Meet Steve Haverly, candidate for mayor of Tacoma
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of interviews with candidates running for Tacoma City Council. In each interview, The News Tribune asked every candidate two questions: what they pay in rent or mortgage, and if they could correctly state the median home sale price in Pierce County, which is around $500,000 as of April 2021.
Steve Haverly is running for the position of mayor of Tacoma in the 2021 election.
The seat is currently held by Mayor Victoria Woodards, who is running for re-election.
Haverly, 52, grew up in Tacoma and now lives near Tacoma Community College with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. His background is in construction and construction management, which he’s done for 27 years.
For years, Haverly commuted to Seattle from Tacoma for his job, but recently decided no longer to do that and focus on his life in Tacoma.
“That right there is kind of my goal — to make it so the talent that’s in Tacoma stays in Tacoma,” he said.
Haverly said he wants to see the city pour energy back into downtown Tacoma to get it “back to thriving and what it used to be.”
“This last year hurt everyone with so many restaurants closing down,” he said. “The first goal would be to get all of that back up and running.”
When asked what he feels is the biggest issue facing Tacoma today, Haverly said he wants to continue equity work, referencing the city’s efforts to transform into an anti-racist organization.
“I’d like to see us lead the way to reform, including police,” Haverly said. “I don’t buy into ‘defund the police,’ but I do think there needs to be some police reform.”
Haverly said he feels police shouldn’t have to act as social workers and that he supports looking at ways to change what calls police respond to.
“The police department can’t be the cure-all for everything,” Haverly said. “It’s not fair to them, and it’s not fair to the public. The public’s not getting the best help if all we can do is send an officer who may or may not be equipped to handle that particular problem.”
When it comes to tackling the climate crisis that Tacoma declared in 2019, Haverly said he understands green infrastructure through his construction work. He said Tacoma can do a better job educating people about the transition away from fossil-fuel dependency and why that’s important.
“Why doesn’t the Tacoma Dome have solar panels on it? That would be great advertising for what Tacoma could be,” Haverly said. “The rooftops in Tacoma could be green rooftops.”
Haverly said he supports finding ways to support biking and walking in Tacoma to reduce use of cars and also referenced the light rail project.
“We could put our development dollars into downtown, and make it easier to walk,” he said. “I know we’re working to get there, but we can always do better.”
When asked about increasing visible homelessness in Tacoma, Haverly said it isn’t as bad as what he used to see in Seattle.
“In Seattle, everywhere you drive, everywhere you go, there’s tents and clutter and debris and pollution, and it really puts a sinking feeling in your stomach — not only for the filth but for each individual person who’s going through whatever it is they’re going through,” he said.
Still, Haverly said he would want to continue to look at what other cities are doing to address homelessness and to invest in tiny homes, rehabilitation and mental health resources. He also supports looking at the camping ban ordinance that City Council is currently considering, saying that he doesn’t want Tacoma to become Seattle.
“It’s not a solution, but a camping ban would at least help. In everything, there’s balance, and you have to find that happy medium,” he said.
Haverly said it’s getting harder to find homes in Tacoma. His own home, purchased in 2014, doubled in value — a good thing for his family but making it harder for people who want to move to Tacoma to do so.
“I don’t want to see people getting priced out of their own homes,” he said.
Haverly said he worked on some projects in Seattle that required a percentage of affordable units and said Tacoma could use more of that. He added the city has to be smart about where it allows development, referencing a six-story apartment building planned for the Proctor district.
“We can’t just say, ‘This is such a great neighborhood — Let’s throw in some high rises.’ It’s not the answer. You’ve got to be smart and selective with where to do it,” he said.
WHAT DO YOU PAY IN RENT/MORTGAGE?
“Our mortgage is around $1,700.”
WHAT’S THE MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE IN PIERCE COUNTY?
“It’s in the $400,000 or $500,000’s.”
