Spokane City Council District 1
About the Race
This is one of three City Council districts in contention in the 2013 election. District one serves the northeast area of the city. Pay for this position is $30,000/year with full benefits. It is a four year term.
The Candidates
Mark Hamilton
- Age:
- 68
Realtor and small business owner. Director and pastor of 1 Body Ministries. Worked in ministry for 28 years. Former police chaplain. Spokane resident since 1987.
Amber Waldref
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 47
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Went to Gonzaga Preparatory School. Majored in sociology and English at Georgetown University. Has a master's degree in environment and community from Antioch University Seattle.
Political experience: Served on Spokane City Council from 2010-2017. Served as a Democratic precinct committee officer. Has been appointed to multiple boards, including the Spokane Housing Authority Board and the Washington State Governor’s 2020 Census Committee.
Work experience: Director of The Zone, a northeast Spokane initiative focused on improving education and battling poverty. Worked with Urbanova, a public-private partnership based in the University District that strives to improve public services. Former development director of The Lands Council, a conservation organization. Former field director of Heart of America Northwest, where she focused on environmental cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site. Helped create Priority Spokane.
Family: Married to Tom Flanagan. Has two children. Sister is Vanessa Waldref, the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington.
Fundraising: Has raised more than $100,000 as of Sept. 27. Prominent donors include numerous labor unions, Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs, Spokane City Council members Betsy Wilkerson, Lori Kinnear and Zack Zappone, former Spokane City Councilwoman Candace Mumm, former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, state Sen. Andy Billig, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Spokane Firefighters Union Political Action Committee and the Win With Women Political Action Committee.
Complete Coverage
Spokane Police Guild contract proposal being modified
Spokane Mayor David Condon is heeding the advice of Spokane City Council members who have pushed him to reopen contract negotiations with the Spokane Police Guild. The mayor and guild agreed to a tentative four-year labor contract last fall, but that deal was rejected by the City Council in November. It was nearly rejected a second time in December before the council opted to delay a vote until Feb. 3.
Hospitals backpedal on request for city ethics probe
Deaconess and Valley hospital officials are abandoning their request for an ethics investigation of three Spokane City Council members who used city letterhead to express concerns about medical staffing levels during an ongoing labor dispute.
Ben Stuckart allowed to assign Spokane City Council duties
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart will soon be handing out duties to the city’s six other council members. The Spokane City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to give Stuckart the power to chose which members serve on what boards.
Stuckart proposes increased authority over city board appointments
With the council majority at his back, City Council President Ben Stuckart is proposing to reinstate rules giving him more authority over which council members serve on what boards. But his recent apparent threat to use that power to remove Councilman Mike Allen from the Spokane Park Board in retribution for opposing a plan to expand council assistant positions into full-time jobs has left some council members uncomfortable with giving Stuckart more power.
Stuckart says police contract proposal needs work
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart says it’s time city leaders renegotiate the proposed labor deal it struck months ago with the Spokane Police Guild. The four-year contract with the city police union was agreed to by Mayor David Condon, and he has stood by the agreement even after it was rejected by the council in November. The deal was reconsidered by the council last month, but council members decided to delay a vote until February.
Spokane city-county dispatch systems outdated, sheriff says
Computer equipment used to dispatch law-enforcement officers in Spokane County is 20 to 25 years old. Replacing that equipment with a 21st-century computer system cannot happen soon enough, as far as Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is concerned.
Spokane to build new fleet service center
For the past 30 years, the city of Spokane has wanted to build new facilities to house its large-vehicle fleet operations in one location. On Monday, the City Council approved a $14.2 million contract to design and build it.
Shawn Vestal: Enforcing sit-lie law would be bigger crime
Supporters of the city’s new sit-lie law said repeatedly Monday night that they were not trying to criminalize homelessness. Starting with City Councilman Mike Allen – who put air quotes around the words “criminalize homelessness” – virtually everyone who testified in favor of the law that criminalizes sitting or lying on city sidewalks emphasized the exact same point: They are definitely, absolutely, totally not trying to criminalize homelessness.
Spokane City Council expands downtown sit-lie law
The Spokane City Council voted 4-3 to toughen an ordinance that makes it illegal to sit or lie on sidewalks in the downtown area during business hours. The Monday vote fell along a familiar political line with council members Nancy McLaughlin, Mike Fagan, Mike Allen and Steve Salvatori casting yes votes.
City Council votes to delay ombudsman discussion
Efforts to define an expanded role for an independent Spokane police ombudsman are going to continue for seven more weeks. The Spokane City Council voted to defer consideration of an ombudsman ordinance and a proposed labor contract between the city and Spokane Police Guild until Feb. 3.
City Council toughens law against sitting on downtown sidewalks
The Spokane City Council on Monday night voted 4-3 to toughen an ordinance that makes it illegal to sit or lie on sidewalks in the downtown area during business hours.
Doug Clark: Ombudsman Lite still lacking in flavor
It’s a big moment at City Hall on Monday night as members of the Spokane City Council plan to vote on Mayor David Condon’s proposed ordinance about independent police oversight. Which essentially amounts to …
Spokane police oversight, contract on council’s agenda
Spokane City Council members will have a full plate of issues as they convene their last meeting of the year on Monday. Mayor David Condon’s proposal to give broader investigative power to the city’s police ombudsman will be one of the top issues.