1 00:00:00,700 --> 00:00:02,168 My name is Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, 2 00:00:02,268 --> 00:00:04,070 and I'm running for City Attorney. 3 00:00:04,170 --> 00:00:05,672 In my years as a public defender, 4 00:00:05,772 --> 00:00:07,374 I witnessed up close how the city 5 00:00:07,474 --> 00:00:09,075 wastes millions of dollars every year 6 00:00:09,175 --> 00:00:10,310 prosecuting BIPOC, 7 00:00:10,410 --> 00:00:12,545 the poor, and the disabled. 8 00:00:12,645 --> 00:00:13,880 We need a sharp pivot away 9 00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:15,815 from these reactive and punitive models. 10 00:00:15,915 --> 00:00:16,983 They clearly aren't solving 11 00:00:17,083 --> 00:00:19,052 Seattle's most glaring problems. 12 00:00:19,152 --> 00:00:20,620 My office will instead focus 13 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,322 on solutions to larger problems 14 00:00:22,422 --> 00:00:24,124 in order to fulfill the promises 15 00:00:24,224 --> 00:00:25,558 of our city charter -- 16 00:00:25,658 --> 00:00:27,460 to protect and enhance the health, 17 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,396 safety, environment, 18 00:00:29,496 --> 00:00:32,032 and general welfare of our people. 19 00:00:32,132 --> 00:00:34,000 While the county deals with serious felonies, 20 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:35,435 the City Attorney only deals 21 00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:38,071 with misdemeanors -- low-level or petty crime. 22 00:00:38,171 --> 00:00:39,506 I have witnessed hungry people 23 00:00:39,606 --> 00:00:41,241 prosecuted for stealing food 24 00:00:41,341 --> 00:00:42,742 and unsheltered people prosecuted 25 00:00:42,842 --> 00:00:44,878 for things like stealing socks. 26 00:00:44,978 --> 00:00:47,213 This is not money well-spent. 27 00:00:47,313 --> 00:00:49,682 The war on drugs is an expensive failure. 28 00:00:49,783 --> 00:00:51,418 Money spent criminalizing drug possession 29 00:00:51,518 --> 00:00:52,652 should go into community-based 30 00:00:52,752 --> 00:00:54,954 diversion and harm reduction programs 31 00:00:55,055 --> 00:00:56,589 staffed by people who best understand 32 00:00:56,689 --> 00:00:59,392 these complex issues of public health. 33 00:00:59,492 --> 00:01:01,061 By isolating and destabilizing people 34 00:01:01,161 --> 00:01:02,195 for petty crime, 35 00:01:02,295 --> 00:01:03,763 the current City Attorney has undermined 36 00:01:03,863 --> 00:01:05,865 the very things that create public safety. 37 00:01:05,965 --> 00:01:07,367 We must stop prosecuting 38 00:01:07,467 --> 00:01:08,868 the vast majority of misdemeanors 39 00:01:08,968 --> 00:01:10,637 and streamline the budget so these wasted 40 00:01:10,737 --> 00:01:11,938 millions can be reinvested 41 00:01:12,038 --> 00:01:13,940 back into the community. 42 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:15,408 As Seattle's Attorney, I will work 43 00:01:15,508 --> 00:01:16,576 to stop the sweeps 44 00:01:16,676 --> 00:01:18,211 and overturn the apartment ban. 45 00:01:18,311 --> 00:01:19,846 I will aggressively protect tenants' 46 00:01:19,946 --> 00:01:21,981 rights and workers from wage theft. 47 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:23,850 My office will undertake litigation 48 00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:25,685 that challenges the ban on rent control 49 00:01:25,785 --> 00:01:27,420 and affirmative action. 50 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:28,788 Seattle should be a national leader 51 00:01:28,888 --> 00:01:30,190 on climate justice. 52 00:01:30,290 --> 00:01:31,724 We must divest all city pensions 53 00:01:31,825 --> 00:01:33,093 from fossil fuel corporations 54 00:01:33,193 --> 00:01:34,461 and break ties with the banks 55 00:01:34,561 --> 00:01:35,528 that fund them. 56 00:01:35,628 --> 00:01:37,330 We must instead invest in 57 00:01:37,430 --> 00:01:38,765 environmentally responsible companies 58 00:01:38,865 --> 00:01:41,234 that will grow as the world changes. 59 00:01:41,334 --> 00:01:42,802 I'm Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, 60 00:01:42,902 --> 00:01:44,504 and I'm running for Seattle City Attorney 61 00:01:44,604 --> 00:01:46,106 because we don't need to choose between 62 00:01:46,206 --> 00:01:47,874 punishment and safety. 63 00:01:47,974 --> 00:01:49,509 The people of Seattle deserve a candidate 64 00:01:49,609 --> 00:01:51,010 with new, yet practical solutions 65 00:01:51,111 --> 00:01:53,046 to our city's most critical problems, 66 00:01:53,146 --> 00:01:57,050 built on a foundation of justice and equity.