Kate Kruller For Tukwila Mayor
Now I’m out in the community again, doorbelling and talking to people in
Tukwila about what really matters to them – at home, at work and around the city.
Together over the past twelve years we made a BIG difference in Tukwila! For greater transparency, residents can participate in Tukwila City Council meetings in-person, online or watch the meeting live on television! We cleared out high crime operations and are revitalizing Tukwila International Boulevard. We’ve made changes to how you can get around using public transportation services. New development efforts offer new options for places to live: low and modest-income housing, townhouses, apartments, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), senior housing and assisted living facilities. All with easy access to transit and more transit options. We are putting in sidewalks and paths to our schools for safety, making internet available in areas where we know students have a great need, providing afterschool programs and summer camps for our kids and putting in traffic calming measures near our schools and in neighborhoods to make it safer for pedestrians and bicycle riders. All of this was accomplished by listening to you and working to improve Tukwila!
I’m asking you for the power of your vote to elect me as your next Tukwila Mayor – so we can continue to make more progress together!
Kate Votes and Takes Action on Important Issues:
Kate differentiates herself in this race by offering herself to voters as a 32-year resident, an experienced city leader that knows how to navigate legislative processes (locally, regionally, statewide and nationally), offering strong political networks at the same levels, listening to what Tukwila people want and being Action-Oriented to what is possible.
Kate Kruller listens to what people in Tukwila want and has worked hard to implement their ideas.
“During my time on the Council, key accomplishments include completing a majority of our initial major affordable housing projects, continuing discipline to maintain reserve funds in the budget while moving toward Priority-Based Budgeting that better serves the people of Tukwila, making more investments in our neighborhood streets, completing more sidewalk construction and pathways to our schools, installing flashing crosswalks, road cushions/speed bumps and radar speed signs for traffic calming, just to name a few.”
Here are some specifics examples:
Affordable Housing and Safe Neighborhoods:
While Kate chaired the Community Development and Neighborhoods Committee, Tukwila worked together with the King County Housing Authority as it bought up land and housing near our light rail station (Villages at South Station and Riverton Terrace) in order to stabilize and keep the cost of living there reasonable for residents. In addition, Kate supported the development agreement with Non-Profit Bellwether Housing which built the project called “The Confluence” featuring 101 affordable apartments near the Tukwila Light Rail Station.
Kate championed Tukwila Village from before she first ran for office. Now it is a reality, which brought four state-of-the-art buildings encompassing 193 income qualified senior apartment homes to the region. That makes it one of the largest affordable housing developments for seniors in Washington state (another success story of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from Senator Cantwell). Not to mention a larger King County Library and the Sullivan Community Center.
Many have read the headlines on increasing costs, gentrification and displaced small businesses in Tukwila. This is the result of a very serious and complex set of pressures in our community. Kate provided support to the solution side of this, with her Council votes and personal contributions. Examples: State and federal government funding is being supplied to help Abu Bakr Islamic Center of Washington to develop the Wadajir Market & Residences – which will feature family housing for 450 and a community marketplace for 85 small businesses (Wadajir means “Together” in Somali).
Kate supported negotiations between interested small businesses that formed a coalition to purchase Tukwila-owned property for the purposes of an international market.
Kate supported and voted for the change in the Tukwila City Municipal code to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on properties as small as 60 X 100 feet. She remains open-minded on other innovative housing ideas for the future.
As Tukwila City Council President, Kate facilitated and ushered in new emergency and transitional housing solutions in two Tiny Home Villages (one on Interurban Avenue; one next to Military Road). Together, these 50 units house individuals and families until they can stabilize and move on to permanent housing.
Housing stock is low in Tukwila and demand is high for places to rent and own. Under construction next to Cascade View Elementary now is “The Southard,” an environmentally sustainable neighborhood being developed by the Community Land Trust – making homeownership possible for modest-income households. Southard is only the second permanently affordable development of its size built with energy-efficient features that significantly reduce utilities costs and climate impacts. The development will also include five market-rate homes and two homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is the beginning of providing ‘Missing Middle” housing initiatives will be implemented in the future.
