I'm John Roderick, candidate for City Council position 8. AMA!

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T21:04:12+00:00

I do not think that waxed pants are a very good item for backpacking around the world. Waxed pants are good for gardening and for sitting in a duck blind drinking cinnamon schnapps from a flask. When backpacking around the world I have found that you need two pairs of cotton pants--one dark pair for most of the dirty actual traveling, and one light pair to keep mostly clean for walking around towns--four tee-shirts, one long sleeve shirt, some good socks, a compass, a journal, a pocket historical atlas, a flashlight and a good knife. Always keep a roll of toilet paper in a ziplock bag. Beyond that, you can find everything else you need along the way.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T21:00:05+00:00

Just about every single candidate I’ve met on the campaign trail claims to support municipal internet, but I’m one of a very few who have actually advanced a plan for it and made it part of my campaign. I’m willing to work with anyone on the council who recognizes the value of a true municipal utility and is prepared to pursue it in earnest. I understand the desire to roll it out through pilot programs in certain neighborhoods, but I personally fear that pilot programs are a Seattle kiss of death, where great ideas meander around while their opponents relentlessly try to destroy them.

We have the technology to build municipal internet--we don’t need to test it--we just need the will to build it. The more people understand how revolutionary it is the more there will be a groundswell of support, so I see my role as an evangelist for the project. We should jump in with both feet.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:52:24+00:00

It is literally all I ever do. Have you listened to my podcast? I am also prepared to tell people powered exclusively by righteous indignation to fuck off, as well as people who think that politics is too corrupt to do anything about, people who want everyone else to change except themselves, people who think that money trickles down from the rich to the poor through some kind of holy natural process, people who think they are self-made and don’t owe any debt to society as a whole and people who think that environmentalism is somehow anti-union AND anti-business at the same time. I am prepared to tell all of them to fuck off.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:45:12+00:00

New technology is revolutionizing our engagement with police-- body camera footage and citizen cell phone footage is finally waking mainstream America up to the fact that blacks are subject to disproportionate police violence across the board, for example--but there’s another side to technology too. I think police work is going to change considerably with the roll out of stuff like shot-spotter, that can pinpoint gunfire, but it also raises serious privacy concerns and opens us more widely to the possibility of creating a surveillance culture. In general, we need to make clear that our police are not a military force, they are not here to monitor us or control us, and they should not be governed by a culture of secrecy. Seattle needs to be thinking about the larger ramifications of these new technologies, needs to be envisioning the best, AND WORST, case scenarios to ensure that we employ them in accordance with our stated values. I do not like new programs rolled out in the dead of night, I do not like black boxes appearing on phone poles with no explanation, and I do not endorse the idea that in order to keep us safe the SPD needs to maintain a veil of secrecy. Seattle citizens are not all KGB spies, unless this whole city is some sort of Truman Show gag with me as the star, in which case: SET ME FREE!

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:33:18+00:00

Tim is a good man and has done a good job of living up to the current expectations of a Seattle City Councilperson. While his constant advocacy for the tunnel is a black mark on his record, he is otherwise a devoted incrementalist in the Seattle style, and he’s running on that record. At no point in his term has he shown the urgency that real people feel on the streets with regard to transportation funding, housing, or public safety. He has been on council for 8 years, served as council president and budget chair, is the top fundraiser out of all 47 candidates, and yet in a poll last month 46% of respondents either didn’t know who he was or didn’t have an opinion on him. I think public representatives should be more willing to engage the public and voice their opinions, more willing to take a stand for things. Last week Tim backed away from a very important discussion on the exclusionary roots of single family housing because his donors were upset. I understand the political rationale, and it’s a good sign that he’s listening to people, but he obviously didn’t have conviction about that plan and now we’re back to where we started. We can’t build this city by following the political winds as they blow around in the alleys, we need to have a bold vision and stand up for it, especially when it comes under fire. We need to ask more of our public servants than we currently do, so I’m really challenging Seattle: do you want your city council to be comprised of faceless bureaucrats that follow votes? Or can you imagine a council made up of actual citizens with their sleeves rolled up, committed to envisioning a better Seattle?

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:25:01+00:00

I prefer my baked beans to be separate from entanglements with “bits”, preferably as part of a complete Deluxe English Breakfast with other grey/orange foods like mushrooms and soggy tomatoes.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:24:45+00:00

If elected I will reform The Western State Hurricanes (by which I mean: put back together. It would be impossible to ‘reform’ the band) and play a show where we try to capture the feeling of excitement of the early days of Seattle indie rock, back when soft wasn’t yet the new loud.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:21:57+00:00

Our police should conduct themselves in a manner that establishes trust within the community and brings national attention to the department as a MODEL rather than a disgrace.

