The race for City Council seats is underway, and candidates are taking positions on pressing issues in their districts.

Ballardite Catherine Weatbrook is running against current City Council member, Mike O’Brien, for the 6th District seat.

The district includes Fremont, Phinney Ridge, Ballard, Loyal Heights and part of Greenwood.

Weatbrook is a Seattle native and has lived in Ballard since 1994. She is the co-chair of the City Neighborhood Council in Ballard and also works as a facilities manager for a group of non-profits. She has announced that her campaign will center on addressing issues in housing and transportation.

O’Brien lives in Fremont and has served as council member since 2009. He chairs the council’s land-use committee and is known for taking on policy in social justice and the environment. O’Brien sponsored Seattle’s plastic bag ban and was recently instrumental in spurring the City's review of the Port of Seattle's Terminal 5 lease with Foss Maritime.

The Ballard News-Tribune created a list of questions concerning issues in the 6th District and Seattle. Candidate's responses are below.

Questions and answers:

1. I’m a 26-year-old barista living in Ballard. I’m a renter. I use public transportation or ride my bike. The busses feel crowded and with more and more people moving to Ballard, taking the bus is becoming a hassle. Why should I vote for you?

Weatbrook:

We need to add more bus service and make sure Northwest Seattle gets more buses, and it’s time for Ballard to get the light rail that was promised for accepting all this growth and supporting Sound Transit.

We cannot allow bus riders to be left behind because busses are full. We must move quickly to add more frequent and reliable busses and improve bus connections. When technology can help the community get around, we should make that happen.

Vote for me, because I will work with you to make getting around the community faster and more comfortable for everyone than it is today.

O’Brien:

I agree we need better transportation options to serve the growing demand in Northwest Seattle. As a Councilmember in 2014, I helped shape and pass the largest expansion of bus service in Seattle since the founding of Metro. Because of that action, starting in June, we will see 230,000 more hours of bus service throughout the city, including service on all routes that are currently overcrowded in Northwest Seattle.

I also sit on the board of Sound Transit where I am working hard to ensure that we get light rail to Ballard in the next Sound Transit expansion. And I am a daily bike commuter. I first ran for office because of my deeply held belief that we need more options for getting around Seattle safely and efficiently.

2. I am a 43-year-old homeowner. I live in Fre-lard. I work for a maritime company. I have three young children. I’m concerned about apodments and apartments being built in my residential neighborhood. Why should I vote for you?

Weatbrook:

The Seattle City Council has failed to properly plan and zone for the growth we all knew was coming. As a result our roads are congested and streets that used to be two-way are one way because of all the parked cars.

We can and must protect our quality of life, our unique neighborhoods and the character of our business districts. When new homes, condos and apartments are built we must insure they are in areas that have access to frequent transit and off-street parking.

Vote for me, because I believe that we need to hold the City Council and the developers accountable.

O’Brien:

Last fall the city council passed new regulations governing the development of micro-housing. The regulations were designed to address many of the concerns that we heard from the community, balanced with the need to allow the creation of more housing options for people who want to live in the city. One of the challenges we will continue to face is how to preserve what is special about all of our neighborhoods and still create space for new people moving in, whether they are coming from halfway around the world or are our own kids moving back into the neighborhood.

3. I’m a 33-year-old entrepreneur. I started my started my company in my garage but look to move it to Ballard. I drive on Market Street and see vacant office spaces. I call the listing number and find out why: the rent is way too high. Only a big corporate business can afford those high rates. Why should I vote for you?

Weatbrook:

As a member of the Ballard Partnership for Smart Growth, I have personally seen those long time vacant properties. Safe and vibrant communities need business spaces to be leased as much as you need to have space for your growing business. High rents, in spaces that remain vacant are a blight and hurt job creation. I would like to explore creating fees for vacant spaces to encourage property owners to keep their properties rented.

Vote for me, because I know our small businesses are our biggest employers, and we need to make sure there are affordable spaces for them to succeed.

O’Brien:

Affordable commercial space is important to create and preserve business districts with local businesses. I’m committed to working with local business owners to create conditions under which local businesses can thrive throughout Seattle, and in Ballard.

4. I’m a 29-year-old disillusioned journalist. I work in Ballard. The rent rose too high, too quickly, so I moved north near Carkeek Park. Ballard has changed dramatically. I’m fed up with what’s happening around me but feel like it’s pretty much a lost cause anyway. Why should I vote at all?

Weatbrook:

Affordable housing is at a crisis point in Seattle and the entire Puget Sound region. I am concerned the City Council has approved the demolition of too many buildings with affordable rents that have been replaced by very expensive housing few can afford. The result has been thousands of families and seniors have been displaced.Vote for me because I will work to quickly create more affordable housing for everyone.

