ELECTION 2023: A brief and non-exhaustive list of the issues in the Spokane mayoral race (2024)

ByNate Sanford

Other than a shared love of dogs, there isn't much that mayoral candidates Nadine Woodward and Lisa Brown agree on.

The list of disagreements is long, and it can be hard to keep track of it all amid the candidates' attack ads and late-night tweets. Here are a handful of key issues separating the candidates.

CITY BUDGET

Brown says the city's looming $20 million budget deficit is largely the result of the Woodward administration's mismanagement. Woodward says the shortfall is largely the result of inflation and other factors putting stress on cities everywhere, and that her proposed budget has creative solutions that will effectively balance the city's checkbook.

To fill gaps in the police department's budget, Woodward has proposed using money from the city's traffic calming fund —which takes money from speeding and red light cameras, and is traditionally used to pay for infrastructure projects like speed bumps and stop signs. Brown thinks that's a misuse of the fund.

HOMELESSNESS

Woodward is a big supporter of Proposition 1, which would expand the city's camping ban. She argues it will keep children safe. Brown is opposed, and says that telling people where they can't camp will just shuffle people around without solving the larger problem.

Brown thinks the city's 350-bed homeless shelter on East Trent Avenue has been a "humanitarian and financial disaster," and wants to wind it down over the next year and replace it with smaller facilities. Woodward defends the shelter, arguing that it keeps hundreds of people off the streets every night and provides services.

Both candidates support the idea of a regional approach to homelessness, but Brown has concerns about diverse voices being included at the table, and Woodward has concerns about the City Council's desire to slow the project's timeline.

Brown says she would be interested in looking at a safe parking lot program similar to programs in 10 other Washington cities, where unhoused people living in their cars could have a "place with security and services" and be reconnected to housing. Woodward thinks the idea would be unsafe and has latched onto the proposal with campaign signs that read "Hey Lisa, NOT in my lot!"

HOUSING

Brown supports calls for a development moratorium in Latah Valley because of concerns about a lack of fire and road infrastructure. Woodward doesn't support a moratorium, and argues that development can help create infrastructure while restricting development could worsen the housing crisis.

Woodward doesn't support the city's landlord-tenant law passed at the beginning of this year because she's worried about losing "mom and pop" landlords being burdened by more restrictions. Brown supports the law because she's worried about more evictions.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Brown is opposed to county Ballot Measure 1, which would raise the sales tax by 0.2% to fund a new jail and other public safety measures. She says it's a blank check that isn't clear about how the money will be spent. Woodward is a supporter; she says that a new jail is necessary and that the share of money that goes to the city could be used to fund more police.

Woodward thinks "radical" statewide police reforms have tied officer's hands behind their backs. Brown thinks Woodward is deflecting blame for problems she is responsible for.

Brown thinks the Spokane Office of the Police Ombudsman needs to be strengthened and given authority to compel interviews with officers during investigations. Woodward says doing that would result in the department losing officers. ♦