Candidate Profile: Neal Black For Kirkland Council, Pos. 5

KIRKLAND, WA — General election ballots will land in mailboxes across King County by Oct. 18, as the 2021 election season enters its final stretch heading into Nov. 2. Dozens of key races are in play this year, including contests for King County Executive, four positions on the Metropolitan King County Council and several local city council races.

As voters prepare to fill out their choices, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles leading up to Election Day.

Neal Black is running to keep his seat at Position 5 on the Kirkland City Council.

Candidate

Neal Black

Age (as of Election Day)

49

Position Sought

Kirkland City Council Position 5

Party Affiliation

Democrat (HOWEVER, city council races in Washington are non-partisan)

Family

Joanna (wife, 48); Bailey (son, 19); Toby (son, 16)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Stanford University, B.S. 1994; Georgetown Law Center, J.D. 1998

Occupation

Lawyer, Technology Transactions, Partner at Adkins Black LLP, 23 years in practice, member of the Washington Bar and the Oregon Bar

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Kirkland City Council, Nov 2019-present
Houghton Community Council, Jan 2018-Nov 2019

Campaign website

www.votenealblack.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I'm seeking re-election in order to help ensure that the Kirkland City Council continues its commitment to thoughtful, compassionate, service-oriented decision-making that builds confidence in city government. My priorities will remain: (1) affordable housing options in vibrant, sustainable, and walkable neighborhoods; (2) relief and recovery for those hit hardest by COVID-19; (3) sensible and responsible planning for growth; (4) parks and open spaces as part of a safe and welcoming community; (5) transportation options that are cleaner, greener, and reduce congestion; (6) available services and support for the most vulnerable in the community, including teens and their mental health; (7) identification and elimination of systemic barriers to equality; (8) inclusivity and equity through purposeful engagement with affected communities; (9) alternative models for responding to crises arising from behavioral and mental health, substance use, and homelessness; (10) common sense measures to reduce gun violence; (11) innovative ideas to reduce carbon emissions; (12) meaningful engagement with residents and business owners, regardless of the issues; (13) sound government decision making; and (14) a Kirkland community that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Inequity.

That includes, but is not necessarily limited to, housing inequity, tax inequity, transportation inequity, environmental inequity, race inequity, and systemic barriers to equality. I'm committed to a Kirkland that is safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all, and inclusivity and equity are a touchstone for me in my decision-making.

In August 2020, I and my colleagues on the Kirkland City Council adopted Resolution R-5434, developed through an intensive public-outreach and planning effort, affirming that Black Lives Matter and establishing a framework for implementing specific strategies – involving transparency, accountability, inclusivity, community dialogue, and funding – that will help ensure that everyone who lives, works, and visits Kirkland feels safe and welcome and, just as importantly, knows they belong. Resolution R-5434 is more than words. It has already formed the foundation for a broad city-wide equity assessment, regular listening sessions between city leaders and community leaders representing our BIPOC communities, the creation of a new community court within the Kirkland Municipal Court, and a wide-ranging Community Safety Initiative that devotes substantial funding and energy to everything from food and shelter services to evaluation of police use of force policies to low-income and moderate-income affordable housing to alternatives to a police response to certain crises in the community, particularly those arising from behavioral and mental health, substance use, and homelessness.

In December 2020, I and my colleagues also adopted the City's first Sustainability Master Plan, which, among other things, establishes policy goals and establishes a framework for implementing various strategies for creating a sustainable future that honors our children, our grandchildren, and future generations. Sustainability includes encouraging the development of vibrant neighborhood centers where walking, biking, rolling, public transit, and other greener and cleaner transportation options are given equal or greater weight than automobiles, thereby reducing vehicle trips, idling, noise, emissions, and congestion.

And, there is growing energy -- especially among many city and county leaders who have a front-row seat to the serious problems associated with Washington's tax system -- for significant reforms to Washington's tax structure to make it more fair, sustainable, predictable, and reliable. Residents of Kirkland and the people of Washington deserve a tax system that reflects our values.

I'm running for re-election because, with these and other initiatives in Kirkland, the region, and the state, the groundwork is laid to achieve significant gains in equity, and I want to see that momentum continue.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I would say the biggest differences between me and my opponent are (1) our preparation to address policy issues and work on legislation and (2) passion -- not just passion for those issues that affect residents and business owners from whom we hear regularly -- but also passion for the myriad of issues and decisions city leaders need to make that affect residents, business owners, and their workers from whom we hear rarely. That includes young people, new families, low- and moderate-income residents, our workforce, tenants in multi-family housing, members of our BIPOC community, and more.

I've learned a lot in the year and a half that I've been a councilmember, and there's nothing more clear than this: The job requires curiosity, thoughtfulness, and compassion concerning all manner of local government decisions and the consequences of those decisions, both intended and unintended. You can't be an effective elected official if your primary focus is on doing what's best for yourself or your closest acquaintances.