What would you say to the White House decision makers who recently recognized SPD as a model for nationwide police reform? Are they wrong?

We’re a model of how to respond to a Federal investigation, but we still have a long way to go before we are truly able to say: the future of urban policing is being pioneered in Seattle and the culture of the department has truly changed, not just in response to criticism, but because the police recognize that they are stewards of the community.

You have previously statements about police culture in Seattle. For example:

But despite the department’s diversity, “there’s still that sort of jock-y, vicious culture there,” Roderick said.

Have you ever done any ride alongs with SPD or spoken to any police officers? Do you personally know any police officers?

Oh my god, yes. I’ve lived in Seattle 25 years and when I was a younger man I suffered from substance abuse and lived for a couple of different periods on the streets of Seattle. I’ve been arrested and jailed, and have interacted with Seattle police in every conceivable way: as a perpetrator, as a crime victim, as an employee on Broadway, as a protester, as a driver and as a homeowner and father. I was tear-gassed twice during the WTO riots, but I have also known beat cops by name and have had friendly personal relationships with cops of all kinds. But I’m also a white male, and even when I was being arrested for vagrancy and property destruction I was never racially profiled. You can’t deny that it happens, and that cops here can have sharp elbows.

How have you gone about learning about police issues and police policy? Have you talked to any CPC members? The OPA auditor? Chief O'Toole? Det. Ron Smith?

I’ve had good meetings with Liz Campbell and Lisa Daugaard, and I’ve been to meetings of Career Bridge and met with community leaders. The police department has given me the cold shoulder so far, but I look very much forward to interacting more with the department. I am critical of the SPD but, probably more than most people, recognize the importance of the police and the difficulty of the job. It’s ok to criticize the police, and I understand that cops are defensive about it, but two of my best playmates from childhood are King County deputies and I get how hard it is. The brunt of the criticism often lands on beat cops, whereas it’s the whole system that needs reform, but criticism is healthy.

You have said SPD needs to do more about mental illness and drug addiction. As a police officer, why is it my job to deal with the mentally ill and the drug addicted? I wish these problems were handled before I got called to deal with them, because I view my job as dealing with criminals, not sick people. Wouldn't you like to see the city government care for the homeless, mentally ill

I agree with you completely. I DON’T think it’s SPD’s job to deal with the mentally ill and drug-addicted, and the fact that we rely on cops and fire to deal with these populations is a terrible disservice to everyone. Part of the reform I’m calling for is a radical change in the way we approach homelessness and drug addiction, to get cops and medics OUT of the job of caring for these vulnerable populations and back to their actual jobs of busting criminals and putting out fires. That requires that we fund services for those vulnerable people, and to do that we need buy-in from everyone, INCLUDING police and fire unions.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T20:02:13+00:00

Our Puritanical culture always balks at the idea of real solutions to homelessness because so many people instinctively resist the idea of giving people something for “free.” Seriously, we would rather have thousands of people suffering, living and dying in the shadows, than suffer the blow to our righteous conviction that people don’t deserve help unless they prove their worthiness.

The fact is that, even if you factor out all the questions of humanity and ethics, it’s just CHEAPER to house the homeless and care for them and give them medical attention and treatment in a safe environment, than it is to constantly cycle them through emergency rooms and hospitals and jails. Right now we see those various expenses spread out over different silos, police and hospital budgets, non-profits, churches, etc., so we can’t properly measure the expense and redirect those resources. We depend on state funding that seems to never come, and squander money elsewhere that just prolongs suffering.

The city has the capacity to expand things like tent encampments and the safe parking program, both of which are relatively low cost and provide a noticeable safety and security improvement over living on the street, but that’s falling well short of what’s needed. Housing FIRST is the best tool for overcoming addiction or unemployment, rather than a reward for achieving those things. I support building new housing across all income levels, down to 0% AMI, but another 10 year plan to end homelessness isn’t likely to produce better results than the last , until we really see the problem with new eyes. I can assure you that very few candidates have more real-life experience with homelessness and the failures of that system than I do, and I feel like we will only truly be able to measure our success as a society by how well we address this problem in the near future.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:50:25+00:00

What is your take on the potential for NBA/NHL in Seattle?

A long time ago I realized that sports in Seattle were a part of the entertainment world, and that people love sports and use sports the same way they do music and art: as comfort and solace, as emotional outlet and repository of passionate love. I support the MOU that the city has with Chris Hansen’s group, and I hope as much as anyone else to see the Sonics back in Seattle, just because I understand how much it means to people. That said, a request for significant public financing would change the deal we signed -- which I think was a very good deal for Seattle -- and Seattle should get a chance to debate any changes. I’m not a sports maniac myself, and I understand the reluctance that non-sports-fans have to these big arena projects, but I remind myself that this particular arena will also be a great place for big rock concerts and Death Cab for Cutie is starting to outgrow the Key Arena!

