By James Tabafunda
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
In a renewed push to confront crime, open-air drug use, and rising instability in one of Seattle’s most historic and diverse neighborhoods, leaders from Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), Rotary Club of the Seattle International District, and former City Councilmember Tanya Woo unveiled a 15-point public safety plan during a Sept. 16 news conference at Hoa Mai Park.
The gathering drew county and city officials, business owners, and dozens of Chinatown-International District (CID) residents, with many carrying signs that read “Save Little Saigon” and “Little Saigon Deserves Better.”
Community organizers described the plan as both urgent and restorative, blending increased law enforcement with long-term investments in housing, economic revitalization, and recovery services.
“This neighborhood cannot survive another year like this,” said Sharon Lee, executive director of Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI). “No other part of Seattle, the county, or the state is experiencing this level of crime—open-air drug use, overdoses, and gun trafficking. This is a blueprint to save Little Saigon.”
(From left): Sharon Lee, executive director of Low Income Housing Institute; Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson; and Dave Della, president of the Rotary Club of the Seattle International District. (Photo by James Tabafunda)
A plan born from frustration
The 15 steps were crafted in collaboration with Little Saigon residents and merchants who have long pleaded with officials to deal with chronic safety threats. The plan demands increased visible policing, new affordable housing investments, and coordinated law enforcement against drug activity, stolen goods, and illegal sidewalk vending.
Among its proposals:
- More patrols in alleys and side streets where drug activity occurs.
- Construction of six to eight new tiny-house villages, which advocates say successfully transition unhoused residents into permanent housing.
- Potential relocation of Metro bus stops that have become hotspots for criminal activity.
- Temporary closure of Hoa Mai Park for repairs and safety improvements.
- Efforts to seize nuisance properties and prevent vacant lots from being overrun by encampments.
“We need more shelters and tiny-house villages so people do not have to sleep in tents or on sidewalks,” Lee said.
Voices of urgency
Emcee Dave Della, president of the Rotary Club of the Seattle International District, introduced one speaker after another.
Woo, who has long centered her activism in the CID, delivered some of the strongest words of the day.
Former Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo at the podium, with Little Saigon supporters carrying signs at the Sept. 16 news conference. (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“I want you to look around and see who is not here,” she said. “We are requiring and demanding the county and the state to step up. The city has done a lot and we require a lot from the city and they have shown up. But right now, we don’t see many county or state officials.”
Woo called on Gov. Bob Ferguson to provide $20 million in emergency state funds to address growing encampments near Interstate 5. “This plan is about building a future where Little Saigon thrives—where families can gather safely, small businesses can grow, and our culture continues to flourish for generations to come,” she said.
Community frustration
Sue Mar, managing partner of Mar Properties and a longtime business leader, directly linked several years of public safety and business problems to the 2017 opening of the city’s Navigation Center for people struggling with addiction and homelessness.
Sue Mar, managing partner of Mar Properties (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“Almost immediately, the area became inundated with crime, drugs, addictions, addicts, and every other source of problems that many of us never imagined would happen here,” Mar said. Although she credited the March 2025 closing of the Navigation Center for making a positive difference, she said, “Seattle and King County need to get together on crime and protect the safety of our communities. Little Saigon is asking the city of Seattle to dedicate financial resources in the 2026 budget for more law enforcement, maintenance, public safety, and economic assistance. These are the resources that we and every other community in Seattle need to maintain safety and protect our communities,”
Elected leaders address the crisis
Several elected officials spoke at the news conference, acknowledging rising frustration in Little Saigon and vowing to offer help.
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci called the plan “an important and urgent call to action” for county and city leaders. She said the status quo “in this neighborhood is unacceptable.”
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood,” Balducci said. She pointed to the county’s investments in behavioral health and substance-use treatment while acknowledging the persistence of open-air drug markets “are not just a public safety crisis … they are also a public health crisis.”
Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson was direct, saying the community had succeeded in doing what city leaders failed to deliver: creating a viable public safety plan.
“It really does tell you something when it’s the community that comes up with the plan,” Nelson said. “As the person that’s speaking today who holds the power of the purse, I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that not only are these items implemented, they’re also paid for.”
Nelson ended with a pledge: “Little Saigon, I have not forgotten you, and I stand with the community to support and sponsor your 15-point plan.”
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said the disorder she sees in the neighborhood is emotionally overwhelming.
“Our children need to see that the laws matter and that people will be held accountable for doing harm to other people. That’s how we are: a civilized society by the rule of law.”
City of Seattle Chief Public Safety Officer Natalie Walton-Anderson cited declining crime trends, reporting a 24% drop in 911 calls, a 32% decrease in thefts, and a 60% decline in robberies in recent months. She argued that the data shows progress, but acknowledged a gap between statistics and perception.
City of Seattle Chief Public Safety Officer Natalie Walton-Anderson (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“This data shows that we’re making progress, but people still need to feel safe,” Walton-Anderson said. “While we are making strides and improvements, we have a lot of work to do.”
City Councilmember Bob Kettle, chair of the Public Safety Committee, issued a statement after the news conference backing the 15-point plan. “I fully support the work that is happening in Little Saigon,” he wrote.
Public safety meets compassion
Several speakers pressed for treating addiction and mental health struggles not only as crimes but as humanitarian crises.
Amy Barden, chief of Seattle’s CARE (Community Assisted Response and Engagement) department, emphasized dignity and human value in recovery work. “We should never have left folks to languish and die slowly on the streets,” Barden said. “That is not okay. It’s not okay today. It never was.”
CARE (Community Assisted Response and Engagement) department Chief Amy Barden (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Solutions exist when government and community leaders intervene with compassion, and Barden said she acknowledged the urgency she felt to act on the 15-point plan. “We could change all of this,” she said. “But we have to have philosophical alignment about the essential value of every single life.”
Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins described new public safety solutions targeting the fentanyl crisis, highlighting the department’s role as the only agency nationwide administering buprenorphine to individuals who are recovering from an opioid overdose or experiencing severe withdrawal.
Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold Scoggins (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“The Seattle Fire Department is always in support of taking action to make our community safer and healthier,” Scoggins said. He then described the department’s first pop-up clinic at Hoa Mai Park that reached nearly 200 people, calling the innovative public health partnership “a model … in Little Saigon and in other areas of the city in the future.”
Political landscape
Though the focus was public safety, the news conference also became a stage for candidates vying for a spot in Seattle government.
Seattle City Attorney candidate Erika Evans sought to cast herself as being aligned with the 15-point plan, pledging to prioritize crime prevention strategies present in her background prosecuting drug and firearms cases.
“What we’re seeing is not public safety,” Evans said. “We can do so much better, but it’s going to take leaders that have actual experience doing this work to make that happen.”
Rachael Savage, candidate for City Council, Position 8, said, “We need to arrest people for committing crimes, public drug use, crime associated with addiction,” she said. “The two points I agree with … is bringing law enforcement to this neighborhood and arresting for … crimes associated with drug use also help the business owners.”
Adonis Ducksworth, candidate for City Council, District 2, urged balance. “These are people’s moms, dads, brothers, sisters,” he said. “They need to be treated with dignity, with respect.”
He also warned against disinvestment and gentrification that risk pushing out Black, Vietnamese, and other communities of color that have historically defined the CID. Ducksworth said, “And then what happens? The developers come in and all of a sudden, the community does not look like what it once did.”
A way forward
The rollout of the 15-point plan comes at a critical point in time. Little Saigon residents and business owners say patience is running out as chronic safety threats are getting worse in the neighborhood.
“We call on Mayor Harrell, County Executive Braddock, Governor Ferguson, and elected city, county, and state officials to implement the 15-point plan and save Little Saigon,” Lee said.
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