvary political committee.

20

: 00:01:02

So yeah, there we go.

21

: 00:01:03

They said they didn't want to throw

any softballs at you, so love it.

22

: 00:01:07

Alright.

23

: 00:01:08

You're not gonna get any softballs there.

24

: 00:01:09

Okay.

25

: 00:01:10

So, uh, why don't we start

out, uh, Jonathan with you.

26

: 00:01:13

Um, you got five minutes.

27

: 00:01:15

Uh, tell us about yourself and why

you're running for Spokane City Council.

28

: 00:01:18

Yes, I'll do my best to

keep it in five minutes.

29

: 00:01:21

Okay.

30

: 00:01:21

I was a, a pastor before this

and now an elected official.

31

: 00:01:24

There's not a microphone I don't

like, so, uh, keep that in mind.

32

: 00:01:28

But, um, yeah, so my name's Jonathan mle.

33

: 00:01:30

I'm currently a city council

member in the city of Spokane.

34

: 00:01:33

I represent Spokane's best district,

which is why they call it district number

35

: 00:01:36

one, but, uh, that's right, number one.

36

: 00:01:39

Okay.

37

: 00:01:39

But, uh, yeah, so I, I got into politics

because, um, simplest way to put it

38

: 00:01:44

is like, this is what God made me for.

39

: 00:01:45

And I always knew it.

40

: 00:01:46

Ever since I was a kid, I knew I was

gonna be in politics, always thought

41

: 00:01:49

it was gonna come later in life.

42

: 00:01:51

And then COVID kind of changed

the game for, uh, for me.

43

: 00:01:53

My wife and I, we own an events in

entertainment business and, uh, the

44

: 00:01:57

state of Washington was in a state of

emergency for over 900 days, longer

45

: 00:02:01

than every other state in the union.

46

: 00:02:03

My business was illegal for years.

47

: 00:02:06

My family's future was stolen from

me overnight with the swipe of a pen.

48

: 00:02:11

Okay?

49

: 00:02:12

And that kind of stuff needed

to be represented in government.

50

: 00:02:15

And, um, my wife and I honestly

were, were planning to leave.

51

: 00:02:18

I thought we were moving to

Tennessee because did we want

52

: 00:02:20

to rebuild in Washington state?

53

: 00:02:22

Honestly, no, we did not

want to be here anymore.

54

: 00:02:24

Um, but we prayed about it and it felt

like the Holy Spirit ministered to us,

55

: 00:02:28

do not see this territory physically

or intellectually to these people.

56

: 00:02:32

And so then I shared that with

my wife, who did not love that.

57

: 00:02:35

But, uh, but she said, okay,

and, you know, she trusts.

58

: 00:02:39

In that, uh, in, in my relationship

with God to believe, okay, if that's

59

: 00:02:42

what God is saying, then let's do this.

60

: 00:02:44

I ran for city council and I won, and

in the first month in office, I got

61

: 00:02:49

kicked out of the building and CED for

not wearing a mask at City of Hall,

62

: 00:02:53

and my seatmates had the gall, the one

of the people that Christopher Savage

63

: 00:02:58

is running against had the goal to

pass a resolution asking for me to be

64

: 00:03:02

thrown in jail because I was so sick

and tired of the overreach that was

65

: 00:03:07

happening at the governmental level.

66

: 00:03:08

I put my foot down and

said, we are done with this.

67

: 00:03:10

We are not hanging out

with this nonsense anymore.

68

: 00:03:12

It's time to move on, like the

rest of the world has moved on.

69

: 00:03:15

So ever since that time, it was actually

really freeing, believe it or not, right?

70

: 00:03:19

Like my first month in office.

71

: 00:03:21

Unfortunately, I didn't have any other

elected representatives really reaching

72

: 00:03:24

out or helping or anything like that.

73

: 00:03:26

They all left me on an island.

74

: 00:03:28

And that was a really lonely place.

75

: 00:03:30

Uh, but what ended up happening is in

that moment, they threatened, uh, you

76

: 00:03:33

know, to take all my committees away.

77

: 00:03:35

They threatened to

recall, they threatened.

78

: 00:03:37

I thought my political career was

gonna be the briefest in history.

79

: 00:03:40

And like, I was gonna stand up

before God and be like, sorry, I,

80

: 00:03:43

I thought that was the right thing.

81

: 00:03:45

All the worst things they could do to me.

82

: 00:03:47

They did to me my first month in office.

83

: 00:03:49

And then it was like, oh.

84

: 00:03:50

That's all you can do game on.

85

: 00:03:52

Right?

86

: 00:03:52

And then it just really freed me up to

be who I knew God called me to be and

87

: 00:03:57

really, uh, allowed that, that boldness

to come, you know, to the forefront

88

: 00:04:01

in, in a lot of the courageous fans

that we've been able to take since.

89

: 00:04:04

And we pass an abortion

resolution at the city level.

90

: 00:04:07

And we don't say women having

access to abortion, we say

91

: 00:04:11

pregnant individuals, right?

92

: 00:04:13

That's the kind of stuff

we're dealing with.

93

: 00:04:14

That's the nonsense we're dealing with.

94

: 00:04:16

And, uh, instead of saying, Hey, maybe

only boys should be in, uh, you know,

95

: 00:04:20

maybe no boys should be in girls' sports.

96

: 00:04:22

Maybe men shouldn't be

in women's restrooms.

97

: 00:04:24

When we say those kinds of things, I get

ethics complaints filed against me, right?

98

: 00:04:28

Because now I'm supposedly, uh,

discriminated against trans individuals.

99

: 00:04:32

That's the kind of stuff that

we're up against right now.

100

: 00:04:34

And that's not gonna be a place

where weak people are gonna

101

: 00:04:36

be able to make a difference.

102

: 00:04:37

We need strong men and women of courage,

strong men and women of God who know

103

: 00:04:41

exactly who they are and what they

represent and are not afraid to say it.

104

: 00:04:44

And that's gonna be the thing that I think

helps turn the city of Spokane around.

105

: 00:04:48

And let me tell you what,

everybody, we are this close.

106

: 00:04:51

We are this close to

turning Spokane around.

107

: 00:04:53

All right.

108

: 00:04:55

Sorry, I'm getting all fired up.

109

: 00:04:56

I gotta stand up right now.

110

: 00:04:57

But, uh, Zon won his race by 262 votes.

111

: 00:05:01

Okay?

112

: 00:05:02

That is not all that much.

113

: 00:05:03

Even after Zach gerrymandered the

districts okay, and made it more

114

: 00:05:07

favorable to him, Navy Woodward still

won that district by six points.

115

: 00:05:11

In the gerrymandered district

that is more favorable to them.

116

: 00:05:14

They are incredibly winnable districts

in the city of Spokane, and I have

117

: 00:05:17

a challenge to the rest of you.

118

: 00:05:19

Okay?

119

: 00:05:19

Now I may go over a minute,

Steve, don't be mad at me.

120

: 00:05:22

But, uh, so Matthew 14,

Jesus feeds the 5,000, okay?

121

: 00:05:25

Very great story.

122

: 00:05:26

Miracle.

123

: 00:05:26

There's a second miracle in here

that I think we all need to remember.

124

: 00:05:29

Okay?

125

: 00:05:30

So Jesus, after everybody's fed,

Jesus gives the disciples, baskets,

126

: 00:05:33

and he says, go pick up the crumbs.

127

: 00:05:36

They all come back and

their baskets are full.

128

: 00:05:37

Okay?

129

: 00:05:38

If you are like me and in the

state of Washington, you have

130

: 00:05:40

probably said to yourself at some

point, my vote doesn't matter.

131

: 00:05:43

Okay?

132

: 00:05:44

And let me tell you, you

could not be more right.

133

: 00:05:46

You one vote does not matter, but

you start putting it together.

134

: 00:05:51

We start collecting these crumbs.

135

: 00:05:52

It's not just your one vote anymore.

136

: 00:05:54

If we all think that my vote doesn't

matter, there's a hundred votes in here.

137

: 00:05:57

Okay?

138

: 00:05:58

Now, not just only that, you

start thinking to yourself, my

139

: 00:06:01

vote doesn't matter, but let

me start gathering these up.

140

: 00:06:03

My first election, my opponents

were separated by two votes.

141

: 00:06:07

You and your wife, you and

your husband, guess what?

142

: 00:06:09

You start flipping elections as

you start putting crumbs together.

143

: 00:06:11

Okay?

144

: 00:06:12

262 votes is what Axone won by.

145

: 00:06:14

Everybody in here, we decide that

we're gonna be the the disciples.

146

: 00:06:17

We're gonna take the baskets out,

we're gonna gather the crumbs

147

: 00:06:19

of all the spaces that we're in.

148

: 00:06:21

You're flipping elections.

149

: 00:06:22

Okay.

150

: 00:06:23

You are doing God's work.

151

: 00:06:24

You were doing kingdom work by going

out and convincing people and telling

152

: 00:06:26

them and reminding them how important

their vote is because guess what?

153

: 00:06:30

1.3

154

: 00:06:30

million Christians didn't vote

in the state of Washington last

155

: 00:06:33

year, and we actually don't

need to convince other people.

156

: 00:06:35

We just need ourselves to believe

that we should be involved in this

157

: 00:06:39

space, that our vote matters and

you watch as we flip elections.

158

: 00:06:43

Amen.

159

: 00:06:48

Thank you, Jonathan.

160

: 00:06:49

Chris, I to follow,

161

: 00:06:53

my name is Christopher Savage and I am

a lifelong resident here of Spokane.

162

: 00:06:56

I've lived here for about 31 years.

163

: 00:06:58

I wasn't born here, but I was raised here.

164

: 00:07:00

One of my first and best memories

is going to Northwest Christian.

165

: 00:07:03

I went there for about a couple

of grades there and it laid

166

: 00:07:05

the foundation for my faith.

167

: 00:07:06

I still use it to this day for

helping to be more resilient, have

168

: 00:07:09

grit my teeth, and have persistence.

169

: 00:07:11

One of the things about me is that

that's what you're going to get is

170

: 00:07:13

persistence and dedication to your city.

171

: 00:07:15

I've been going down to City Hall for six

years now, partly for about four because

172

: 00:07:20

the pandemic kind of shut that down.

173

: 00:07:21

I had to watch from, uh, the TV for a

while, but they finally opened it back up.

174

: 00:07:24

'cause we all know that

wasn't the right thing.

175

: 00:07:26

But I showed that my dedication

to the city, I'm on the, uh,

176

: 00:07:29

board of Meals on Wheels.

