Jordan Elizabeth Fisher

Seattle City Council, Position 8

Question

Black wealth remains near zero due to centuries of systemic anti-Black racism and is on a trajectory to only worsen. In Seattle, white wealth is nearly 20x more than Black wealth. What specific actions will you take to close the Black-white wealth gap?

How much of the Black-white wealth gap will you close while in office?
Who are you working with in the Black community to close it?
How will you support investing federal funding directly and specifically into the Black community in the next two years?

Answer

What I've learned repeatedly over the last year is that "Systemic racism" doesn't mean "lots of racists are in the system" . It means that even if there were zero "racists" present, the system would still disproportionately harm people of color. I also recognize that any position of power, will attract those who have narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies. My objective is to challenge the systems that perpetuate this harmful discrimination, and not continue this cycle. Giving communities a voice on how these dollars are being utilized are what's important.

For Federal Relief Funding I had a few ideas:

NO MORE TICKETS or FINES for minor infractions
I'd like to expand access to free internet/phones in areas that are disproportionately disadvantaged by cycles of poverty. Internet is a basic human right according to the UN.
Create a technology council to update outdated technological infrastructure, streamline access to aid, streamline processes related to self-employment, and create a user friendly resource to services the city is supposedly providing.
Create a Public Interface that incentivize participation (still brainstorming on types of incentives), in which community members are fully engaging with their government so that we may get organized in order to cut through a lot of red tape.
Create a community Hospital, Expand access to better Legal services/protections, Health Clinics.
Expand Mental Health and Social Services away from Religious or ineffective non-profits and into alternative treatment programs like plant medicine. For example, Ibogaine has a 50%-80% rate of curing addiction to Heroin and Meth and roots out the direct causes of trauma that led to addiction.
Re-invest in black businesses
Obviously we need to invest in social workers and community policing
Invest/ Expand Pre-K and fund public schools
I'd really like to invest in some of the buildings that are vulnerable to natural disasters. I'm very concerned about the infrastructure and how it would be affected in the event of a natural disaster. Many of the communities in which people of color live sit on a liquefaction zone. In the event of an earthquake, the damage could be irreparable. See updated areas in need of repair on the city website. http://www.seattle.gov/Documents/Departments/SDCI/Codes/ChangesToCodes/UnreinforcedMasonry/ConfirmedURMList.pdf
Invest in planting more tree's to protect communities from getting burnt alive with temperatures rising.
Invest in the arts and a place of expression
Invest in Technology and retrofit our infrastructure in which our city could generate it's own electricity are now available. As an example, the city sewer system could be transformed to provide subsidized or even free utilities such as water (non-drinkable), heat, electricity. This would also create more jobs!! https://www.newscientist.com/article/2114761-worlds-first-city-to-power-its-water-needs-with-sewage-energy/ https://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/informationalkits/infokit_0003_DrainwaterFact%20Sheet.pdf https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/997954472/how-your-hot-showers-and-toilet-flushes-can-help-the-climate
I've heard a lot of backlash about this proposal and I am receptive to those concerned, but I think it would be very helpful to supply the city with publicly funded/free Electric or Solar Powered Golf Carts for those without access to a car. That way no insurance, no fuel cost, minimal expense, durable, winter friendly, and safe especially with an electric battery. You can even attach a snow plow to them during winter. We could block off specific areas and designate golf cart only parking spaces. I find it very difficult to carry groceries home on a bicycle or scooter especially in the snow or rain.

See below Example, but electric. This is $700???? https://www.utvdirect.com/kfi-utv-heavy-duty-plow-kit/?sku=105475-235-072&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0K-HBhDDARIsAFJ6UGht5ya4_gV2n-gnxzstLbUwfHGCJSs6aUuAYHo481dYLFAHB9bCdvMaAsU3EALw_wcB

I am working with every political coalition and committee that finds my ideas useful. I have more ideas and would love to hear your thoughts!