O’Brien:

I am working hard to create an affordable housing linkage fee that would require all new development in Seattle to provide affordable, rent-restricted units alongside more expensive rate market-rate units. This will allow more people to stay in Ballard as the neighborhood grows and changes.

Why should you vote? Because affordability is the biggest issue we face here in Seattle. We need folks like you engaged in local government to ensure that new tools like the linkage fee are swiftly adopted and enacted. Developers will fight any new tools that ask them to pay to help us meet the challenge of affordability, and that means I need everyone who cares about rising rents to stand together, to be engaged and to help the City of Seattle tackle this issue head on.

5. In your opinion, what makes a good council-member?

Weatbrook:

A council member must listen and take the concerns and ideas of their constituents seriously. A council member should also be curious, be willing to think out of the box to develop common sense solutions and be willing to ask the tough questions that need to be asked. And finally, a council member should promptly return all phone calls and emails from their constituents.

O’Brien:

A good Councilmember is accessible and listens to constituents and stakeholders on all sides of an issue. Take for example my work on micro-housing. On one side we had many neighbors concerned about the impact of dozens or potentially hundreds of new residents on their block, while on another side we had those dozens or hundreds of people who needed a cheaper place to live, and on yet another side we had developers who want to build these new units. When the legislation designed to tackle this issue became very contentious in 2014, I formed a working group made up of micro-housing residents, neighbors, developers and policy advisors to find common ground, and we spent the summer meeting, presenting ideas and hammering out a solution. Together, we crafted a middle-ground approach that allows micro-housing in transit-rich areas when it goes through design review and created a new small-studio designation for other neighborhoods.

The ability to listen, see all sides and seek solutions that move the conversation forward are key attributes for a successful Councilmember, and I think I have demonstrated those attributes in my time so far on Council.

6. If (re)elected, how do you plan to remain an active member of your community and hear the concerns of your constituents?

Weatbrook:

It’s going to be hard to stop me being in the district and listening to people. We already have a network of incredibly active community organizations that I will continue to work with. I will also continue to attend neighborhood events and will welcome invitations to neighborhood meetings to listen to people’s concerns. In addition, I will hold regular weekly office hours in the neighborhoods throughout the district so you can meet with me without having to go downtown to city hall. I want to bring city hall to you.

O’Brien:

I love spending time in the community--whether that is participating in events sponsored by the Fremont or Ballard Chambers or community groups like Sustainable Ballard, stopping to say hello to folks on my bike ride into work or attending community festivals, fairs and meetings. As a citywide Councilmember for the past five years, I pride myself on getting out and meeting with constituents where they are at--in their homes, business and community spaces--and I will continue to do so as my primary focus shifts to Northwest Seattle and District 6.

7. In 2013 voters passed the measure that designates Seattle City Council positions by district. Why do you think the measure is important? And why do you think voters passed it?

Weatbrook:

I think it’s important because it gives voters in a smaller area the ability to hold an individual council member accountable. I think this measure was passed overwhelming because may Seattle residents are dissatisfied with the City Council and how it currently operates.

O’Brien:

Representation is a fundamental principle of our democracy. I think the measure passed because residents want more of a voice in decisions that impact their local community, like transit, new infrastructure and affordable housing. The measure is important because it makes running for City Council more accessible to more people, and it also provides clear lines of accountability between elected officials and the people they represent.

8. How do you think the Growth Management Act has succeeded or failed in District Six?

Weatbrook:

The Grown Management Act has succeeded in bringing more density to Ballard. However, it has failed to require the City Council to protect our neighborhoods or to make sure our roads are not congested. It has also failed to provide affordable housing and enough parks.

O’Brien:

The growth management act is designed to channel our state’s growth into urban areas to prevent sprawl and to focus our infrastructure investments in those same areas to support the growth.

The growth we have experienced in the past few years in unprecedented. The GMA has been successful in channeling that growth into our urban areas and protecting our farmland and open spaces.

The unprecedented nature of the growth we are experiencing in Seattle, combined with the fact that the state and federal governments are reducing investments in basic infrastructure, has left areas like Ballard underserved when it comes to things like public transportation, road repairs and new sidewalks.

With Seattle voters approving Proposition 1 last November, we will see a significant increase in transit service this June throughout District 6 and the entire city, but ultimately we will need High Capacity Transit to serve the needs of the growth in District 6. As a Sound Transit board member, I am working hard to give voters a chance to fund light rail to Ballard on the November 2016 ballot.

9. In your opinion, what are the major concerns for Seattle land use happening in the 6th District? How might you act on these concerns?

