By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Sofia Aragon is not shy, nor is she dramatic. She chooses her words with poise. The current Burien mayor knows what’s important to her and her constituents, and she intends to carry those concerns forward should she win her bid in November for King County Council District 8.
Aragon’s term as mayor has straddled the worst years of COVID-19, and the recovery. As mayor, she has seen the defunding of the police in King County and the rising complaints about crime and homelessness. She has witnessed inequities in healthcare of minority communities who experienced high rates of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Change takes time. Ask Aragon if she is “soft on crime,” as some constituents have commented, and her eyes will widen in surprise.
“I have priorities in terms of adequate public safety. There are significant shortages.” She has been instrumental in pushing forward initiatives to increase staffing and funds—but a lot of this will only roll out once she has gone. The term for mayor’s office in Burien is just two years, and the mayor is a part of a council—they do not act alone.
“I’ve done work particularly this year to solve a funding shortage that we have with regards to getting officers we need. We’ve been short-staffed.” Aragon worked with the city and the council to develop a ballot initiative and public safety funding that will be seen in the next budget cycle.
“Burien is served by the King County Sheriff,” she continued. “There are a lot of cities and also unincorporated areas that are served by the county. They all need adequate public safety. That’s something that I’ll definitely be advocating for on the Council.” One unincorporated area which Aragon looks after and will continue to look after is Vashon Island, where she “would assure more public participation regarding affordable housing and homelessness, to include “making sure the communities…
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