Todd Sanders: Welcome back to the podcast. We are thrilled and honored to have Kesha Hodge Washington, who is the councilwoman for Phoenix Council District H, newly elected. We're thrilled to have her with us and thrilled that she's in office. Congratulations.
Councilwoman Ke...: Thank you. Thank you so much. Pleasure to be here.
Todd Sanders: It was a big campaign and we're going to want to get into that in a few minutes. But first, I know people got to know you, but for those who haven't, tell us a little bit about yourself and also perhaps something about you that we wouldn't know.
Councilwoman Ke...: A little bit about me. I moved to Phoenix in 1999. It was supposed to be a three-year plan, and here I am 24 years and counting. Fell in love with the city. I'm a lawyer by trade. I have started off my career at...the Court of Appeals. I did appellate clerkship for two appellate judges and then I went to the Arizona Attorney General's office where I did child protective services for some time. My angel wings burnt off and I went into private practice. So, that's a little bit about me. Something you probably won't see on my website-
Todd Sanders: Your bio, maybe.
Councilwoman Ke...: My bio, let's see. I'm a Sun Devil.
Todd Sanders: Good. The Harvard of the West.
Councilwoman Ke...: The Harvard of the West, ASU everywhere. And we're seeing graduates all over. About me, one of my things I to do for fun is archery. I've been doing that, I'd like to tell people, before Hunger Games made it popular. I've been doing that for some time. I'm right-handed, but I learned during the process that I'm left eye dominant when it comes to... So, I had to learn how to operate a bow with my left hand, so that was challenging and fun.
Todd Sanders: Interesting. We're always learning new things.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yep.
Todd Sanders: See. Well, thank you for being here. And I'll just start out by saying thank you for your service to the city. That we all know that this is a tough job and elected officials writ largest, especially in today's environment. It is a hard job, so thank you for stepping up to the plate. Obviously, you've got a lot of plans for what you want to do moving forward. What are some of your top priorities?
Councilwoman Ke...: My top priorities based on what I saw during the campaign trail and kind of what speaks to me, my three priorities are working on housing stock that we have here, so housing, increasing the number of attainable housing. A lot of people spend a lot of time focusing on affordable housing, but I think attainable housing is something that we definitely need... And what I call the missing middle. I mean, there's different guidelines, but I think we need to make sure that more of our work and families can afford a safe place to live.
Todd Sanders: The distinction between affordable and attainable?
Councilwoman Ke...: Affordable for me represents government financially assisted. Attainable means you can sustain yourself as a working individual. That's my Kesha definition.
Todd Sanders: Absolutely. Absolutely. Other priorities?
Councilwoman Ke...: Oh, other priorities. We are well aware that our homeless crisis has gotten a little out of control and I believe we need a more strategic and intentional approach to it, so that's one of the things I want to work on. I think it is something that it wasn't created overnight and it won't be solved overnight, but I think we could make great strides working together. And one of the areas I would love to work with is to bring more private partnerships, including the business community in to help solving that problem because I'll use the example of San Francisco.
We see what's going on in that city right now. I think when you have one element of your community that's not working the right way, everyone tends to pay for it. We see the businesses that have failed as a result of the increase in homeless population and how do we do that in a way that respects the rights of these individuals while making sure that we balance it against the other interests, including the business interests and the interests of regular constituents.
Todd Sanders: Well, and those are certainly big issues and top of mind here in Phoenix for a lot of us, and I am really glad to hear that you're looking at it from maybe a different lens with fresh eyes. I guess that's what I think makes people coming into the system so attractive in terms of the candidacy. Obviously we just had your inauguration, only been freshly minted.
Councilwoman Ke...: Freshly minted. I just made two months on Saturday-
Todd Sanders: Congrats.
Councilwoman Ke...: ... so I can finally say months instead of weeks.
Todd Sanders: At the legislature, when I was on staff, I remember members coming in. It really is a whirlwind. Talk to us about this first two months.
