Turning Ideas into Policy with Tacoma Councilmember Kristina Walker

What does it take to turn a good idea into real policy that improves people’s lives? As anyone in local government knows, the path from identifying a problem to passing meaningful legislation can be complicated.

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Transcript

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 0:07

Welcome back to Cityspeak. I am your host, Melanie Fonder Kay, Senior Executive with the National League of Cities. Cityspeak gives listeners an insider's view of what local leadership in America means today and features conversations with government leaders and policy experts regarding the biggest issues and challenges facing America's cities, towns, and villages. Today we're asking a key question. What does it take to turn a good idea into real policy that improves people's lives? As anyone in local government knows, the path from identifying a problem to passing meaningful legislation can be complicated. We're joined today by Councilmember Christina Walker of Tacoma, Washington, to talk about how the city used the National League of Cities Policy and Systems Change compass to streamline the policymaking process. Christina, welcome to Citiespeak. Thank you. It's so good to be here. Well, first, just tell us a little bit about yourself and how did you find yourself as a council member chair in Tacoma?

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Sure. I was elected in 2019. I came from the nonprofit sector. I was advocating for better transportation policy. So ran in ran in 2019, started January 1st, 2020, headed into some of the toughest policy choices we could be making during the COVID years, I will say. And now ran for re-election in 2023, served a year as deputy mayor, now serving in a couple different roles as lead of our transit agency. And just diving into policy across the region, really able to expand what I've learned in my first uh couple years. Well, awesome.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 1:54

Can you just tell us a little bit about Tacoma and what you're facing? What are the challenges right now?

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Yeah, thank you. I I you know Tacoma is the greatest city in the world, um, as every uh city is here at NLC. Um and I don't think the challenges are particularly unique. I mean, we struggle with housing affordability, economic opportunity, um, climate, health disparities, um, like everyone across this country. And every policy we create is incredibly unique because it is for the people who live in Tacoma. So um we're always working to borrow ideas from other cities because we don't need to reinvent the wheel, but to develop it in Tacoma, not as a one size fits all, but to really take our time with policy making um to make sure it involves the people in Tacoma.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 2:45

Can you say a little bit more about what makes um what is unique in Tacoma on any of these policies and how do you have to address the complex challenges?

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Sure. Um, well, so I should say Tacoma is a city of about 220,000. Um we are, depending on the year, the second or third largest city in Washington state. Um, and we're about 40 miles south of Seattle. So um we watch a lot of policies of the big city in Seattle, um, and and then also work directly with that second or third city Spokane, who we we love and are our bit of uh competition because we're similarly sized. Um let's think about um housing affordability and addressing homelessness. We have geographic um differences. We're very hilly city, so we've found places where we might be able to cite a shelter that wasn't accessible, so we couldn't do that. So, you know, just basic uh challenges there. We're also um in Washington State, so we're dealing with Washington state policies in the way that they are or at the moment not funding um homelessness the way we would like to, although they have contributed to uh many of our shelters. A shout out to credit where credit is due, I will say. Um, but we we live, we never operate in a silo, right? So whatever Washington State does around policy around um housing and homelessness, that's where we're gonna apply it in Tacoma. And then we're gonna get down on the streets and and talk to folks who are impacted by uh homelessness. And again, some of those are universal challenges. Um and we have really great nonprofit partners that are doing the work on the ground. Um we don't have huge, huge um foundations that are giving millions and millions of dollars like they are in some bigger cities. So that's one of the challenges that's that's unique to us. Um but we have an incredibly gritty grassroots group of people in Tacoma that are giving of their own dollars to the uh account to help people with their rent, right? That's a beautiful thing that we want to grow in Tacoma because people care. People care about their neighbors.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 5:02

Well, before Tacoma started using the Policy and Systems Change Compass, first can you describe what that is? And then can we talk a little bit more about the policy making process?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Yeah, so um, and if I can sort of set a little bit of context, I think one of the things that's been so valuable, um, both in the tool, the compass tool, but also in our involvement with NLC, um, we maybe wouldn't have taken it and as far as we did if we hadn't been involved in NLC on so many levels. Um, the Cities of Opportunity Umbrella program has just been so good for um Tacoma. And I got involved, the mayor was also involved at that time, and we were part of, or she and I were parts of different cohorts that were working through this process with different cities around the country. And that was what was so beautiful in like looking at the the compass, the the uh the tool itself, but you could just leave that on the paper. When it came to life in the cohort model, um working with other cities that were similarly sized, very different size, that's when we really got into it. Um and what the the compass tool is is um uh a slow and steady process by which we take a problem and then build towards a solution. Um that's the start and end, but they're 10 steps in the in the middle. Um so it is a way for us to get out of typical thinking. It's a way for us to reach out to different partners that we hadn't have thought of before. Um, it's a way to allow ourselves to pause and think through things differently. Um because it and this happened right out of the gate because we were part of that cohort to be able to think through things before we got to the final answer.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 6:51

