1 00:00:00,533 --> 00:00:06,306 ♪♪ 2 00:00:06,339 --> 00:00:10,744 ♪♪ 3 00:00:12,112 --> 00:00:13,780 -Hi. My name's Melissa Hall. 4 00:00:13,813 --> 00:00:15,682 I live in Fremont with my wife and daughter, 5 00:00:15,715 --> 00:00:17,684 and I'm a candidate for District 6 6 00:00:17,717 --> 00:00:19,519 on the Seattle City Council. 7 00:00:19,552 --> 00:00:21,187 I've always wanted to make cities 8 00:00:21,221 --> 00:00:23,023 better environments for people. 9 00:00:23,056 --> 00:00:23,923 During undergraduate, 10 00:00:23,957 --> 00:00:25,058 I studied geography, 11 00:00:25,091 --> 00:00:26,593 and after that, I went on to law school, 12 00:00:26,626 --> 00:00:28,061 where I focused on land-use 13 00:00:28,094 --> 00:00:29,863 and state and local government law. 14 00:00:29,896 --> 00:00:31,197 I've worked to stop the sewers 15 00:00:31,231 --> 00:00:32,899 under Birmingham, Alabama, from leaking. 16 00:00:32,932 --> 00:00:33,867 I've been part of Florida's 17 00:00:33,900 --> 00:00:35,201 emergency management team. 18 00:00:35,235 --> 00:00:37,103 And I've traveled to small towns of Virginia 19 00:00:37,137 --> 00:00:38,271 to enforce floodplain 20 00:00:38,304 --> 00:00:39,506 development standards. 21 00:00:39,539 --> 00:00:40,707 Most of my career has been 22 00:00:40,740 --> 00:00:42,042 in state and local government 23 00:00:42,075 --> 00:00:43,376 because that's where government 24 00:00:43,410 --> 00:00:44,544 has the most direct impact 25 00:00:44,577 --> 00:00:46,346 on people's lives. 26 00:00:46,379 --> 00:00:48,581 I'm running because I believe in Seattle, 27 00:00:48,615 --> 00:00:50,450 the place where my wife and I moved 28 00:00:50,483 --> 00:00:52,252 because here, it felt safe enough 29 00:00:52,285 --> 00:00:54,020 for us to have a child together. 30 00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:55,855 But we can't be that sanctuary for others 31 00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:58,291 if people can't afford to live here. 32 00:00:58,324 --> 00:00:59,592 We need to build more housing 33 00:00:59,626 --> 00:01:00,827 and more affordable housing 34 00:01:00,860 --> 00:01:02,662 to be sure everyone has a stable, 35 00:01:02,695 --> 00:01:04,664 safe place to call home. 36 00:01:04,697 --> 00:01:05,965 We're going to need to do 37 00:01:05,999 --> 00:01:07,333 more housing with less land 38 00:01:07,367 --> 00:01:08,802 and make our neighborhoods 39 00:01:08,835 --> 00:01:10,403 and urban centers more dense. 40 00:01:10,437 --> 00:01:12,505 When we build dense enough, 41 00:01:12,539 --> 00:01:14,674 a big city becomes a group of small towns 42 00:01:14,707 --> 00:01:17,077 that all happen to be next to each other. 43 00:01:17,110 --> 00:01:19,079 To get there, we have to ramp up density, 44 00:01:19,112 --> 00:01:21,648 transportation, and services together. 45 00:01:21,681 --> 00:01:23,416 Cities are also places where people move, 46 00:01:23,450 --> 00:01:24,884 so our transit and roadways 47 00:01:24,918 --> 00:01:26,219 need to account for the needs 48 00:01:26,252 --> 00:01:27,921 of all of the users. 49 00:01:27,954 --> 00:01:30,290 We need efficient information services, 50 00:01:30,323 --> 00:01:31,257 so I support 51 00:01:31,291 --> 00:01:33,193 municipal broadband Internet. 52 00:01:33,226 --> 00:01:34,794 We're also people who want to find a way 53 00:01:34,828 --> 00:01:36,096 to care for all of our neighbors. 54 00:01:36,129 --> 00:01:37,797 I support policies and programs 55 00:01:37,831 --> 00:01:38,998 that respect the autonomy 56 00:01:39,032 --> 00:01:40,266 and agency of our neighbors 57 00:01:40,300 --> 00:01:42,302 who are experiencing homelessness 58 00:01:42,335 --> 00:01:44,938 and prioritize harm reduction. 59 00:01:44,971 --> 00:01:46,139 We also need eviction reform 60 00:01:46,172 --> 00:01:47,173 and more support 61 00:01:47,207 --> 00:01:49,008 for pre-eviction diversion programs 62 00:01:49,042 --> 00:01:50,844 so that people with housing have 63 00:01:50,877 --> 00:01:52,612 a better chance of keeping it. 64 00:01:52,645 --> 00:01:53,580 Most importantly, 65 00:01:53,613 --> 00:01:54,914 it's my belief that cities that 66 00:01:54,948 --> 00:01:56,983 care for their residents best 67 00:01:57,016 --> 00:01:58,918 are cities that plan with, 68 00:01:58,952 --> 00:02:00,887 not for, their citizens. 69 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:01,888 As a commissioner, 70 00:02:01,921 --> 00:02:03,323 I will not pass any legislation 71 00:02:03,356 --> 00:02:05,125 that affects marginalized communities 72 00:02:05,158 --> 00:02:06,626 without the direct feedback 73 00:02:06,659 --> 00:02:07,894 of those communities. 74 00:02:07,927 --> 00:02:08,962 Thank you.