Councilwoman Ke...: The first two months was, I think it was more one, getting my staff in place. Not only myself, learning information, making sure my staff has the information we needed to serve our residents, making sure we continued to engage, keeping up with the city business. And there was a couple of things that came up. I wanted to make sure... I'm a lawyer by trade, so I like to make sure I have as much information as possible before I make a decision. It was a very, at first the phrase I heard a lot was it was drinking from a fire hose. And I was like, that's so cliche, but it actually was very true.
Todd Sanders: Was it really?
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes. It was just information overload and I'm still a highlighter type of person, so still like to read and make sure I take notes and make sure I understand what's going on. From that perspective, it was, I'll equate it to trial preparation in a very much condensed format for me.
Todd Sanders: I think one of the benefits too at the city level is the staff is so good, they have good tenure and their knowledge is so deep that you can really rely on them in terms of some of these questions.
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct. I did rely on them for a lot of questions and some of it I wanted to understand from my own perspective of, I know that the relay of information can be guided based on who is the person conveying the information and not that I don't trust the information being given to me, I just want to make sure I understand it fully.
Todd Sanders: Sure, absolutely. When we talked about District Eight, give us the metes and bounds of District Eight, which I'm sure, especially after the campaign you're intimately familiar with.
Councilwoman Ke...: I'm intimately familiar with it. We start as far west as Levine, so you can start at Southern and take that all the way to the South Mountain Freeway. Sorry, South Mountain, the actual park. Then we're going to head east, so you include what is now South Mountain, South Phoenix area. Goes north now to the airport where we take all the way to about 44th Street. Take that all the way north-
Todd Sanders: Catch the edge of the airport.
Councilwoman Ke...: No, I can encumber the entire-
Todd Sanders: Okay, yes.
Councilwoman Ke...: Take that up to about Thomas, so we have the Arcadia Light area, I include that as well. And then you head back west to about Third Street and you come on down, so I include some of downtown. It's a very diverse, varied district.
Todd Sanders: I was about to say, you can't be more than diverse than that.
Councilwoman Ke...: No, it's a great mix. I mean, it helps me when I'm looking at situations not to look at it just as one singular pocket because literally my district represents a smattering of our community, of our city, and it's like what is best for our city is something I have to always look at.
Todd Sanders: Right. You've got suburban, you've got agricultural, you've got an airport, and you've got urban.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes.
Todd Sanders: How do you manage all of that? I mean, a lot of miles I'm assuming on your car and a lot of meeting with constituents as you go.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes. And it's about making sure I plug in, I stay plugged in with the variety of the neighborhood associations and the block watch and understanding what's important to them because I've learned quickly that there is no one solution that fits all. So, what might be important might not be as important for the other part of the district. And it's about, okay, well I hear this concern, so I have to make sure to integrate as many concerns into finding the right solution.
Todd Sanders: And I know that you've been very vocal in terms of the Phoenix Go Bond project.
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct.
Todd Sanders: You want to talk to us a little bit about that and why it's important for the business community?
Councilwoman Ke...: Like I said before, I think it's important to the business community because if one segment of our population or community is not working the right way or it's slacking, everybody feels the consequences of it. And the Go Bond, I'm excited to be a co-chair in that initiative. From a campaign standpoint, it's a $500 million investment in our city and it's much needed and it covers a variety of issues. We can start off with the community safety components of it. It includes the expansion of the community assistance program, it provides for a new precinct and it provides for fire upgrades to our fire station.
Todd Sanders: There is sort of a delay issue, isn't there, for fire departments getting to the scene because we don't have enough fire departments. Is that correct?
Councilwoman Ke...: That is correct. From a logistics standpoint, the city has grown tremendously over the last, let's say 20 years. And the last time we've had a bond initiative was about 20 years ago, so we're trying to make up much needed ground. We also see a lot of investments in things that are important to people like the parks. We are expanding the parks and areas since we've grown, making some upgrades, some improvements. We also are investing in some of the arts. Having a cultural hub is important for our city. Some of the things that the bond would fund would be, for example, the Latino Cultural Center. It would be provided for a Jewish museum. We are the largest city without a Holocaust museum, so it would be bringing those kinds of arts to it.
