SEATTLE — Peter Steinbrueck is a native of Seattle, an architect who served on the city council for 10 years. He envisions the city he wants to create if elected mayor, "A city for all, a city that's just, a city that's compassionate. " He is the son of Victor Steinbrueck, who's credited with saving the Pike Place Market from condo developers.
The park next to the market shares their last name, but Steinbrueck Park also shares a reputation for disorder and crime. How would he handle it? "One of the things I propose is the put dedicated police officers in these parks that are experiencing a high level of street crime." To have enough police Steinbrueck would add 250 officers to the force over the next five years, though he did not give a specific plan to pay for the additional officers.
As mayor, Steinbrueck would face a city struggling with traffic congestion and crumbling roadways, so what would he do to make it easier for cars to get around? "Oh boy, I'm not sure that's a goal of mine to make it easier for a single mode of transportation," he said. Instead, Steinbrueck would emphasize mass transit in all its forms, buses, light rail, extending the streetcar network if the city can afford to. And he says he has the collaborative leadership needed to persuade state lawmakers to let the city raise local taxes for transportation.
Steinbrueck says current Mayor Mike McGinn is wrong to recommend against letting developers buy a city-owned alley so they can build a Whole Foods supermarket in West Seattle. However, Steinbrueck could support using land-use law to keep Walmart out of Seattle. "We should have a fair and equitable process when it comes to applying social policy to any type of development, any type of business. And this mayor has been highly selective in that process."
KIRO
