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Community Coalition Demands Action in Seattle’s Chinatown

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Categories
Governance
Homelessness
Street Report

“This Would Not Happen If This Were the Beautiful Waterfront”

A brand new coalition is forming to defend Seattle’s Chinatown-ID. These community activists say politicians at the local and state level have failed them on public safety. They’re demanding more resources and attention to address crime, chaos, and death on the streets. Meanwhile, conditions in other parts of the city have improved. Which is why an elder went up to the podium today and torched Mayor Bruce Harrell by saying, “Mayor Harrell, he’s Asian American, does he give a sh*t? I don’t think so.”

The Petition

As I have reported now for the past year, Mayor Harrell is losing support in the CID because it has turned into a human dumping ground. Business owners say he rarely shows up in person and they feel abandoned. Community activists have started this petition.

Petition · Dedicate Resources to Restore and Revitalize Little Saigon – Seattle, United States · Change.org

Will Our Elected Officials Show Up?

Behind the scenes, sources say the mayor is also frustrated by the lack of lasting results. He’s telling CID leaders to go after more mental health funding from the King County Council so the burden doesn’t just fall on the city. That means KC Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will be fielding a lot more constituent concerns because the CID is part of her district. King County Executive Dow Constantine and Governor-elect Bob Ferguson are also being challenged to show up and help.

Governor-elect Bob Ferguson
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (right) with King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda
King County Executive Dow Constantine

Controversial Low-Barrier Housing Being Blamed

As for the problematic DESC Navigation Center, it’s being blamed for a lot of the crime and open air drug use in the CID. Many neighbors say the city did not tell them the closure of the facility would be delayed until March. It’s moving to Pioneer Square.

Sharon Lee Speaks

Seattle tiny house village maven Sharon Lee is speaking out against the failed public policies and decisions that have led up to Chinatown-ID’s public safety crisis.

Lee is the Executive Director of the Low Income Housing Institute and they have a huge office in Little Saigon. She has always been an advocate for the CID, recognizing how unfairly this neighborhood has been treated compared to others in the city.

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Mayor Harrell Losing Support

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is in the final year of his first term in office. He plans to run for re-election. But in Chinatown-ID, his once dominant base of support is starting to dwindle due to massive public safety concerns. Here’s how to correct course:

  • Get rid of the drug addicts and dealers immediately. The proof of concept is 3rd Ave & Pike St which is now relatively clear of mayhem. In other words, it can be done right away.
  • Make similar investments being made in the downtown core, add more cops and outreach services, show up to eat on occasion, and all will be forgiven.

The mayor has now had more than three years to clean this place up. If the out-of-control crime and chaos continues for another year, his relationship with this community will be strained even further.

Now will Harrell become a pariah like King County Executive Dow Constantine? Highly unlikely. The difference is, the CID still considers Harrell one of their own. They want to support the local kid with the Japanese mom and black dad.

But until lasting change is made, community members are now prepared to call him out, especially the elders.

The bar for improvement is set so low, there really is nowhere else to go but up.

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Jonathan Choe

Journalist and Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty
Jonathan Choe is a journalist and Senior Fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, covering homelessness issues for its Fix Homelessness initiative. Prior to joining Discovery, Choe spent several years as one of the lead reporters at KOMO-TV, consistently the top rated television station in Seattle. His in depth stories on crime and deep dive investigations into the homeless crisis led to measurable results in the community, including changes in public policy. Choe has more than two decades of experience in television news behind the scenes and in front of the camera for ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and Tribune. He has also been nominated and honored with multiple industry awards including an Emmy. Choe spent several years teaching classes on emerging media and entrepreneurship to under privileged youth in inner city Chicago. As an independent journalist, Choe also contributes regularly to the Mill Creek View and Lynnwood Times and has reported on exclusive stories in the past year for Daily Wire and The Postmillennial.