And most importantly I think is, as I mentioned, we have a housing crisis and one of the things that the bond would do is bring almost a thousand units of affordable housing on the scene, which is much needed and it also provides for some senior centers and those types of things for a quality of life. I think it's a great solution or a formula to help address some of the common issues that we're seeing now. And it also includes the infrastructure and drainage and streets. Some of the things that we-
Todd Sanders: The things we don't think about.
Councilwoman Ke...: The things we don't see, we don't think about it until we have, somebody house floods because we don't have proper drainage. Those types of things, it has I think personally a good variety of addressing those needs.
Todd Sanders: Well, and I think you mentioned the fact that the last bond was about 20 years ago.
Councilwoman Ke...: That is correct.
Todd Sanders: Which makes it hard to remember what that was even about. This is a much shorter timeframe. Am I correct?
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct. And so if you want to think about some of the things that it represented, it represented ASU downtown. That was one of the signature programs that came out of the bond.
Todd Sanders: What a difference, hey?
Councilwoman Ke...: And what a difference it made to downtown. I lived in downtown actually before ASU downtown became a thing and I can personally attest to the vibrancy and the life that having a campus did bring to our downtown. We not only have ASU now, we have U of A, it's now a thriving metropolitan.
Todd Sanders: Yeah, I agree. I think especially having smaller chunks and not billions and billions, but 500 million which is still substantial, will help us really see some gains on a more rapid basis.
Councilwoman Ke...: And the 500 million to those that it may seem like a lot, it literally equates to 6 cents a day and it will be, if it has passed, the projections show that you won't even see an increase in your property tax. So, that's what I think is what gives it so much possibility is you can do so much good with not having any greater financial burden.
Todd Sanders: And as far as the campaign, you're obviously co-chair. What's the timeframe? When is the election?
Councilwoman Ke...: The election is in November. It is an all mail election, meaning that the ballots will be mailed to residents ahead of the election. They can return it by mail and there will be designated voting centers where they can return their ballots.
Todd Sanders: Excellent. Moving on to a couple of other issues. As you mentioned you worked for the government side, but you also understand private sector.
Councilwoman Ke...: That is correct.
Todd Sanders: And that was something that I think really for us was very attractive in your candidacy. Talk to us about some of the economic development initiatives you're thinking about as you begin this process.
Councilwoman Ke...: As I mentioned, I would love to see business and more private and public collaboration. One of the things I really would like to get off of the ground is an incubator program in those areas where they don't have as much financial resources as well as where we don't have as many quality jobs. I believe that the gauge of success in a neighborhood is where we can live, work, and play.
And there are parts of my district, unfortunately where you can't do all three. You have to transition to somewhere else. And I think there's also a large segment of... Not large, a significant segment of my population, which are young entrepreneurs that just need a little bit of guidance to figure out how to do it right. I mean, we see a lot of companies come into Phoenix to make it a hub, but I also see we have the talent here as well and I think we need to foster it as soon we move it forward.
Todd Sanders: And I think to your point about opportunity and talent, it sounds like there could be some opportunity for us to work together on a workforce development initiative as well.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes, yes, yes. All that.
Todd Sanders: The fact that you're also connected to the airport, what have you learned and how do you feel we need to be looking at the airport in terms of economic development and support for that particular, I guess I would call it economic jewel here in Phoenix
Councilwoman Ke...: It is definitely economic jewel. It's the largest economic driver in our state actually. One of the things that we can do to be more supportive is we can introduce individuals how better to work with the airport. There's a lot of opportunities I think that are available through the airport. I don't think everybody is aware of those and how do we get more services being provided by local Phoenicians versus, no offense to the outside businesses, but I think I would like to see us improve our local representation as well as our minority representation in services and contracts with the airport.
Todd Sanders: Well, you're right. I mean, when someone lands here and they get to experience a Matt's Big Breakfast, that's us and it's nice to be able to showcase that versus something that they can see nationally everywhere.
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct. It's about showing what makes us uniquely Phoenix.
Todd Sanders: I know that we're always hoping for some more international flights. Anything on that front that you can share with us that perhaps you've learned?
Councilwoman Ke...: Unfortunately, not yet. But I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Todd Sanders: I know that there's going to be some trips I believe to Taiwan, so hopefully there's something there.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes, I do know that Taiwan is possibly... Sorry, so I do know something.