Question

There is a crisis in Black health in this region. In King County: Black babies are more 2x more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies; Black birthing people die 3x more than white birthing people; Black residents die of diabetes at 3x the rate of white residents; Nearly half of all Black adults in King County are food insecure; Black adults are 3x more likely to be living in poverty; Black adults are evicted at 6x the rate of white adults; Black people in King County contracted COVID-19 at 3x the rates of whites; and yet Black community received less than 2% of federal relief funding.

This region boasts some of the most sophisticated, renowned hospitals and medical facilities in the world. The disparities in medical treatment received by Black communities are appalling, with COVID-19 serving as just the most recent flashlight into this dark and disturbing reality. What are your specific plans to invest in Black community health?

In the entire Pacific Northwest (OR, WA, ID, MT, WY) there are zero Black community-owned, federally qualified health clinics. What are your specific plans to support base-building Black community-owned clinics? Specifically, the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom (TCHF), Somali Health Board (SHB), Surge Reproductive Justice (SRJ), African American Health Board and more?

Answer

I've been thinking about this a lot and am still gathering a consensus of opinion. I have plenty of instances of the failings in our medical system. One example being, a friend of mine started coughing up blood and nearly died because he didn't want a bill from the ER... I've specifically witnessed places such as Harbor View discriminate services to people of color and the homeless population. I am in complete agreement that we need to invest in Black Community Health Clinics.

Access to medical care is imperative to a healthy society. I love what the "Tubman Center for Health and Freedom" stands for and their focus!! The timing to get this up and running in Seattle presents a challenge. Unfortunately, our current political infrastructure is horrifically controlled by big pharmaceutical companies.

To date our own Senators have accepted over a million dollars from pharmaceutical companies who continue to raise prices on prescription drugs: https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=H04&cycle=All&recipdetail=S&sortorder=S&mem=Y&page=3

Murray, Patty (D-WA) $1,184,076

Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) $218,566

This is a very sensitive proposal, but giving land back to the Native American's and funding a hospital, in solidarity with the black community would squash these bureaucratic corrupt obstacles as they have a different type of governance. I am in favor of giving them their land back without any strings attached of course and will push for this regardless. The sentiment from less progressive residents in our city, could create legislative delays. I'm of the opinion Seattle would streamline this project, if presented the right way.

Question

Equity means ownership. Thriving Black communities require control and agency over land. We prioritize Black land acquisition as a foundational pillar to our work. As demand for land grows at an unprecedented pace, the rapid gentrification, active divestment from, and exclusion of Blacks from Seattle and King County is important not merely due to the dismantling of historical Black cultural and societal spaces, but also the socio-economic, health, wealth, and education fallout resulting from Blacks being pushed out of the State’s largest economic and cultural engine. What is your specific short and long-term plan to rectify this region’s abysmal Black land ownership rates?

What is your plan to rapidly advance Black home ownership rates?
What is your plan to rapidly advance Black community land acquisition and restore historically Black cultural and societal spaces?
How much will you invest in the: (A) Keiro project - the first entirely Black community led and centered homelessness consortium with wraparound direct services; (B) Red (Black and Green) Barn Ranch - Black liberated farming and youth healing center; (C) Youth Achievement Center - a holistic co-housing complex that is designed to support homeless students, historically underserved students, system-involved youth?
What mechanisms will you put in place to halt gentrification across the state, specifically to stop corporate and private developers from buying up once affordable property and pricing out Black communities and families?
What specific policies will you pass to not only halt gentrification but re-invigorate the Central District as the hub of Black land ownership in Seattle?

Answer

The further along I get in this campaign the more I learn and see so many resources and programs we could be funding to expand that actually work! Why we keep funding programs that keep acting like colonizers and habitually cause more trauma than prevent is absurd.

I really love all of the projects listed above and is exactly what my platform looks to expand in terms of social services. I WOULD 100% prioritize these types of programs and cut funding from all the ineffective ones.

