Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Candidates split over arming school staff and role of policing in school safety
Summary
At the Spokane forum, Renee Holiday urged more funding for law enforcement and supported arming school staff; Anne Marie Danemas argued arming teachers is unsafe and emphasized mental-health supports and community policing.
A debate question about policies to keep schools safe highlighted a clear divide among Washington's 5th District candidates over the role of policing and whether school staff should be armed.
Renee Holiday said she would increase funding for law enforcement and expressed support for "any of the school staff being able to be armed" to defend children. She said recent years have seen departments short-staffed and blamed reductions in policing budgets for rising crime.
Anne Marie Danemas responded that policing alone cannot prevent gun violence and pointed to high proportions of firearm deaths that are suicides. She said arming teachers is "one of the worst ideas I've ever heard," recommended mental-health outreach, community policing and supports for children as the better path to safer schools.
Other candidates also linked school safety to community conditions: Matthew Brady Weldy and Rick Valentine Flynn discussed prosecution capacity, fentanyl and law-enforcement priorities in later answers. The forum did not produce consensus or a formal policy directive; attendees heard sharply different approaches that could shape local campaign messaging.
