Be an informed voter! Seattle City Council Candidates Forum, 9/24

This Thursday, September 24 from 5:30-8pm, the 18 candidates running for Seattle City Council positions will address pressing local issues at the 2015 Seattle Human Services Candidates Forum. The event takes place at Garfield Community Center.

Find out where your candidates stand at the Candidates Forum.

This year, all nine positions are up for election. However, resulting from a decision passed by Seattle voters in 2013, seven councilmembers will be chosen for 4-year terms based on their district. The two remaining positions will be at-large representatives, serving 2-year terms.

This is the first time Seattle has elected councilmembers by district. With each member representing a smaller, more specific area, the hope is that they will interact more directly with their constituents and be able to address each community’s unique needs.

The Seattle Human Services Coalition provided each candidate with eight questions addressing affordable housing, homelessness, food availability, disabilities services, domestic violence, and more. The candidates’ prepared answers to these questions are available online. Additional questions will be presented at the forum.

The forum will be divided into two rounds, with candidates from four districts answering questions first, and the remaining five districts represented in the second round. Halfway through, all the candidates will participate in a “lightning round,” answering questions quickly with “yes,” “no” or “waffle.” Due to time constraints, there will not be an opportunity for audience members to pose their own questions.

Don’t miss this chance to learn about your district’s candidates, and prepare to make an informed vote that will benefit your community.

Genesis of anti-racism work at Solid Ground

Because racism is a root cause of poverty, Solid Ground works to undo institutional racism both internally at Solid Ground and in the broader community. In this brief video, former Executive Director Cheryl Cobbs Murphy tells the story of how this nonprofit human services agency became committed to anti-racism social change organizing.

Cheryl Cobbs Murphy with Ron Chisom at the 2007 Seattle Human Services Coalition’s awards ceremony

Solid Ground committed to this work in 2001, and over the last 13 years we have:

• Trained staff in Undoing Institutional Racism and cultural competency.
• Formed a multi-racial, staff-driven Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) to organize internally and identify and prioritize anti-racism actions to better serve our clients.
• Engaged staff and community members to recognize and take action against racism in our own lives and communities.

In 2007, the Seattle Human Services Coalition recognized Solid Ground’s anti-racism work, presenting Executive Director Cheryl Cobbs Murphy the inaugural Ron Chisom Anti-Racism Award.

40th Anniversary Timeline, 1984: Building coalitions & advocacy campaigns

1984

In the early eighties, Fremont Public Association helped organize coalitions of providers, starting with the food banks, which joined together as the Seattle Food Committee (SFC). Solid Ground continues to staff and provide leadership to the coalition.

The FPA also played a key role organizing the Survival Services Coalition, which led to the Seattle Human Services Coalition (SHSC) in 1987. SHSC is currently comprised of more than 250 agencies and fights for local, state and federal funding to support programs for people in need. From the early days of leveraging $500,000 in city support for human services, grassroots organizing has led to over $40 million in annual investment.

Molar Majority Campaign: Our Fair Budget Action Campaign led the successful effort to reinstate dental services for adults living on low incomes after the state cut adult dental benefits in 1982. The work to get quality dental services to all Washingtonians continues in our current efforts to promote Affordable Care Act health care coverage.