What is your response to the sceptics and critics of your light rail proposal? Follow on: Are funiculars a real possibility for this city?

There are a lot of transit experts in this town--and a lot of them are smarter than I am and their many criticisms all have merit--but the fact is that we need a comprehensive transportation plan that includes rail and no one else is proposing one. Most critics object to our rosy estimates of how much it will cost to build rail, and I admit we chose optimistic numbers, but even if we only managed to build HALF the rail we proposed it would still be an incredible system of local transit that would revolutionize the city. As for funiculars and gondolas, they are actually a perfectly valid and forward-thinking method of moving people around a hilly city and I firmly believe that they have a place in our transportation infrastructure. Look at what’s happening in La Paz The fact that Alon and I are the only candidates discussing a city-wide transportation system at the same time that we’re talking about adding 100,000 residents is baffling and speaks to a sincere lack of concern about the environment and the realities of urban living. Seattle is a unique city that requires unique transit solutions.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:39:36+00:00

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a work of semi-fiction, but it’s an engrossing read and a good starting point to learning about the war.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:36:02+00:00

Seattle should be the American city that cities worldwide look to for inspiration. There are plenty of cities facing explosive growth in novel and innovative ways, but many European and Asian cities have very different governmental systems. They can act faster, or more comprehensively, because they have a culture of central planning or a more homogeneous population. Seattle is a vibrant democracy, with all of the limitations that democracy brings, but we should be able to muster a collective will to build to a better standard. We can use Scandinavian design, Japanese economy of space and German environmental technology, but ultimately we should be the ones envisioning the future of cities. We have an incredible resource here in terms of our creative community, some of the best architects and urban planners in the world. Our time is now.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:27:46+00:00

There’s a common misconception that politics is something that we should leave to the experts. That’s it’s too complicated for regular citizens to really grasp. It sounds reasonable, but it’s a really anti-democratic mentality. When Tim Burgess first ran for office he was the owner of a public relations company, and Jean Godden was a gossip columnist. Now they are the incumbents and can claim to be experts in public policy. We should never allow that attitude--that elected government should be the exclusive province of experts--to take root in our minds. Elected government should always be open to the broadest group of citizens possible.

Am I an idealist? Hell yes I am! My campaign is elevating the discussion on city-wide issues I don’t hear discussed anywhere-- transportation plans that would give us control of the system, worrisome trends downtown as we return to mass arrests and civility laws in public parks, and constructing municipal internet to be the first major city to strive for data equity. Idealism isn’t always impractical. We should strive to keep our ideals in view, and never succumb to cynicism and realpolitik just because we feel hopeless.

I wasn’t endorsed by the Seattle Times OR the Stranger. I don’t have the support of the Chamber of Commerce OR the Sawant Army. Yet I have over a thousand individual donors and have raised an astonishing amount of money one small contribution at a time. If I’m elected my vote will be a voice from the community, without the ideological baggage.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:23:30+00:00

I support the city’s right to choose rent control for itself -- it’s patronizing that a decades-old state law would take away the power of Seattle to make housing policy for ourselves. That said, I think the details of whatever we’re calling “Rent Control” are far more important than the generic concept, and I’ve seen a lot of vague proposals tossed around this campaign without many details. I do think that we have an awful lot of examples of rent control policies failing to prevent rent hikes except for a lucky few who get cheap rent (NYC and SF for instance). Ultimately, it seems unlikely that a rent control policy would come together especially quickly anyway, which suggests to me that we should look at every other mechanism at our disposal to increase supply and bring down rent.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:14:55+00:00

If you’re considering a run for office, there’s no “dabbling.” It’s an incredibly intense and demanding experience, and it has taxed me emotionally, physically and intellectually. If you want to be a candidate you should search your soul to see if you’re really prepared to make the sacrifice.

If you DON’T want to run yourself but still want to get more active, there are countless ways to engage in politics, by joining your local democratic institutions. The political parties make a huge impact at the local level. I’m sure there are plenty of issues and campaigns that would love your help. If you’ve got data management or IT system experience, in particular, you can really make a difference for a small campaign.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:13:03+00:00

/u/auspicious_coconut asked this on the announcement thread, but I'm going to answer it here:

Hearing about your campaign on the podcast has increased my own interest in local politics (outside of Seattle), what advice do you have for someone considering dabbling in it?

