Meet Jamika Scott, 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.
Jamika Scott 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.
Scott, 34, was born and raised in Tacoma, growing up in Hilltop and graduating from Stadium High School. She is a writer and filmmaker and most recently taught an arts and activism class for Tacoma Public Schools’ Science and Math Institute (SAMI).
Scott is also on the board of directors at the Grand Cinema and Tacoma Public Library Foundation, is on the Tacoma Arts Commission, and is a co-founder of Tacoma Action Collective, a local group working to “eliminate systemic oppression and structural violence while empowering the people to build autonomous communities rooted in equality and justice.”
The decision to run for mayor was a last-minute one, according to Scott.
She’d thought about running for office in the past, but ultimately felt she could be more effective in other ways. But when she saw that current mayor Victoria Woodards appeared to be running unopposed, she stepped up.
“I feel like people need to work for that position — you shouldn’t just kind of get to slide in there,” she said.
Scott said there are many issues she feels are important to tackle in Tacoma, a top one being the re-imagining of public safety.
Scott said that means looking at where the police budget is overflowing and at areas where the police force is overworked and ill-prepared, then allocating funding toward resources and programs that can be a better use of money.
“We should be giving that money and supporting the system that is going to allow for the proper mental health advocates, proper mental health professionals, to come in and address those situations,” she said.
Scott has long been vocal about the police system in Tacoma. She was arrested by Tacoma police in January while protesting against police brutality the day after an officer ran over and injured several pedestrians with his vehicle during a street exhibition. She was charged with obstruction of a public official but said those charges were dropped.
Scott also stood alongside the family of Manuel Ellis after he was killed by Tacoma police in March 2020.
“The fact that the officers who have now been charged with felonies in the death of Manuel Ellis are still drawing on our tax dollars — I just think that’s egregious,” she said. “I don’t think that there is any reason for them to still be making money.”
Scott added that she would like to see a restorative justice model in the city, with more attention paid to transparency and accountability of government leaders. Restorative justice emphasizes repairing harm to a community caused by criminal behavior.
Scott said tackling Tacoma’s homelessness issue requires a multifaceted approach. She said that means local partners working together to ensure all needs are being met, including access to services like showers, bathrooms, transportation and social services.
In hand with that, Scott said, is the need to explore policies that favor tenants, such as rent control.
“Just because we live in a capitalist society doesn’t mean we don’t have a responsibility to still think of other people more than we think about money,” she said.
Scott advocated for more alternative methods of housing across the city and making spaces available for people who want to live out of their cars. She also advocated for projects similar to the one being done at the former Rite Aid building in Hilltop, which was purchased by nonprofit Forterra in 2018 for an affordable housing project.
“Finding those spaces where there’s, you know, potential for an alternate living style,” Scott said. “Instead of banning public camping, why don’t we find designated areas in each part of the city?”
When asked about her views on how to tackle the climate crisis that Tacoma declared in 2019, Scott said it’s in the city’s best interest to work toward reducing its impact on the environment, which includes stronger regulations of fossil fuels on the Tideflats.
She also said there needs to be more of an effort to connect with the public about what that means.
“It’s hard for people to access it,” she said. “It’s like when you’re reading, you know, ballot initiatives on your ballot — sometimes you have to read it out loud, you have to read it two or three times. It’s just hard to understand. And I think that a lot of that is intentional. If people feel like they can’t understand it, then they’re not interested, and then it makes it much easier for people to push things through with little push back from the community.”
WHAT DO YOU PAY IN RENT/MORTGAGE?
Scott said she’s fortunate enough to live with her partner, who owns their house, with mortgage at $1,800 a month.
WHAT’S THE MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE IN PIERCE COUNTY?
“It’s been a little while since I’ve looked at it, but I’d probably say maybe around $375,000?”
This story was originally published June 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