177

: 00:07:30

I've helped deliver 600 to 800

meals per day for our senior

178

: 00:07:34

citizens and our limited income

people in, in the city of Spokane.

179

: 00:07:38

Not only that, but I have also learned

about many of the things here in the, uh,

180

: 00:07:41

city, which is like the nonprofit world.

181

: 00:07:43

The nonprofit world is a very interesting

world 'cause it's also very cutthroat,

182

: 00:07:47

but it's also very interesting to see

because one of the things that we need

183

: 00:07:50

to do in the city is we need to change

our nonprofits that we are working with,

184

: 00:07:53

jus helping hands in Catholic Charities,

is doing the homeless crisis wrong.

185

: 00:07:57

They're making it worse and pushing

it out into the neighborhoods.

186

: 00:08:00

That is not good.

187

: 00:08:01

We need to change that by changing

it to actual nonprofits like Adult

188

: 00:08:04

Teen Challenge, where Tyson West,

the executive director, has a 12

189

: 00:08:08

month program and has a 70% success

rates with their addiction program.

190

: 00:08:13

These are the metrics that we need

because when we ask the metrics from,

191

: 00:08:16

uh, Jules Helping Hands and Catholic

Charities, they will not give them.

192

: 00:08:19

They will not give them.

193

: 00:08:20

Judge got a Jonathan

Bingle and Michael Kakar.

194

: 00:08:23

It is absolutely despicable that they

will not give this information, and

195

: 00:08:25

it happens multiple times when we have

more people up there locking arms with

196

: 00:08:29

Michael Kakar and Jonathan Bingle.

197

: 00:08:31

That is the first step

on pushing back on this.

198

: 00:08:33

That is what you'll get

from a lifelong resident.

199

: 00:08:36

I'll not get on you.

200

: 00:08:37

I have never quit on you.

201

: 00:08:38

I have been showing people that

I've been going down there and

202

: 00:08:41

showing my persistence because

that is what you all deserve.

203

: 00:08:44

You all deserve a representative

that is going to keep the will of

204

: 00:08:47

the people and not a personal agenda

that they're going up there with.

205

: 00:08:50

That is why my opponent, Zach opponent,

needs to be ousted from office.

206

: 00:08:53

He goes up there with his own personal

agenda, trying to help out with the

207

: 00:08:57

L-G-B-T-Q and all these small groups

that really don't have a huge population

208

: 00:09:01

here in Spokane and wasting your tax

dollars on stupid stuff like transgender

209

: 00:09:07

bathrooms that was not in the budget.

210

: 00:09:09

They have two times in the year where

they could actually allocate into that

211

: 00:09:12

budget, and it's gonna cost us $300,000

first year, $400,000 next year and

212

: 00:09:16

$500,000 to coincide in years after that.

213

: 00:09:19

That is absolutely dumb.

214

: 00:09:21

We need to make sure that we are actually

using our money in the right way.

215

: 00:09:25

For instance, filling our potholes, making

our streets safe, making sure that you

216

: 00:09:29

all are not being priced outta Spokane.

217

: 00:09:31

It is absolutely heartbreaking to hear

how many people are almost wanting

218

: 00:09:34

to move outta Spokane because they're

priced out because how many taxes

219

: 00:09:38

the city council keeps putting on.

220

: 00:09:40

These people that don't

have this money for it.

221

: 00:09:42

I doorbell someone today that said

they had bought a house in: 1971

222

: 00:09:46

Their mortgage payment was four

times less than what they're paying

223

: 00:09:49

for their property taxes right now.

224

: 00:09:50

That is absolutely ridiculous.

225

: 00:09:52

We should not be having people

move outta Spokane who are locals.

226

: 00:09:55

We need locals here.

227

: 00:09:56

'cause that is what makes Spokane Spokane.

228

: 00:09:58

I want more of a community that has

people that have been growing up here,

229

: 00:10:02

that have putting blood, sweat, and

tears into this community because

230

: 00:10:05

that is the people I wanna represent.

231

: 00:10:06

You all.

232

: 00:10:07

You all have been here, you all

have made sure that you have

233

: 00:10:10

given to your community, and that

is the people I wanna represent.

234

: 00:10:13

That is who I am as Christopher Savage.

235

: 00:10:20

Okay, thank you Chris.

236

: 00:10:22

Um, now we've got a video from Cody

237

: 00:10:28

AEs.

238

: 00:10:28

Have to do this all night.

239

: 00:10:31

Go ahead Cameron.

240

: 00:10:33

Hey guys, I'm Cody AEs and I'm

running for Spokane City Council.

241

: 00:10:36

I'm sorry I couldn't be with you in

person today, but I really appreciate

242

: 00:10:39

the opportunity to introduce myself and

share a little bit about why I'm running.

243

: 00:10:43

I've worn a few hats in my life.

244

: 00:10:45

United States Air Force sea Specialist,

small business owner, husband, father,

245

: 00:10:49

and I've also experienced homelessness

myself, and that's not something I shared

246

: 00:10:53

lightly, but it's a part of my story

and it's why I'm focused so much on

247

: 00:11:01

finding real solutions that actually

help people get back on their feet.

248

: 00:11:04

United States Air Force brought

my wife and I here to Spokane.

249

: 00:11:08

So that I can serve our country

and we've decided to stay so that

250

: 00:11:11

I can serve you, our community.

251

: 00:11:13

And in that vein, we built our life here.

252

: 00:11:15

I started a small business right here

in town, and like many of you, I've

253

: 00:11:19

had to deal with the city's bureaucracy

that makes it so much harder than

254

: 00:11:22

it needs to be in order to succeed.

255

: 00:11:24

And that's part of why I'm working.

256

: 00:11:25

I believe city council could

be focused on real results,

257

: 00:11:29

not scoring political points.

258

: 00:11:31

I've seen how the crime, the addiction,

and the rising costs are hurting our city.

259

: 00:11:35

And I know we could do better if elected.

260

: 00:11:37

I'll fight to restore public

safety, bring accountability to

261

: 00:11:40

the city government, and make sure

taxpayer dollars are going towards.

262

: 00:11:44

Solutions that actually work.

263

: 00:11:45

And that means performance based

contracts for the homeless services,

264

: 00:11:49

cutting red tape for local businesses,

increasing our police and fire

265

: 00:11:52

staffing, and keeping our taxes low

so that our families can truly thrive.

266

: 00:11:57

But most of all, I'll listen.

267

: 00:11:58

I'll be accessible, I'll be

honest, and I'll work every day to

268

: 00:12:02

serve the people of Spokane, not

our personal political agendas.

269

: 00:12:06

So thank you so much again for giving me

the time so that you can get to know me.

270

: 00:12:10

My name is Cody Eric Wallace.

271

: 00:12:12

I hope to meet you in person one

day and I ask him for your support.

272

: 00:12:15

Thank you.

273

: 00:12:19

Thank you, Cody.

274

: 00:12:21

So my first question for you guys

tonight is a question of my own,

275

: 00:12:25

and we'll start with Chris here.

276

: 00:12:27

So Chris, uh, we get a lot of

pushback uh, at the church here.

277

: 00:12:30

Anytime we do an event like

this, people say The church

278

: 00:12:34

shouldn't be involved in politics.

279

: 00:12:37

We should stay in your own lane.

280

: 00:12:38

What do you think about that, Chris?

281

: 00:12:40

I think the church should

actually be in politics.

282

: 00:12:42

I think it's a very important thing to be

involved in, especially when they allow

283

: 00:12:46

a bunch of other religions downtown to

be able to be practiced and freely done.

284

: 00:12:50

Uh, it seems really reh that when

you go down to city Hall, they won't

285

: 00:12:53

let you read the Bible sometimes.

286

: 00:12:55

But if you came down there with a Quran

or some sort of Buddhist, uh, saing or

287

: 00:12:58

sutra, they would probably allow it.

288

: 00:13:00

So we need more people like you and this

church to do more of what it's doing.

289

: 00:13:04

I don't think it's wrong that it's,

the church is being in politics.

290

: 00:13:11

Yeah.

291

: 00:13:11

So I obviously being a pastor

and now an elected official,

292

: 00:13:14

think that the church has every

right to participate in politics.

293

: 00:13:17

And I think it's moved past the right,

and I think it's a responsibility.

294

: 00:13:21

And the reason why is because growing

up, you know, my, my parents were

295

: 00:13:24

pastors in the, in the eighties,

nineties, uh, two thousands.

296

: 00:13:27

And it was like, you know,

churches shouldn't be political.

297

: 00:13:30

And oftentimes what I hear when

people say that is they don't want

298

: 00:13:32

their churches to be partisan.

299

: 00:13:34

They don't want them to be

all Republican, all Democrats.

300

: 00:13:36

That what they want them to do is they

want them to speak about the issues

301

: 00:13:39

and the issues that really matter.

302

: 00:13:41

Um, in our city right now, I think one

of the things you're gonna see is that

303

: 00:13:44

church isn't getting more political, okay?

304

: 00:13:46

Politics is getting

more theological, okay?

305

: 00:13:49

When they start saying that a boy's,

a girl, and a girl's a boy, or vice

306

: 00:13:52

versa, they can be whatever they want.

307

: 00:13:53

Whatever they want, they wanna be.

308

: 00:13:54

That's not a political statement,

that's a theological statement, okay?

309

: 00:13:58

They are attacking the

very creation of God, okay?

310

: 00:14:00

They are attacking the

foundations of creation.

311

: 00:14:03

And now you not only have a

right to respond, you have

312

: 00:14:05

a responsibility to respond.

313

: 00:14:06

Okay?

314

: 00:14:07

So there are a number of folks in in the

Bible who were great servants of God and

315

: 00:14:12

were also involved in the government.

316

: 00:14:13

I think we were listening these,

uh, just a minute ago, right?

317

: 00:14:16

But you've got Daniel, you've

got Esther, you've got John

318

: 00:14:19

the Baptist, you've got Moses.

319

: 00:14:21

I mean, there is no shortage of

lists of people who are affecting

320

: 00:14:24

the governments of their time

while serving their God, okay?

321

: 00:14:27

While serving our God.

322

: 00:14:29

And so you do not only have a right to

respond at this point, I want you all

323

: 00:14:33

to understand, and that's why I task you

all with going out and finding the people

324

: 00:14:36

who are like you and getting those votes

and getting them turned in because you

325

: 00:14:39

have a responsibility at this point to

represent your God at the ballot box.

326

: 00:14:45

What are starting with Jonathan, what are

the top priorities or issues cited by the

327

: 00:14:49

citizens that you speak with regularly?

