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Spokane City Council Candidate Luc Jasmin III Prioritizes Investment, Housing in Northeast Spokane

Courtesy of Luc Jasmin III.

This week we're continuing our series profiling Spokane City Council candidates. We’re focusing on candidates for District 1, which includes most of Northeast Spokane.

We’re introducing Luc Jasmin III.Jasmin owns a daycare and is a member of several boards and commissions, including the Spokane Police Ombudsmen Commission, a board that oversees police oversight in Spokane. He’s also the son of Haitian immigrants.

Jasmin said he’s focused on increasing the supply of affordable housing, but said any changes need to protect current residents’ ability to afford to stay in their own neighborhoods.

“Let’s ensure access and development of communities of opportunity through revitalization with clear protections against gentrification and displacement. I think if we’re able to do those things, we will be in a much better spot coming out of this pandemic.”

He said a few ways to do that include creating land banks to redevelop abandoned properties or assistance to families that are remodeling, or need help weatherizing their homes.

Jasmin also called for more investment in Northeast Spokane.

“We need to remember district 1 was not doing well before COVID. Now is an opportunity to not only recover, but provide much needed infrastructure for my district.

He said those investments should include both housing, and transportation, and more money for the Northeast Public Development Authority, an organization founded to increase economic activity in that region.

He said the city should also examine community impacts from the North South Freeway to Hillyard, Minnehaha and East Central.

Jasmin said he’s also focused on homelessness, saying he’s very supportive of Volunteers of America’s wrap-around service-based approach.

“I believe in low-barrier housing, but again, we need to get to the root. An issue that will require all hands-on deck, and you’re seeing that.”

He said he’s supportive of local, neighborhood shelters. He also called for a better homeless tracking system, saying better data could lead to better outcomes.

Jasmin is running for a seat in Spokane City Council District 1, which includes part of East Central, the Logan neighborhood around Gonzaga University and Hillyard. He is running against Naghmana Sherazi and Jonathan Bingle.

Stories with all three candidates are airing this week and full interviews with each will be posted online at spokanepublicradio.org.

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