Candidate Statement From Jacob Vail For Everett City Council District 3

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 Jacob Vail for Everett City Council District 3 covering central-western Everett.

I am running for City Council to give a voice back to the people. I aim to grow and maintain equality throughout the City of Everett. By adjusting zoning laws the city can aid businesses, unhoused, and underprivileged people. I plan to increase accessibility throughout the city for disabled people.

The City of Everett voters have requested maintenance of public access roads and parks. They have asked for an improvement in public safety. There is a desire to assist unhoused individuals. I too share in this desire. Businesses and business owners are requesting city assistance to recover from the financial setback the COVID-19 pandemic caused. This gives an opportunity to help local businesses grow. I will address all these issues and more as a member of your City Council. My goal is to open a line of communication between the people and the City of Everett to allow any future concerns to be clearly heard and addressed by city officials.

Ideally, I would like to tackle all systemic biases within the city. I know that would be a near impossible task. The first implicit bias that I would like to commit to reducing or eliminating would be gender identity and sexual orientation biases within employment and domestic matters. The biggest example of this implicit bias that I’ve noticed is people being passed over for employment or housing applications simply due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. As your City Council Member I promise to fight this from within to insure equality for all.

I am a firm believer in the people’s right to a voice. I understand that an essential part of a successful government is listening to the people, understanding the challenges they face, and tackling those challenges head on. Those challenges are not just words on a piece of paper, but they are individual concerns. Our city needs to be accessible both indoors and outdoors. The word accessible to me doesn’t just apply to those of us that are disabled. Accessibility is also needed for people who are often judged simply for being who they are, people of all races and walks of life, and businesses looking to grow. I see this accessibility as the new normal. If you take anything away from the passion that I have for equality it would be this: love many love all. As your council member, I will fight for equality for all, for every voice to be heard, and for the city. I will be bridging the gap between the people that live in Everett and the city government that runs it.

Jacob Vail