328

: 00:14:52

Yeah.

329

: 00:14:52

I mean, it, it, it hasn't changed

in, in my entire time on council.

330

: 00:14:55

It is always public safety first, right?

331

: 00:14:57

Like the fact that you can

openly do drugs in the city of

332

: 00:15:01

Spokane is a, is a crying shame.

333

: 00:15:04

I have no idea how it's still

totally possible, totally doable.

334

: 00:15:07

And even when we do address it, then, you

know, we, we may take you to jail, okay?

335

: 00:15:12

But the ordinance we just passed a few

weeks ago is so focused on engagement

336

: 00:15:16

and very little on enforcement.

337

: 00:15:18

There is no real enforcement

mechanism in our city laws anymore.

338

: 00:15:21

And I know because I wrote the first

drug laws that passed in the city

339

: 00:15:26

of Spokane when the state failed.

340

: 00:15:27

To pass the drug laws, uh,

after the Blake decision.

341

: 00:15:30

Okay?

342

: 00:15:31

Um, and I know how we gutted those laws.

343

: 00:15:33

Now, public safety is always number one.

344

: 00:15:35

Crime.

345

: 00:15:36

Oh my goodness, is crime a problem for us?

346

: 00:15:38

But then it really does

come down to homelessness.

347

: 00:15:40

And, uh, the, the reason why homelessness

is such a frustrating discussion is

348

: 00:15:44

because HUD literally has 10 different

definitions for homelessness, okay?

349

: 00:15:48

And so you could be saying,

Hey, people are broken, okay?

350

: 00:15:52

There is real serious mental illness,

or there's real serious drug, uh,

351

: 00:15:56

addiction that needs to be addressed.

352

: 00:15:58

Somebody else can be saying, actually

homelessness is a housing problem.

353

: 00:16:01

And you're both 100% right.

354

: 00:16:03

Depending on what definition

you use for homelessness.

355

: 00:16:06

And so homelessness is frustrating because

what most people are talking about, the

356

: 00:16:10

people who are really in the game, they

wanna make it all a housing problem.

357

: 00:16:13

And it's just not, housing is a portion

of it, but that's not the problem.

358

: 00:16:17

The problem is not it's, it is not a

housing problem, it's a human problem.

359

: 00:16:20

We're dealing with a brokenness in the

human spirit in a number of individuals.

360

: 00:16:23

And those are the ones you typically see

downtown screaming at the sky or twitching

361

: 00:16:28

or, and this is the saddest thing I see.

362

: 00:16:30

I walk by it every single day.

363

: 00:16:31

I'm downtown, the person folded over

and they call it the fentanyl fold.

364

: 00:16:35

And they're just folded over and

they are just out of their mind.

365

: 00:16:38

And it is such a heartbreaking thing

for me as a child of God, to see another

366

: 00:16:42

child of God who has seeded their

agency to a substance not getting any

367

: 00:16:47

of the help that they, that we need.

368

: 00:16:48

Because somehow we think it's more

compassionate to let them sit here

369

: 00:16:52

like this out of their mind, poisoning

themselves to death than to take them.

370

: 00:16:56

Against their will, out of that

space and force them into a treatment

371

: 00:17:00

program because that's what's gonna

actually help get their mind clean.

372

: 00:17:04

Personally, in my family, I saw as

a, as a, as a brother of mine, he

373

: 00:17:07

struggled seriously with addiction.

374

: 00:17:10

Jail is what got him clean.

375

: 00:17:12

Jail is what is what helped

him get his mind right.

376

: 00:17:15

And then once he was there, he

was like, I have a daughter.

377

: 00:17:17

I don't wanna do this anymore.

378

: 00:17:19

And in that right frame of mind,

he was able to make right choices.

379

: 00:17:23

He no longer lives in the city of Spokane.

380

: 00:17:25

And I thank God every day that

he doesn't live here anymore

381

: 00:17:27

because here was bad for him.

382

: 00:17:29

He moved out and now

he's doing much better.

383

: 00:17:32

But, uh, it is always those issues,

public safety, homelessness, and then

384

: 00:17:36

housing and, and different affordability

issues, um, are a real problem.

385

: 00:17:40

And, uh, to that, I would say

we're doing a lot on the housing

386

: 00:17:42

front in the city of Spokane.

387

: 00:17:44

We're doing what we can, but in reality,

we want things to be more affordable.

388

: 00:17:47

Tell the state to stop raising our taxes.

389

: 00:17:50

My goodness.

390

: 00:17:55

Chris, from your perspective, what are the

top issues citizens are concerned with?

391

: 00:17:59

Well, it's gonna kind of a

little sound like the same.

392

: 00:18:01

Uh, first one is public safety.

393

: 00:18:04

Downtown right now is very unsafe,

whether it's perception or reality.

394

: 00:18:07

When I doorbell, uh, doors, uh,

especially today, the top concern

395

: 00:18:11

for a lot of people is downtown.

396

: 00:18:13

They won't bring their kids,

they won't bring their families,

397

: 00:18:15

they won't bring their parents.

398

: 00:18:17

That is not good for our city.

399

: 00:18:19

We need people coming downtown,

patronizing our businesses and making

400

: 00:18:23

sure that they're enjoying downtown

because that is their downtown.

401

: 00:18:26

It's not the homeless

downtown, it's theirs.

402

: 00:18:28

They pay taxes to make sure

that they can come and enjoy it.

403

: 00:18:31

And what we need to do, and why

that's important is because I,

404

: 00:18:33

if you look into the news, our

sales tax projection is way down.

405

: 00:18:37

And that is because people don't

wanna come downtown and patronize

406

: 00:18:40

the business anymore because

they're worried about the homeless.

407

: 00:18:43

We need to make sure that we are actually

voting in laws that the citizens voted in.

408

: 00:18:47

For instance, prop one that was

voted in 75% of the voters last year.

409

: 00:18:52

City Council, not Jonathan Dingle

or Michael Catherine, they fought

410

: 00:18:55

valiantly, but the rest of the city

council pretty much watered it down

411

: 00:18:59

and made it so that it was not viable.

412

: 00:19:01

We have no protections for many of our

facilities right now, which is childcare,

413

: 00:19:05

our daycares, as well as hospitals, as

well as other places and facilities.

414

: 00:19:08

We need to make sure that we are

protecting our families and our future.

415

: 00:19:12

That is why we started that prop one, and

that is why the citizens voted for it.

416

: 00:19:16

We need to make sure that our city is safe

and clean for people to come downtown and

417

: 00:19:20

experience the gems like Riverfront Park.

418

: 00:19:22

Those are places that are

being now vacated because

419

: 00:19:25

people don't wanna go there.

420

: 00:19:26

There is several people that

I've talked to that have found

421

: 00:19:28

Fentanyl on the Red Wagon.

422

: 00:19:30

That is the symbol of Spokane.

423

: 00:19:31

It's a symbol of Meals on Wheels.

424

: 00:19:33

It makes me sick to hear that people

have to tell their kids that, Hey, that

425

: 00:19:37

foil that you see is not for cooking.

426

: 00:19:39

Well, maybe for something else,

but it's for cook, it's for the

427

: 00:19:42

fentanyl that you see there, and

they have to reprimand their kids.

428

: 00:19:44

And that is not a good first memory for

our kids to have downtown right now.

429

: 00:19:48

And it's also relating to show that,

uh, town downtown is being vacated.

430

: 00:19:52

We have almost a 30% vacancy downtown

right now for our businesses.

431

: 00:19:56

And when I talk to certain real estate

developers downtown, they say that they,

432

: 00:20:00

when they have prospective businesses come

downtown, they pull out the map, draw a

433

: 00:20:04

red ring around downtown and say, I do

not want a business down here because it

434

: 00:20:07

is going to be more expensive and more

hard to have a business put down here.

435

: 00:20:11

Now the second part is that the homeless

crisis, we need to make sure that we are

436

: 00:20:14

changing our contract service providers

to actual non-profits who are helping

437

: 00:20:17

the situation, providing metrics.

438

: 00:20:19

And making sure that they're actually

helping these people out of addiction.

439

: 00:20:22

We also need better and more

stabilization facilities that will

440

: 00:20:26

help these people out of addiction.

441

: 00:20:27

Another thing that we really

need, it's a big ask from the city

442

: 00:20:30

because it failed about, uh, two

years ago, but we need a new jail.

443

: 00:20:33

We need a new rehabilitation and

accountability center that has

444

: 00:20:37

wraparound services, that has

addiction services, mental health,

445

: 00:20:40

as well as job site training.

446

: 00:20:42

We really need to update our jail

because right now it is unsafe not

447

: 00:20:45

only for the people who are there, but

also for the people who work there.

448

: 00:20:48

We need to do this sooner rather

than later because when it was first

449

: 00:20:51

proposed, it was at $300 million

that it was going to cost assistance.

450

: 00:20:54

It's ballooned to 600 million.

451

: 00:20:56

So if we keep waiting, it's going

to cost us more and more, not

452

: 00:20:59

only in cash, but also in lives.

453

: 00:21:01

We need to focus that.

454

: 00:21:03

And also on affordability, I.

455

: 00:21:09

So Spokane County has one of the highest

median property taxes in the country.

456

: 00:21:15

What will you do to bring Spokane

property taxes back in line with

457

: 00:21:19

the national averages, Chris?

458

: 00:21:21

Well, one of the things that I will do

is that every time that we have that

459

: 00:21:24

once a year that we have a 1% property

tax that we can do at the city council,

460

: 00:21:28

I will promise all of you that I will

never approve of that until we have an

461

: 00:21:32

actual better Spokane going on right now.

462

: 00:21:34

It's a very small kind of bandaid that

we can do, but it will help in a little

463

: 00:21:38

bit of a way to help you all out with

your property taxes because you all

464

: 00:21:42

are being taxed way too much right now.

465

: 00:21:44

When I look at my property tax bill,

it is way too much, especially when

466

: 00:21:48

we're paying so much in the schools and

you're not getting as much, especially

467

: 00:21:51

when they shut down the schools for

two years and they still ask for that

468

: 00:21:54

property tax that does not make sense.

469

: 00:21:56

We need to make sure that we are

helping our people stay here with

470

: 00:21:59

affordable taxes, and that means that

we need to make sure that we don't take

471

: 00:22:03

those taxes when we're asked for it.

472

: 00:22:06

Go ahead John.

473

: 00:22:07

Yeah.

