Candidates on the issues: Cathcart and Shaw

Tue., Oct. 31, 2023

By Emry Dinman emryd@spokesman.com(509) 459-5472

• Do you support modifying Division Street, including by adding bike lanes, improving pedestrian access and potentially reducing vehicle lanes in favor of a rapid bus route once the North Spokane Corridor is finished?

  • Michael Cathcart Says he supports many of those changes, so long as they don’t come before the freeway is finished. Adds that completion of the freeway will take years, during which officials can fine tune and modify the plan in response to community concerns.
  • Lindsey Shaw Yes. Says the city needs more investment in public transportation and other ways to get around the city, such as biking.

• Revenue from red light and speeding camera tickets goes into the traffic calming fund, which traditionally gets used on physical infrastructure like stop signs and speed bumps. The mayor has proposed using around $2 million of this fund to fill holes in the general fund, specifically for police. Do you support this?

  • Michael Cathcart Not without clear guardrails. Says he would potentially support using traffic calming funds on dedicated traffic enforcement officers, but unless there’s a clear nexus he opposes raiding a dedicated fund to fix a budget problem.
  • Lindsey Shaw No. Believes the fund is one of the best examples of neighborhoods being able to advocate for their own improvements, and raiding this fund to balance the budget shortfall is insensitive.

• Do you support expanding the number of red light and speeding cameras in the city?

  • Michael Cathcart Says he has not been a fan of these kinds of surveillance programs. But, adds that realistically, it is the cheapest, most practical way to enforce traffic safety laws.
  • Lindsey Shaw Possibly. Says she needs to know more information before taking a firm position but that traffic safety is a top issue and it is vital that to find ways to reduce the risk to the public.

• Do you support Measure 1, a 0.2% sales tax on the November ballot that would raise an estimated $1.7 billion over 30 years and, among other things, allow the county to build two new jails?

  • Michael Cathcart Yes. Disagrees that the plan for the money is insufficiently detailed, though believes that proponents have not done a great job of communicating that plan. He notes that the portion of the money that would go to the city of Spokane could potentially hire an additional 70 officers over five years.
  • Lindsey Shaw Not as written. Says there isn’t a clear enough plan and that she is uncomfortable signing a blank check.

• Do you support Proposition 1, which would criminalize camping within 1,000 feet of a school, public park, playground or licensed child care facility?

  • Michael Cathcart Yes. Says it must be made clear that certain activities are unacceptable in Spokane, and city needs to have tools to stop illicit activities such as drug use around children. Also says proposal would give officers the tool to make contact with people engaged in that behavior.
  • Lindsey Shaw No. Says the proposition seems like a distraction from a real solution.