As part of our mission to bring focus, support, and momentum behind the Lid I-5 project, we regularly connect with elected officials, as well as candidates running for key roles in Seattle and King County. Our goal is to educate, but also listen, as we seek out a diversity of perspectives and advice on how we move forward together with such a transformative vision for our city core.
This year we reached out to candidates running for Seattle City Council districts that have proximity to the Lid I-5 study areas (districts 2, 3, 4, and 7), all King County Council district races (districts 2, 4, 6, and 8), and Port of Seattle Commissioner races (positions 2 and 5) in the August 1, 2023 primary election. We also reached out a second time, after the primaries, to all general election candidates for City Council positions. We offered them the chance to share their position on Lid I-5 with the public and asked how they would advance the project if elected. We received responses from 20 candidates. Below is an aggregation of responses from both surveys, limited to those candidates that are on the ballot for the general election. To see our earlier post, click here.
Lid I-5 has 501(c)(3) non-profit status through our fiscal sponsor, the Seattle Parks Foundation, and we do not endorse any political candidates. Only candidates with contact information on file were contacted and all candidates were given an equal opportunity to respond.
Note: Responses are uncorrected and unedited.
Candidates for Seattle City Council, District 3
Joy Hollingsworth
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes, I support the Lid I-5 project in concept as an innovative response to meet the growing needs of our city. I am excited about the opportunities that a Lid could create which align with my campaign’s goals and values including the expansion of affordable housing and green spaces and materializing a broader theme of a connected community and city. It is clear that we must be thoughtful planners in developing an infrastructure that will meet our city’s growing needs and future goals. The Lid I-5 project presents enormous benefits to our local economy and provides a solution to meet our city’s population growth, all while creating new jobs, making our city more walkable and aiding freeway congestion. I am excited to hear about the progress the team has achieved in bringing this vision into reality since its introduction to council in 2015 and am happy to lend my support to the project.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
The Lid I-5 project presents a solution to many of our city’s most urgent challenges and a pathway to meet some of our most important goals. I will support the project and advocate for its advancement in city leadership, as well as work with the diversity of stakeholders in the project. As the proposal sits at the border of my district, my constituents will be key stakeholders in the project and must have accessible and transparent leadership to ensure the project’s success. I commit to continuing my work as a community leader and community connector to ensure that those most impacted by decisions have a voice at the table and support the project’s successful implementation.
Alex Hudson
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes! I am a progressive urbanist, and I can clearly see that I-5 has a significant negative impact on the livability, safety, and health of the communities it goes through – especially our dense downtown core. I am on the board of the Freeway Park Association, the first lidded park in the US, and have been a supporter, partner, and Steering Committee member of the Lid I-5 movement for nearly a decade.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
We have to keep Lidding I-5 on the agenda – our state legislative and federal agenda, as part of our Comprehensive Plan, and our long-range vision for downtown and a solution to our housing crisis. I will be a vocal champion, as I have been for years, in keeping this project funded, moving forward, and on the table.
Seattle City Council, District 4
Ron Davis
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes! I’m already involved in Lid I-5’s University District area work, as a follow on to the great work being done downtown. I support lidding the freeway because we need new publicly owned land, because this road ripped the city apart and bulldozed largely BIPOC neighborhoods, and because its a way to filter/protect many residents from particulate pollution.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
Funding, advocacy at the State Level, driving forward public process and discussion, and whatever is needed to get the job done!
Seattle City Council, District 5
ChrisTiana ObeySumner
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes, I wholeheartedly support the Lid I-5 project. I am an advocate of pedestrianizing our streets, and ensuring that there are as many green spaces accessible to the public as possible. Looking at the Canadian model, I believe that we can mix our urban and natural needs, in collaboration with indigenous leaders, to create a project that will better our city.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
I will uplift the voices of this group as well as others advocating for the lidding of I-5, and will fight to ensure that it is included in the upcoming comprehensive plan.
Seattle City Council, District 7
Andrew Lewis
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes. It has the possibility to create an entire new neighborhood from nothing. We absolutely should do this.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
I am currently working with LID I-5 to advance a resolution to kick-start this project in the 2024 Comp Plan.
Bob Kettle
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes, in concept. It will do good things for the city of Seattle in terms of connecting the city. That being said, we need to be aware of all the safety considerations–earthquake and tsunami safety, and safety for drivers in the I-5 tunnel this will create. Ultimately, I think this will be a positive for the city.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
I would make sure to meet with the designers and engineers of this project to support feasibility and design studies that speak to the safety considerations I mentioned above, and I will be a strong advocate for this project once I see those studies!
King County Council District 8
Teresa Mosqueda
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
I support the Lid I-5 project in concept. Highways have a direct and detrimental impact on the health of nearby residents, particularly those already living in historically marginalized communities. My goal for this project would be to add public gathering space and green space, ensuring that folks aren’t harmed and crises aren’t exacerbated. By covering a portion of I-5, we can reduce noise and air pollution but also promote neighborhood connectivity.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
The county has a responsibility to act swiftly to support infrastructure investment, taking into account that equitable development is critical for people who live, work, and play across King County. Seattle’s population is growing rapidly (1.68% annually) with King County’s population growth not far behind (1.45% in the past year). Over the next few years and looking even further into the future, this growth will strain virtually every aspect of our public infrastructure including parks and green spaces. We’ve begun to make up for underinvestment, but it is far from enough. As King County continues to grow, we can support and champion more tax reforms on high earners and the nation’s largest corporations that also call Washington home. We can also continue to explore additional non-tax sources of revenue so long as they do not increase the burden on working families.
At City Council, I’ve championed JumpStart Seattle, a progressive payroll tax that makes historic investments in affordable housing and funds critical investments in equitable development for the city’s Green New Deal. As your King County Councilmember, I will continue to work with community, small business owners, and community-minded, small developers to develop more public green spaces. Creating progressive policy that pursues healing from the trauma that many in marginalized communities hold, means centering their voices, and ensuring they are not only at the table, but defining what the table is in the first place. I will continue to build on this record of allocating resources into community-driven public wellness and projects that ensure healthy and thriving communities.
Sofia Aragon
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes. I’m interested in learning how a lid on I-5 could produce more surface to build what is needed for a growing population such as housing.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
Continue to learn more about this project and how it would contribute to the city, understand funding needed, convene interested communities, and advocate for funding.
Port of Seattle, Commissioner Position No. 5
Jesse Tam
Do you support the Lid I-5 project in concept? Why or why not?
Yes, I do support Lid I-5 project. It is a good way to utilizr our limited land resources and to revitalize our living qaulities in this region.
What actions will you take to advance the project when you are in office?
If the porrt is managed well, we should have extra fundings to support loval public real estate development projects. My top priority is to bring fiscal responsibility and accountability back to the port, so the prosperity can be distributed to the communities in the region.
Lid I-5 