By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With two weeks left until the formal filing period for the August 1st primary, seven people have registered campaigns for City Council District 1, and six are actually campaigning.

We’ve already brought you introductory “candidate chats” with five of those six – Rob Saka (February 19th), Maren Costa (February 26th), Phil Tavel (March 5th), Preston Anderson (March 12th), and Stephen Brown (March 19th). Tonight, the most-recent candidate to join – Jean Iannelli Craciun. We wrote on April 20th about her campaign’s “soft-launch.” On Friday, we sat down with her at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse – like the others, this was a half-hour “get to know you” chat:

If you can’t, or don’t want to, watch the conversation, here are the toplines:

We always first ask “Why do you want this job?” Craciun says it’s a “fantastic job .. I love the notion of this job.” She says she was raised in a “community-service family,” growing up working in her family’s funeral home, and grew used to working with people “in crisis.” “My entire life, I’ve been preparing for this job …politics is personal.” She has lived around the country and says she moved her family to Seattle “with intentionality” because of the “amazing community we have here.” Relatives served in city council positions elsewhere, and that inspired her to work on campaigns. Her political interests continued, including a time in Washington, D.C., as a research intern. She was surrounded, she said, by legendary political figures, including then-US Reps. Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro.

She ran a market research company from Alaska, she says, which led to a lot of learning about a lot of complicated isues, perfect grounding for the City Council. She hopes the job would “bring people back in the room together (to) engage” on many issues. There’s lots of research out there – now, she says, it’s time for action.

What’s the best way for people to get involved? Craciun says there are already myriad groups working on a variety of issues and ways to plug in. But “we haven’t done it in so long” because the pandemic left people out of practice. “Teach us again how to be together, how to engage …. Politics as usual is very boring to me, I want things to be lively and exciting …”

But a fair amount of serving on the City Council requires dealing with potentially “boring” matters, we observe (budgeting, for example). Craciun suggests that still can be done in a different way. City departments and leaders should engage and consult the public on the budget before drafting a proposal, not after, for example, she suggests. “The way it’s happening now, I don’t know where the ‘people’ part is.” She also recalls attending a City Council meeting that ended quickly with near-empty quarters. “That has to change … I’m an entrepreneur and a business owner, it’s all about customer service … It hasn’t been our fault, it’s been (the) pandemic,” but she says it’s time for things to change.

She says she’s spoken to some past city councilmembers, to talk about their experiences and advice. “Accountability, transparency, and efficiency” are vital, she says former Councilmember Nick Licata advised, and that, Craciun says, dovetails with her life’s work. She speaks again and again about talking directly with people who are affected by issues and problems.

So we veer into issues, starting with homelessness. She notes that the city is working with the Regional Homelessness Authority to try to make progress; there’s plenty of research, she says, so on that issue too, it’s time to act rather than do more studies. She cites one study emphasizing affordable housing to make progress, and notes that seems accurate, giving the gap between income and housing costs for so many. But “more resilience, more business, more opportunities” are also important components of overcoming hard times, she stresses, and moves from there into musing on what Seattle will need to do if a recession indeed hits. She also goes on to talk about Pioneer Square – now part of District 1 – and how much potential it has.

In a related topic, we ask her thoughts on drug laws, currently a hot topic since the Legislature failed to pass a new law. She thinks enforcement would “never really happen” because of the police shortage. She things the concept of going after the dealers “is the right approach.” She also says Seattle should take inspiration from other cities that have had some success.

Then she segues into the child-care crisis, saying that increasing child-care availability is essential to help people get back into, and stay, in the work force. “I can’t believe we haven’t cracked that nut yet.” The economy is hurt when people aren’t able to go to work because someone has to stay home to care for the kid(s). “To have a thriving workforce,” ample child care is essential.

So what can the city do? Encourage employers to provide child care in the workplace, she suggests. “In close proximity (to jobs), along (nearby) pathways,” if not at the workplace itself. And related issues must be addressed … she notes that there’s lots of child care in South Park and Georgetown, but also environmental issues such as the degraded air quality with which Duwamish Valley communities long have dealt. Child care also is a traditionally low-paid industry, she says, and that must be addressed as well. This is the kind of issue she says she’s dealt with as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion specialist – a specialty for which she says some have looked at her askance, yet one that she says rings a lot to her like “liberty and justice for all.”

And she stresses again that “politics as usual” just aren’t working. “People say nothing is happening. Why is that. Why is nothing happening?” Sitting politicians cite income inequity. “OK, so let’s get on with that” – elevating those stuck at the bottom-rung of the ladder. But it’s not a call for the “savior syndrome,” she cautions – it’s a need for supporting people in their quest to rise. “Everything keeps going back to … the disparity. But it’s not about a handout. It’s about getting everybody onto a level playing field … This is possible. … Some of the things we’ve been dealing with really require action now.” Solutions are known, she repeats – they just need to get implemented.

In closing, she says she’s optimistic – believing our area is one of perennial potential, and that its people are too.

WHAT’S NEXT: Filing Week is May 15th-19th. Once that’s over, we’ll know who’ll be officially on the ballot for the City Council seat that two-term Councilmember Lisa Herbold is leaving. The candidates who file will all be invited to the forum we’re presenting with West Seattle neighborhood groups, preceded by an info fair with groups and organizations, 6 pm June 6th at Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s Walmsley Center (35th/Myrtle).