I am still learning what I can do directly as a city official (the manual is 900 pages...) and what I will have to influence. I'd like for the central district to have complete authority over school board policies from trusted members of the community (especially Women who are people of color),

If the central district is the area of Seattle in which the black community wishes to solidify and ground their culture, I would flood that part of the city with resources as mentioned above (I'd like to prioritize solidifying the infrastructure from threats of natural disasters so everyone is safe long term and rebuilding is minimal).

I worked as a mortgage lender for years and have a couple approaches of how to handle this:

We need to make a public option available regulating lead generation in real estate and hold this type of“Cherry Picking” accountable. (I was surprised to find out how many racists thrive in real estate last year).

Blinding listing agents from being able to see what type of Loan programs or Down payments a person is submitting for their offer. – Systemically, people of color have been preyed upon by the credit/lending institutions and often do not have the same access to 20% down, credit, or conforming/conventional loan programs. Most listing agents will not pick an offer utilizing an FHA Loan (due to appraisal requirements, earnest money protections, or ignorance) verses a conventional loan with 20% down.

Offering protections against the discrimination of social class

Allow the community to dictate what type of accountability or services they'd like to handle indiscretions or public safety

Please correct me if i'm wrong, but I see charter schools as a big attributer to gentrification!!

Expand the down payment assistance program and centralize housing resources under one department. Everything is spread out currently.
Fund this expansion by offering lead generation tools to property managers and real estate agents (sometimes they pay up to $28k a month for leads).
Require a higher standard of conduct and integrate machine learning to identify discriminatory patterns
Upgrade their technology as it is from the 80s…
Create a Tenants union to ensure affordability and protections
Fractionalizing or Tokenizing housing equity in which marginalized communities can buy into, have ownership interest, more guaranteed protections, divest out of discriminatory lending institutions, and grow their wealth. Similar to buying a stock on Robinhood except without citadel. Example: Buying $20 of a Google stock vs a full share at $3000 (This could be implemented now).
Rezone districts into communal and Co-op style apartments/condos
Blinding listing agents from being able to see what type of Loan programs or Down payments a person is submitting for their offer. – Systemically, these demographics have been preyed upon by the credit/lending institutions and often do not have the same access to 20% down, credit, or conforming/conventional loan program as a white cis counterpart. Most listing agents will not pick an offer utilizing an FHA Loan (due to appraisal requirements, earnest money protections, or ignorance) verses a conventional loan with 20% down.
Offering protections against the discrimination of social class
City creates bonds to raise money to buy these apartments/condos
Credit reports are not the only means to ensure repayment. In lending we used to use bank statements or a obtain receipts of a consistent payment of a bill when someone did not have credit.
With Blockchain communities would have a voice on what their tax dollars are allocated towards, city projects, developments, which non-profits etc. – THE VIDEO ON MY WEBSITE GOES INTO A LOT OF DETAIL ABOUT WHAT BLOCKCHAIN IS.

My plan for affordable housing as of right now would be to incentivize/re-zone parts of the city focusing on Co-op styles of ownership. In which, someone would be able to buy a house and reside at 50.01% of the cost. The other 49.9% of the equity would be funded in fractional shares of equity from other members of the community that would mimic the role and legality of a Real Estate investment trust (Completely legal in Washington currently). While they may have claim to equity, they would not have claim to inhabit the residence. As the appreciation of the property increases, so does the return on value to the stakeholders. Applying this strategy to an apartment complex, these owners (NOT COMPANIES OR FOREIGN NATIONALS) of equity would be able to set a fair rental price vs a single landlord or company by an equitable voting system. They could assign their own requirements to occupy spaces like an apartment complex, such as removing the need for a credit check, deposits, pet rent. Additionally, renters would now have an affordable way to build equity, wealth, and be able to borrow against or sell in desperate times. Blockchain is imperative to this type of framing in our housing system, as outdated technology and excessive paperwork limit innovation. I have so many ideas, but i'm running out of space.

I also think a great way for the city to give back reparations is either subsidize or remove the requirement for property taxes altogether. Year after year I noticed a trend where houses valuing usually over $600k had astronomically low property taxes compared to houses under this threshold. Auditing these assessed properties would provide substantial funds.