474

: 00:22:07

So, uh, in my time on council,

I have voted against that

475

: 00:22:10

1% property tax increase.

476

: 00:22:13

And one of the things that I would,

I would challenge you to do is

477

: 00:22:15

when you look at your property tax

bill, look at where it's going.

478

: 00:22:18

Okay?

479

: 00:22:19

In the city of Spokane, almost 70% of

your taxes are going towards schools.

480

: 00:22:24

There was a decision that said

teachers weren't getting paid enough.

481

: 00:22:27

There is no cap on, um, the amount

that they can take in your property

482

: 00:22:31

taxes, whereas everybody else, it's 25

cents for a thousand, whatever it is.

483

: 00:22:35

And you know, it's that total amount

that, you know, titrates over, over

484

: 00:22:38

the years until it gets re-upped.

485

: 00:22:40

That is not the same for your schools.

486

: 00:22:41

And so if you wanna see a true real

reduction in your property taxes.

487

: 00:22:46

You're gonna have to get your state

legislature to vote and to change that

488

: 00:22:49

law because that is what is number

one, driving your property taxes.

489

: 00:22:53

But again, voting against, uh,

property tax increases especially,

490

: 00:22:57

and until we get our budget in

order at the, at the city, okay?

491

: 00:23:01

There is an incredible amount

of waste, uh, in the city.

492

: 00:23:04

Now, a lot of it is contractually

obligated, and so we have to look

493

: 00:23:07

at our contracts and make sure

we're coming up with good, fair

494

: 00:23:10

contracts for our, for our employees.

495

: 00:23:12

But, uh, we spend $4 million a year out of

our general fund on homelessness, right?

496

: 00:23:15

Uh, the city of Houston, which is

touted, is like the gold standard on,

497

: 00:23:19

on how to address homelessness, just not

spend a dime out of their general fund.

498

: 00:23:22

On this, we misappropriate funds.

499

: 00:23:25

We passed a property, uh, tax, or

not a property, but a, uh, public

500

: 00:23:28

safety levy Last year, an extra

one 10th of 1% in your sales tax.

501

: 00:23:32

First thing we did, the first thing

the mayor says after that passes is

502

: 00:23:35

we're giving a million to the arts.

503

: 00:23:37

Those kinds of things.

504

: 00:23:38

There's a lot of things in city

government right now that are nice, okay?

505

: 00:23:41

We have a lot of niceties that

we're paying for, and we need to

506

: 00:23:44

be focused more on our necessities.

507

: 00:23:46

So pulling back on the niceties,

focusing on the necessities, getting

508

: 00:23:49

back to what government exists to do.

509

: 00:23:50

Government is not a charity.

510

: 00:23:52

Government should not be in the

homeless business at all, okay?

511

: 00:23:55

That should be done by other

entities, not by government.

512

: 00:23:58

What government exists to do is to provide

for the public safety and provide for

513

: 00:24:01

the infrastructure while our roads stink.

514

: 00:24:03

While our, uh, public infrastructure

stinks, while our roads don't have, or,

515

: 00:24:07

uh, while our streets aren't safe, there's

nothing else that we should be focused on.

516

: 00:24:10

Until Spokane is safe and clean, your

services are being delivered to you.

517

: 00:24:14

Well, those are the things that

we need to do other things on.

518

: 00:24:17

This is really focusing on making

Spokane, and this is a byproduct.

519

: 00:24:22

We can't do what I'm gonna say

next until the first part is done.

520

: 00:24:24

We have to make Spokane safe and

clean when businesses do want

521

: 00:24:27

to come back here again, okay?

522

: 00:24:29

Because they're not wanting to come here.

523

: 00:24:30

They're wanting to leave here.

524

: 00:24:31

That 30% vacancy matters

more than, you know.

525

: 00:24:34

Those buildings are now worth

a third of what they were.

526

: 00:24:37

Where is that property tax now going?

527

: 00:24:39

It's going onto your homes.

528

: 00:24:41

Okay.

529

: 00:24:41

And that needs to be understood is that

the property tax reduction from the

530

: 00:24:45

decrease the series decrease in the

values of buildings and things like down

531

: 00:24:49

downtown really do hit you in the wallet.

532

: 00:24:51

And so downtown is something that

needs to be, uh, corrected so

533

: 00:24:54

that business want to come here.

534

: 00:24:55

Um, and that will help reduce

your property taxes as well.

535

: 00:24:59

Thank you.

536

: 00:24:59

Uh, starting with Jonathan, the

city's considering a public safety

537

: 00:25:04

sales tax, increased police staffing

in order to fight the increasing

538

: 00:25:07

drug and crime is issue in Spokane.

539

: 00:25:09

We're already faced with some of

the highest taxes in the country.

540

: 00:25:12

What's your position on the

increased tax to our citizens?

541

: 00:25:15

So the, I know the valley right now

is considering when the city passed.

542

: 00:25:19

One last year.

543

: 00:25:20

And so, um, on for the city of

Spokane, I, I debated the mayor.

544

: 00:25:25

I opposed this measure.

545

: 00:25:26

And the reason why I opposed it isn't

because, uh, we don't need more police.

546

: 00:25:30

We absolutely do Spokane, or not Spokane,

but Washington state is 50th out of 50

547

: 00:25:34

when it comes to, uh, police per capita.

548

: 00:25:36

Okay?

549

: 00:25:37

We are dead last of the nation.

550

: 00:25:38

If you count Washington,

DC we're 51st, okay?

551

: 00:25:40

We could not be lower than what we are

on the amount the state pays us or,

552

: 00:25:45

uh, or helps us to fund our police.

553

: 00:25:47

And so that obviously is something

that needs to be done, but that doesn't

554

: 00:25:50

need to be done through property

or, uh, through a tax increase.

555

: 00:25:53

Again, there is so much money.

556

: 00:25:55

Remember four years ago we had a

$4 billion surplus at the state

557

: 00:25:58

level, and this year we are asking

for $17 billion in state taxes.

558

: 00:26:03

Something his opponent supported and

wrote a letter from the City of Spokane

559

: 00:26:08

with council member Paul Dillon saying,

Hey, we need those $17 billion in taxes.

560

: 00:26:13

And that's why Zach's opponents got to go.

561

: 00:26:14

Right.

562

: 00:26:14

If you want to see a real impact

on your, on your wallet, we gotta

563

: 00:26:17

get rid of some of those people.

564

: 00:26:18

Okay?

565

: 00:26:18

But, um, absolutely yes, hundred.

566

: 00:26:22

And that was real aggressive

when I was pointing at him.

567

: 00:26:24

I wasn't saying that about Chris, I was

saying that about his opponent, but.

568

: 00:26:26

But, uh, but the reason why I opposed

it is there was a number of reasons.

569

: 00:26:30

We have a fake sunset on it.

570

: 00:26:31

We promised people there

was gonna be a sunset.

571

: 00:26:33

It's a fake sunset.

572

: 00:26:34

We said we were gonna

create a separate account.

573

: 00:26:36

We created a separate account, and

there's one entry and one, uh, one exit.

574

: 00:26:39

There's one credit, one debit.

575

: 00:26:40

Okay?

576

: 00:26:41

All of that money goes in and

then we immediately transfer

577

: 00:26:44

it to our general fund.

578

: 00:26:45

It's all smoke and mirrors.

579

: 00:26:46

Okay?

580

: 00:26:46

It is all smoke and mirrors.

581

: 00:26:47

And this is how they can lie to you

without lying to you, is that everything

582

: 00:26:50

they're saying is technically true

or kind of true or somewhat true.

583

: 00:26:55

There's enough truth in it

to make it possible, but so

584

: 00:26:57

much about it that's wrong.

585

: 00:26:58

But the other thing that's a problem

is that, that one 10th of 1%, by

586

: 00:27:02

taking that, we effectively and

procedurally blocked the county from

587

: 00:27:06

being able to run a jail measure, okay?

588

: 00:27:08

Because they cannot run a measure,

uh, in good faith without us

589

: 00:27:12

rescinding our one 10th of 1%.

590

: 00:27:15

This mayor and this administration

do not want a new jail.

591

: 00:27:18

They do not want people getting arrested.

592

: 00:27:20

They do not want people held

accountable for their crimes, and

593

: 00:27:22

so they procedurally blocked it.

594

: 00:27:24

By setting this out, making you think

that you are gonna get more police,

595

: 00:27:27

you are gonna get more firefighters.

596

: 00:27:29

Guess what?

597

: 00:27:30

This budget you lost.

598

: 00:27:31

At least six time, six full-time

employees from Spokane Police Department.

599

: 00:27:36

You lost at least six, and

I think it's as many as 15.

600

: 00:27:39

But the budgeting gets weird because

of all the entries and the exits.

601

: 00:27:41

Okay.

602

: 00:27:42

Not only did you not get what you

voted for, you are not going to get

603

: 00:27:46

what this city really needs in being

able to hold people accountable.

604

: 00:27:49

So all that to say, I opposed it,

I debated the mayor on this to say

605

: 00:27:53

this is not something we should

be doing for a number of reasons.

606

: 00:27:55

But, uh, yeah, you're, you're not

getting what you're paying for, Chris.

607

: 00:28:02

So one of the things that I would

like to let everyone know is that the

608

: 00:28:05

average for a two, uh, for a thousand

people, for having police officers

609

: 00:28:09

for that kind of people to do that,

is the national average is 2.5.

610

: 00:28:12

Spokane is 1.3

611

: 00:28:13

for a thousand.

612

: 00:28:14

We are well below what we need to.

613

: 00:28:16

Now, that would sound like I would support

new taxes to help out with new police.

614

: 00:28:19

I would say no on that.

615

: 00:28:20

Like for instance,

community safety proposal.

616

: 00:28:22

Jonathan is totally correct.

617

: 00:28:24

What they did was a bunch of smoke

and mirrors and a bait and switch.

618

: 00:28:27

They said that they weren't gonna

use what they were gonna use for

619

: 00:28:29

those funds and they went against it.

620

: 00:28:30

They said they were gonna go for,

uh, firefighters and fire engines

621

: 00:28:33

and, uh, 300 officers that we

got, but that's not what happened.

622

: 00:28:36

They put 4 million into the general

fund and it was just not good.

623

: 00:28:39

So what we can do is we can actually look

at the city of, uh, city council budget.

624

: 00:28:44

There are several things that we

can do to reduce our own budget.

625

: 00:28:46

We have, we could probably reduce

our own budget by 3% by saying,

626

: 00:28:50

for instance, the city council.

627

: 00:28:51

I don't know why it needs a spokesperson.

