My name is Nicole Thomas-Kennedy,
and I'm running for City Attorney.
In my years as a public defender,
I witnessed up close how the city
wastes millions of dollars every year
prosecuting BIPOC,
the poor, and the disabled.
We need a sharp pivot away
from these reactive and punitive models.
They clearly aren't solving
Seattle's most glaring problems.
My office will instead focus
on solutions to larger problems
in order to fulfill the promises
of our city charter --
to protect and enhance the health,
safety, environment,
and general welfare of our people.
While the county deals with serious felonies,
the City Attorney only deals
with misdemeanors -- low-level or petty crime.
I have witnessed hungry people
prosecuted for stealing food
and unsheltered people prosecuted
for things like stealing socks.
This is not money well-spent.
The war on drugs is an expensive failure.
Money spent criminalizing drug possession
should go into community-based
diversion and harm reduction programs
staffed by people who best understand
these complex issues of public health.
By isolating and destabilizing people
for petty crime,
the current City Attorney has undermined
the very things that create public safety.
We must stop prosecuting
the vast majority of misdemeanors
and streamline the budget so these wasted
millions can be reinvested
back into the community.
As Seattle's Attorney, I will work
to stop the sweeps
and overturn the apartment ban.
I will aggressively protect tenants'
rights and workers from wage theft.
My office will undertake litigation
that challenges the ban on rent control
and affirmative action.
Seattle should be a national leader
on climate justice.
We must divest all city pensions
from fossil fuel corporations
and break ties with the banks
that fund them.
We must instead invest in
environmentally responsible companies
that will grow as the world changes.
I'm Nicole Thomas-Kennedy,
and I'm running for Seattle City Attorney
because we don't need to choose between
punishment and safety.
The people of Seattle deserve a candidate
with new, yet practical solutions
to our city's most critical problems,
built on a foundation of justice and equity.