Homelessness

Addressing a Growing Crisis with Accountability and Compassion Homelessness in Everett has risen 95% between 2018 and 2025, according to Snohomish County’s Point-in-Time Count. It is up 18% just in the last year despite the overall county results improving by 2%. Missteps like the handling of toxic contamination at Claire’s Place—a facility the city pays a third-party service provider to manage—highlight the urgent need for more oversight and better execution.

My 6 Step Plan:

• Be honest and transparent about what’s working and not working
• Support and increase safe housing for unhoused individuals and families
• Work with service providers to strengthen outreach and provide access to mental health and addiction treatment
• Ongoing assessment with providers of results and outcomes and a willingness to make mid-course corrections
• Eliminate unsanctioned encampments and RV parking in parks, on streets and in alleys
• Annual progress report to the community on the status of Homelessness in Everett

Click here to read my June 2025 Press release on the increase in homelessness in Everett

Public Safety

Supporting Our First Responders & Restoring Police Staffing Everett’s first responders—our police, fire, and emergency personnel—deserve consistent, visible support from City Hall. Our police department is currently facing a critical staffing shortage, with over 20 vacant positions as of June 2025. Recruitment is ongoing, but the current hiring process is slow, overly bureaucratic, and outpaced by more nimble agencies.

The current administration cut the park rangers program at the beginning of the year, removing the eyes and ears trying to prevent unlawful activity in our parks.

My plan to restore public safety:

• Streamline hiring and recruitment to cut red tape and ensure Everett puts its best foot forward to new candidates.
• Position Everett as the top destination for new recruits in Snohomish County by emphasizing our commitment to officer support, training opportunities, and community-oriented policing.
• Support regional training access by backing the expansion of nearby criminal justice training centers so Everett applicants aren’t turned away due to limited capacity in Burien.
• Reinstate the park ranger program by trimming the fat within the administration rather than cutting essential services.

School Safety Everett families deserve to live in a city where children can walk to school safely, parents don’t have to worry about violence, and neighborhoods are safe. Yet today, crime near our schools and public spaces is on the rise, and the current administration has no plan to stop it. This is unacceptable. As mayor, I will take immediate and decisive action to ensure that Everett’s neighborhoods are safe for our children and families. Click here to learn about my directive that outlines specific, actionable steps that my administration will take to put public safety first, especially for children.

Financial Mismanagement

Restoring Fiscal Discipline As former Chair of the city budget and finance committee on the Everett City Council, I helped grow our General Fund to $55 million in 2021. The city projects the fund will drop to $33.8 million by the end of 2025. The city’s own forecast suggests that our general fund balance could be exhausted by 2028 if we stay on this path.

My proposed solutions:

• Truly balance the budget. The city currently balances the books on paper by using temporary measures like voluntary staff reductions and arbitrary cuts (e.g., library closures) that hurt residents as well as depleting general fund balance to cover the deficits.
• Boost revenue through focused economic development with measurable goals and benchmarks to grow organically.
• Implement efficiency practices like Lean Six Sigma to eliminate waste and improve city services.
• Modernize city operations using technology and smart software to streamline processes and reduce long-term costs.
• Reduce reliance on costly outside consultants by empowering in-house staff and conducting regular spending reviews.

Housing Affordability

Streamline the path for smart development It is necessary to increase supply of housing in Everett to mitigate the pressing affordability issues. The lengthy permitting process to build new homes is currently driving away development. Even permits to build a new single-family home are taking up to 18 months to get approved.

My proposed solutions:

• To increase the supply, embrace the middle housing aspects of the updated comprehensive plan, while maintaining the character of historic neighborhoods.
• Streamline the planning department and ensure proper staffing levels and training to speed up the permitting process and make those processes more predictable and timelier.