Spokane has a problem. We are calling on you, our elected officials, to pay attention. We have spent millions of dollars to identify racial disparities. We have voted for an Office of Police Ombudsman. We have voted against a bigger jail. We have watched as countless people are given bail amounts they cannot afford. We have exhaustively engaged with elected leaders like you about our lived experiences. One thing has been consistent through the years: leaders like you have failed to take specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely, and community-minded action. In Spokane City and County we’ve been paid a lot of lip service, but very little change. To that end, I support the Platform for Change presented by Spokane Community Against Racism. Our Platform for Change includes short and long-term demands for structural, systemic, and cultural change. We know the shape that change must take. This is the product of ongoing work within our community and around the country and is meant to serve as a mandate⁠—it’s up to our leaders to help us all live up to its intent. DEFUND THE POLICE: INVEST IN COMMUNITY * Addiction and Mental Health Services * Housing and Tenant Protections * Remove Police from Spokane Public Schools CHANGE POLICE CULTURE * Disband the Police * De-escalation Training for SPD and County Forces * Demilitarize the Police POLICE OVERSIGHT * No Contract without Office of Police Ombudsman Independence * Mandatory body cameras for SPD and County Forces JUSTICE REFORMS * Jail Reforms * Judicial Accountability * Establish an Office of Civil Rights Policing can no longer be the bandaid we affix to every social wound. Instead, we must build a Spokane where everyone is free to thrive. The time for incrementalism and half measures is past. This community demands transformation. I will continue to demand transformation with statements, in public meetings, at the ballot box, and in the streets. It is up to our leadership to listen, and to do the jobs for which they were elected. The people are watching.