Todd Sanders: There you go.
Councilwoman Ke...: You were looking into that.
Todd Sanders: As far as homelessness is concerned, obviously there's been a lot of talk about that recently. What are some things we need to be thinking about in terms of really finding out, to your point, the holistic solutions that also respects the rights of the people that are out there on these streets and don't obviously want to be there.
Councilwoman Ke...: Some of the solutions I think we should be considering is I know the city for example, we invested in bringing some more units that can be assembled rather quickly and don't require as much infrastructure hookup. I think we need more of those and I think we need to possibly partner with the churches and nonprofits that have vacant land at this juncture just to have some temporary housing at this juncture until we can get more permanent structures in place. We do see there's quite a number of home builders that are trying to fill this need. And one of the things I think the city should be working on, and I am actually hoping to be working with it with Councilman Deb Starks, is how can we reduce the permitting time so that we can get these units constructed in a way that's a more timely.
And people, we have to remember, I learned this adage and most of us know it, is time is money. And when you consider the holding cost of holding this property and not being able to develop and not getting our permits done at a certain time, it has trickle-down effect and it also is increasing the cost of home ownership. I am a fan of home ownership because I think it's usually for many individuals the first step in financial freedom and building generational wealth. So, we definitely want to make it more achievable for more individuals.
Todd Sanders: It's such a worthy goal and I have to agree, permitting time is certainly not unique to Phoenix.
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct.
Todd Sanders: But it is something that is low hanging fruit it would seem. And if you can move a barrier out of the way for a home building and get more people, to your point, in either affordable housing or attainable housing, like you mentioned, what a game changer that can be. And you're right, that does lead to generational wealth.
Councilwoman Ke...: Correct. We spoke to a group last week and when I just factored in the cost of say, this item takes three months to be done. If we can shorten that to say one month, we save, I think it was almost like five or $6,000 on the final price to our individual. And it may not seem like a lot, but it adds up over time. If we can cut three or four items in that manner, we now cut it from 15 to $20,000, the average cost of a home... From that cost of that home. Sorry.
Todd Sanders: Absolutely. The other thing that we're hearing about and I hear from my colleagues around the country, especially in places like Seattle and San Francisco is organized retail theft becoming a real challenge and certainly it's a problem for the business community, but to your point, those costs are passed on to consumers. Any thoughts on how we might attack that problem here in Phoenix?
Councilwoman Ke...: Yeah, I mean, my initial reaction is we need to ensure that there are consequences for that because behaviors don't usually change without some level of consequences. I get it, we don't want to criminalize individuals that are homeless, but at the same time, I don't believe that everyone that is doing the organized theft or just walking into your everyday Walgreens or Walmart is actually unsheltered.
I think we need to ensure that we are understanding why they're doing it, removing those barriers. If someone is doing it because they're hungry or whatever, we try and make sure we have the resources. But for those that are just using this as a way of life, I think we need to show that that's not acceptable.
Todd Sanders: I want to make sure that I also touch on transportation. We do a really good job obviously from our road infrastructure, our freeway infrastructure, but also are very intentional about things like let rail and bus transit. That's being debated at the legislature right now. Not to get into that fight, but in terms of priorities for Phoenix Transportation, as far as economics development's concerned.
Councilwoman Ke...: I think transportation is definitely something we need to continue to focus on as we continue to grow. I think it's not feasible to expect that every Phoenician will have a private vehicle to be able to get to and from work or to school. And we need to make sure we have the resources to help people get to if they're going to school or to college or to unemployment or simply, they want to go hang out downtown and spend money in a retail environment. We want to make sure that they're able to do so in a way that does not become burdensome and it's also good for the environment.
Todd Sanders: Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the challenges sometimes for the business community or just people generally is they feel like government's sort of over here and it's always difficult to operate in that environment. You've now done both, private sector and now elected and nonprofit. What's the best way do you think, for the business community to interact and to work with city council?
Councilwoman Ke...: That's a great one. I think the best way to interact is understanding the goals of each one of those sectors. I think sometimes you'll see it where the public sector, I don't think understands the goal of the private sector. And I don't think it's always just about making money for the private sector, but we have to realize that we can't expect the private sector to move forward an initiative if there is simply just going to be a deficit at the end of the day. Many developers or investors or business owners, as I understand, I stood in the other side, is in order for them to usually get their start, they have to get finance and/or funding from somewhere. And you normally got to put up a personal guarantee.
