Restaurant host Christopher Savage is one of five candidates vying for an open city council seat in northwest Spokane.
He’s currently a host at Pool’s Public House and previously worked as a Lyft Driver.
Savage is also a board member for Spokane Meals on Wheels and has served on various boards for the city, including the salary commission and a water conservation board.
“I’ve pretty much been at all the places needed to research and acquire the information to vote correctly and make the best decisions for this district. Frankly none of the other people that I’ve seen have been to these meetings or have been consistent.”
Savage said he has concerns about the city’s “Housing First” approach to homelessness, and is very supportive of Union Gospel Mission’s policies. In the past, U-G-M has required men to pass a drug test and participate in some programs to continue staying at the shelter.
“I wouldn’t say I’m against housing first, but it can’t just be housing first. You can’t just give someone a house and expect them to restart their life. It’s a whole process that needs to be integrated and has several steps to it rather then giving someone a home to be responsible for.”
Savage said the city needs to focus on hiring more police officers. He said he also supports a current program that pairs police with mental health workers, but said he doesn’t believe those teams should be expanded.
“I honestly don’t want to put mental health professionals in the way of danger when you’re sending people out on these calls. Not to say these people are dangerous, it’s just that the world out there is somethings a harsh reality and place. I don’t want to put these health professionals in the way of harm when it should be our police force who are trained to do that.”
Savage is running for a seat in city council district three which includes West Central, Indian Trail and the Shadle Park area. He has run for city council at least once before.
He is running against Lucrecia “Lu” Hill, Mike Lish, Zack Zappone and Karen Kearney. A full interview with each candidate will be posted online at spokanepublicradio.org and stories with the rest of the candidates air airing this week.
