Seattle’s Chinatown is in Crisis and Politicians are Nowhere to be Found

What About Chinatown/international District?

Some of the fundamental pillars of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s (@MayorofSeattle) “One Seattle” approach is unity and ethnic diversity. You could clearly see it behind him during Wednesday’s press conference as he laid out more details driving his Downtown Activation Plan. But afterwards, I asked why there wasn’t a single mention of the #CID in his game plan.

Timelines for measurable change also remain unclear. Watch interview below. Other advocates noticed this omission as well since this predominantly Asian American neighborhood faces enormous and unique challenges related to fentanyl and the homeless crisis exploding on it’s streets. Dozens of small mom and pop immigrant owned businesses have also left in the past couple years due to unchecked crime in the area. And with Major League Baseball All-Star weekend less than two weeks away, fans will no doubt see all this urban decay since the #CID is just minutes away from T-Mobile Park (@TMobilePark @Mariners.)

By the way if you did not know already, #Chinatown-ID is considered part of “Greater Downtown” Seattle. On a side note, Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) was not present even though she represents parts of the #CID. Unclear why she didn’t show, but she also voted against the drug bill that would have given City Attorney Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) the power to go after open air drug use and possession which are gross misdemeanors. And arguably, her district continues to suffer the most from this failure.

*I should also mention long time community advocate Tanya Woo, who I interviewed for this piece, is running against Morales in the D2 council race.