On April 8 the 34th District Democrats held a candidate’s forum to select the candidate that they will endorsed to represent West Seattle and South Park in the Seattle City Council. The endorsement vote for the 34th District Dems will be held on May 20.

The auditorium at the Fauntleroy Hall was filled to its maximum capacity by members and supporters, with guests such as King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott in attendance. Chair of the Executive Board Marcee Stone-Vekich moderated the Q&A and managed to keep the proceedings moving at a fast pace.

Each candidate was given one minute to answer each question.
Shannon Braddock, Chas Redmond, Lisa Herbold, Tom Koch, Philip Tavel, and Brianna Thomas were the six candidates who participated. Amanda Kay Helmick had been scheduled to appear but was unable to participate since she is running as an independent and would not declare herself a democrat, a requirement per the 34 DD’s bi-laws.

Before the questions began each candidate was asked to declare themselves as a Democrat, name the neighborhood they live in, and give an estimate as to how many doors they have knocked on so far. The score goes as follows: Braddock was unsure on her number of doors so far, Redmond has knocked on 600 doors in the central area of West Seattle and lives on Gatewood Hill, Herbold has knocked on 200 doors so far, Koch lives in the Hamilton Park Viewpoint area and has hit 1400 doors, Tavel lives in the Morgan Junction and has knocked on 100 or so, and Thomas lives in the Alaska Junction and has personally hit 500 doors while her campaign has knocked on 1500 so far.

The first question of the evening was “What would you like to accomplish in your first year on the council?”
Thomas spoke about getting police more active in the community, while Tavel mentioned reforming the municipal court system and giving money to mental health and substance abuse services. After quoting Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson Koch was the first to mention implementing impact fees on developers and homebuilders. Herbold echoed these sentiments and added the need to improve transportation.

The second question was “With the increasing personal property crime in our district how would you strike a balance between public safety and police accountability?”
Redmond began this round by commending bike patrol officers and addressing nuisance houses in the area. A few of the candidates applauded Chief O’Toole and her reforms while keeping the agreement between SPD and the Department of Justice in mind. It was Thomas however who provided a harrowing story of a time that she was stopped in High Point by three men and beaten. After going to a precinct to report the assault she was told to go home and call 911. She used this story to illustrate the need for officers with a more “human touch”.

Next up were “paddle questions”. Each candidate was given two signs: one with Yes/No printed on each side and the other with a syrup soaked waffle on it, for “waffle” answers. Those who raised “waffle” to each question were given 10 seconds to explain their position.

For the sake of brevity here is each question Vekich-Stone asked the candidates:
• Do you support homeless encampments in residential areas?
• Will you support the 900 million dollar transportation levy in Seattle?
• If you lived in North Highline would you vote for annexation to Seattle?
• Do you support mayoral appointment of school board members?
• Should the Meyers wetland be preserved?
• Do you support linkage fees to fund affordable housing and or transit?
• Do you support having bicyclist pay a registration fee for their bikes and having their license number visible at all times?

After this paddle session the candidates were next asked to explain how their personal backgrounds have prepared them for handling transportation issues in West Seattle. Each candidate explained their work in different counties and throughout the city handling transportation and pedestrian safety issues.

The next question concerned small businesses and how each candidate planned to preserve the character and stability of these businesses against the rise of commercial store fronts. Koch, a small business owner, brought his own frustrations and mentioned the startling rise in value of parking spaces from $6 a square foot to $85 a square foot as assessed by King County.

The next question was “how do you plan to improve the health and quality of life in our district?”

Redmond, Tavel, Braddock, Thomas, and Koch all voiced their support and membership with the Delridge Co-Op. Braddock, Redmond and Herbold each brought up advancing clean-up efforts on the Duwamish. Thomas quipped that South Park needed improvements on air pollution stating “we can’t breathe down there”.

Following these questions was another round of paddle questions. This round was a few questions longer than the previous one, here are the highlight questions:
• Would you support the city in building a hospital in West Seattle?
• Do you support a third sports facility being built in the SODO?
• Will the next generation be able to fish in the Duwamish?
• Do you oppose the elephants at Woodland Park Zoo being sold to another zoo?

Thomas provided the cheekiest answer with that last question when she “waffled” and explained “not getting” the fascination or outcry with the elephants.

The last question before each candidate was given one minute for closing statements was “As a councilmember, how would you fulfill this community’s needs without one neighborhood feeling overlooked?”

All of the candidates explained the importance of being out in the community and being involved in each neighborhood. Braddock explained how her current work on the King County staff would guide her work as a councilmember.
Following the forum a straw poll was taken to gauge how the candidate’s had done that night. The results were as follows: Braddock received 31, Redmond received 10, Herbold received 17, Koch received 9, Tavel received 3, and Thomas received 8.

“I think it went really well, and the candidates, they’re good candidates. They have a lot of background, they have their values in the right place, and I think they are going to appeal to a lot of different people. We are very, very lucky,” said Stone-Vekich after the forum was ended.

The endorsement vote will be held on May 20, at 7 p.m. at the Fauntleroy Hall.