You know, it sounds like the technical assistance that you um have access through NLC, um, it sounds like there's like a secret sauce in being part of a cohort of your peers. Can you just talk about what that is and what that really what that means in in practice?

SPEAKER_01 7:09

Yeah, I love that question because I do think that um we need all of it. We need the tools, we need the leadership, and we need the cohort and to think through things. And that's the amazing staff at NLC that's providing that technical assistance to walk us through. And it's also our colleagues at different cities who have their own challenges that they're working through, that they are um we're sort of workshopping as we go. And so working with that cohort for a full year gave us an opportunity to check in every month to say, hey, how is this going? How are you addressing this? How is that working? And that helped us open up new partners and new new funding streams and new thoughts.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 7:49

And you're able to sort of workshop in real time, whatever is happening. Yeah. Yeah. Um so Tacoma participated in the Cities of Opportunity Technical Assistance Program, exploring the policy and systems change compass. And then later that became your part of your own, embedded into your own policy making. So, what changed once Tacoma began using the compass?

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah, so I'd love to talk about the project that we worked on specifically in that and then how it expanded. So we um wanted to tackle health and wealth together. And so we uh worked uh on what we call an earn and learn model on getting people to work. Um our key partner was Workforce Central, so huge shout out to Workforce Central in Tacoma. Um and we knew at that time health care jobs were in high need, right? We needed to get more people trained up. But we all know the barriers, childcare, transportation, any number of things that uh people say no to that new training opportunity or that new job, right? So we said, how are we gonna address all of those barriers? And the team that came to the table, we said, yeah, we'll we'll solve transportation. We got you a free ORCA card to take transit, childcare, we're gonna provide it, we're even gonna give you some meals while you're here at the training. And we didn't hit everything, obviously. There are other barriers. So we brought together a team that looked at um and actually talked to people in the community. Would you want to participate in this program? And that list of barriers became longer and we had more solutions. We had a moment in that process, in that that 10-step process as we were moving through, where we backed up three steps and then started again. And that's where having that written out in the compass in that 10-step process allowed us to pause, go back, and look at the root cause so that we weren't just like checking things off and getting to the end, right? We were really addressing it because you can't move through the process without addressing uh the other pieces. And it's really about that, that root cause of the problem you're trying to solve.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 9:57

So it's like connecting the dots, how do all these pieces fit together? But it sounds like there's a moment when you decided to move back. How do you know when you are have to go back?

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yeah, that's a great question. Um, for us, when we started um the process, we brought, I think it was 10 or 12 people to the table, local folks working in different sectors. And we were meeting really regularly, in fact, more than once a month at the beginning, um, asking these questions, developing the program. And we're all really great at developing programs, all the people around that table. And it became very clear that we had sort of hit this roadblock as a group. And had we not given ourselves the time to say, okay, we haven't quite figured this out yet, we're not sure why, but let's back it up a little. So we didn't know until we were in it, and then thank goodness we had that group around the table. Because I think if you're one person, uh an elected official, a city employee, the instinct, the gut is push through, get this thing done. We want to show people that we're doing things, right? We that's our culture, right? We want to get things done, we want to show people we're doing things. But we had that group to sort of check each other to say, this is the the Tacoma specific group. We had people around the table whose clients, customers, uh, constituents all were going to be helped and served by this program. We all held each other accountable and said, no, let's pause. We haven't quite got this right. Um, so I don't think there's any one answer to that question. I think it's uh you'll know when you're there. And again, this is why that tool is so valuable is you can take steps back on the tool, um, say we're at this step and not this step, and then you can get back on track. It doesn't mean you're not going to make it to the end, um, but it really helps you kind of find your place in the in that.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 11:50

That's so interesting. How do you know um and what do you see coming down next where you could maybe use this tool and this framework?

