SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane's Mayor-elect Nadine Woodward sat down with KREM 2's Amanda Roley to discuss the future of Spokane when she takes office.
Below are highlights from her one on one interview.
Q: During your acceptance speech you discussed fixing a lot of issues in Spokane, including homelessness. In your view, what does fixing Spokane's homeless problem mean?
A: Well, it's addressing this issue in a way that being realistic and knowing that we're not going to solve homelessness. But we have to do a better job of managing it. And that means we have to start looking at ways that we can reduce the number of our homeless.
Q: So by reducing homelessness , you would like to address this by seeing people moved into housing and enrolled in services?
A: Well, I want to get treatment first. Because if they can't have a job then they're not going to be able to afford housing.
Q: What is the first thing you would want to do to address homelessness in Spokane?
A: Well, actually the first thing I want to do, Amanda is address public safety. And that was my number one priority. And that is to relocate a police precinct back into the core of downtown. It was moved four years ago to the intermodal station, which is kind of on the outskirts. But I want to move that precinct back to the downtown core, I want officers on foot patrol, I want them engaged with our business owners, people who work downtown and visit downtown. I want to make downtown safe and comfortable again.
Q: How do you foresee working with either Cindy Wendle or Breean Beggs?
A: Cindy Wendle and I align a lot with what our goals are and I think for the most part i think in how we want to address those. So I think she and I would have a very good working relationship. If it's Breean as well, I plan to have a great working relationship with him too. I don't think we agree with everything. But I think Breean is a realistic guy and I think he is very civil and I think we would have a good working relationship.