From left: D7 candidate Bob Kettle, D1 candidate Rob Saka, D7 Councilmember Andrew Lewis, D6 Councilmember Dan Strauss, and Inspire Washington Executive Director Manny Cawaling.
Laura Marie Rivera
Inspire Washington is a statewide organization working to increase public access to the ats, heritage, and sciences. Last week, City Council Candidates from Districts 1, 4, 6, and 7 were scheduled to join together and address the roles of arts and culture in Seattle neighborhoods and economy.
Unfortunately, two candidates had Covid and one had to leave early. The remaining four candidates answered questions from local leaders in the arts and a few members of the audience.
D1 candidate Maren Costa is a designer turned tech worker that wants to solve problems for people, not big tech. Her opponent Rob Saka is a Delridge resident that wants to use his experience in foster care to find a better way forward for the city. Daniel Pak, the singer and songwriter who is opening a new youth recording studio at King Street Station, asked the questions for these candidates.
Gina Cavallo of Taproot Theatre brought the questions for D6 but Dan Strauss was the only candidate that came. He highlighted having offices in both downtown and Ballard so that he could connect with more people and stressed his history of leading cleanups without doing sweeps. He also remarked on the importance of improving transportation equitably.
D7’s Andrew Lewis and Bob Kettle- both Queen Anne residents- were asked questions by a team including Anita Shah of ACT Theatre, Derek Baker from the Seattle Aquarium, and this reporter. Citing both the pluses and minuses of a district that includes the downtown area, Bob Kettle reminded the audience that “the arts are businesses too.” Andrew Lewis cited the city’s extensive efforts to clean up the downtown area and current partnerships to help bring an end to the region’s homelessness crisis.
Inspire Washington’s Executive Director Manny Cawaling also told the audiences about the new “King County Open Doors” program which was proposed by Dow Constantine to enact a 0.1% sales tax to benefit local arts and culture organizations. The bill is co-sponsored by County Councilmembers Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Claudia Balducci and would help create greater access for school children and other community members while supporting the local organizations.