That leads me to this: There are many versions of this proverb, and the original author is unclear, but the version I like best is: "A society grows great when people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit." I try to center my public service around that idea.

When Mitzi Johanknecht leaves office, what should the county look for in appointing a new sheriff?

What are some of your priorities for a post-pandemic recovery?

My priorities for post-pandemic recovery are relief and recovery, in the form of grants, low-interest loans, and forgivable loans, for renters, their landlords, small businesses, and their workers. The goals are to keep residents housed, make landlords whole, keep small businesses open, and get people back to work, including the workforce that is a big part of the fabric of our Kirkland community. One of the biggest challenges we, as a city, are working to overcome is the challenge of discovering those hit hardest by the pandemic, before they are in crisis, especially when relief programs are available.

What would you do in office to strengthen preparedness and response efforts for extreme heat and wildfire smoke events?

Climate action. And, one of the most important things local elected officials can do for climate action is make land use and planning decisions that encourage growth and development in and around vibrant, walkable, bikeable, sustainable, affordable neighborhoods that are near current and future services and near current and future transit.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

On February 29, 2020, City of Kirkland became the first "epicenter" of COVID in the US with the major outbreak at Life Care Center in Kirkland and several related deaths. There was no playbook for how to respond to a novel coronavirus about which there was limited and imperfect information. Yet, the City of Kirkland leadership, including both the City Council and the City Staff, did an amazing job making scores of decisions every day for months, responding thoughtfully, compassionately, and nimbly to keep residents, business owners, and their workers safe and healthy and bring relief and recovery to the most vulnerable in the Kirkland community.

Despite that success, members of the City Council, staff leadership, and emergency operations center staff have met as recently as today (October 12, 2021) to discuss what the City of Kirkland learned from the response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and how it can do even better when the next disaster occurs. I'm proud of what City of Kirkland, the Council, and the community has achieved and its seemingly never-ending efforts to improve.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Elected Office:
- Elected member of the Kirkland City Council, Position 5, 2019-Present
- Elected member of the Houghton Community Council, Position 6, City of Kirkland, 2018-2019

Public Policy and Community Service:
- Member of the Board of Trustees, King County Bar Association, 2018-present
- Chair of the King County Bar Association Public Policy Committee, 2014-2018
- Part-Time Lecturer, University of Washington School of Law, 2009-2016
- Adjunct Professor, Seattle University School of Law, 2007-2008
- Member of the Board of Trustees, Washington Ceasefire, 2007-2009
- Law Clerk at the US Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Division, 1997
- Law Clerk at the Environmental Defense Fund, Washington DC, 1996
- Asst. to the Assoc. Director of the Office on Environmental Policy, White House, 1994
- Legislative Intern, California State Assembly, Natural Resources Committee, 1993

Education and Law Practice:
- Partner, Adkins Black LLP, 2007-2008 and 2009-present
- Vice President of Legal Affairs, General Counsel, Square Enix, Inc., 2004-2007
- Vice President of Legal & Corporate Affairs, General Counsel, Emergent Payments, Inc., 2008-2009
- Member of the Washington State Bar, 1998-present
- Member of the Oregon State Bar, 2004-present
- Named a Washington Super Lawyer, 2021, 2020, 2019
- Named a Washington Rising Star, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004
- Juris Doctor, Georgetown University, 1998
- Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, Stanford University 1994

The best advice ever shared with me was:

When it comes to leadership, especially in public service, amazing power comes when you do not care who gets the credit.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Despite all of the challenges faced by the city, state, and nation in 2020 and 2021, the Kirkland City Council and the city’s staff kept doing the hard work of the people of Kirkland:
- We made substantial investments in our parks system, including enhancements to Juanita Beach Park and 132nd Square Park, together with the transformation of the park at Totem Lake
- In September 2020, the Council adopted the final Safer Routes to School Action Plan
- We continued to make progress on key transportation projects, including the Totem Lake Connector Bridge, which will enhance the Cross Kirkland Corridor and increase opportunities for multi-modal transportation
- In March 2020, with the Council's adoption of a Missing Middle Housing Initiative, we took additional steps to encouraging development of the greater mix of housing types needed to better enable all those who live and work here to live here, including long-time residents and newcomers
- Affordable housing is also sustainable housing and contributes to vibrant, sustainable, and walkable neighborhood centers consistent with Kirkland's first Sustainability Master Plan adopted by the Council in December 2020
- We also increased the support Kirkland provides to its human services partners and arts organization
- We celebrated the opening of the new Women and Families shelter in Kirkland, partly funded by the City of Kirkland
- And, we did all of this while maintaining Kirkland’s strong financial position and a top credit rating