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Phone
(650) 260-8025
Email
james@james4woodinville.com
Town where you live
Woodinville, WA
Experience (300 characters max)
As the child of a minister and a school teacher, I developed a civic mindset and sense of community early in life. I have been a volunteer with many organizations and look forward to continuing to serve as a city official.
During my term I lobbied for community engagement opportunities to make sure our council stays connected to our constituents. This resulted in the creation of a new role in the city for an engagement coordinator and recurring community engagement opportunities called "community conversations". I'm proud to be part of creating these opportunities, but understand that this still may not be accessible for some and will continue to do direct reach outs to affected schools and communities whenever possible.
I believe our goal should be to reduce and counteract the carbon footprint of the city. Electrifying the city’s fleet of vehicles is possibly one of the most impactful things a municipality can do given the number of miles and amount of idling often done by the city's fleet. If you pair this with solar, you also have a solution that can help reduce long term recurring costs to the city.
I'm proud to have played a part in Woodinville's first climate action plan and look forward to pushing us to help secure climate resiliency.
This question is probably the most difficult on the pamphlet. My mother was a school teacher and my father was a United Methodist minister in Hattiesburg, MS. I have a long history of *service*.
My term in public service over the last 4 years is just an extension of that service with a different lens.
As a council member and Deputy Mayor I have helped my city:
✅ Secure over $20 million in state, regional, and federal grants for parks, roads, and city priorities
✅ Expanded local parks and trails
✅ Launched Community Conversations to foster an inclusive, engaged community
I've appreciated the opportunity to serve in each facet and can only hope to do things that have a meaningful positive impact. In all cases I hope to grow and keep learning. Keep aligning. And always be an ally—unless I am presented with the privilege to be an accomplice.
I believe that the most important thing we can do to solve the housing emergency is to build more housing in ways that sustain affordability in perpetuity. We should use that frame for any long-term vision to reduce the complexities of the unhoused.
Of course we cannot wait until the additional housing is available. While we are working on the solution, there are things we can do. We need to bolster our human services and work with non-profits that can help build bridges that prevent homelessness. When people exit housing it is far too difficult to return. Think of the barrier the requirements of first month rent, last month rent, and a security deposit present when incomes do not keep pace with the price of housing. A sensible thing is to find ways to fill this gap to support families and individuals. And we need to find a sense of urgency to increase our housing supply.
I see a future Woodinville with expanded public transportation that makes the city more walkable, bikeable, and accessible for everyone. Affordability and transportation are regional challenges, but we need to act with urgency as a city. As Woodinville continues to grow, these issues will become more intractable, and the solutions will be more painful, costly, and harder to implement. One step we can take now that I believe would help us as a city is to launch a local shuttle service and creating bike lanes. It would reduce traffic by giving residents alternatives to driving, while also supporting our tourism by improving access and safety for workers and visitors.
