Friends and Neighbors.

I am running for Spokane City Council to tackle our toughest issues. The problems surrounding homelessness, mental illness, drug addiction, rampant crime, poor streets, and our significant housing shortage must not continue to be ignored or downplayed by our City leaders. 

Together, we’re going to eliminate waste and prioritize law enforcement. Seeking justice will be a priority. This means we actually investigate property crimes and we adopt a proactive neighborhood policing model that puts officers in our neighborhoods, our alleyways where the criminals move their drugs and stolen goods, and in our downtown. 

 Together, we’re going to emphasize getting those experiencing homelessness off the streets and back onto their feet. This means adding real accountability measures into the programs to ensure that they work. We should be seeing better results for the millions we're spending. Over and over again, those who have previously experienced homelessness have shared with me that getting back on their feet required a combination of hope and 'tough love.'  So, we must be tough, while compassionate, but I will always put our right to live in a safe community above all else. Our programs and the dollars that fund them should never be used to enable, they should instead be focused on success. 

Together, we are going to make our residential roadways a priority. Anyone who has visited or lives in my district in Northeast Spokane knows the terrible state of our roads. To address this, we need a new residential maintenance program and arterial plan that can get it done for us. We will also have to re-valuate what materials we use for local infrastructure to ensure we are getting the best deal and the most longevity out of these investments.

Together, we’ll enact fiscally responsible budgets, keep taxes low and oppose a city income tax, make Spokane attractive to job creators providing great paying jobs, and we’ll enact desperately needed transparency reforms throughout our city government.

Ultimately, we deserve better than we’re getting.

I entered this race because we need and deserve someone with the energy, the passion, and the understanding to enact these and other common-sense reforms. The only way it’s going to get done is by electing someone who can balance building the necessary relationships, articulate and argue for the best policies, and won’t be afraid to fight like hell for what’s right and what’s ours in District 1. I have a great track record on all of these fronts.

 Again, my name is Michael Cathcart. I’m the commonsense candidate for Spokane City Council District 1. With your vote and your support, we can get our community back on track.

Campaigns are expensive. Reaching thousands of people with our positive message requires resources that we can only raise from friends and neighbors like you.

Please consider making a donation to our campaign today. Any amount that works within your budget -- whether that's $10 or $500 dollars -- will be incredibly helpful as we fight for a better way forward.