Bolanos runs for City Council a second time

By Dean Wong

In 1992, Ëngel Bolanos moved to Seattle from Ecuador and did not speak any English. But now feels he is ready to be leader in this city and is campaigning for Position 4 on the Seattle City Council. He said he is confident that he will win the primary election on Sept. 20.

Bolanos ran against council member Jim Compton in 2003 and came in third with 18,000 votes. Compton was re-elected.

"I was an unknown, no one knew about me," said Bolanos.

During his first campaign for City Council, Bolanos said he was working full time and raising a family, but is proud that he managed to get within 5000 votes of being a finalist.

In this election, Bolanos is running against incumbent Jan Drago, and Casey Corr, a former aide to Mayor Greg Nickels.

Bolanos has been reaching out to voters by visiting 30,000 homes, he said.

If elected Bolanos said he wants to help create a fiscally open government to restore the public trust. He criticizes "mega project" funding like Paul Allen's aim to make South Lake Union into a biotech center.

With the city subsidizing Allen's project, Allen spends some of his own money but gets two to three times that back, said Bolanos .

"Everyone knows he is buying the city," said Bolanos. "It's important to step back and see what kind of benefit the public has."

As far as the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct goes, Bolanos prefers the rebuild option.

"It saves money," he said. "We have better technology and engineering now."

Voters have supported the idea of a monorail, not an $11.5 billion price tag, said Bolanos, who is against the elevated transit system now struggling to stay alive.

There are four ways to kill the monorail project, according to Bolanos. This can be done by the State Legislature, the city withholding necessary permits, defeated by re-vote of the people and the monorail's board could fold the project.

"We have light rail already being built with money from different sources," said Bolanos. "The monorail is stuck in hard times and taxes."

His idea is to use light rail to carry people from neighborhoods like Ballard and West Seattle to downtown by using the line now being installed in the Metro Tunnel.

"Use the existing technology and spend less money," he proposed.

Consolidating the transportation agencies and establishing a regional transit board is a solution Bolanos advocates.

He would like to revitalize the economy by streamlining the permitting process and helping small businesses succeed in neighborhoods. City revenues, he said, should be fairly spread throughout the city to create jobs.

Public safety is another area of concern for Bolanos . He wants more police accountability because he believes law enforcement often discriminates and racially profiles people of color.

"We have to revamp the training with racial and ethnic training to de-escalate the tension," he said.

Bolanos has first hand experience when it comes to crime. He said his Columbia City home has been shot at, his tires slashed two months ago, he has had three cars stolen and his home vandalized. During his first campaign for City Council some of his documents were stolen.

He says someone is out to get him and he has no idea who.

"I'm the only Latino and immigrant person running for office," said Bolanos .

Bolanos said in Ecuador, he was a member of Congress.

He is the fifth of ten kids in his family and is the only one of his siblings to have gone to higher education.

"People are my passion," he said.

In 1993, Bolanos helped immigrant students gain access to resources at Seattle Central Community College. That same year, he was hired as a bilingual instructor for United Way. He also co-founded the Casa Latino agency in Belltown.

Bolanos described himself as a coalition builder with vision, leadership, practice and action.

He said other City Council members who are up for re-election have told him they would be eager to work with him.

Bolanos claimed he would stand up to Nickels and lobbyists who proposed ideas to him.

In attempt to get to know the communities in the city he has been participating in community meetings all over the neighborhoods, including Ballard and Magnolia.

"I'm going to win the primary," said Bolanos. "It takes one person to shake it up. I'm a very determined visionary person who always means what he says."