EVERETT — Mayoral, City Council and school board candidates in Everett responded to questions on their policy positions during a candidate forum on Thursday.
The event, hosted by the Everett Council of Neighborhoods and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County, saw every Everett candidate for a contested seat on the November ballot respond to questions on their priorities, experience and other topics.
Candidates’ responses to a selection of the questions can be found online at Heraldnet.com.
Here’s some of the candidate’s responses to a selection of the questions. Candidates had time limits to respond to each question.
Answers may be edited for length and clarity.
School board:
Shaina Langley and Roman Rewolinski are seeking the Position 1 seat. Anna Marie Laurence and Tom Clarke are seeking the Position 3 seat. Rewolinkski and Laurence are incumbents.
Funding cuts at the federal level are going to change how schools function, especially for special needs students. How are you going to ensure all children get an appropriate education?
Rewolinski: This is very important to me. What was at risk is Title II, Title III and Title IV funding, which is professional development and educational enhancements like arts and STEM and engineering. That was $1.35 million that was at risk. That came through fine, but even if it didn’t, we would be able to weather that storm. We have a budget of $440 million. $1.35 million is a drop in the bucket, and we have a fund balance of about $35 million, so we could get through that without having to give up our commitment to diversity, equity or inclusion. The bulk of educational funding comes from the state. It’s about 78 percent and then we get about 15 percent or so from local levies. So it’s the community that is really driving education funding.
Langley: Fully funding our public schools is our paramount duty under the Washington state constitution and a moral obligation to the next generation. Education is the foundation of a free and fair society, and is key to success in life. And I would argue that $1.4 million is something that should be scrutinized, especially when budgets are shrinking and that money has to come from somewhere. On top of that, my funding priorities will always center on the classroom first. That means investing in student-facing programs, educator training and support, safe, well-maintained schools, and fighting for budgets that protect classroom instruction and the arts while continuing to scrutinize every dollar. Because nearly 80 percent of district funding comes from the state, I’ll continue to be a strong advocate for equitable, sustainable funding sources for Everett Public Schools.
Laurence: As was stated earlier, about 74, 76 percent of our funding comes from the state, 16 percent from levies, so the combination of those two can allow us to weather the storm with some cuts through our operational budget. I think what really needs to happen is that the state needs to keep pace and align with the budget. So as the state budget increases, our budget needs to increase too. I would also say that my focus is on the kids and the classroom. That’s where we need to make sure that our funding goes to help teachers and their classroom needs, paraeducators, professional development.
Clarke: The first thing I’ll do, I’ll go join the people that stand out here on Broadway on Fridays, holding up signs and fighting against an authoritarian regime that’s coming for our schools and our children’s benefits. The second thing I’ll do is I will analyze the budget and say, how much federal funding do we have? Well, the answer is 20 percent comes from federal funding. Roman can shake his head all he wants. $1.6 million, $1.2 million, $1.4 million, none of that is a drop in the bucket for me. Our school board cut $1.6 million in materials funding this year, and that’s the kind of attitude that leads to cuts like that, which directly impact our children.
The Everett Public Schools board has given permission to allow a religious organization to remove elementary students off campus during school hours for religious training. What is your opinion about this issue?
Laurence: I do not support programs that provide off-campus religious instruction during the school day. I prefer that children stay in school. However, the school district must follow law that balances the competing interests inherent in the First Amendment. The Supreme Court in Zorach v. Clauson ruled that released-time religious instruction was constitutional and did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. We have a similar situation in the Everett School District, where during the school day, students are taking RTRI during the non-instructional recess and lunch period to go offsite, without using public funding and requiring written parental approval. While this is legal, there should be parameters.
Clarke: Very simple: I believe in the separation of church and state. And Zorach was not on point. I went to law school too. That was parents taking out their own kids for released time religious instruction. LifeWise is a third-party organization who has taken our kids off campus for a significant amount of time during the day. The current school board did absolutely nothing about it, despite parents going to school board meetings for over two years giving public comments. In so doing, they failed our community. Our schools are made up of all kinds of different faith backgrounds. We should not promote one faith over the other, and we should not promote religion over non-religion. I’m a Christian and I have sincerely held religious beliefs, but I don’t believe in Christian nationalism and forcing my beliefs into public schools and thus making an inequitable environment. Our current school board has failed us on this.