628

: 00:28:53

We all speak perfectly fine and

we all speak well enough and long

629

: 00:28:56

enough for everyone to understand us.

630

: 00:28:58

So that's $120,000 right there.

631

: 00:29:00

That's just one position that we've cut.

632

: 00:29:01

Another position that we can cut.

633

: 00:29:03

Christopher Wright is there.

634

: 00:29:04

He's also the husband of Karen Stratton.

635

: 00:29:06

So there's a little bit of impropriety

there that I would think about.

636

: 00:29:09

So we need to remove these

positions because we have plenty

637

: 00:29:12

of 'em, especially with attorneys.

638

: 00:29:13

We have over 40 to 50 attorneys that we

could actually talking to in the city

639

: 00:29:17

that we could actually be consulting

with that we don't need this one attorney

640

: 00:29:20

who costs us a hundred thousand dollars.

641

: 00:29:22

We can look into our own budget and

pass on those savings to help out

642

: 00:29:26

more people and more officers become

part of the SPD because that is

643

: 00:29:30

definitely what we need right now.

644

: 00:29:31

We are.

645

: 00:29:32

Understaffed majorly.

646

: 00:29:34

We need more officers in the city

of Spokane right now, and we can

647

: 00:29:37

do that by also helping people put

people like myself up on City Council.

648

: 00:29:42

They are really demoralized right

now because they know exactly

649

: 00:29:45

where everything is coming from.

650

: 00:29:47

City Hall has tied their hands so much

that they don't wanna do their jobs.

651

: 00:29:51

They've made so hard that we need to have

people up there that is backing our SPD.

652

: 00:29:56

We need to focus on them so they

can help focus on the community.

653

: 00:29:59

So I would say no to a proposal because

we can actually look inward into our

654

: 00:30:03

budget as well as the city council

budget and cut where we need to and

655

: 00:30:06

pass on the savings other places.

656

: 00:30:12

The city continues to support legislation

from last session that creates an

657

: 00:30:17

office of independent prosecution

within the State Attorney General's

658

: 00:30:20

office, which helps investigate.

659

: 00:30:22

And prosecute criminal conduct and

arising from police use of force.

660

: 00:30:27

Some see this as an additional layer

of bureaucracy and additional cost.

661

: 00:30:31

What's your position on the issue, Chris?

662

: 00:30:35

Well, I think we already have

enough police oversight already.

663

: 00:30:37

We have a police os Buds that is,

uh, Bart Logan, and he has pretty

664

: 00:30:42

much a lot of oversight over the SPD.

665

: 00:30:44

We don't need any more people looking

into what they're doing because

666

: 00:30:46

they're doing a fine job already.

667

: 00:30:48

You talk to these people, you do

on the ride alongs and they're

668

: 00:30:50

doing everything correctly.

669

: 00:30:51

They're trying to do the job the

best they can, so we don't need to

670

: 00:30:54

keep looking over their shoulders

because everything that they do.

671

: 00:30:57

They run through citizen committees.

672

: 00:30:58

Like for instance, uh, this is a

little bit while ago, but in: 2019

673

: 00:31:01

a c assembly major Ken King came

down and updated us on the, uh, use

674

: 00:31:05

of force that the SPD was using.

675

: 00:31:07

Everything was fine in there.

676

: 00:31:08

They told us everything that

they were using and everyone on

677

: 00:31:11

the city, uh, on the community

assembly, which is 29 neighborhood

678

: 00:31:13

councils that are around Spokane.

679

: 00:31:15

Said, oh, that is totally fine.

680

: 00:31:17

If there was anything that was wrong,

it would've been brought up in that

681

: 00:31:19

meeting and no one said anything.

682

: 00:31:21

So we are totally fine with our SPDI

trust our SP that they are doing

683

: 00:31:25

their jobs correctly, so we don't

need any more oversight or any more

684

: 00:31:28

bureaucracy making their jobs harder.

685

: 00:31:34

Yeah.

686

: 00:31:34

So funny story.

687

: 00:31:35

So, uh, Chris said Ombuds because that's

technically the name now, because we

688

: 00:31:39

need to remove the gendered language

because it was originally ombudsman.

689

: 00:31:43

Okay.

690

: 00:31:44

And just so everybody knows,

ombudsman is actually a Swedish word,

691

: 00:31:49

meaning agent or a representative.

692

: 00:31:51

And uh, so we took the Swedish

word and made it meaningless.

693

: 00:31:54

And, uh, that's a lot of what we're doing

at the, at the city level right now.

694

: 00:31:58

I listen.

695

: 00:31:59

So here's the deal.

696

: 00:32:01

We have incredible police at SPD, and

I think also it's important to remember

697

: 00:32:05

that the Ombudsman's office is there

because the people of Spokane voted

698

: 00:32:09

for citizen oversight over there.

699

: 00:32:10

And there is a balance

when it comes to police.

700

: 00:32:12

You need to make sure that you have

effective and supported police.

701

: 00:32:15

And there is also a special responsibility

that must be understood as a, uh, for our

702

: 00:32:21

police officers, as you have the ability

to take people to jail at gunpoint, right?

703

: 00:32:25

And so, uh, there is effective oversight

and we, I think, do a very good job of

704

: 00:32:30

this in the, in the city of Spokane.

705

: 00:32:32

Um, but it's also important

to remember that people like

706

: 00:32:34

Chris's opponents, uh, Mr.

707

: 00:32:36

Saxon, who sits on there, signed

a pledge to defund the police.

708

: 00:32:39

Okay?

709

: 00:32:40

The, there's a, the majority of people on

the city council right now signed pledges

710

: 00:32:45

or made public statements saying yes.

711

: 00:32:47

It is time to defund the police and

here's how we're going to do it.

712

: 00:32:51

And so you're gonna hear a lot of

people saying things along these

713

: 00:32:54

lines like, oh no, look, we're

totally supportive of police.

714

: 00:32:56

Look, we did this.

715

: 00:32:57

No.

716

: 00:32:58

What ended up happening is

the political winds changed.

717

: 00:33:01

You got caught looking really bad and

now you're trying to make up for it.

718

: 00:33:04

But again, you've already

told us who you were, right?

719

: 00:33:07

As the Bible says, from the abundance

of the heart, the mouth speaks.

720

: 00:33:09

You spoke Turkey and we saw

who you were, and so you can't

721

: 00:33:12

try and come back from that.

722

: 00:33:14

You told us that you're not, you're not

in on this, um, uh, on this idea when

723

: 00:33:18

it comes to the special prosecutor, I

think that there are much more nefarious

724

: 00:33:22

purposes that that could be used for.

725

: 00:33:23

The state of Washington passed

a hate speech law last year, and

726

: 00:33:26

this is where I start to get really

concerned as a citizen of Washington.

727

: 00:33:30

Whereas the things that I say by

specifically saying that a boy is

728

: 00:33:34

a boy and a girl is a girl right

now, harm as they're defining

729

: 00:33:38

it now, doesn't necessarily

need to be physical harm, right?

730

: 00:33:41

Emotional harm or, or whatever.

731

: 00:33:43

You know, that sort of thing.

732

: 00:33:44

I think they start to stretch that law.

733

: 00:33:46

To say that, uh, by the way, you

saying obviously true things,

734

: 00:33:51

biologically accurate things,

those are hateful statements.

735

: 00:33:55

And this is where I start to get

really concerned, uh, for the future

736

: 00:33:58

of Washington and for people like us

in our way of life, that it really is

737

: 00:34:01

something that could be, uh, under attack.

738

: 00:34:04

Um, because we obviously are going

to be the people like Chad Ney.

739

: 00:34:08

Jack and Abednego said,

we will not bend our knee.

740

: 00:34:10

We're gonna stand in the fire.

741

: 00:34:11

And I don't know how we're gonna make it

outta this, but the thing that I do know

742

: 00:34:15

is that my God has never let me down.

743

: 00:34:17

I don't expect he's gonna let me down now.

744

: 00:34:19

And then when the fourth is in

the fire, we'll be able to say.

745

: 00:34:21

Our God was right the entire time.

746

: 00:34:28

I'm gonna move on to, uh, like

individualized questions here.

747

: 00:34:31

So, uh, Jonathan, during your

time in office, what did you do to

748

: 00:34:36

involve citizens in the decision

making process in our team?

749

: 00:34:39

Yeah.

750

: 00:34:39

No, this is a, this is a fun question.

751

: 00:34:41

So we have a, a really cool neighborhood

council system, um, in the city of

752

: 00:34:44

Spokane, and it's really cool to get to

go and engage, uh, with the neighborhoods

753

: 00:34:48

because they're the most boots on the

ground people that you have, where it's

754

: 00:34:53

like, again, I know that there are many

neighborhood leaders in here, right?

755

: 00:34:56

I know many, uh, who've participated.

756

: 00:34:58

I think I saw some others

they might have left.

757

: 00:35:00

Um, but uh, but who have

been a part of that system.

758

: 00:35:02

And it's a great way to

say, Hey, by the way.

759

: 00:35:04

What's going on?

760

: 00:35:05

It's like, Hey, the goats

are many ha ha hearts.

761

: 00:35:06

You should come check it out.

762

: 00:35:07

But that's a really great way to do, I

try to be really active on social media.

763

: 00:35:11

Um, when it comes to different issues.

764

: 00:35:13

I know the, uh, the, the different

people that as I've spent my time on city

765

: 00:35:18

council, I've been able to engage with.

766

: 00:35:19

Something comes up, I get to call 'em,

Hey, what are your, uh, opinions on this?

767

: 00:35:22

What's your perspective on this?

768

: 00:35:23

Uh, when it comes to particularly

difficult issues, I'm thankful for men

769

: 00:35:26

like Pastor Ken and my brother Josh,

who is my pastor, where it's like, Hey,

770

: 00:35:30

man, I need you to really build me up.

771

: 00:35:31

I need some courage on this one right here

and, and, and help talk me through this.

772

: 00:35:35

And I'm really thankful for,

uh, for the men in my life who,

773

: 00:35:38

who've been able to help me be

like, listen, like you got this.

774

: 00:35:40

Go ahead and do it.

775

: 00:35:41

And so, reaching out to

constituents, there's a, there's

776

: 00:35:43

a number of ways you can do it.

777

: 00:35:45

I think really as a city council

member, you get a lot of phone calls

778

: 00:35:48

and oh my God, the emails, the emails,

my Lord responding to the emails, I

779

: 00:35:53

think is, uh, is a really great way

to stay, to stay engaged as well.

