Seattle City Council election 2019: District 2 candidates on the issues

Taxing businesses / Homeless funding / Tolling streets / More duplexes / Backyard cottages / Police force / Downtown streetcar / Bike lanes / Consumption site / Rent control / Civil rights / Developer fees / Electric scooters / Rental applicants / Golf courses / Showbox demolition / District 2

Are Seattle’s largest businesses paying the city enough in taxes?

Mark Solomon: Yes

Tammy Morales: No

Does Seattle have enough tax revenue to address homelessness?

Solomon: Yes

Morales: No

Should Seattle toll downtown streets?

Solomon: No

Morales: No

Should Seattle allow duplexes and triplexes on more blocks?

Solomon: Yes

Morales: Yes

Should owners of backyard cottages be required to live on-site?

Solomon: No

Morales: No

Does Seattle need a larger police force?

Solomon: Yes

Morales: No

Should Seattle be building a First Avenue streetcar line?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: Maybe

Does Seattle need more bike lanes?

Solomon: Yes

Morales: Yes

Would Seattle benefit from a safe drug-consumption site?

Solomon: No

Morales: Yes

Could Seattle benefit from rent control?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: Yes

Should Seattle’s Office for Civil Rights be made independent from the mayor?

Solomon: No

Morales: No

Should the city allow developers to pay fees in lieu of including affordable apartments in their projects?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: No

Should Seattle allow shareable electric scooters?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: Maybe

Should landlords be required to accept applicants on a first come, first served basis?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: Yes

Should Seattle build affordable housing on one or more of the city’s public golf courses?

Solomon: No

Morales: Yes

Should Seattle be trying to protect the Showbox music venue from demolition?

Solomon: Maybe

Morales: Maybe

District 2: Should the new Chinatown International District light-rail station be sited below Fourth Avenue or Fifth Avenue?

Solomon: “Fourth Avenue in conjunction with Union Station. Even though it would be more costly, it would be less disruptive to Chinatown than the Fifth Avenue option. More study and more input from the community is needed.”

Morales: “The CID is our largest transit hub, yet it was completely unintentional. For ST3, voters relied on a line on a map. We should understand what that means. We’re only at 5% engineering. We should wait to decide the route until more analysis is done to get a better understanding of cost and design.”

District 2: How should the city help a greater number of District 2 residents secure well-paying jobs?

Solomon: “Through partnership with our business community, tech sector and construction industry to create pipelines for employment, internships and apprenticeships for our neighbors, particularly youth, which can lead to union scale wage jobs. Build the conduit between education and employment by fostering career days at middle and high school levels.”

Morales: “Facilitate getting more folks into union apprenticeship programs.”