There's a fresh, potentially short-tenured face on Spokane City Council.
Last week, council members voted 5-1 to appoint Ryan Oelrich to fill a vacant council seat representing south Spokane's District 2. In November, voters will choose Paul Dillon or Katey Treloar to fill the seat, which was vacated after Council member Lori Kinnear was appointed to temporarily serve as council president after Breean Beggs left early for a judicial appointment.
Oelrich says he never really saw himself in government, and that the first few days on the job have been like "drinking from a firehose."
"He's got some really intense days in the next three months," Kinnear said while voting to appoint Oelrich. "I hope he takes his vitamins, let's just say that."
Though he's new to the council, he's not so new to Spokane. He's spent years working with various local groups, and in 2017, Inlander readers voted him "Best Philanthropist." Oelrich previously led the Spokane Homeless Coalition, and currently works as executive director of Priority Spokane, which analyzes community needs in Spokane.
We sat down with Oelrich last week to talk about his hopes and fears for the next three months, the city's budget problem and whether or not he would seek a longer, two-year council appointment if Betsy Wilkerson wins the council president race in November.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
INLANDER: This is a hard job. Why did you want it?
OELRICH: It is a hard job, and I think that's part of why I was interested in serving in this way. I think we have some tough decisions to make, and I want to make sure that we are trying to do our best to be data-driven in that process. And I have a lot of experience around that. I want to make sure with tough decisions we are also compassionate and wise.
What are you most nervous about?
Well, f—ing up, obviously. Our communications director said not to use swear words, here I go breaking the first rule. But that's OK. I don't want to mess up. I want to do my best, I want to make sure I'm a careful steward of the resources that we have in Spokane.
You've been here for three days now, have you solved the estimated $20 million budget deficit crisis yet?
I might need one more day.
More seriously — what's your first impression of the city budget? Some people have been saying it's a bad situation, how serious is it?
I'm very new. I'm just getting my feet wet. One of the things that I did in preparation for this job is painfully look through all 366 pages. And I can't say that I understand all of them. But when I look at our values that we have decided we need to follow — especially when it comes to not using one-time funds for ongoing expenses — yeah, we have some problems we need to solve. We have to make some tough decisions.
What do you think is the main cause of the current budget deficit?
I think a number of things. I have more to learn. So ask me in a few weeks.
During your interview with City Council members, you said you see public safety and housing as budget priorities. What does that look like to you?
Public safety includes safety from wildfires. It includes substance abuse. It includes folks who can't afford housing. Those are all public safety concerns. So I tend to look at public safety with a more expansive lens.
There was speculation that you might run for Lori Kinnear's open District 2 Council seat this year. Why didn't you?
I definitely considered it. The timing wasn't great. I really had to wrestle with where I can do the most good. I love my work at Priority Spokane. We were right in the middle of a community assessment that I think is so important for our region. So I just decided that is so valuable. I want to make sure that's finished.
Did Paul Dillon ask you not to run?
[Laughs] No.
If Betsy Wilkerson wins the council president race in November, there's going to be another vacancy. Council is going to have to make another interim appointment, but that will be a two-year position. Have you thought about that at all? Was that on your mind when you applied for this position?
No, I'm aware of that, and that's something that — I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. But I'm just bound and determined to get through these three months to do the best I can and learn as many lessons as I can along the way.
So you haven't made up your mind?
Nope.
When council members asked about a time you had to mediate conflict, you talked about talking with West Hills neighbors about the Catholic Charities supportive housing project there. What was that like?
It was eye-opening. And both encouraging and discouraging. I really feel for my neighbors that are just trying to make it and just trying to keep a roof over their own heads... I understand the worries and the fears there. So I was really encouraged that even though there were some very strong disagreements — and even though some of the conversations on my porch started with some really strong, hateful words already having been spoken — two out of three times, we were still able to find common ground.
You live in that neighborhood right?
I do, not too far from the Catalyst Project. Our neighborhood faces all sorts of unique challenges, like others. But I think especially for our neighborhood, there's issues that are often much more visible. Every day I drive by multiple camps, I see human beings who are camping in our forests, on the side of the street, who have a variety of different struggles they're facing. So that's something I see every day. My husband and I received evacuation notices twice from the recent fires.
Some people have been calling for a development moratorium in Latah Valley, partially because of a lack of fire infrastructure. Is that a good idea?
I received communication from one of the community leaders there. And I look forward to meeting with that group soon and learning more so I could have an informed opinion and make sure I've listened first.
Council members have legislative aides, do you get one as an interim member?
Yes, but to save money Council President Kinnear and I are sharing.
Do you have a favorite place in District 2?
Have you ever been to Mystic Falls? It's a delightful little waterfall.
EXTENDED INTERVIEW (ONLINE ONLY)
What unique challenges does District 2 face?
I think we face versions of the same issues that our other two districts face. I think that we face unique versions of forest fires. I look at climate data and see that we have seen this 700 percent increase in dangerous heat days over the past decade, which then translates into greater forest fire risk. And one of the things I love about our district is all the wonderful forests, but it also means that we have to be extra concerned about the forest fires.
What are you most excited about for the next three months?
I think I’m most excited about all the people and communities I’ll have the opportunity to meet. I’ve been around a long time, but I think this is such a unique opportunity to connect. To first listen and learn and then see where I can be helpful. Also I just love solving problems, and definitely over the next three months there are some big problems to be solved.
You famously built a hobbit house on your property, how is that going?
That’s a wonderful escape for me as an artist… I don’t have as much time to spend on reading books in my hobbit house as I used to, it’s definitely gathered some dust. But I still appreciate the joy it brings me every time I come home. We also have folks that still stop by every day to take pictures and take the scavenger hunt. That brings me joy as well. I just love that connection to my community.
It’s kind of relevant because Spokane is in a housing crisis. Should we loosen regulations to make it easier —
— easier to build more hobbit houses? There we go!
Like accessory hobbit dwelling units, or hobbit-in-law houses. Should we see more of that ADU stuff?
I think it’s all hands on deck and all ideas on deck right now. And I appreciate how my past experience and work with Priority Spokane is applicable now. Because we do have a housing crisis. And so I do think we need to be very creative and innovative in how we think about housing and reevaluate maybe past norms we have around housing.
Are there any recent City Council decisions where you either really strongly agreed or disagreed?
None specifically come to mind at the moment. I’ve definitely had some strong feelings.
Anything else you want people to know about who their new council member is?
I think one of the toughest lessons I’ve had to learn — but appreciate over the past year how it has improved me as a person — is how to really listen. I think for part of my life, I spent a good deal of time feeling like I needed to prove myself, and I needed to prove myself, and I needed to be heard. And now I teach classes on active listening. And I have been very blessed to have a platform in the past to be able to share my ideas. But I appreciate this phase in my life, I see the great value in the problems that can be solved by simply listening and actively listening. Making sure others feel heard. ♦