780

: 00:35:56

And so, um, I do everything

I can to find ways.

781

: 00:35:59

To reach out to folks and, uh, for

everybody in here, even though I've

782

: 00:36:03

just denigrated the emails, please

do email me if you have a problem.

783

: 00:36:05

Okay.

784

: 00:36:06

And or call me if you have

something you need to get on.

785

: 00:36:09

I would get on it.

786

: 00:36:09

I have an assistant as well, uh,

who really helps me make sure that

787

: 00:36:12

I'm responding to all those things

because people in this room need

788

: 00:36:16

somebody that they feel comfortable

going to when they have an issue.

789

: 00:36:19

And I want you to know that I think

I'm that guy that you can feel

790

: 00:36:21

comfortable with and having to go

out to coffee or lunch or whatever it

791

: 00:36:25

is, and talk about the city and the,

and the future that it has, and ways

792

: 00:36:28

that you'd like to be represented.

793

: 00:36:30

'cause I do wanna be that guy for you

and, uh, want you to feel that you have

794

: 00:36:33

at least one champion on the city council.

795

: 00:36:35

And definitely after this year, you'll

have more than one champion on the

796

: 00:36:39

city council, uh, because again, we

are going to turn this town around.

797

: 00:36:42

Absolutely.

798

: 00:36:46

Chris, what differentiates

you from your other opponents?

799

: 00:36:50

There's two other people running.

800

: 00:36:52

Zopone the incumbent, and then

also another conservative Cody AEs.

801

: 00:36:58

AEs.

802

: 00:36:59

It's gonna be a joke.

803

: 00:36:59

Now.

804

: 00:37:01

What differentiates you from

Zach and then from Cody?

805

: 00:37:04

What differentiate me from both

of 'em right now is I'm a lifelong

806

: 00:37:07

resident, but what you're getting

is this journey starting in: 2019

807

: 00:37:11

This has been a six year long journey.

808

: 00:37:13

It shows.

809

: 00:37:13

What I keep on showing all of you is that

I am not, I'm never gonna quit on Spokane.

810

: 00:37:18

You're going to get a dedicated

persistence grip in their teeth person

811

: 00:37:21

that has a resilient spirit that is

never going to quit on any of you all.

812

: 00:37:25

So whenever the chips are down and it

seems like it's your darkest days, I'm

813

: 00:37:28

going to be there to stand there and

say, I'm gonna be the man in the gap.

814

: 00:37:31

That is what makes me different from

everyone else, as well as I know the

815

: 00:37:34

city like the back of my hand, not

only from living here for so long, but

816

: 00:37:37

by going down and persistently going

to every city council meeting almost.

817

: 00:37:42

I mean, almost every city

council meeting I've been there.

818

: 00:37:43

There's probably been one or two that I've

missed, but I know the city because I've

819

: 00:37:47

gone down there and I've done the reports.

820

: 00:37:49

That's one of the reasons why.

821

: 00:37:50

I know so much about it.

822

: 00:37:51

I try to help others be

informed as well as I am.

823

: 00:37:54

I was a bit probably upset

when I first started 'cause I

824

: 00:37:57

thought, where's everyone else?

825

: 00:37:58

Why doesn't anyone come down here?

826

: 00:37:59

And then it changed into,

well, what can you do about it?

827

: 00:38:02

What can you do to help out these people?

828

: 00:38:04

Because it is difficult to come down there

when I see Jonathan Bingle up there in

829

: 00:38:07

Michael Kafka fighting for our city, and

they constantly are getting beat down

830

: 00:38:11

and Axon is using Roberts rules of orders

as a casual to beat them over the head.

831

: 00:38:15

It makes you want to say, what

can I do to help these people out?

832

: 00:38:18

Because that's what we need to do.

833

: 00:38:19

We need to come together and make

sure that we are helping one another,

834

: 00:38:23

push back on the city and make sure

that we have a city that we are proud

835

: 00:38:26

of, and that a city that I grew up

in can become the same city again.

836

: 00:38:30

So that's what may be different about

these different candidates in this race

837

: 00:38:32

is that I have never quit on you all.

838

: 00:38:34

And I won't ever quit on you all.

839

: 00:38:40

Chris, in a SP public radio interview,

you mentioned citizens concerns

840

: 00:38:44

about the decline of our downtown.

841

: 00:38:46

What are you going to do

to revitalize downtown?

842

: 00:38:51

Well, what we can do is

we can reform prop one.

843

: 00:38:53

That's gonna be a bit difficult because

we are in the minority right now.

844

: 00:38:56

But with certain things that are

happening in the future, I believe we

845

: 00:38:58

can bring back the original prop one.

846

: 00:39:00

That was voted in by the citizens,

and all we have to do is take the

847

: 00:39:03

old prop one and vote it into law.

848

: 00:39:05

What another thing that we can do is

this more of an economic incentive,

849

: 00:39:08

is one of the things that is one of

the top concerns when coming downtown

850

: 00:39:11

when I talk to people on the door,

is that they hate parking downtown.

851

: 00:39:15

It is absolutely ismal.

852

: 00:39:17

They're taking out more parking

spaces and asking more money from

853

: 00:39:20

y'all, and it is making it difficult

for people to patronize downtown.

854

: 00:39:23

There's a lot of people in this room

that want to park right in front of the

855

: 00:39:26

retail store that they want to patronize.

856

: 00:39:28

They don't wanna walk a

half a mile to a mile maybe.

857

: 00:39:31

'cause I'm a cross country runner.

858

: 00:39:32

That's not a problem for me.

859

: 00:39:33

But I want to make sure that

people are coming downtown and

860

: 00:39:36

giving them an economic incentive

to say, Hey, here you go.

861

: 00:39:39

This is what we can do to help out.

862

: 00:39:40

It's a small little thing, but

I think that will help out a lot

863

: 00:39:43

with some people patronizing the

restaurants, the retail stores.

864

: 00:39:45

A lot of the places that we love to

go to, like Boo Ratley or Atticus

865

: 00:39:49

Suspension Coffee Shop, or even

Riverfront Park Square, we need to

866

: 00:39:52

make people come downtown, and that

is one of the ways we could do that.

867

: 00:39:55

Another thing that we can do is we

could become harsher on homeless

868

: 00:39:58

with what the laws we are doing.

869

: 00:39:59

We need to make harsher camping laws.

870

: 00:40:01

We need to make harsher

pedestrian sent lie laws.

871

: 00:40:03

That Jonathan Bengal has put out

there several times, and the city

872

: 00:40:06

council has kept putting it down.

873

: 00:40:08

They keep saying that they're trying

to help out, but they are not.

874

: 00:40:10

They keep shooting down the right

proposals that will help our city

875

: 00:40:14

because they want the city not to

be the way that it is right now.

876

: 00:40:17

They want to make sure that this

city is going to be the Spokane

877

: 00:40:20

that we don't know anymore, and

that is the whole point about that.

878

: 00:40:23

So we need to make sure that we are doing

things and policies like that will bring

879

: 00:40:26

people downtown as well as make it safe.

880

: 00:40:28

We need to make sure that we are also

making sure that the SPD is fully

881

: 00:40:32

staffed, and that is by helping bring up

their morale, by getting a City Council

882

: 00:40:35

member up there that supports them and

make sure that they have their back.

883

: 00:40:41

Thank you,

884

: 00:40:44

Jonathan.

885

: 00:40:45

Public Transit.

886

: 00:40:46

The question here that I have says, people

have seen as little as three or four

887

: 00:40:51

rider on a bus at a time, and they want

to continue to increase funding for it.

888

: 00:40:57

What's going on?

889

: 00:40:58

What are you gonna do about it?

890

: 00:41:00

How much time we got?

891

: 00:41:02

Three minutes.

892

: 00:41:03

Goodness.

893

: 00:41:03

Alright, so SDAI think serves a purpose.

894

: 00:41:08

And I also think that SDA is largely

living in the past and I think

895

: 00:41:12

there are much better ways that

we can provide public transit for

896

: 00:41:15

what the people are paying for.

897

: 00:41:17

Now, keep in mind six tenths of 1% of

your sales tax are state law, permanent.

898

: 00:41:22

It was voted in, that is permanent,

always funding going there.

899

: 00:41:25

Now there's another three tenths

of 1% that you'll get to vote on

900

: 00:41:28

in the next couple years as to

whether or not you want to keep it.

901

: 00:41:31

And I think that that's something

that's important for you.

902

: 00:41:33

But the people in my district,

many people do use STA, right?

903

: 00:41:36

We have the highest ridership, we

have the highest need in district one.

904

: 00:41:39

And so I don't wanna say

that public transit is bad.

905

: 00:41:42

A lot of my people use it, but there's

definitely more efficient ways to use it.

906

: 00:41:46

I think that there's a lot

of people who are interested

907

: 00:41:49

in infrastructure from 1910.

908

: 00:41:51

For some reason we're still

talking about building trains.

909

: 00:41:54

In 2025 light rail to Seattle and all this

nonsense, like, what are we talking about?

910

: 00:41:59

Okay.

911

: 00:42:00

Fly there like an adult.

912

: 00:42:01

Okay, now, okay, but I'm the only

person on the city council who

913

: 00:42:07

voted against the bus rapid transit.

914

: 00:42:09

Um, that would eliminate a lane

on either direction on division.

915

: 00:42:12

And there are a lot of things

that they're doing on the transit

916

: 00:42:16

perspective, and they'll always

come to you and say, oh, it's a

917

: 00:42:19

chicken or the egg situation, right?

918

: 00:42:20

Like, will people ride

it if it's not there?

919

: 00:42:23

Or do we need to build it

for people to ride it, right?

920

: 00:42:25

I mean, it's this, that's the

sort of argument that comes to it.

921

: 00:42:28

But I agree.

922

: 00:42:29

I, I think that, um, the buses

are incredibly inefficient.

923

: 00:42:32

I don't think they justify the amount

of money, uh, that they're getting.

924

: 00:42:36

They're building new campuses.

925

: 00:42:38

And they're investing in things

like the Central City line.

926

: 00:42:40

And again, people are using it, but

is it worth the a hundred million

927

: 00:42:44

dollars, $120 million or whatever it

was that it cost, uh, to build that?

928

: 00:42:47

I don't think so.

929

: 00:42:48

I think when you look at, you

know, there's, there's a lot

930

: 00:42:51

of great technology out here.

931

: 00:42:52

I think we could probably save a

bunch of money and just contract with

932

: 00:42:55

Uber and just say, okay, here you go.

933

: 00:42:57

You know, for our tax dollars,

they'll come pick you up.