So, they're now personally vested in making sure this is successful because at the end of the day, that could mean the difference between them continuing to not only operate their business, but it can mean losing some of their potential assets if they are not successful. I think just remembering the goals and the mindset of the other side that you're dealing with and how you can come together and make both side's goals match or align up, I think is the best way to move forward. I hope I answered your...
Todd Sanders: Absolutely. No, I don't disagree and it's a tough one and I think it's a little intimidating once in a while. I think people, if they can get past that a little bit and understand each other, it helps to get to the goal. I'd like to take your two months and use a multiplier and say, okay, we're now two years out. What's this going to look like in two years? What things do you want to have accomplished in that two year period looking back? You want to say, "Look, these were the biggest things that I've done in the last two years," what would they be?
Councilwoman Ke...: Hopefully successfully pass the bond, help the bond get across the finish line. Second thing, I would definitely want to make sure that we have more attainable units. I know we are counting housing units, but I want to make sure we have an increase any number of attainable units. I would also like to see quality jobs brought into those neighborhoods that I feel are lacking. And I specifically want to make sure that some of our more marginalized populations are being integrated better into society, whether or not that's in the workforce or whatever, other resources that the government can assist with.
Todd Sanders: If you're talking to employers right now, what's the best way to bring jobs into some of these communities you're referencing, where there are jobs that are needed?
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes. It's about explaining some of the communities, they one, may not have the skillset or they may have things in their past that make them not as an appealing of a candidate, but I think it's about explaining to them or showing them that these individuals are deserving of a second chance or a first chance, for lack of a better word, on making these opportunities. And their investment in these individuals could be the difference between these individuals leading productive lives and these individuals becoming a part of the cycle that we don't want to see in our community. And asking them to take those types of risks.
I know there are some jobs that they may not be best suited for, but I think there are plenty that we can integrate those individuals into. I think we need to make sure that, I feel like if our city doesn't work for the majority, it doesn't work for any of us, so how do we get more people for it to work for?
Todd Sanders: Absolutely. And that's good for everybody.
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes.
Todd Sanders: Well, councilwoman, I want to thank you for spending so much time with us today. Before we leave, we're going to do a quick lightning round with you. I promise this is easy.
Councilwoman Ke...: Okay.
Todd Sanders: Okay. First job, not necessarily professional, but first job.
Councilwoman Ke...: Oh, first job. I was counting inventory at a gift shop at a hotel my mom did bookkeeping for.
Todd Sanders: Excellent. So, mom put you to work?
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes, she did.
Todd Sanders: And what did you learn?
Councilwoman Ke...: I learned that I did not like tedious work. I did not like counting things.
Todd Sanders: But you became a lawyer.
Councilwoman Ke...: No, but at least I used my mind as a lawyer. Tedious work, I'm just counting boxes on a shelf and I'm writing it down.
Todd Sanders: Maybe that's why you don't do tax law?
Councilwoman Ke...: Yes. That's probably why I don't do tax law.
Todd Sanders: That's great. Well, thank you, Mom. Now obviously you have a great job, but the dream job? I know it's not skydiver, but what would be your dream job?
Councilwoman Ke...: I mean, my dream job has always been a job where I can make an impact. So, right now I guess I'm living my dream.
Todd Sanders: Yeah, I would guess that's true. And then finally, it seems like everything's superheroes these days. What would be your superhero alter ego? Who would you be?
Councilwoman Ke...: Now you're stumping me. I mean, I like Batman because he has all kind of cool gadgets. That's about it.
Todd Sanders: Hey, that's a good one. I talked to someone a few weeks ago who basically said that when he was young, thought he might be Batman. He sort of thought that his parents hadn't told him, and then they named his brother Robin and he was convinced. So, I like it. We'll go with that. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your service to Arizona. And I think to your point, for wanting to make a difference for not just a few people, but for all of Phoenix and our community.
Councilwoman Ke...: Thank you.