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-Hi. I'm John Lombard,
and I'm running for Seattle City Council
from District 5.
This may be the most important
city council election
in a generation or more.
Our city needs leadership,
leadership that listens,
that engages with communities,
that acknowledges complexity,
but isn't paralyzed by it,
and that isn't guided
by ideology, either.
I've been a community
and environmental leader
in District 5 for 17 years.
I'm the author of the book
"Saving Puget Sound."
I've worked for years
with other community leaders
across the district
on crime, pedestrian safety,
affordable housing,
transit, and other issues.
Homelessness is the dominant issue
of this election.
Our city is facing both a drug crisis
and a housing crisis.
It's the drug crisis,
not the housing crisis,
that's causing the biggest impacts
on our neighborhoods,
from property crime
to needles, trash, and human waste
in our public spaces.
The most affected neighborhoods
tend to be the less affluent ones.
We need to show compassion to them
as well as to the homeless.
I understand this is complex.
I've worked on these issues
professionally as the liaison
for homeless services
to the mayor of Saint Louis
early in my career.
As a community advocate,
I verged expansion of programs
that offer case management
and treatment
as an alternative
to the criminal justice system
where appropriate,
but it's not always appropriate.
District 5 needs a council member
who is directly engaged with
and accessible to our communities,
who is responsive to constituents,
and who is a leader of the city council
on homelessness and other issues.
We haven't had that.
We've paid a price for it,
and so has the city.
It's time for a change.
I'd be honored to receive your vote.
Thank you.