934

: 00:42:59

They'll go take you to

wherever you want to go.

935

: 00:43:01

And it's far more efficient and

convenient, um, without having to stand at

936

: 00:43:04

a bus stop in the snow or in the rain, or

God forbid there's somebody who's sleeping

937

: 00:43:09

in there or it's a mess or whatever.

938

: 00:43:10

So, SDA has the ability to serve

the community Well, I don't think

939

: 00:43:16

that we're doing that right now.

940

: 00:43:17

As a matter of fact, we have

four representatives on SDA.

941

: 00:43:20

There are only six council

members, by the way.

942

: 00:43:22

There are four representatives on

STA and there's one person they will

943

: 00:43:26

never let onto the SDA board because

it'll get spicy in those meetings.

944

: 00:43:30

Okay.

945

: 00:43:31

I was there for one meeting, and let

me tell you, their goal is to have 20%

946

: 00:43:35

of their, uh, budget come from fares.

947

: 00:43:37

Okay?

948

: 00:43:38

They were at like 7%.

949

: 00:43:39

And so what did they do?

950

: 00:43:41

They redefined what it

means to pay a fair.

951

: 00:43:44

Okay?

952

: 00:43:44

And so now we're hitting our

20% number because we just said,

953

: 00:43:48

okay, that one's not working.

954

: 00:43:49

What can we say to make

it look like it's working?

955

: 00:43:51

And that's what we're doing.

956

: 00:43:52

And so again, we just need, again, men

and women of integrity who are gonna be in

957

: 00:43:56

those spaces being like, that's nonsense.

958

: 00:43:58

Let's just do it.

959

: 00:43:58

Right.

960

: 00:44:00

Jonathan, how can Spokane increase

housing availability and affordability

961

: 00:44:06

without unduly burdening neighborhoods

with excessive multi-unit housing?

962

: 00:44:11

Yes.

963

: 00:44:11

This is such a good question and

I'm so thankful that you asked it.

964

: 00:44:13

Now I'm endorsed by like every

housing organization there is.

965

: 00:44:17

Okay.

966

: 00:44:17

The housing builders, the people

who are selling the houses,

967

: 00:44:20

uh, the people who are building

multifamily, all that kind of stuff.

968

: 00:44:23

With that being said, okay,

there is a way to achieve density

969

: 00:44:27

without them having to be rentals.

970

: 00:44:29

Okay?

971

: 00:44:29

For whatever reason, and again, I'm not

knocking rentals, there are people who

972

: 00:44:33

in their life they want to rent, but

when I voted for things like Boca and the

973

: 00:44:38

BOH and stuff like that, what I was told

is, Jonathan, it's going to allow for a

974

: 00:44:41

lot more home ownership opportunities.

975

: 00:44:44

It is like 0.002%

976

: 00:44:48

of the housing that's getting

built through these special

977

: 00:44:50

programs is for purchase.

978

: 00:44:52

Which to me is an absolute shame.

979

: 00:44:54

If we're going to be giving tax breaks

to people building housing, there

980

: 00:44:57

should be more community benefit than

just building, uh, rental housing.

981

: 00:45:01

Because again, these are going

into spaces and really it's a

982

: 00:45:04

lot for a neighborhood to absorb.

983

: 00:45:06

I live next to an apartment complex

that just got built and it's 500 units.

984

: 00:45:10

Okay.

985

: 00:45:11

I live next to it, so anybody who wants

to talk about the industry, I get it.

986

: 00:45:14

I really do get it.

987

: 00:45:16

There are ways to achieve density

in for purchase, and so one of the

988

: 00:45:20

things I'm trying to do right now.

989

: 00:45:22

Is, uh, is a tweak, our MFTE program,

which is a multifamily tax exemption.

990

: 00:45:27

But if you instead, right now the way

that you qualify is you have to have

991

: 00:45:31

a level of affordability in this.

992

: 00:45:33

Sorry, I'm getting too in the

weeds on this, but, um, the idea

993

: 00:45:37

is I want to change that to where

it's incentivizing home ownership.

994

: 00:45:40

Because home ownership is where you start

to build equity in your housing, right?

995

: 00:45:44

Your rent and your mortgage

are gonna be super similar.

996

: 00:45:46

You start building equity, you start

building your generational wealth, you

997

: 00:45:49

start closing some gaps in some things

that I think is really important.

998

: 00:45:52

And when you have owners, okay.

999

: 00:45:54

The amount of, uh, community benefit

from ownership is insane because now

: 1000

00:45:58,497 --> 00:46:01,947

you don't have kids moving from district

to district, moving all over the city,

: 1001

00:46:01,947 --> 00:46:04,647

being in a different school system,

being around a different friend system,

: 1002

00:46:04,647 --> 00:46:07,377

a different support system all the

time, which is detrimental to kids.

: 1003

00:46:07,667 --> 00:46:10,247

Uh, but you have neighbors that

you know for 10 years and it's

: 1004

00:46:10,247 --> 00:46:12,887

like, well, yeah, that's Dan, and

that's Marsha, and that's John.

: 1005

00:46:12,887 --> 00:46:14,747

And, sorry, those are my

actual neighbors names.

: 1006

00:46:14,747 --> 00:46:17,507

But, uh, but you know, your neighbors,

you look out for each other.

: 1007

00:46:17,507 --> 00:46:19,847

Then it's like, okay, I, I

don't mind watching their kids.

: 1008

00:46:19,847 --> 00:46:24,317

And, uh, and so home ownership is

really where we should be focused,

: 1009

00:46:24,317 --> 00:46:27,347

and you can achieve the density

goals that the state is mandating

: 1010

00:46:27,347 --> 00:46:29,327

on, on municipalities like Spokane.

: 1011

00:46:29,507 --> 00:46:32,657

You can achieve those goals without

them having to be, uh, rentals.

: 1012

00:46:32,657 --> 00:46:34,337

And so that's what I'm hoping to do.

: 1013

00:46:34,487 --> 00:46:37,667

What I'm hoping to accomplish, and

again, we'll see what's going on.

: 1014

00:46:37,667 --> 00:46:41,387

I will say in a unique way,

housing is where people in the

: 1015

00:46:41,387 --> 00:46:43,247

city are most aligned, right?

: 1016

00:46:43,247 --> 00:46:43,907

Left center.

: 1017

00:46:44,177 --> 00:46:47,417

I think everybody understands that

housing is too expensive right now.

: 1018

00:46:47,417 --> 00:46:48,557

It's not really affordable.

: 1019

00:46:48,722 --> 00:46:51,632

Particularly for young people,

particularly for old people who are

: 1020

00:46:51,632 --> 00:46:56,162

on social security, and their rent

legitimately went up five or $600 in a

: 1021

00:46:56,162 --> 00:46:58,412

year, but social security didn't keep up.

: 1022

00:46:58,412 --> 00:46:59,882

I mean, they're having issues with that.

: 1023

00:47:00,032 --> 00:47:04,232

I knocked on a gal's, uh, door not

all that long ago, and she's 65

: 1024

00:47:04,232 --> 00:47:06,272

years old and she's living with

two 20 something year old men

: 1025

00:47:06,272 --> 00:47:07,742

because that's what she can afford.

: 1026

00:47:08,072 --> 00:47:10,322

Um, and so it is something

that we need to focus on.

: 1027

00:47:10,502 --> 00:47:13,232

Like I said, I'm proud to have the

endorsement of all these groups because

: 1028

00:47:13,232 --> 00:47:16,082

we, uh, they know that, you know, I

have the ability to bring some about it.

: 1029

00:47:16,082 --> 00:47:16,352

So.

: 1030

00:47:19,392 --> 00:47:19,932

Your time is up.

: 1031

00:47:19,932 --> 00:47:19,992

Yeah.

: 1032

00:47:22,332 --> 00:47:25,422

Uh, in a similar vein, Chris,

your website states that housing

: 1033

00:47:25,422 --> 00:47:26,622

costs are out of control.

: 1034

00:47:26,862 --> 00:47:30,222

What can you as a city council member

do to make housing more affordable?

: 1035

00:47:31,062 --> 00:47:34,572

Well, what we can do is we can work within

the, our comprehensive plan, which is

: 1036

00:47:34,602 --> 00:47:35,952

dictated by the Growth Management Act.

: 1037

00:47:35,952 --> 00:47:39,462

That's a whole nother thing that if I was

a state assembly or rep representative,

: 1038

00:47:39,672 --> 00:47:42,762

I would try to reform that 'cause that

is hemming a lot of our housing that

: 1039

00:47:42,762 --> 00:47:43,962

is happening in the city of Spokane.

: 1040

00:47:44,262 --> 00:47:47,562

But what we can do now is we can actually

work with our comprehensive plan.

: 1041

00:47:47,562 --> 00:47:51,732

There are 10 areas around Spokane that

we can help in annex from Spokane County.

: 1042

00:47:52,002 --> 00:47:54,312

Now, there's several levels of

this, which is fully developed,

: 1043

00:47:54,312 --> 00:47:55,752

undeveloped, and slightly developed.

: 1044

00:47:56,022 --> 00:47:58,152

But we really need to work

on the underdeveloped part

: 1045

00:47:58,152 --> 00:47:58,937

where we can actually have.

: 1046

00:47:59,337 --> 00:48:01,497

Undeveloped land where

we actually built more.

: 1047

00:48:01,587 --> 00:48:04,347

And what we need more of is

single family residential houses.

: 1048

00:48:04,527 --> 00:48:07,797

We don't need more apartments right

now because when people want a

: 1049

00:48:07,797 --> 00:48:09,327

family, they want the American dream.

: 1050

00:48:09,327 --> 00:48:11,877

Yes, many people can say that the

American dream is dying, but there's

: 1051

00:48:11,877 --> 00:48:15,177

still people out there that want

the white picket fence, the yard

: 1052

00:48:15,177 --> 00:48:17,967

and the house, because that is

where you want to grow your family.

: 1053

00:48:18,297 --> 00:48:21,237

That is what we need to focus on, and

in these areas, we need to focus more

: 1054

00:48:21,237 --> 00:48:24,657

on those developments rather than on

the apartments that we're seeing across

: 1055

00:48:24,657 --> 00:48:27,717

Spokane, because especially what's

happening across Spokane is you can

: 1056

00:48:27,717 --> 00:48:30,597

actually see at the Garland area right

now, the Garland Street Apartments,

: 1057

00:48:30,987 --> 00:48:34,797

because of my opponent, Zach's opponent

and his removal of parking minimums.

