Legislative District 5

I believe that every Washingtonian should feel safe in the community where they live. This goal is as nuanced as it is important – as a legislature we must address public safety from many perspectives. I believe we must begin by addressing the root causes of crime to prevent its occurrence in the first place. This includes support for scarcity, addiction, and mental health crises. As part of the public safety committee I have worked on just that – I am proud to have helped pass a measure to invest nearly $800 million in substance-use and mental-health providers, recovery and treatment; housing and employment; and funding for crisis, outreach, and diversion programs.

I also believe that our public safety is benefited by police accountability. We have the intelligence and the resources to keep our communities safe from crime and police misconduct and I will continue to support legislation that works to do both.

I am glad to be doing important work on this issue as a member of both the Members of Color Caucus and the Public Safety Committee. I will continue to champion police accountability – an urgent need in our state – as I did in 2021 and 2022 when I was the prime sponsor for HB 1089 (law-enforcement audits). I also helped lead other bills in the comprehensive package for police reform, such as HB 1054 (police tactics/equipment) and HB 1267 (investigations of police use of force). These bills add consistency, transparency, and accountability to our state’s law-enforcement policies, as well as the clarification bills in 2022 that put our public safety in a better position.

I’ll also champion affordability, housing, healthcare, and education to address the root causes of crime. Public safety requires addressing the scarcity and suffering so many families in our state our facing in this late stage of the pandemic.

I support the above mentioned measures, and look forward to continuing to learn from those who are thinking about how to improve the safety of every community in our state.