Yes. I worked hard to pass a Complete Streets ordinance in Spokane that requires the city to put in all the elements required in the bicycle and pedestrian master plans any time the city does a major repair project in Spokane. This went a long way toward implementing those plans. But we still have a long way to go toward creating an active transportation network where everyone in Spokane feels safe walking and biking on our streets. I will work to bolster support for our sidewalk infill and traffic calming programs and advocate for funding for important active transportation projects.

Yes. This was a big part of my work at Futurewise but we have lost some ground in Spokane in the last few years, We need to get serious about making infill happen in our urban core where people have access to active transportation, public transit, jobs and essential services. Affordable housing is much less affordable when it is located in places that require a car and a long commute to live there. We need to stop entertaining the notion that we have to choose between affordable housing, the economy and addressing climate change. I will work with local and state partners to create public policy that discourages expensive and environmentally detrimental sprawl while incentivizing development where it makes sense for people and the environment.

Yes . I will work with local state and federal partners to bring green economy jobs to Spokane and support apprenticeship and assistance programs to help workers in affected industries transition to them. Elders and low income populations could be affected by rate hikes for energy and utilities in the future. We need to plan for funding and better coordination of programs that exist to assist them. We also need create affordable, energy efficient housing choices for them.

I think we need a regional approach to coordination, outreach and navigation of services for people who are unhoused. While existing warming/cooling centers are a start, I think they could benefit from regional coordination and links to wrap around services that could potentially lead to medical, and legal help and permanent housing.

As Eastern Washington Program Director at Futurewise I worked on Growth Management Act issues at the City of Spokane, Spokane County, and the Spokane Valley etc. for fifteen years. We spearheaded this legislation and I helped advocate for it for a over decade (it took a very long time to pass). In my experience having it codified as a state requirement goes a long way toward achieving cooperation with local jurisdictions. When we successfully passed the Complete Streets ordinance in the City of Spokane, the Spokane Regional Transportation Policy (SRTC) created their own Complete Streets Policy and other cities in the county were quick to follow suit. I was on the board of SRTC at the time and we also addressed VMT reduction in our Horizon 2040 plan that had bipartisan support. Spokane County and all of the cities within it have a Comprehensive Plan update due in the summer of 2026 where these requirements will be addressed. Much of this work has to be done according to our countywide planing policies with the Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials and public participation. I have over a decade of experiences navigating these processes in our region and I have seen us overcome our differences in the past and create some pretty good plans. Now with a state mandate we can do even better!

The City of Spokane has had multiple iterations of a public engagement effort to create a sustainability action plan full of tactics to meet this goal, but has fallen short on implementation. I think this has been demoralizing for the many volunteers and organizations that have participated in these over the years. We need to incorporate as many of the ideas as are feasible and appropriate in the 2026 Comprehensive Plan update and include it them in Capital Facilities Assessment so resources and program staff are allocated to make the projects happen. Comprehensive plans plan on a 20 year horizon and are updated every ten years so it is a good place to create benchmarks and make course corrections. Transportation is the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions for our state and one of the more obvious strategies for the city is to continue to green it’s fleet of vehicles and continue to invest in and incentivize use of public transportation.

Possibly for low income households. I would be less interested in this idea for more affluent households. And I think we need to be mindful of limitations of heat pumps in extreme cold.

I think some of the most important concepts have already been brought up in previous questions but food waste is one of the top sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. We need to level up our food waste recovery and composting efforts.