: 1058

00:48:34,977 --> 00:48:37,737

It has made a safety concern

over there right now.

: 1059

00:48:37,917 --> 00:48:40,377

Not only for the people who

are trying to get down there

: 1060

00:48:40,377 --> 00:48:41,487

to patronize the businesses.

: 1061

00:48:41,847 --> 00:48:43,917

The businesses are really

pissed off right now because.

: 1062

00:48:44,017 --> 00:48:46,687

Now all their parking is being taken

up by the people who are actually

: 1063

00:48:46,687 --> 00:48:48,607

living there, and that's not good.

: 1064

00:48:48,727 --> 00:48:51,997

But what is also happening is now all

those streets, because now they're

: 1065

00:48:51,997 --> 00:48:53,917

gonna be filled with cars, is unsafe.

: 1066

00:48:53,917 --> 00:48:57,427

We can't even fit our fire trucks and

our paramedics through those streets now.

: 1067

00:48:57,607 --> 00:48:59,797

So when there's a fire, because

that's becoming more and more

: 1068

00:48:59,797 --> 00:49:02,677

prevalent as we move on in the city,

we need to make sure that they're

: 1069

00:49:02,677 --> 00:49:03,937

safe and that is not happening.

: 1070

00:49:03,937 --> 00:49:07,147

So we need to make sure that we

are actually building houses and

: 1071

00:49:07,147 --> 00:49:10,387

not apartments because we are far

more, we need, we have far more than

: 1072

00:49:10,387 --> 00:49:11,647

apartments than we need right now.

: 1073

00:49:12,067 --> 00:49:13,417

People want houses.

: 1074

00:49:13,597 --> 00:49:15,247

I would like a house for my own self.

: 1075

00:49:15,517 --> 00:49:18,337

It would be great for having

a family when I go grow up.

: 1076

00:49:18,397 --> 00:49:19,387

But I mean, grow up.

: 1077

00:49:22,042 --> 00:49:25,147

It would be great to have a family soon,

but right now I'm married to the city

: 1078

00:49:25,147 --> 00:49:26,467

and I'm trying to focus on the city.

: 1079

00:49:26,467 --> 00:49:30,247

But we really need to focus because

people in my generation don't want

: 1080

00:49:30,247 --> 00:49:32,887

to have a family right now because

they don't have housing options.

: 1081

00:49:33,067 --> 00:49:34,807

They don't wanna start their

family in an apartment.

: 1082

00:49:34,807 --> 00:49:36,877

They wanna start their family in a house.

: 1083

00:49:40,057 --> 00:49:45,142

This, there's been a lot of frustrations

with education in the last few years.

: 1084

00:49:45,442 --> 00:49:49,792

What can you do on city council

to help the education situation?

: 1085

00:49:50,902 --> 00:49:53,662

Well, what we can do right now to

help out with the health, housing or

: 1086

00:49:53,662 --> 00:49:57,742

the education is to try to make sure

that our kids are safe and safe Going

: 1087

00:49:57,832 --> 00:50:01,312

to schools right now, what we need

to do is making our safe, uh, safe.

: 1088

00:50:01,382 --> 00:50:03,092

Our streets safe right now.

: 1089

00:50:03,092 --> 00:50:06,722

Our safe, our streets are not really safe

right now, so we need to add more RFB

: 1090

00:50:06,722 --> 00:50:08,522

beacons, which are rapid flashing beacons.

: 1091

00:50:08,672 --> 00:50:10,682

Those are the things that you see

like on Hamilton where you press

: 1092

00:50:10,682 --> 00:50:13,532

the button and it shows all these

lights that show that you can cross.

: 1093

00:50:13,742 --> 00:50:16,652

A lot of our kids are not having

a safe trip trip to school, and we

: 1094

00:50:16,652 --> 00:50:18,932

need to make sure that they get there

because that is the beginning of

: 1095

00:50:18,932 --> 00:50:20,072

their day and the end of their day.

: 1096

00:50:20,342 --> 00:50:23,462

We wanna make sure that they're getting

home and getting to school in a safe

: 1097

00:50:23,462 --> 00:50:26,762

manner and not traumatizing them, where

they're almost getting hit by a car.

: 1098

00:50:26,952 --> 00:50:29,532

I live on Indian Trail and it

is like a river running through

: 1099

00:50:29,532 --> 00:50:30,642

that neighborhood right now.

: 1100

00:50:30,852 --> 00:50:34,062

We need more of those to help out

kids cross the street because right

: 1101

00:50:34,062 --> 00:50:37,272

now, and we need to actually listen

to our neighborhood councils.

: 1102

00:50:37,272 --> 00:50:40,182

Like for instance, I'm on the Balboa

South Indian Trail Neighborhood Council.

: 1103

00:50:40,542 --> 00:50:46,272

We asked Zach Sapone several times to put

a crosswalk in an RF beacon on a street

: 1104

00:50:46,272 --> 00:50:47,832

called Beacon, which is kind of funny.

: 1105

00:50:47,832 --> 00:50:50,082

It's redundant, but it was not put there.

: 1106

00:50:50,082 --> 00:50:52,152

It was put on Woodside

and it was put on Holyoke.

: 1107

00:50:52,392 --> 00:50:55,752

Two different places that the neighborhood

council said it was not going to work.

: 1108

00:50:55,932 --> 00:50:59,022

Because we live in the neighborhood

and we know how traffic forms in there.

: 1109

00:50:59,322 --> 00:51:02,472

So we need to have people, we need to

have our council listen to our city

: 1110

00:51:02,472 --> 00:51:05,412

council or our neighborhood councils

a little bit better so that we can

: 1111

00:51:05,412 --> 00:51:08,052

actually protect our kids better so

they can have a better education.

: 1112

00:51:11,802 --> 00:51:14,292

Uh, Jonathan, earlier this

year, you tried to restrict.

: 1113

00:51:14,357 --> 00:51:17,807

Certain provisions of an ordinance

protecting gender affirming care.

: 1114

00:51:17,807 --> 00:51:17,897

Yeah.

: 1115

00:51:18,737 --> 00:51:20,987

By adding five amendments that

would restrict certain amount

: 1116

00:51:20,987 --> 00:51:21,977

aspects of the ordinance.

: 1117

00:51:22,037 --> 00:51:22,097

Yeah.

: 1118

00:51:22,097 --> 00:51:25,187

Can you explain your intent and your

general philosophy toward the subject?

: 1119

00:51:25,367 --> 00:51:25,727

Yeah.

: 1120

00:51:25,727 --> 00:51:28,937

So first and foremost, this

is not a city issue, okay?

: 1121

00:51:28,937 --> 00:51:31,967

This is heavily regulated by the

federal, its state government.

: 1122

00:51:32,237 --> 00:51:35,567

We waited into this because we wanted

to score some political points, okay?

: 1123

00:51:35,567 --> 00:51:38,957

And by we, I mean, not me, uh,

but the city council wanted to

: 1124

00:51:38,957 --> 00:51:40,277

score some political points, okay?

: 1125

00:51:40,997 --> 00:51:44,597

So, uh, what happened was the ordinance

basically was coming forward to

: 1126

00:51:44,627 --> 00:51:46,697

designate Spokane as a shield city, okay?

: 1127

00:51:46,697 --> 00:51:48,917

What the Shield City would mean

is that it's very welcoming

: 1128

00:51:48,917 --> 00:51:50,627

to folks who are transgender.

: 1129

00:51:50,897 --> 00:51:54,047

Now, what my amendments did

was it said five things.

: 1130

00:51:54,047 --> 00:51:54,467

Okay?

: 1131

00:51:54,767 --> 00:51:59,807

So it said, uh, number one, no,

uh, cross-ex hormones, no gender

: 1132

00:51:59,807 --> 00:52:03,557

affirming awful language, gender

affirming surgeries for kids.

: 1133

00:52:03,757 --> 00:52:06,367

And no puberty blockers

for anybody under 18.

: 1134

00:52:06,517 --> 00:52:06,727

Okay?

: 1135

00:52:06,727 --> 00:52:07,597

So number one, boom.

: 1136

00:52:07,627 --> 00:52:09,037

Right off the top number.

: 1137

00:52:09,067 --> 00:52:12,217

And as a part of that, if you choose

to do that as an adult, the city of

: 1138

00:52:12,217 --> 00:52:13,837

Spokane is definitely not paying for it.

: 1139

00:52:13,867 --> 00:52:14,107

Okay?

: 1140

00:52:14,107 --> 00:52:15,457

So that was amendment number one.

: 1141

00:52:15,967 --> 00:52:21,187

Amendment number two was every treatment

that happens to a child to a minor

: 1142

00:52:21,277 --> 00:52:26,167

must, the parent must be notified, not

just physically, but any psychological

: 1143

00:52:26,167 --> 00:52:29,977

treatment that is being given to a child

because we know that now, uh, in the

: 1144

00:52:29,977 --> 00:52:33,457

school, speaking of education, there

are things that kids are being told

: 1145

00:52:33,457 --> 00:52:37,117

about themselves that are lies and, and

parents aren't being notified about it.

: 1146

00:52:37,117 --> 00:52:37,267

Okay?

: 1147

00:52:37,267 --> 00:52:37,867

So that was a mess.

: 1148

00:52:37,867 --> 00:52:39,667

So number two is parents must be notified.

: 1149

00:52:39,997 --> 00:52:42,577

Number three, provided for

conscientious objection.

: 1150

00:52:42,607 --> 00:52:43,897

Okay, so people like us.

: 1151

00:52:43,977 --> 00:52:46,707

Who believe that this is a

violation of the creation of God.

: 1152

00:52:46,737 --> 00:52:50,517

We get to not participate without

any, without any consequences.

: 1153

00:52:50,757 --> 00:52:52,707

Number four was in city property.

: 1154

00:52:52,707 --> 00:52:54,207

No men in women's bathrooms.

: 1155

00:52:54,237 --> 00:52:54,537

Okay?

: 1156

00:52:54,537 --> 00:52:55,587

And it was biological men.

: 1157

00:52:55,587 --> 00:52:58,862

And they threw out that, that stupid

attack, which is like, are you gonna

: 1158

00:52:58,862 --> 00:53:01,797

make 'em pull down their pants and

show you before they go in there?

: 1159

00:53:01,797 --> 00:53:02,757

What a dumb argument.

: 1160

00:53:02,757 --> 00:53:04,437

But, uh, that was it.

: 1161

00:53:04,437 --> 00:53:07,707

And then lastly, in any city

Share Episode

Shownotes

Transcripts

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube