Public Safety


Ensuring Everett is a safe and welcoming city for all is a top priority for Mayor Franklin, and under her leadership the city has made significant progress in reducing violence and crime through her decisions to:

  • Form a Chief’s Community Advisory and Oversight group.
  • Establish the Lock It Everett campaign, which distributed free gun locks to licensed gun owners.
  • Strengthen and build capacity for the city’s Community Outreach and Enforcement Team (COET), which teams social workers with the Everett Police Department to help direct social services to those who need them.
  • Implement a Gang Response Community Advisory Group.
  • Stand up the City’s first gang response unit.
  • Help the Everett Police Department receive the number one clearance rate in Washington state when compared with the top 10 most populous cities. High clearance rates mean crimes are being solved and appropriate arrests are being made.
  • Pilot body-worn cameras for police and secure federal grant funds to expand the program department wide.
  • Expand police training to include additional anti-bias, active bystander and de-escalation training, as well as education on the history of race in policing.


Addressing Homelessness and Street-Level Social Issues


Mayor Franklin compassionately champions programs that address homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and crime. With the support of community partners, she has established programs for housing, diversion, outreach and enforcement, and community education. She took the initiative to:

  • Create a Homeless Student Task Force.
  • Pilot a shelter program using Pallet shelters, funded by the Washington State Department of Commerce Shelter Grant Program.
  • Expand diversion programs with the County Sheriff’s Office.
  • Promote multiple education and employment opportunities.
  • Streamline access to medication-assisted treatments.
  • Equip multiple departments across the city with Naloxone to prevent deaths from overdose.
  • Develop targeted educational training in response to community needs.
  • Track and analyze spending on street-level social issues.
  • Steward resources toward the most effective programs.


Community Engagement


To increase community engagement in Everett, especially with underrepresented members of the community and young people, and to improve overall access to city government, Mayor Franklin has effectively been able to:

  • Strengthen online platforms for people to connect with their local government.
  • Diversify boards and commissions to represent more geographically, ethnically, racially diverse neighborhoods and groups of people.
  • Make information more accessible for residents who are not proficient in English.
  • Develop a youth internship program.
  • Create the Everett Youth Advisory Board, which began convening in 2019 and continues to incorporate youth in local government to discuss ways we can improve Everett.
  • Establish interdepartmental teams focused on engagement and inclusion.


Equity for All


In 2018, Mayor Franklin issued her first directive on community engagement to improve inclusion, equity and diversity at the City. In September of 2020, she issued another directive to help strengthen the unity of our community and address systemic racism. She is an advocate for all people who consider Everett to be their home and continues to bring people together by her efforts to:

  • Foster engagement and mutual understanding with diverse communities.
  • Create a culture of anti-racism.
  • Remove opportunity barriers to Black, Indigenous and People of Color
  • Diversify the city’s workforce.
  • Hire the city’s first equity manager.
  • Listen to the concerns of community members and use their recommendations to tackle tough issues.


Ensuring Fiscal Sustainability


From her first day in office, Mayor Franklin has made organizational changes and offered proposals to the City Council that address the city’s historical and ongoing structural budget deficit. She established Everett’s Fiscal Advisory Committee to assess the city’s financial situation and look for more opportunities to be efficient. She uses the FAC’s report to continue making the tough choices needed to balance the budget, protect essential services, and ensure the city is fiscally responsible through decisions to:

  • Reorganize long-term city expenses.
  • Identify alternative resources for existing services.
  • Consolidate staff positions to increase efficiency.
  • Expand the city’s volunteer program.


Protecting the Economy and Promoting Economic Recovery


Before the pandemic, Mayor Franklin appointed a new Economic Development Director to promote Everett as a business-friendly city in the Pacific Northwest. Employing her collaborative leadership style, she worked alongside organizations like Greater Seattle Partners and Economic Alliance Snohomish County to showcase Everett as one of the most “open for business” cities in the state. She and her team created comprehensive strategies to foster growth in the aerospace sector, plans that will help fuel the post-pandemic recovery of Boeing and its many local suppliers. Mayor Franklin has worked hard to promote business growth and expansion, stabilize the city’s financial footing, and provide economic support to the community by:

  • Creating EverettforEverett.com to encourage local commerce and support for small businesses and nonprofits.
  • Administering more than $1 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to small businesses, public service organizations, and rental assistance.
  • Implementing the Everett Streateries program, which provides streamlined permitting for retailers and restaurants to expand their operations outdoors, when indoor activities are restricted.
  • Producing the Safe Start toolkit, a guide to help small businesses navigate reopening as we emerge from the pandemic.


Responding to COVID-19


Mayor Franklin continues to partner with regional, state, and federal leadership to secure resources and supplies necessary to protect our community. When the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported right here in Everett, she took quick action to slow its spread and flatten the curve:

  • First mayor to issue a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directive.
  • City first responders were some of the first to receive Personal Protective Equipment.
  • City staff got to work at home to prevent spread of the virus whenever possible.
  • Proactively collaborates with the Governor’s Office, Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County’s Emergency Coordination Center, and Federal CDC to protect the public’s health.