Langley: Third-party organizations should never come between our families and our schools. If our RTRI programs like LifeWise can cause conflict in our families and schools, then the school board has an obligation to review what steps can be taken to regain trust with families and strengthen policies on third-party organizations moving forward. Families deserve to know that their children’s time in school is spent in safe, inclusive and educationally sound environments. Our public schools must remain focused on learning that brings our community together, and not allow third-party organizations with their own potential agendas to come in between our families and our schools.
Rewolinski: Everett Public Schools follows the law. Our policy is in accordance with the law. We are doing everything we can. I don’t agree with it either. I think that our kids need to stay in school, and they should do that stuff after school, but that is really outside our hands. I just got an update today that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is looking into it because they are expanding to other districts. We’re doing everything we can, but it’s out of our hands.
City Council/Mayor:
Cassie Franklin and Scott Murphy are running for the mayoral seat. For City Council, Sam Hem and Erica Weir are seeking the District 1 seat. Paula Rhyne and Ryan Crowther are running for District 2, Don Schwab and Marcus Nunez are running for District 3 and Alan Rubio and Luis Burbano are running for District 4.
How do you plan to address the issue of ICE or the military coming to Everett?
Burbano: If ICE comes to the neighborhood, we have to realize this is the federal government, so there is not much the city government can do. What we can do is to make sure that when we see them, we protect each other, that we tell everybody that they’re coming. Because what happens when they grab someone is they take this person away. Sometimes they’re a citizen, sometimes they’re an immigrant, and they separate families, destroy people’s lives, and they really don’t care about the situation. So we need to be together, we need to be a team on this.
Rubio: It’s a federal agency, so there’s only so much we can do as a state and even less as a city. But one thing we can do is education. A lot of people out there just doesn’t know their rights, what procedures are supposed to be followed for them to be detained. So one thing we can do is inform our neighbors ourselves. Information is key. You can tell them what are their rights, how processes are supposed to be done, that they don’t have to open the door. Little things like that are going to help, and it’s going to be the way we want to get around it.
Murphy: I believe we need to stand with our immigrants and refugee populations. The work needs to be getting done right now, this minute, there needs to be planning and preparation in the city so that we have a coordinated response if something like this were to happen. I’m very proud to have the endorsement of Van Kuno, who heads up the Refugee and Immigrant Northwest organization on the Everett Community College campus. We need to have communication getting out to members of our community so that they understand their rights and the rules and what to do if something like this were to happen. If that happens in our community, we need to be prepared. As mayor, I will stand with our immigrant and refugee communities and protect them as best I can.
Franklin: Engaging and informing and being connected to our residents and communities of color, our immigrant families. I’m grateful that we have strong partnerships, especially in our very strong immigrant community on Casino Road. When Trump issued his deportation orders and started that work, I reached out to all of our partners and had personal conversations. I talked with them, how they did start to engage and inform the community, and that was back in January. So we have continued to do that work and help them understand their rights, help them understand that if somebody’s at their door and saying they’re ICE, do open the door, you call 911. It’s staying connected and being there to support them in the way that keeps them safe.
Hem: This is the nexus as to why I decided I needed to step up and run for office. What I will do as city council member, is to be the on site, standing shoulder to shoulder with Everett PD saying that you do not get to put your hands on our neighbors. Our immigrant neighbors, our refugee neighbors, are not the enemy. They are part of our community, we need to look out for each and every one of us in our community, and we need to say enough is enough. These are people that are contributing to our community, and we need to support them.
Weir: Echoing a lot of what you already heard: Education, information, making sure we’re standing alongside, protecting our residents that are coming from immigrant communities and backing the organizations that can help them out.
Crowther: I believe a city’s role is to protect its citizens, and that’s all its citizens. I think we really need to make sure we have partnerships in place, and make sure that education, communication is a part of that. We need to ensure that we’re prepared to respond.
Rhyne: I personally feel relief that we live in Washington state, and Everett specifically, as there’s a lot of layers of protection for refugee and immigrant neighbors from our state and local leadership. While I agree that the education of rights for residents is critical, I think there’s also an opportunity for an education in the rights and obligations of bystanders, so that when we, as white people and white citizens, see a neighbor that might be in trouble, that we know what our rights are and what we should be doing in that situation to make sure that our neighbors aren’t kidnapped. During a second term, I see this obligation as a city leader and a white woman to stand up for our neighbors.
