‘I am here to serve you’: New Seattle City Council president vows to focus on basics of government

Following the swearing-in of a new Seattle mayor, city attorney, and three council members, the Seattle City Council unanimously elected Joy Hollingsworth as its new president Tuesday.

On “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Hollingsworth discussed the issues the council plans to address and how her experience as a Seattle native can help unite a divided city.

“The keys that we’re going to focus on as a body are the basics of government, and that is a shared goal that we have, which is your water, sewer, garbage, roads, parks, these things that we all share as humans across Seattle,” Hollingsworth said. “We’re going to have a really great time governing and shepherding this body of work.”

KIRO host Gee Scott raised concerns about a political divide in Seattle, where many residents are in disagreement on how things will look going forward in comparison to what they used to be. He asked how the new administration plans to navigate the current divide in the city.

“Growing up, I don’t even think we used the word progressive, not one time. It was, we are Seattle. We didn’t use labels,” Hollingsworth said. “We’ve gotten to this moment where it’s, are you conservative? Centrist? Moderate? And I tell people, I’m not going to conservatively fill your potholes, or progressively fix the sidewalk. I am here to serve you as your district representative, and I take those values for district three and bring those as the council president.”

Seattle council president confirms war against drugs at the forefront

In light of the rumors surrounding relaxed drug enforcement policies, Hollingsworth confirmed that the war against drugs in Seattle will remain at the forefront of the new administration’s agenda.

“There’s a lot of angst around what the new people are going to do. What type of vision are they bringing to the city? My stance stays the same. I want to make sure that people are not smoking fentanyl in public, whether that’s around schools, public spaces, or buses,” Hollingsworth said. “The piece that folks are trying to figure out is, how do we deter that?

“I don’t think it’s one size fits all. I think it’s all of the above,” she continued. “The end goal that I think we all share is that we do not want people being able to use drugs on the streets that are very harmful in front of folks and that are jeopardizing people’s health. That is huge.”

Hollingsworth addresses alarming trend for Seattle small businesses

Recent reports revealed that Seattle is the worst city in the country for new businesses, with nearly 60% of businesses in the city not being able to survive their first five years.

Addressing the alarming trend, Hollingsworth stated that small businesses are a vital part of Seattle, and her focus continues to be on expanding support.

“I know that in the past, we’ve been very business-friendly. For me personally, small businesses are the heartbeat of our city. It is something that we take pride in,” Hollingsworth said. “I know that small businesses are struggling with foot traffic. I am going to continue to change my strategy towards how I’m going to elevate that. I’m going to use my platform at all times to elevate our small businesses, because I think I can do a better job at that personally. But my values still stay the same, where we need better support for our small businesses.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.