Edgewood City Council, Position 3 – Christi Keith

Municipal/Other Questionnaire

Candidate Information

  • Candidate Name: Christi Keith
  • Position Sought: Edgewood City Council Position 3 (Non-incumbent)
  • Home Legislative District: 31st
  • Democrat: YES!

Campaign Information

Part I – Candidate Background

1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience.

I am a longtime strategic leader and organizational change consultant, with more than 35 years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors.

My longstanding passion for making communities better is reflected in my professional, volunteerism, political and civic work, and includes many years of experience in community outreach as well as serving on the boards of directors of non-profit institutions such as the White Center Food Bank and others.

I am co-founder and Board President of the Tahoma Community Land Trust and focus on bringing affordable housing to Pierce County and co-founded People’s Place, a non-profit to serve the houseless. When COVID hit, I started two mutual aid groups called Corona CareMongering to bring supplies, food, and pet food to families.

I began my career in marketing and merchandising for a large wholesaler and have led marketing and retail operations for national companies. My career in organizational change began at Dallas Public Schools and has continued forward, with the latter career focus shifting to non-profits, interim management, and consulting.

My non-profit work includes Executive Director of the Seattle Children’s Museum, where change was authentic and real and always without performativity. Finances were stabilized and membership grew, but more importantly, this successful turnaround saw a revitalization of the Museum’s exhibits and curriculum, as well as a new attention to staff diversity.

Post-Covid, I managed a large grant for COVID food relief for the Equity in Education Coalition.

I am a long-time Democrat and have lived experience from living in the rural South that gives me a unique understanding of rural economic development and life outside of the big city.

2. What prompted you to run for this office? What are your campaign’s most important themes, issues, or priorities (three to five)?

The City of Edgewood is growing rapidly and will need Council Members who understand growth to get ahead of the changes. This means understanding large projects and finances, as well as making balanced but just decisions for our community members.

Post-COVID, our world is a different place. Fixing roads and spending taxpayer money carefully is important, as well as making lives better for our residents.

I will take a balanced approach to infrastructure projects, public safety, and municipal growth – with a hard eye on budgets and spending, while striving for a better quality of life for all.

Economic development for all is more important than ever and gender and racial equity must be a key part of that planning.

Our city deserves leadership that understands our concerns and priorities. I’ll go to Olympia to fight for local schools, quality healthcare, small businesses and rural economic development. I’ll ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely and I’ll be a strong voice for people who want solutions.

3. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?

I am launching my campaign now and intend to knock as many doors as my knees will allow and this means gathering the support of people who want to see Edgewood grow, while retaining its small community charm.

I will have a robust social media presence and will continue my work in the community.

Part II – Local Issues

1. Would you support the establishment of a safe injection site in your district?

Yes

Well run safe injection sites reduce harm, disease and death. I support all harm reduction strategies that are based in science and performance metrics. Attention must be paid to safety and environmental issues and I support increased trash management to avoid abandoned needles.

2. Would you support the administration and police force in your jurisdiction adopting a sanctuary policy, forbidding the sharing of local resources and labor with ICE?

Yes

3. Do you support raising revenue at the city level to expand transit service?

Yes

Low income people, as well as BIPOC and immigrant communities rely on public transportation and it is critical that cities support mobility and access to jobs. I support light rail and high speed rail projects for our region to reduce carbon emissions, traffic, and congestion and support light industry and cargo movement.

4. Should transportation policy discourage the use of private automobiles and encourage the use of public-transit?

Yes

5. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction?

Yes

6. Do you support requiring police officers in your jurisdiction to wear body cameras?

Yes

7. Do you support repealing Tim Eyman’s I-747, which artificially limits property tax increases to 1% per year, regardless of population growth, inflation, and need?

Yes

8. Should government assist individuals, and families who are without sufficient food, shelter, or basic necessities through no fault of their own?

Yes

9. Should the wages paid to workers in Washington State be raised incrementally towards the goal of living wages?

Yes

10. Will you seek opportunities to mitigate the human activities that are contributing to disastrous climate change?

Yes

Part III – Free Response

1. Why are you requesting Democratic endorsement? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?

I have been a community advocate and volunteer for decades and have been very active working to make Washington better. The Democratic Party works on many of the things I care about such as healthcare, equity, and environmental issues.

2. What important local issues have you worked on (or taken an interest in) that you feel aren’t getting enough attention from elected leaders and the media?

Rural Economic Development. Making life better for all is the key to better outcomes in healthcare, joblessness, and homelessness.

3. Please list up to three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.

First and foremost, we must build back our economy from the devastation of COVID. This means job opportunities and working with the legislature on evictions, which increase homelessness in a devastating degree. Economic opportunities and empowerment lead to social justice, as well.

1) Coordinated efforts to provide services between jurisdictions, so that people can stay in familiar surroundings when homeless
2) Housing first policies
3) Treating addiction as disease and providing robust services

4. What are the barriers to economic prosperity faced by residents in your jurisdiction, and how do you plan to address them?

Transportation and connection to the region’s light rail is paramount, as well as adapting to and combatting the service economy that deprives so many of living wage jobs. Good family wage jobs are critical to economic opportunities.

Historically marginalized communities are especially affected by transportation issues and I will support promote spending and projects that provide economic opportunities to working families as well as small businesses.

COVID has devastated many families and we must have an economic recovery plan that invests in repairing the harm of the pandemic. This means investing in jobs and workers.

5. What are the transportation/transit challenges which face this jurisdiction and how would you address them? What role does rail play in your proposed solutions?

I would like to see rail expanded everywhere feasible and believe that fair access to transportation should be a focus of all jurisdictions. Large infrastructure projects that cross jurisdictions must focus on congestion and mobility, while addressing emissions and sustainability.

6. What are your jurisdiction’s environmental issues, which ones are urgent and what will you do to address them?

Retaining open and green spaces and protecting water and wetlands is an important part of managing growth in Edgewood. Expanding municipal sewer and city infrastructure is key to accommodating inevitable growth and traffic.

7. Does your district have a taxing authority or propose levies and what changes, if any, would you seek?

Yes, Edgewood has both and I support these tools for infrastructure, environmental mitigation, and improved quality of life for our community.

By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.

Printed Name: Christi Keith

Date: 4/26/2021

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