RE: Our Community
In every aspect of public policy, in all of a council member’s daily work, they must never forget their primary mission of representing their community in the city government. As our council member, I will always remember that I am, first and foremost, at City Hall to fight for you, your neighbors, and the things you value most. I will be there to promote complete, connected, and convivial neighborhoods, preserve and expand access to public spaces for us to gather together, and to be always accessible and responsive to everyone in our District.
Neighborhoods
Our district’s neighborhoods should be complete, connected, and convivial. This means having places to live, work, learn, and play. It means having access to multimodal transportation networks including safe roads and safe, accessible sidewalks. It also means that our communities have the variety and liveliness that contributes to a happy, healthy, welcoming, and empowering life for all. From Pioneer Square to White Center, and from Lincoln Park to Georgetown, District 1 should be a place that finds its strength in its diversity, invites people from all walks of life to share in our unique array of cultures, and serve as an example of this vision as we push for our city to do the same.
Public Spaces
To promote a vision of interconnectedness and sociability, we also need spaces to gather, create, and enjoy. On Council, I will work to maintain, protect, and find modern approaches to expanding green space. By reenvisioning urban spaces as being more community-centric, Seattle can find new ways to keep our city green, clean, and healthy while providing public spaces for folks in our communities to gather and interact in positive ways. Through public spaces, we can also promote the beautification of our neighborhoods with both new and preserved public art -- especially by incorporating the work of local artists into public projects. Along these same lines, we also need to commit to keeping parks clean and safe and bringing community centers to neighborhoods without them. Despite our District now including more than 100,000 people, we only have access to four community centers now that Alki Community Center is exclusively used for the Seattle Preschool Program. Creating inclusive, accessible spaces for our communities to gather together needs to be a priority.
Good Governance
If elected to City Council, I will put as much energy as possible into being accessible and responsive to everyone in District 1. While other councilmembers and candidates may believe the occasional email and even less frequent phone call or videoconference to be sufficient, I will be available in these ways as well as at City Hall, at in-district offices, and around town. Rather than being someone who is in office for a decade and is never seen in the community, I can and will be found all over District 1 frequenting our parks, restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and events. I will remain committed to the principles of inclusion, respect, openness, honesty, and fairness. I will work to establish a track record you can trust and believe in, and I will make every effort to embody integrity and consistency. I will be focused on the fundamentals of city government and fight every day to rejuvenate excitement about Seattle’s future.
Tavel for Seattle 2023:
Campaign Policy Platform
Homelessness
Public Safety
Economy
Infrastructure
