Q&A with Kent City Council candidates Larimer, Minor

Challenger Todd Minor is running against incumbent Marli Larimer for Position 1 on the Kent City Council.

The Kent Reporter emailed the same three questions to all candidates and gave them one week to respond. They were asked to limit their answers to each question to 200 words or less.

The general election is Nov. 5. King County Elections mailed ballots Oct. 16.

Q: Does Kent need more police officers? If no, why not? If yes, how would you propose to pay for more officers?

Larimer: We absolutely need more officers. On average, a city the size of Kent needs about 16 officers for every 10,000 residents. Kent has just fewer than 11 for every 10,000 residents. As our population continues to grow, so does our need for more public safety. Last year, the City Council approved the addition of three new police officers a year within our balanced budget. Unfortunately, we need more to close the gap in staffing.

Every resident deserves to feel safe in our community, and sadly many do not feel safe. I believe public safety is our paramount duty. I will continue to work with the mayor and the council to find a solution we can take to the voters, which will be equitable for renters, homeowners and business owners alike. Given the urgency of recruiting and retaining police officers in the city, I will absolutely support and approve any reasonable request for funds for more officers.

Minor: Yes, the city of Kent needs to add to its police force. As a growing city, we need more officers to ensure the safety of our citizens. Nothing is more important to our residents than safety. A park is of little value if you cannot utilize it and feel unthreatened.

The addition of officers to our force has not kept up with the growth of our city. We owe it to our citizens to keep them appropriately protected. Residents of Kent do not need more taxes. I am not averse to pulling funds from other areas to fund additional police force. The city needs to examine what are non-critical services and non-essential positions, and reallocate those dollars toward our police department. In the end it doesn’t matter how beautiful a city is and how many amenities it has if the people that live and visit there can’t feel safe.

Q: What is your proposal for reducing the number of homeless in Kent?

Larimer: The issue of homelessness is not a Kent-specific issue, but a regional one. Nor is it an issue I believe we as a city can solve alone, and I feel it’s an issue that can best be addressed in cooperation with our surrounding neighbors.

As a council member, I’ve put on my mud boots and toured homeless camps with the Kent Police Department Special Operations Unit. I’ve learned that the reasons behind homelessness are many and varied, and no single solution can address the entire problem. Some homeless are families who are down on their luck, perhaps due to sickness or loss of employment. Some homeless are the mentally ill, who have fallen through the cracks in society. Some come from abusive households. Many of these people do not realize there is help available and will accept it when offered.

Some homeless are drug abusers and have no interest in improving their lives. This is the issue that seems to impact the most people, as it is this category of homelessness that contributes most to our increasing property crime rate. Mandatory treatment and rehabilitation could be useful here, but we’d need changes to state law and cooperation from the King County prosecutor’s office to make that work.

Minor: There is no simple solution to the reduction of homelessness in Kent. The southwest portion of King County needs to take steps toward a long-term solution that takes into account the needs of all of our citizens.

It is in everyone’s best interest to get our unhoused neighbors off of the streets and out of our parks. We need to pair empathy with accountability. By partnering with local non-profits and faith based organizations, we can provide services to those truly in need. It is equally as important to band together with our South King County neighbors to urge the King County prosecutor to prosecute so called “petty crimes.” If we begin to prosecute the smaller crimes, it will have a deterrent effect on larger crimes and show individuals that Kent is not a place for criminal behavior.

Q: Why should residents vote for you?

Larimer: I hope residents will vote for me because experience matters. Since being unanimously appointed to the City Council, I’ve demonstrated that I’m not afraid to thoroughly research issues and ask in-depth questions of our city staff to ensure our residents are getting the best representation, and that their tax dollars are spent in the most efficient way possible. As a matter of fact, we worked together with Mayor Dana Ralph to pull Kent away from the impending fiscal cliff and have balanced the city budget for the near term without major tax increases.

I am not a professional politician, I am one of your neighbors, a mother of two children in elementary school and a wife. I face the same issues that every Kent resident does: I want a safe community; I want traffic reduction; and I want living- wage jobs available for everyone in our community.

I feel my job is to listen to my constituents and deliver results, and I take my role as a voice for my fellow residents very seriously. My work ethic has earned me the respect of my fellow residents and my peers, and I have earned the endorsement of Mayor Ralph and my fellow council members.

I hope to continue standing up and advocating for Kent families, seniors and small businesses across our community.

Minor: The people of Kent should vote for me because I am one of them. I live here, I raise my family here and I plan on staying here. I want what they want. I want my family to feel safe.

I want my children to have access to a quality education. I want to celebrate our city. I will use a common sense approach to solve the problems that face our city. I am not afraid to make difficult decisions as long as what I do is in the best interest of my neighbors.