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Yeah, so we've really embedded the compass tool into our policy making. Um, we just redid or did the next iteration of our strategic plan. Um, we were Tacoma 2025, now we're Tacoma 35. And one of the things we've done is really elevated our values and then the specific action items and the priorities. So while we used to have belief and trust in government as one of our priorities, that's now a value that embeds everything. So anytime we're we're starting with a new policy, belief and trust is there. We ask the question of ourselves whether this is a little policy or big policy, what are we doing about belief and trust and how does this policy uh move us forward on belief and trust? How are we um getting to that? Um, second value is access, opportunity, and belonging. So we ask ourselves that question every time: how does this address access, opportunity, and belonging? Third is fiscal responsibility, and fourth is resilience. And resilience is fiscal, it's climate, it's all the pieces that we need to be resilient as a as a city, as an agency, as a the capital C City and the lowercase C City.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 13:08

And then how do you take, so the people around the table, those people that went through the process and now they get it and they understand how this works. How do you take and explain this either to your peers in other cities, or how do you also communicate it out to the general public?

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Yeah, that's a great question. As I said, um we've really embedded this in our policy making, so I think we can get a little complacent about we just do this work, we crank out the policies and now we know what we're doing. Yeah. Yeah. But um I think the engagement with the people who are directly affected by the policy is um not only number one, I think everyone listening to this podcast is gonna agree with that, right? That's why we're here. We're we want to support the people that live in our community. Um, but this is gonna be an intentional process that allows us to open that circle to bring more people to the table. Um and at that point, that's where we can communicate out what we're trying to do, what are our values, which priority are we trying to address. And then you have this beautiful table of people who are gonna share that message out with community as well. Um and I think that makes a huge difference in how things are received by the public. And of course, if somebody's gonna engage with the city in one bite-sized quote and see the final result, they're not gonna see that. But if they take a minute to engage with one of the people that's affected, one of the people that was at the table, one of us who was part of developing, that's where they're gonna hear and see that we work through the this this process with the people that are affected.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 14:45

And so you're talking about this a little bit, I think, but part of this was bringing new people to the table and to the process.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yep.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 14:52

Um, so what has been the most impactful thing about having those new voices?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

I think the the programs and the policies last longer. Um, there's more buy-in. Um this was a little, you know, baby pilot project. It was funded a little bit, um, but it has lived on in other funding sources because there was so much buy-in to it. Um and if it's a policy that doesn't have uh fiscal impact to that level, it's something that's gonna going to last longer. It's a pr it's a let me start that way. Yeah, sure. It's a policy that's gonna last longer because more people believe in it.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 15:30

And then do you have other examples from other places where either part of the cohort or just now because you have seen how this comes to life that you are like, yes, this is why this works and this is how this should work.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

So Rochester, Minnesota was part of our cohort, um, and they were also getting folks to work, but very specific to women in the construction industry. So we had a lot to talk about in the cohort and and working through, but they had a very different table, right? They brought the construction industry to the table where we brought the medical um professionals to the table. So um really applying the same tools but in slightly different settings.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 16:09

Um where will you be putting this to work next?

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Uh we have a tool for every policy we create um that our staff works through with our with the council that asks these questions. So um sometimes we do very, very tiny little resolutions, like we're working on one now to support the parks. Sometimes it feels a little silly to go into that much detail, but it always opens a new door. It always asks a question of, oh yeah, we should include them in this this policy. So we've literally put it on paper and and made it part of every policy.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 16:42

So is there like a visual where you're like, is it like a dashboard? Are you able to see all of these at one time or is that yeah, so we've uh adapted it for our priorities.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

So when you look at the document, it'll you know start with what uh problem we're trying to solve, what is the background, and then it asks the questions about each one of our priorities.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 17:02

Yes, you can see it all at a snapshot or at a glance. Yeah. Uh advice for other local leaders. Is there anything else about the tool that you'd like to emphasize?

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Yes, definitely. Um, the technical advice, the technical hand holding that NLC does is so valuable, and I think it's easy to go to the website and take a look at the tool. You'll get something out of that. Um, and I think everybody who is in local government is gonna look at that and think, yeah, interesting, good. Having the technical advice, calling up the NLC staff to say, walk me through this, how could it apply to my um city or my policy, my specific policy is where you're gonna get the real benefit. And so many of us have gone through this. While you might not be part of a cohort, if you're working on something like an earn and learn, they're gonna give you my number and we can talk it through. Um you're gonna get connected to cities across the country. And I think that's the biggest thing is don't operate in a box or in a silo. We're all tackling these big bucket challenges, climate change, housing insecurity. Um those are not unique. Let we can get together and talk that through, and you can bring it back to your community and apply it really in a specific way for your community.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 18:19

So, for other local leaders, what is your best advice about strengthening their policy making process? Or if they're already looking at this tool, where should they start?

