Rich Ryan FAQ
How could someone with no political experience fix all of this?
I’m not a career politician I look at things from a completely different perspective. I ran away from home when I was young and spent years on the streets. I recovered because a community came together to help me get my life back on track. With that experience in my heart, I will lead from the ground up. I bring fresh ideas to old problems; they got us into this mess, together we can get ourselves out.
Let’s talk about your money.
Take a look at the city’s budget, let’s be real for a second: does this budget show exactly where every dollar goes? No, it doesn’t, and that’s the problem. When you can’t follow every dollar, how can you have real accountability? If you elect me, I’ll make sure every penny is accounted for, with in your face transparency, and that it’s working just as hard as you do.
What about homelessness and addiction?
They want to hire 20 more police officers. I want to hire 20 mental health professionals that will respond to issues the police aren’t really equipped to handle. That takes the strain off our police force and allows a social worker to follow each resident; from the streets, to transitional housing, to treatment, to permanent housing and job placement. Give people a fighting chance! You can’t arrest your way out of poverty with laws that make being poor a crime. When people’s needs are met, they are statistically less likely to commit crimes. Housing and public safety go hand in hand.
What about rising housing costs?
Did you know Everett is 51% renter? As the only renter running for mayor, I believe we need to look at places where it’s working. Austin Texas, reduced rents by 22%! How did they do it? They streamlined permitting, changed zoning laws, and cracked down on vacant units driving up prices. We can learn from that! As mayor, I will push for smarter zoning, faster approvals, and real renter protections, so all of us can afford to live here, not just the wealthy.
Do you have a plan for climate change?
I love taking examples from places where things are working. In this case we look at a school district in Arkansas! Batesville Arkansas, a solar array put up by the school district where they were getting electricity bills in excess of $600,000 per year. So they installed 1,400 solar panels and updated all of the district’s facilities with new lights, heating , cooling systems, and windows. They took the savings on electricity and raised teachers salaries! Technology is changing rapidly, Photovoltaic Windows along with traditional solar paneling could save the city millions of dollars per year and when we look at our utility usage according to the 2025 budget, we could definitely use some reprieve in that area.
How about increased funding for schools?
The city needs to fix its money issues that being said schools are the key to reducing poverty. We need to invest in school before we start thinking about lofty downtown projects. By investing in our children we give the future hope. Early learning centers, after school programs, and well funded classrooms, keep kids engaged in some of the most fundamental parts of their development. I vow to not only reinstate the early learning program but continue to push for more school funding, better teacher salaries, and advanced learning opportunities.
Protecting seniors and the disabled
I believe in universal healthcare, and I really love the group Whole Washington! They want to give everyone in Washington state universal coverage, as it shows to save money on healthcare while providing better overall care. We need to get with the rest of the civilized world. While we are working diligently on that we need to have a plan in place for all of this federal funding that is being cut. I would work with state and county leadership to ensure we are able to meet the demands of one of the most vulnerable groups in our community.
What about our Vets!
I am proud to have a good friend over at VFW Post 2100. In talking with them they would like to see A veterans council, and I am here for it! It’s a great idea and I would love to see them have a seat at the table! So for starters I would push for this, also I would put our homeless vets first in line for any housing options the city is able to produce in my tenure.
The City is Broke, how do we pay for it all!?
I think the real question is, how can we afford not to do all of this! We have to take care of business before we start with lofty downtown projects. That starts and ends with housing, getting people off the streets and off drugs. Making sure our seniors and our vets are living in decency, taking care of our children and their education. This is what makes a community strong and as your mayor I would prioritize these things. We need to work with our county leadership to expand our airport, that would bring in a ton of new revenue to this city. We need to lean into our vibrant music and arts community. Everett should be THE destination in Snohomish county and I would use my experience as a music promoter to give our downtown events a serious boost. We also need to tax our corporate landlords when they have vacant units on the market, pushing them to increase the supply and generating tax revenue for the city. These are just a few innovative and new ways we could generate revenue for the city.