Other, higher-density options are being considered through Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) that offers people a way to live near transit in affordable units that allow them access to education, jobs and places to shop and recreate – with or without owning a car! Many of our next generation cannot afford a home. We will also need to explore what is possible in single family housing areas to help people live there – perhaps in duplexes and townhouses carefully located to preserve and complement the feel of the neighborhood.
Reliable Public Safety Services
Kate went to Washington D.C. to advocate before the US Department of Justice, and our Congressional Delegation, Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell and US Representative Adam Smith. She represented Tukwila through the Association of Washington Cities, and the National League of Cities to obtain and bring home Community Oriented Policing grants. These grants added bilingual officers and Behavioral Health Professionals who are trained and whose job it is to meet people where they are, work in our community, build relationships and understand how people who live, work and visit Tukwila expect to be protected and supported by Tukwila Police Department.
Mindful of public safety concerns, Kate continues to answer the call from residents to reduce and ultimately eliminate adverse activity where people tell us they have had their mail stolen, homes burglarized, cars vandalized/stolen, see drug deals, prostitution or gang related activity. She supports our police force numbers to address these issues and to bring back a drop in all categories. Through other processes involving coordinated regional police efforts, Tukwila has eliminated high “service call” areas through seizing the hotels/motels that were disguising major illegal activity. Now she is looking forward to and supports new infill businesses and organizations, such as Health Point, which will improve access to healthcare and provide new spaces for community-oriented organizations.
Kate voted for, supported and stands behind the Council Resolution directing our Police Department to focus on enforcing municipal laws with our limited police resources and funding – and not perform the work other agencies at the federal level who have their own funding and resources – specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There are no longer any “entertainment” (strip) clubs in Tukwila, which for decades presented Tukwila with being a source of many of the illegal issues that residents and our youth were complaining about. More and more, people feel much safer in our community now – feeling safer about walking or riding a bike to the light rail station, day or night. Tukwila is now increasing its attention on safety concerns at properties it does not own, such as the Sound Transit light rail station parking areas and the mall. Kate will continue to address these issues going forward representing you as a strong Mayor for a safe Tukwila.
Critical services are the last “safety net” people have in times of unexpected personal crisis. It may start with a fire or medical emergency when our Fire Department first responds. Kate stands behind the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) on all community strategies – including FD CARES program. Kate served on the Tukwila Food Bank Board for nearly a decade, has been involved in service work there for many years and continues to support it personally. She consistently supports funding in all categories that our Human Services Department and Human Services Commission recommend.
Ahead, Kate will continue working towards getting the City to greatly improve its outreach to residents, people who work here and visitors to better understand what Tukwila can do if they are in need. There are endless improvements we can make to better serve our youth and seniors, but at the forefront is to ensure they have our support and options that work in housing.
Improved Transportation Options
After years of advocacy at state and regional levels for transportation and transit funding allocations in our area, we’ve benefited from new Rapid Ride bus lines realized that provide service across the valley – connecting Tukwila with Renton, SeaTac and Burien – including routes to the Sound Transit Commuter Train Station, Westfield Mall (Southcenter mall) and Tukwila International Boulevard Light Rail Station.
Just as important is improving transportation options within our city. We have miles of “transportation desert” areas in Tukwila that those without a personal car cannot overcome by walking. Efforts to work with King County provided some headway in a shared ride program between Tukwila International Boulevard, the Tukwila Community Center, around Allentown and along the north end of Interurban Avenue. Recently, what began as the “Via” pilot program has grown to the “Metro Flex” ride share to provide greater connectivity than just from residents’ homes to transit sites – now it covers travel from homes and school as well to a larger number of essential destinations – and provides rides free to those 18 years old and younger. Further expansion came this year with King County Metro rebranding and expanding this program as Metro-Flex. This step greatly improved access to transportation options will mean new ways to get to greater retail sources, jobs and schools safely. is able to push at local, regional and statewide levels from boards and committees she is on – to implement obvious solutions to make life easier for those who live here.
Kate will continue to support and sustain efforts to improve more in these areas.