Nunez: I’m going to be quoting from the National Immigrant Justice Center. All individuals have rights regardless of your immigration status. It does not matter if you are here, legally, illegally, undocumented, documented. I believe the city could possibly help with our community in creating some sort of safety plan by getting to know your neighbors a little bit more so we have these emergency contacts. And as we discussed earlier, you know, families are being divided. So what happens if a family gets picked up, but their kids are still at school? Who’s going to take care of those children while they’re still here?
Schwab: It’s a disgrace what’s going on in our country. Part of the solution, I think, is communication, to make sure that our communities know and also to listen to them because they have different concerns other than I. I would press upon our law enforcement agency in our city to work with the county and the state and work together. There’s one law enforcement agency that obviously needs some education in community relationships. If they make a strong case for a particular individual, I’d rather have our law enforcement in the front lines and having this relationship. They know our communities, I would use them and all the local police, not what’s been expressed in the media. And for Pete’s sake’s, a firefighter was removed in California on the front line in a forest fire.
What is your position on diversity, equity and inclusion?
Schwab: I support all of these efforts. We have some good policies in place, but there needs to be an evaluation of those policies and make sure it’s seen through an equity lens. There needs to be a strengthening of engagement, especially with our marginalized communities. The more a marginalized community or underrepresented community is heard, we can make adjustments based on feedback. Also, we must keep striving to have a representative workforce that reflects our city, and also we need to be focused on equity-focused programs.
Nunez: As someone that comes from a diverse background, I’m for some of the DEI policies that we have in place. Obviously, I’m not 100% sure exactly how in-depth the city’s current DEI policies are. I have to take a deeper look into that. But one of the advantages of having these DEI policies is that we are able to have such a sort of a cultural melting pot in the workforce, and get a better understanding of the other people in our community. We all do come from different walks of life, so in any way that we can strengthen current DEI policies, I’m all for it.
Rubio: I will say one of the greatest achievements in this regard will be the districting of Everett to be able to elect different council members from different parts of the city. That opens the opportunity for people like me and my dear neighbor Luis here, who are Hispanic immigrants. South Everett is the most diverse part of the city. And I must say that it makes me sad and will make me proud, if I’m elected, I will be the first Hispanic immigrant to ever see the Everett council, and the first person whose primary language at home is not English. I’m pretty sure that whether it’s me or Luis, we want to do more to have more connection of those with those communities in the council.
Burbano: Diversity and inclusion is great, and it should be encouraged. However, it has to be used properly. I like to use the example of an architect. You can have an architect who’s a member of the minority group, and this person can be a Pacific Northwest expert, designing houses for the Pacific Northwest. So what you’re going to get out of this architect is a Pacific Northwest home. But we can hire somebody from a minority group who’s an expert in Asian architecture, African architecture, Hispanic architecture, and this person is going to give us a home that is going to represent everybody. So we have to use diversity and inclusion in a very smart way. Diversity and inclusion is not about hiring minorities, it’s about using the skills of people to represent everybody.
Franklin: DEI has been a top priority since taking office. When I first took office, the city was not reflecting the beautiful, diverse community that we have. In fact, we were predominantly white and we were predominantly male, and I am very proud of the accomplishments we’ve made to help our staff, our leadership, our boards and commissions, better reflect the community that we serve. I’m proud of some of the hiring statistics that we’ve made, especially in public safety. Nearly 40% of the applicants that we’ve had recently identified as BIPOC, and a third were female for the first time in our history. We also started a Youth Advisory Board and have a very active Diversity Advisory Board that I listen to when we’re making decisions.
Murphy: Of course, I support diversity, equity and inclusion as a policy and as just the right thing to do. One of the things that I’ve enjoyed about this process over the last year is getting to meet and talk with a lot of people. I have met with a number of people who are involved in our Diversity Committee in the city, in various boards and commissions. And one of the one of the feedback items I’ve gotten from some of those committees is that it feels like sometimes this current administration, it’s checking a box. Yes, we have the Diversity Committee, but ideas are discussed, things are brought forward, and then they don’t feel like they ever get implemented. When I’m elected mayor, I want to actually listen to people and make sure that we are not just checking a box, but actually making change and making sure that people feel heard. I think work has been done, but we need to do better as a city.
Weir: Everett is a very diverse city, and I think that’s part of what makes it a really rich and vibrant place to be. And we have to remember that as part of DEIA, equality and equity are different. So as part of the DEIA initiatives, we’re being really mindful of obstacles that others might be facing based on being part of a marginalized community. Then, we’re creating policies and putting opportunities out there for those that can be equitable for all.
