Council Positions 1, 3, 5 and 7 are being voted on this November.
Position 1
Holly Zhang
No response submitted. Contact: vote4hollyzhang@gmail.com, www.votehollyzhang.comJohn Stokes
Sitting council member. No response submitted. Contact: info@johnstokes.org, www.JohnStokes.org
Position 3
Jeremy Barksdale
No response submitted. Contact: campaign@jeremybarksdale.com, www.jeremybarksdale.comStephanie Walter
Contact: Stephanie@StephanieforBellevue.com, www.StephanieforBellevue.comDo you have any direct experience with disability?
Through friends and family I have enjoyed relationships with people who have physical, developmental and intellectual disabilities. I have been inspired by their choices in response to physically limiting life changing events. I have also witnessed the strength and grace of those for whom making it through each day is a challenge. As a Bellevue City Council member, I would champion expansion of services, programs and facilities aligning them with each individual's specific needs. My focus would be enhancing their quality of life by reducing barriers to housing, transportation and recreation.
1 - HOUSING: How would you make affordable housing available to people with developmental disabilities?
Safe housing is fundamental to stability for all of us. Those with disabilities are no different. City, county, state and federal government are called on to do for citizens that which they cannot do for themselves. Bellevue needs incentives to create affordable housing for those with disabilities including multi-family tax exemption, funding through ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing), preservation of existing housing stock and exploring the use of surplus land for affordable housing. As a Bellevue City Council member, I would ask for regular and thorough updates on the creation and expansion of affordable housing to assure we reach our goals.
2 - SHELTER: How would you ensure people with developmental disabilities have a safe place to sleep and stay?
Nurturing, safe and compassionate housing providing services specific to the needs of persons with disabilities must continue to be provided and expanded in Bellevue. There are many small family style group homes in our city. They are woven into the fabric of our neighborhoods providing a home and sense of community. Transitioning people with disabilities out of homelessness and into supportive housing will enrich all of us.
3 - SUPPORTIVE HOUSING: How would you ensure people with developmental disabilities are receiving case management and the support needed to escape homelessness?
We must improve and enhance evaluation and triage of those who are experiencing homelessness aligning the need with the services and settings. Identifying those most vulnerable will spare them harm and indignity. I would support new methods of evaluation following a vulnerability index.
4 - SAFETY: How would you ensure the safety of people with developmental disabilities in police interactions?
Bellevue Police regularly receive diversity and sensitivity training. This helps them understand different population needs so they can compassionately and safely serve them. The safety needs of those with developmental disabilities can be addressed with collaborative efforts of family, community, healthcare, social services and the police. Families and communities benefit from support and education learning how to identify situations requiring police and other first responders.
5 - SAFETY & JUSTICE: Would you support cross-training among professionals in the courtroom, police departments, victim assistance agencies and schools to prepare the justice community for situations involving people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities so they can receive equal justice?
Yes, I would support cross-training to achieve safety and justice for those with intellectual and other developmental disabilities.
6 - ACCESS & ACCOMMODATIONS: How would you ensure access to straws in public areas?
Bellevue does not have a ban on plastic straws and as a council member, I would not support one.
7 - JOBS: What would you do to increase job prospects for people with developmental disabilities?
Bellevue is experiencing a robust and expanding economy. As a City Council member, I would raise awareness of the contributions made by those with with cognitive, ambulatory or independent living disabilities. I would support incentives for opportunities for employment of people with developmental disabilities.
8 - SAFETY: How will you ensure your city's streets, sidewalks and intersections are safe and accessible to everyone?
All new transportation initiatives in a city must be evaluated to ensure they don't adversely disrupt the mobility impaired. The review must include the impact on people with developmental disabilities as well. Bike and scooter share vendors should be required to educate their users on the responsibility to share the road and sidewalk with pedestrians, especially the mobility impaired.
9 - TRANSIT: Do you think Lyft, Uber and other ride-share companies should be required to include wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleets?
The business model for ride shares could benefit from incentives for providing wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleet.
10 - TRANSIT: What will you do to expand transit service and improve reliability?
Bellevue needs to continue to expand and enhance transportation options including transit service in more areas, at more times. An innovative and responsive transit service could be created with existing technology and algorithms.
Position 7
James Bible
No response submitted. Contact: jbible@jamesbibleforcouncil.com, www.jamesbibleforcouncil.comJennifer Robertson
Contact: Jennifer@RobertsonForCouncil.com, www.RobertsonForCouncil.comDo you have any direct experience with disability?