Weatbrook:

My concern with Seattle’s land use policies is the lack of common sense urban planning, the failure to coordinate with transportation and the complete disregard for maintaining livable communities. I would require transportation and urban planning to be coordinated throughout the city. No more band- aid approaches to long-term problems.

O'Brien:

How our communities grow to accommodate the new neighbors, while maintaining what is special about our neighborhoods and ensuring that our children can still afford to live here one day is front and center in our land use discussions right now and is a big concern I hear throughout District 6. Some of these issues have been addressed in past legislation such as the micro-housing and small lot legislation I helped pass in 2014. We are currently reviewing how our design review process can be improved and are also working on legislation to make modest changes in development rules within our lowrise zones. I am also a part of the Mayor’s major effort to address affordable housing, which should include the Affordable Housing Linkage Fee among the recommendations coming out of that work. As mentioned above, I have been working on this new tool for the past two years and feel it has the potential to significantly increase our affordable housing production in District 6 and throughout the city.

10.The Director of the Department of Planning and Development, Diane Sugimura, has held the position through three mayoral terms. Some Seattleites say DPD has not been doing their job when notifying the public of land use action. Some say the DPD bends for developers. Do you think the DPD needs new direction?

Weatbrook:

The city’s land use notices fail to fully explain or describe projects, are poorly crafted and force residents to go to city hall to get meaningful information.I hear daily from people who are denied permission to make simple or modest changes to their homes while a developer a few blocks away is allowed to skirt or break the laws with no consequences.

I believe the director has too much authority to arbitrarily interpret rules without proper council oversight.

O’Brien:

The growth Seattle is currently experiencing is unprecedented. Our vision for how we grow needs to be updated to match this new reality. Perhaps more important than who heads DPD is our city’s comprehensive plan. The city is beginning a major update to our comprehensive plan called Seattle 2035, which will set our collective vision for how we grow and guide DPD’s work in the coming years. There will be many opportunities for the public to be engaged in the creation of this Seattle 2035 plan. One of the major focuses of this plan are how we grow equitably, accommodating new growth with a mix of affordable housing types while not displacing people who currently live in our city.

11.Recently the City has shown some action in preserving industrial areas. The 6th District has a heavy maritime/industrial zone. Is it important to preserve these areas for industrial use? If so, how might you do that as a council member?

Weatbrook:

Maritime and Manufacturing (M&M) sector provides 80,000 jobs in the City of Seattle with many in the Ballard/Fremont area. These jobs create more jobs in local restaurants, stores and support businesses. These are good paying jobs that are important for our community and need to be respected.

I also believe we need to better help new businesses locate in our community as other cities around the country do. As your councilmember this will be a priority for me.

O’Brien:

Our industrial lands play a vital role in both preserving our diverse economy and creating a space for innovation and new businesses to get started.

The preservation of industrial lands hits close to home for me. My wife started a business five years ago in an industrial zoned space in Ballard, and today that business is thriving. If industrial land were not available it is unlikely that her business would have succeeded.

I recently rejected a comprehensive plan amendment that would have changed the future land use map for industrial lands in Ballard and Interbay, and I will continue to ensure that industrial lands in our city are preserved, including in the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing Industrial Center.


12. This is a follow-up to the last question:

The Burke-Gilman Trail missing link is a contentious issue that has stagnated in the 6th district. As of now there is an EIS study in the works that will lend to deciding where the trail will be placed. If elected, how would you work to finally conclude this issue? Do you believe placing the bicycle trail through a heavy industrial area poses harm to cyclists and/or also stifle the maritime industry?

Weatbrook:

We need to look at the missing link in a broader context of what would be the safest and best use of the trail. I believe putting the trail closer to where most people live, without crossing multiple arterials, will provide more safety and greater benefit to the community.

I find it appalling that the discussions about completion of the Burke-Gilman Trail have been allowed to deteriorate this far and for so long.

With a long history of coalition building and working with divergent opinions and problem solving, I would have worked towards a more collaborative and we’d have it built today. Since we’re beyond that, I look towards resolving this issue with the court mandated EIS as the starting point.

O’Brien:

I look forward to seeing the results of the EIS study and finally resolving the long past due completion of the missing link of the Burke-Gilman trail. Because people who ride their bikes for commuting, recreation, or errands are similar to people who walk or drive for those same needs and will take the shortest distance to reach their destination, the city must make investments along those routes if we want to ensure everyone that uses the road is safe.

I firmly believe we can design roads and bike/pedestrian infrastructure for the benefit of all without harming our maritime industry. Well-designed infrastructure can make it possible for both industry and people who bike to safely coexist.