Candidate Statement From Cassie Franklin For Everett City Mayor

Editor’s Note: On July 7th candidates in the August 3rd Primary for Mayor, Everett City Council District 3 and Everett City Council District 5 were invited to send a statement up to 500 words to MyEverettNews.com introducing themselves to our readers. Not all of the candidates responded but we are publishing unedited statements from those that did reply by our deadline. MyEverettNews.com does not endorse candidates but thinks this is a good way for you to hear directly from the people running. We will do this again prior to the General Election.

Statement from Cassie Franklin for Everett City Mayor.

Since taking office three years ago, I have successfully led a number of bold initiatives to improve our city, including safely leading Everett through the COVID-19 pandemic. I have issued many mayoral directives that have empowered our city teams to make significant progress in Everett’s overall safety, equity, inclusiveness, civic engagement, housing, and fiscal sustainability.

When the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported, I took quick action to slow its spread and protect residents: I was the first mayor to issue a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directive; Proactively collaborated with the Governor’s Office, Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County’s Emergency Coordination Center, and Federal Center of Disease Control to look after the public’s health; Immediately distributed PPE to the city’s first responders; and took necessary action to prevent the spread of the virus.

The pandemic not only took lives, but took financial resources away from our local businesses, the entire local economy, and of course, the City of Everett, with a direct loss of over 13 million dollars by May 2020. My administration was forced to make difficult cuts quickly to protect essential services. As we recover my focus will be on economic recovery and development so Everett’s community can grow back stronger than ever before. As my administration continues to address the city’s longstanding structural budget deficit, I will work to bring back important city programs and work with Everett’s City Council to identify and implement long-term solutions to our budget and provide more stability to our community in the future.

I have spent my career working to alleviate homelessness and advocate for more affordable housing. As the former CEO of Cocoon House, a regional nonprofit organization that focuses on prevention, outreach, and housing for homeless and at-risk young people, I successfully led innovative strategies to house people and connect them to more necessary services and support. Our new Pallet Shelter program is an example of an innovative strategy to house individuals in our community who are chronically homeless and need the safety of a roof over their head to recover. I am proud of the work my administration has done to promote this program and look forward to watching it succeed and hopefully expand upon in my next term.

As we emerge from the pandemic, I look forward to serving another four years in this office. There is still much work to do, but I love our community and am excited to lead Everett forward. If you would like to learn more about my campaign, accomplishments, and priorities, please visit MayorCassieFranklin.com.