Question

The public education system is anti-Black. It uses harsh discipline policies that push Black students out of schools at disproportionate rates; denies Black students the right to learn about their culture and whitewashes the curriculum to exclude Black peoples' history, contributions, and accomplishments. It pushes Black teachers out of schools in Seattle-King County, and across the country, and spends entirely more money on imprisoning Black youth than on educating and healing them. How will you support pro-Black education?

How will you create and maintain Black community schools?
How will you establish and maintain restorative justice practices in schools to end the school-to-prison pipeline?
What will you do to ensure Black teachers are hired, that current educators receive anti-racist professional development, that schools implement Black studies curricula?
What will you do to ensure the Black community has control of schools that serve Black kids as well as education resources and levy funds that are meant for but rarely make it to Black youth?

Answer

I am a big proponent of Critical Race Theory and think these communities should have complete autonomy over their education system as well as services related to public safety. What I would love to do is provide more education surrounding financial literacy, legal systems, laws, resources available in desperate times, and ensure residents thrives on compassion and pride of their community. I believe this is a big priority in ending these cycles.

As an abolitionist, I truly believe that that victimless crimes should be a matter of civil court and not a criminal one.

I also believe expanding creativity, a form of expression, culture, art, etc is imperative to the healing process. Streamlining access to councilors, social workers, therapists, family specialists could have profound impact on the youth.

I feel like the parents of the children who are enrolled in these schools should be able to dictate the teachers hired in them. Since there isn't much diversity in these school system, I feel it would be a way to protect and persevere cultural history taught .

Question

Already experiencing COVID-19’s economic fallout, conditions for Seattle’s Black community have worsened. Against that backdrop, KCEN and many others in the Black community mobilized to divest from policing and demanded correlating investment in pro-Black public safety solutions that work for us, for the first time in Seattle's history. This movement was driven by Black community and specifically called and continues to call for a reckoning with anti-Black racism (i.e., not a general “racial” reckoning, or a “BIPOC” movement).

Emboldened by the overwhelming support of thousands and thousands of community members, the Seattle City Council briefly upheld their pledge to divest from a percentage of the Seattle Police Department (SPD)'s bloated annual budget and invest modestly in Black communities. It should not have taken such prolonged, sustained community efforts for this change but we acknowledge the small percentage of divestment as a break from decades of votes to expand violent, anti-Black policing.

The work of reshaping this region into one that values all Black lives—and moves away from funding racist policing and towards resourcing true public safety—is overdue and not for non-Black folks, unaccountable gatekeepers or non-rooted folks to dictate. We advocated strongly for monies from the police budget to be invested directly into the Black community and are unmoved on that stance.

What percent of SPD’s budget will you divest from and invest specifically in Black community-led and -centered organizations? What date will you close the Youth Jail in the first year of your term?
Will you join the veto-proof majority of the city council who pledged to defund SPD by half and what will you do to accelerate that commitment becoming a reality?
What specific steps will you take to shift investments from the criminal punishment system towards human services that are controlled, led and center Black community?

Answer

I will absolutely participate in a vote to divest from the SPD. How many robberies go unsolved, how many rape kits are unprocessed, how many murderers are actually brought to justice? Not enough. It seems very apparent that their only role is to criminalize poverty and continue the same cycles of legalized slavery for people of color in our jail and prison systems. I am fairly certain a "true crime fanatic" or mental health professional from the community would have better instincts, wisdom, and motivation to solve some of these indiscretions. After countless hours of research i have come to the conclusion that the police department are a waste of money and have not justified nor demonstrated a reason for high salaries. I have no idea why it has taken this long to implement new examples of public safety response for the community to embolden or get used to. Demonstrating alternative methods that are more effective is key to changing the system as a whole in my opinion. In the interim while figuring out the best system the community can agree upon, I propose enhancing private security which can be held accountable legally until that time.

I am aware that a police contract is going to be re-negotiated soon and I'm very excited to leverage that as a way to accelerate this commitment into reality.

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Seattle City Council, Position 8