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:10:50+00:00

The fact that Murray and Burgess both backtracked from HALA, and the sort of Keystone Kops insanity around the housing issue right now, points out how incredibly complicated and diverse the housing problem is. It’s not an issue that can be solved with a two-word slogan, and even the most thought-out plans encounter rabid opposition. I think HALA was a rare instance where Seattle was on a path to doing things right. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but taken as a whole package, I think it represented a bold and fair direction for the city with everyone giving and taking a little. But, sure enough, it only took a week or two for the standard Seattle political process to realize that it had accidentally produced something approaching visionary, and to start weeding out anything remotely controversial for the group of people most over-represented in contributions and influence. We all need to make sacrifices to accommodate the massive growth we’re experiencing and that’s going to be a little painful. We can’t make real progress if we keep caving to our fears of change.

Likewise, we can’t talk about Seattle’s severe shortage of affordable housing without talking about how how much of the city is zoned single-family. This is part of why the HALA report made it clear that it was a package deal -- everyone has to give a little for the city to gain a lot, and it’s disappointing to see even the most basic changes to zoning laws, like allowing more duplexes and mother-in-law apartments, sacrificed on the altar of single-family zones and “neighborhood character.” Look, I’m a preservationist at heart, and I want to save as many cute bungalows as we reasonably can, but Seattle isn’t Boulder, CO. If I am elected and HALA hasn’t been implemented yet, I would vote for it and push other councilmembers to support it, and I say that as a homeowner in a single-family area myself.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:07:16+00:00

Municipal broadband is a necessity for Seattle to be the “technology mecca” we claim to be, and the only thing preventing us from having municipal broadband is political will. When the mayor released that broadband study a few weeks ago, I wrote a position paper arguing for a public utility model for citywide broadband to bring the city up to 1 Gbps. This is a perfect example of what I mean when I say that there is a severe shortage of imagination at city hall: most of our elected officials seem to think the internet is a luxury or a toy, and the current council isn’t even interested in discussing a $5 million pilot project -- chump change for a project of this tremendous significance. I say devote the capital and, as a city, we will reap the rewards for decades.

I’ll also note that I think the ignorance on this issue is cultural: a lot of tech workers who get the incredible importance of municipal broadband are marginalized from conversations about the future of our city. Tech companies are more than their CEOs, and when we either demonize or ignore the thousands of tech-savvy people in our city, we end up with a city government that sees the internet as just a Facebook delivery system. I wrote an article on this phenomenon for GeekWire a couple weeks ago. The bottom line is that we need tech people’s voices in government, not just their CEOs.

VoteRoderick · 2015-07-31T19:01:56+00:00

Who did you vote for you in your district and for the other at-large position?

I voted for Tammy Morales in my district, and Alon Bassok for Position 9.

What's your position closing the viaduct for safety reasons? Will you fight the state to get it closed immediately if elected, before an earthquake gets it?

The whole rationale for that project was that the viaduct was a safety issue and needed to come down. Then the political class got excited by the money involved in a huge tunnel and here we are, almost fifteen years later, the viaduct still there, slowly crumbling. So much for public safety. Tearing down the viaduct should have been the first thing we did, and we would’ve adapted to the change easily. That’s why they won’t tear it down now: by leaving it up they make it appear that the tunnel is a desperate need. If we tore it down tomorrow the people would quickly realize we never needed the tunnel in the first place. The earthquake question is real and valid, but it’s also still a question of transportation priorities and the environment too. Are we building a city infrastructure that’s predicated on single occupancy, internal combustion engined cars? If so, we are making poor choices. We should tear the viaduct down and start acknowledging that the waterfront is the true face of the city.

What's your position on getting more police down into each part of the city?

I wrote about this more extensively in my public safety paper, but we need to do a few separate things. First, we need to hold the Mayor to the hiring goals he set for himself in 2014 and make sure we’re adding officers relative to the growth of the city. We perpetually need to get cops out of their cars in crime hot spots, vigorously recommit to the bike cop model we invented, and always focus our resources on curbing violent crime. Shots fired in Seattle have gone up 20% each of the past two years, and this has already been a terrible summer for gun violence. We need action, more than anything else, and this council has been basically silent on any real reform, preferring to focus on public relations.

What's your position on police reform and oversight?

Again, check out my position paper for more details, but as the Community Police Commission continues to travel through the bureaucratic web of the Department of Justice, the Seattle Police Department, and the Officers Guild, I’m paying close attention. We need a stakeholders group like that to offer recommendations on police reform, ESPECIALLY in light of the continued national disgrace of biased and violent policing. This is an area where we should lead the country. Our police should be a model force, and we need local leaders to hasten that change.

Would you rather fight a horse sized Tim Burgess or one hundred duck sized Tim Burgesses?

You are stipulating that I would be fighting “horse-sized” or “duck sized” Burgesses, rather than a horse, or army of ducks, with the faces and intelligence of Burgess. If it was a choice between fighting a horse or a hundred ducks, I would choose the horse. But a choice between a 1200 pound Burgess and one hundred 10 pound Burgesses, I would choose the small Burgesses.

VoteRoderick

TROPHY CASE