Mayor Ralph describes COVID-19 challenges during State of the City address

It was a contrast in the delivery and topics compared to last year during Kent Mayor Dana Ralph’s fourth State of the City address.

Ralph videotaped her 22-minute message as she walked around sites and businesses in town that residents could watch live Monday, March 22 on the city’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. A year ago, Ralph delivered her speech from inside the new headquarters of the Blue Origin aerospace company with many residents in attendance.

Ralph took the video approach due to COVID-19 restrictions that went into place about a year ago, not long after her 2020 State of the City address.

The pandemic took the lead role in Ralph’s talk in contrast to last year when she lobbied to put a property tax measure on the ballot to hire more police officers. She left any talk of hiring more officers off the table this year, the first time that’s happened in her four State of the City addresses. The pandemic also caused city leaders to put off any tax measure last fall to hire more police.

“We are facing our biggest challenge yet, COVID-19,” Ralph said. “We are doing our best to beat a public health and economic crisis that has impacted our lives in every way possible. Most of us have lost loved ones, lost our livelihood, lost the things that bring us joy, the things that make us feel whole. From the empty chair at the dinner table, the unpaid bills piling up, the events being cancelled, schools and restaurants being closed.”

Ralph said the city took the pandemic seriously from the start. City leaders also used $2.1 million of federal CARES Act relief funds to provide $6,500 grants to just more than 300 businesses.

“We gave more assistance than any other city in King County, outside of Seattle,” Ralph said.

The city will receive an estimated $28.4 million this year in COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress. Ralph didn’t offer any specifics yet about how the city might spend the money but she said businesses and residents will receive help.

“I am committed to making sure that your tax dollars are spent locally and support our community’s recovery and that the state and federal assistance we receive goes directly to Kent residents, businesses and community organizations,” she said.

Ralph said proposals are getting formed.

“As we continue to navigate through the pandemic, I have been working closely with our economic and community development team to evaluate the health of our local economy and pursue opportunities that will support a full recovery,” she said.

Cleaning up the city

The mayor, who is running this year for a second term and so far has just one challenger in Dawn Bennett, said she continues to work to keep Kent clean.

“Cleaning up Kent has been a priority of mine since I became mayor,” Ralph said. “Over the last four years we’ve made significant strides, but we have a lot of work to do to continue to make Kent a clean and vibrant city that is welcoming to all.”

A new KentWorks app allows residents to report problems to the city such as graffiti, litter, potholes and other non-emergency issues. Ralph said 1,500 issues have been resolved since the city released the app in late September.

Ralph said moving code enforcement officers to be part of the police department so there can be penalties and consequences has led to faster cleanup on private properties where city code is violated.

The mayor also looks forward to when Mill Creek Canyon is cleaned up with the removal of trash and debris. The city contracted last year with an environmental cleanup company for about $800,000 to remove the tons of garbage left behind by the homeless at the 107-acre city park.

“I can’t wait until it’s all done and you can walk on the trails, take a bike ride or enjoy a picnic with your family,” Ralph said.

The cleanup is expected to go on until 2022 under the current contract.

“Along with the work to clear debris, our parks and police departments are continuing to work with our human services team to reach out to homeless residents and connect them with social services and programs that will help them get back on their feet,” Ralph said.

Government transparency

Ralph said she’s worked hard to give residents more information about the city and access to information.

“As your mayor, I’ve brought you more direct access and transparency than any other mayor in Kent’s history,” she said. “I’ve done this through town halls, weekly video updates, digital newsletters, social media updates, virtual meetings, neighborhood walks, coffee with the mayor and the Kent 101 civics academy.”

Ralph said that emphasis will continue. The mayor doubled her communications staff last summer to four, with a manager and three coordinators.

“It is important to me that you know what is going on inside your local government,” she said. “We must hold our government accountable and ensure its transparency to the residents we serve.”

Race and equity

The mayor pointed out that Kent is the 10th most culturally diverse city in the nation and that over 130 languages are spoken in town.

“Our diversity is our greatest strength but we can’t celebrate that if we don’t address the structural racial inequities that thousands of residents face every single day,” she said.

Ralph said equity, justice and inclusion will continue to be a top priority and she included money in the budget for internal and external policies and directed staff to look at policy procedures.

“We hired our first race and equity manager to spearhead work in 2021 and beyond,” Ralph said. “We are committed to making Kent an equitable place for all of our residents, businesses and city employees.”

A look back and ahead

Despite the challenges, Ralph said work remains a pleasure.

“Serving as your mayor these past four years has been my dream job,” she said. “It is more than just an honor and a privilege – it’s a distinction that nothing else can match. It’s a job that becomes who you are. There is no punching out at 5. When the phone rings at 3 in the morning, you answer it. Crime, flooding, snowstorms, fires – they don’t stop at 5 and neither does your city government.”

Ralph admitted the past year brought many challenges, but she expects better times ahead.

“I don’t know what comes next but the state of our city is strong,” Ralph said. “It is resilient, compassionate, thoughtful and caring and optimistic. Over 700 (employees) come to work to do their best to serve you.”

She remained positive about how the city and its residents responded to COVID-19.

“People can call me a lot of things, but the one thing they can call me the most is proud,” Ralph said. “I am so proud how residents have come together, how businesses helped our neighbors and how nonprofits pulled purse strings tighter to help more people and how city government led the effort to get our community back on track.”

Ralph certainly relishes her role as mayor.

“The past four years have been the honor of my life,” she said. “I hope to have another four years to build on what we started. There is hope on the horizon and the best is yet to come.”