The Seattle Globalist asks the Seattle Mayoral Candidates: Tiniell Cato

Tiniell Cato (Courtesy photo)

The Seattle Globalist asked all the Seattle Mayoral Candidates six questions that are important to the city’s communities of color and immigrant communities. Get all the submitted answers here.

What would be the top three priorities of the Seattle Police Department during your administration?

During my administration the top 3 priorities are:

1. Dismantle the system that allows Police and the Department to perform murders in our communities and put an immediate end to police brutality for all people.

2. Police need to be more qualified for Policing with diversity training for equal treatment towards all people.

3. Police must stop racial profiling, and we must dismantle the school pipeline to incarceration, the profit for punishment, and discriminating disparities in punishment process, policies, and procedures when pertaining to crime.

What should Seattle’s strategy be in addressing housing affordability?

As you know, Seattle Washington is an upcoming powerhouse for small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and holistic wellness centers for children and adults.

As a business owner, I found that your only as strong as our weakest link. My priorities as elected official is to make sure there is jobs & resources that the community lacks today. In order to get more jobs and resources we have to fund the big and small businesses, nonprofits, and nonprofit holistic wellness centers. The businesses and nonprofits will provide necessary jobs and resources.

Instead of buying rainbow side walks and street sign where street signs and side walks already are, we must put dollars in businesses, nonprofits, and nonprofit holistic wellness centers to generate more revenue through economic growth and development to provide the resources to our communities crisis needs today, like good paying jobs, education, housing/homelessness, medical, policing, and crime. Every resident deserves a job, shelter, food, clothing, and transportation. Not only will the businesses, nonprofits, and nonprofit holistic wellness centers will generate more income for the City but it will also create revenue from traffic we attract to and from Seattle to make our communities economically and emotionally healthy while living independent and financially secure now and in the future.

Is there a way for Seattle to balance upzoning and retaining affordability for existing residents and businesses, particularly in the University, Central and Chinatown/International districts? Please describe your approach.

This is part of the Seattle gentrification plan. How do you balance that? I appreciate the “sound” of up-zoning and retaining affordability for existing residents and business but we have to immediately address the errors in “Equal Opportunity Policy” pertaining to the processes, policies, and procedures of it. My approach is 1st address the errors in “Equal Opportunity Policy” by rewriting laws, contracts, applications, processes, policies, and procedures that Violate Civil Rights Act pertaining to oppression in our communities. For example, remove what has nothing to do with up-zoning or retaining affordability, like race, creed, sexuality, income, or crime. It appears that the developer and housing task force targets certain communities and created another way to use community funds to put in pockets. To retain affordability, with my experience as a grant writer, we will make sure funds for businesses and nonprofit resource programs are equally considered and disbursed for economic growth and development for all people particularly those who are being suffocated.

Discuss three specific strategies for increasing the participation of immigrant communities/communities of color in the planning of initiatives such as the proposed Navigation Center and large-scale marches that affect neighborhoods?

1. EVOLUTION, change that preserves the good characteristics and remove the bad characteristics.

2. For example, remove the dividers that divide us as people like race, creed, sexuality, income, or crime.

3. Educate and Invite all influencers to discuss how we can merge our influences together to build an inter circle of leaders that will create the foundation for the planning of initiatives which in turn will create more participation from all people because United We Stand. Divided we Fall.

How should Seattle address “gentrification?” How do you define that concept?

“Improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste” is a nice way of saying we are moving out the poor and moving in greater community. For example, as we improve, we have created more oppression that is suffocating our communities pertaining to housing, homelessness, jobs, education, medical, policing, and crime. How is this improving or conforming to middle-class?

What should the city of Seattle’s stance be — if any — on handling juvenile justice and the proposed replacement of the King County Juvenile Detention Center?

City of Seattle stance should be to Dismantle the school pipe line to prison, the industrial prison complex, as well as the profits from punishment. 97% of people do not even get a trial because they are poor, this is a major problem. So there is alternative to youth detention and incarceration, lets invest in that instead of replacement of the King County Juvenile Detention Center and handling juvenile justice!

More information: tiniellformayor.vote

Candidates

Gary E. Brose | Casey Carlisle | Tiniell Cato | Jenny Durkan | Jessyn Farrell | Thom Gunn | Greg Hamilton | Michael Harris | Bob Hasegawa | Lewis A. Jones | Dave Kane | Harley Lever | Mary J. Martin | Mike McGinn | Cary Moon | James W. Norton, Jr.Larry Oberto | Nikkita Oliver | Jason Roberts | Alex Tsimerman | Keith J. Whiteman