Yes. I have both personal and professional experience. I have family members with various disabilities ranging from severe developmental delays to physical disabilities to mental illness. As a result of this experience, I have been involved with supporting Special Olympics athletes/teams for many years, serving as a backup guardian, and have connected family members with resources for leading a fuller life. My husband and I have been involved with Ski for All (now Outdoors for All) for many years as he was an adaptive ski instructor. As a young attorney, I worked on guardianship issues for people with disabilities to provide better supportive services. In middle and high school I was a member of Sky Club which supported fellow students with disabilities.As a council member, I have worked to make Bellevue more inclusive and accessible for all, including adding a hearing loop system to some public buildings, like City Hall, funding the fully accessible playground "Imagination Playground" at Downtown Park, updating our disability plan, supporting Universal Design in City buildings and parks, and have been advocating to provide education on Universal Design as part of our permit processing. I have supported the creation of a supportive employment program at City Hall. I have also funded affordable housing projects for people with disabilities.1. HOUSING: How would you make affordable housing available to people with developmental disabilities?
Bellevue addresses affordable housing in a number of ways, including land use incentives, offering the multi-family tax exemption, providing funding through ARCH to both build new and to preserve existing affordable housing, providing some direct funding, rezoning church properties for affordable housing when requested, and entering into inter-agency agreements to create more affordable housing. This week, we approved an agreement with Sound Transit to trade a piece of Bellevue property worth nearly $6 million in exchange for creating 80 new affordable units for 60% and below income levels. This got Sound Transit to commit to matching these 80 units. Funding for anything 60% or below is very difficult and requires direct funding. During my time on Council we have significantly increased funding for affordable housing to $1.5m per year (on top of what we had been contributing already). We also have added the multifamily tax exemption and are adding additional incentives for development of affordable housing. This is an important issue that we are continuing to work on.2. SHELTER: How would you ensure people with developmental disabilities have a safe place to sleep and stay?The Eastside cities have been working collaboratively to create more shelters. Bellevue has a low barrier men's shelter and day service center that will be open year starting September 1. This was a 6 month shelter. Last summer, I brought forward a motion to the council to direct staff to work to make the existing winter shelter into a year round operation. Just this month that work has finally come to fruition with the announcement of the work on the year-round shelter being completed in November and the opening of a "bridge" location in September. Bellevue also has a women's shelter run by The Sophia Way that is supported by the City of Bellevue. Kirkland is also building a women's and family shelter and Redmond is building a youth shelter. I have been advocating to work with our Eastside cities to develop a Plan for homeless services on the Eastside. The city is in the process of doing just that.3. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING: How would you ensure people with developmental disabilities are receiving case management and the support needed to escape homelessness?
I would prioritize these services. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities are incredibly vulnerable on the street. This is why I have supported using ARCH money for affordable supportive housing for people in this position. In addition, the new state law that allows supportive housing anywhere that multi-family housing is zoned will help expand this use across the region.
4. SAFETY: How would you ensure the safety of people with developmental disabilities in police interactions?
We have been doing diversity and sensitivity training with all of our departments, including the police. We have also been doing de-escalation training. These all help police recognize what is a true threat and what is not.5. SAFETY & JUSTICE: Would you support cross-training among professionals in the courtroom, police departments, victim assistance agencies and schools to prepare the justice community for situations involving people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities so they can receive equal justice?
Yes. This sounds like a great idea.
6. ACCESS & ACCOMMODATIONS: How would you ensure access to straws in public areas?
Bellevue has not banned plastic straws and I would not support a ban on plastic straws for exactly this reason.7. JOBS: What would you do to increase job prospects for people with developmental disabilities?
Bellevue has a program to bring workers with disabilities into the City workforce. This is called the "Supported Employment Program" and was started in 2016 during my third term on the City Council. This program matches people with meaningful work and provides a great service to the City. The City earned the Governor's public employer of the year award in 2018 due to this program.8. SAFETY: How will you ensure Seattle’s streets, sidewalks and intersections are safe and accessible to everyone?
I have worked steadily to support more sidewalks in Bellevue and better sidewalks in Bellevue during my entire tenure as a Councilmember (since 2009). Bellevue is making significant strides in improving our sidewalk system. We did a complete survey several years ago and are working steadily to implement its findings and projects.9. TRANSIT: Do you think Lyft, Uber and other ride-share companies should be required to include wheelchair accessible vehicles in their fleets?Yes.10. TRANSIT: What will you do to expand transit service and improve reliability?I have been working to improve transit service in Bellevue for the last 10 years, including funding a Transit Master Plan to allow Bellevue to effectively advocate for better transit; supporting the best alignment and implementation for light rail to allow safe, reliable service; increasing funding for transit in my role as a member of PSRC Transportation Policy Board; and am working quietly behind the scenes to explore adding a Downtown Bellevue circulator bus to our system.