Hem: Absolutely, I support it. I think first and foremost, it’s inclusion. Diversity actually reflects our community, but first there has to be inclusion, there has to be that opportunity. Then, there has to be the face of our neighborhood that’s reflected where we work, and that’s where the equity comes in. The picture that I saw that really resonated with me is three individuals on the outside of a baseball field out of the outfield, and there’s a fence that they can’t see over. The tall individual doesn’t need a box. The middle-sized individual needs a smaller box, and the smaller individual needs the larger box. That’s what equity is, and that’s what we intentionally need to focus on.
Rhyne: For far too long, not just here in Everett, marginalized communities have been excluded and left out of places where decisions are being made. Frankly, I find that inexcusable. This exclusion has led to our current systemic inequities and a lot of the problems that we’re seeing today. I firmly believe in leading with policy of no decisions about us, without us. With recent developments like the Fred Meyer closure, I’ve been working closely with our Connect Casino Road neighborhood and organizations to ensure that their voices aren’t just heard, but they’re centered. I’m proud to also support local LGBTQ+ organizations like Everett Pride also will continue to lead with the lens of equity as I have a second term here on council, to make sure that every single vote that I make on council is done in an equitable way.
Crowther: We can’t have a city as diverse as Everett and not make sure that diversity, equity and inclusion play a strong role in our policy making. I know we can always improve this, and I think it’s about making sure we have the right voices in the room for these discussions.
What is your position on the Outdoor Event Center? Is it fiscally responsible in the current economic environment?
Franklin: The stadium is an exciting project. We are still determining the financial feasibility of it through this progressive design-build process. We do have support from the state, the county, the AquaSox, the Mariners and USL as well as city capital dollars currently, so those are the resources we have to work with. I’d like to see more and deeper investment from the private partners to make sure it’s affordable.
Murphy: It’s an exciting project, but what I don’t understand is how we can be four years down the road with the city spending $7 million, including about 1.5 million out of park funds that could have been used for other projects, and we are sitting here today with no financial projection for this investment. It’s absolutely insane that we’re spending this much money with no financial pro forma. An estimate can be done, could have been done years ago, by the consultants who’ve been paid millions, and I’d like to see that on day one.
Weir: I think that the AquaSox are really strong part of our community, and it’s important that we try to work around keeping them here. I do have questions about the whole project. I think the community could get behind it more if there was really clear information about where the funds were coming from and the obligations.
Hem: As a representative for construction workers, obviously the building of the project itself is something that I’m already used to advocating for. Depending on what the cost is, there’s still going to be a benefit value to the city, once developed and everything comes together. I see it actually adding value to city. The citizens, however, need to have a part of the deal. I don’t know what that looks like, other than through an ordinance making sure that we have set-aside carveouts.
Rhyne: I’m cautiously optimistic about the viability of the stadium. I’ve been following the finances closely as they are available. I do see that it can absolutely be a catalyst for change, for all of Everett. We may not all be baseball or soccer fans but we are all fans of a vibrant and active downtown.
Crowther: I believe this event center can be a huge asset for our community. But I do think there’s a lot we don’t know about the, financials in terms of a pro forma and a model. I just hope that we can get to a place where we understand that a little better. I think the more we know, the more we can support it.
Schwab: This project is more than about baseball. It’s a year-round venue for sports, music, soccer, community events and other celebrations. This project is a public and private funded project. We cannot do it without private investment. There are risks involved, but I think we’ve done everything possible to reduce those risks.
Nunez: I’m all for the AquaSox staying in Everett, I think everyone in the room is. But with the outdoor events center itself, part of the problem is not only the cost, but the location itself. We’re pushing out so many of our local businesses that are there, as well as it being in close proximity to the Angel of the Winds Arena. How much is that going to affect the area?
Rubio: I do have a positive view on the project. I think it’s going to be good for everyone to have it. As someone with background in construction, I want to make sure that promises are kept and the project make sense. But I think it’s good for the community. It’s going to bring activity, bring investment. So I’m all for it.
Burbano: I say go for it. As long as the design is sustainable, it creates jobs and supports the small businesses. And of course, we need to make sure that people can get to it other ways that won’t include driving a car. We need to make sure that there is no bicycle lanes, infrastructure, bus lanes and light rail to get to it.
Will you commit to not submitting a new levy lid lift to the voters in your next term? Yes or no?
Rhyne: No.
Crowther: No.
Schwab: No.
Nunez: No.
Rubio: Yes.
Burbano: No.
Franklin: No.
Murphy: No.
Weir: No.
Hem: No.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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