SPEAKER_01 18:29

Yeah, definitely start on the um Compass webpage on the NLC page. But I think in thinking through a process and how you apply it to your community is the first sort of thought process as you um get started. And I think as soon as you start asking yourself those questions, you're gonna broaden the the number of people and the groups that are at the table to make the policy decision. Um and that's going to make it's gonna take longer and it's gonna make a better policy.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 19:02

But can you just explain at a high level like what this really looks like in practice and what those steps are?

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Yeah, thank you. So and I do want to give a shout out, NLC um developed this with the Urban Institute, so shout out to Urban Institute too. Um so like I said, it's a 10-step process that helps local leaders navigate the course towards advancing health outcomes through policy and system change. So what that could comes down to, um you're starting with identifying the problem, so really root cause analysis. Then you're looking at who's at the table, the partners, the community voices, so we call this ecosystem mapping. Um I think that's the most important part. Uh you've heard me talk about it a lot, um, but I think that sets the tone for the whole rest of it. Um then you're looking at barriers. Um, you're looking uh at then building a policy that has action. So um from there, those are sort of the baseline things. And then you're you're into the policy outcome. What is the the ordinance or the resolution or or the the policy that you want to have adopted? You're implementing a program. Um the funding step, you're gonna come back to that one over and over. I think I talked about ours being a really small funding at the beginning, but because people believed in it, we came back and found other funders to do it another year and another year. Um, and then looking at um assessments, circling back, understanding what we did. Um, and for us it worked to do a year-long pilot and then to reevaluate, we were able to tweak some things and then find another funder, come back around and do better work.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 20:41

And so when you did that assessment, are you going back to the people who are affected by the the policy?

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Yes, absolutely. Sometimes in a just basic survey, um uh we did a handful of uh interviews with folks, but we had people at the table that were in community in relationship with folks, so it didn't have to always be formal. We have a lot of anecdotal evidence of really, really cool stories of people that took advantage of the program that that um got their certificate and then are working in the healthcare industry.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 21:13

And maybe like some of these um some of these things that are not everyone is gonna think are maybe necessarily connected, but they're so interesting to me, like the child care or the transportation benefit or whatever it is. Can you just give one specific story, one example of like what it meant because we connected the dots?

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Yeah. So we had uh individuals who took advantage of the program that um took advantage of the child care piece of it that allowed them to go and get the program or get the training that they needed to get the job. Um and we heard uh we have interviews with participants that talked about well, I would not have been able to do that if I didn't have the child care piece of it. I will also say um And I I probably but no, I can't say this is 100% why this happened, but one of the very beautiful things that has happened in Tacoma is our labor partners, um, Pierce County Central Labor, which is all of the unions combined, and working with Workforce Central, um, have recently um acquired a building that is going to be a child care hub for folks who are working in the community. I think uh and all shout out to Pierce County Labor Council for making this happen. But I think part of the work that that came out of National League of Cities and this partnership with Workforce Central was this increased highlight of what the need is for childcare. That this is can't just be a thing we fix for every program. It has to be bigger than that. And so um it's actually extra cool because it is um a former school building that they acquired and they're turning it into a daycare. And so we're in the process of that as a community, it's not open yet. Um, but just I think uh a nugget that came out of the work here that helped fuel the the interest in that bigger project too.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 23:10

Yeah, because if you don't have the child care, how are you gonna do it? It's just one thing you don't have to think about.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Yeah, and of course, healthcare workers don't work nine to five hours, right? So we have to have time around the o'clock. Yeah.

Melanie Fonder Kaye, Senior Executive and Director, Digital Engagement & Communications, National League of Cities 23:21

So having those different hours available and just like um backup care, I assume, or things happen, right? Councilmember Christina Walker, it was such a pleasure to sit down with you today. So thank you for sharing your story with Cityspeak listeners. These conversations about the nitty-gritty of policy work are so important. If you're listening today and wondering if the policy compass could help your city, you're in luck. NLC's health and well-being experts, the same people who helped create the policy compass, are available to help you. Visit nlc.org slash compass to learn more.

NLC 24:00

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