PLEASE READ DISCLAIMER
James Alberson, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
Michael Westgaard, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
Raman Mann, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
Paul Dutton, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
Carmen Rivera, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
Mary Clymer, City Council candidate, interviewed by Sheryl Friesz.
During our conversations, each of the incumbents were asked about either behaviors we’ve seen from them directly or recent press addressing behaviors. These questions were in addition to questions about current & emerging issues facing Renton. Had Ruth Perez engaged with us we would have asked her a similar question and described some of the divisive and arbitrary behavior we’ve seen her exhibit including her behavior on the dias towards specific individuals who were making audience comments, accepting opportunities to engage with the public, and then declining at the last minute, and then engaging however ignoring the topic and speaking instead, for a significant period of time, on unrelated issues to detract from the topic. We would have asked her the last time she engaged and took a stance, on the dias, about an issue facing Renton and its residents.
Unfortunately, though we attempted several times to engage Ruth for Conversations with Candidates, her behavior of not responding is consistent with behavior we’ve directly experienced and dozens of others shared a similar experience with her as well. We hope she’ll engage and be forthcoming at the Candidate Forum on October 14th.
Ruth Perez, City Council candidate.
Disclaimer:
We want to thank James Alberson, Michael Westgaard, Raman Mann, Paul Dutton, Carmen Rivera, and Mary Clymer for joining us at Cedar Stream Studios. Though we invited Ruth Perez, she did not respond to any of our requests.
These videos are un-edited. We are sharing raw footage as we believe it serves all of us better when we are transparent. We also believe that transparency builds trust.
We are also releasing these videos in the order they were recorded: James Alberson, Michael Westgaard, Raman Mann, Paul Dutton, Carmen Rivera, and Mary Clymer. As a result of retrospectives conducted after each conversation, you may notice a shift in the camera’s direction as you watch the conversations or a slight shift in our speaking to each other versus the camera. These videos were also automatically transcribed, and since we are releasing them unedited, you will also find a few typos.
Topics and questions included: crime, safety, the unhoused, transportation, raise the wage, interactions between residents and City Council/the Mayor at City Council meetings, self-evaluations for the incumbents, campaign platforms/goals for the next four years, councilmatic districts, Committee of the Whole meetings, derelict buildings, growth, and construction on Rainier. We also asked about recent press, communication styles, and if you knew then what you know now, what would you do/have done differently (aka retrospectives).
Our hope is that after watching and listening to these conversations, you will have more clarity about each of the candidates; their strengths and non-strengths, and it will help you decide who we really need on Council For A Better Renton!
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