Campaign Corner: Burien City Council Position 1

Burien City Council Candidate, Position 1 :Jessica Ivey
“Throughout this year, I have seen a marked improvement in public safety in Town Square Park, and I think every resident of Burien has benefited from not having drug use and encampments downtown. I've seen a father and son ride their bikes in front of City Hall in the evening, families enjoying movies in the park at night, kids playing in the water fountain, and seniors enjoying the library. The countless cultural events I attended reaffirmed for me that this is what people want and deserve from their city parks. My opponent, Hugo Garcia, wants to repeal the camping ordinance, and we cannot afford to go backwards.

In talking to folks, we all want compassionate solutions to address the root causes and the complex challenges of homelessness. I don't believe it is compassionate to look the other way when people are in crisis, or to leave them to die on the sidewalk. I have volunteered at Plymouth Housing in downtown Seattle, and I believe that permanent supportive housing has its place in the housing system, but there are holes in the system. Regionally, we need more mental healthcare facilities and 90-day inpatient drug treatment centers to stabilize people suffering from addiction before placing them in a larger community like DESC. I support prioritizing the programs that get people the wrap-around support services to address mental health, addiction, and access to resources, but that is not what is happening at DESC.

The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) is a Seattle model built for Seattle, and it was championed by my opponent to bring to Burien. It is failing to deliver on its good neighbor promises and is obstructionist when engaging with law enforcement, and it's not proactively providing access to drug treatment. It's dangerous, and neighboring businesses are suffering. The burdens on city resources of increased theft, human and drug trafficking that accompany our DESC facility in downtown Burien are not sustainable. 

We need to be creative in designing new models and communities that can work and build accountability for residents if we are going to see real change. I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for Mary's Place, which received funding from public and private partnerships to bring a new campus model of co-located, permanent affordable housing alongside a new shelter facility. The funding model supports a range of services and support systems, and I believe that will ensure its success in blending into the community.  

I have been very supportive of our police officers through the King County Sheriff's Department, as well as community policing and co-responder mental health units, to build trust and connection in our community. I also support drug diversion programs for non-violent crime to get them into substance abuse treatment programs. I am concerned about public safety and the violent crime we have seen in our community recently, and I want our police department to be fully staffed to ensure coverage to keep residents safe.”

Burien City Council Candidate, Position 1: Hugo Garcia
We reached out to Hugo Garcia and did not receive a response to our question at the time of this publishing.