Editor’s note: The following interview was recorded on July 22, 2025. It has been edited for length and clarity. We want to thank Mattice Hoyt for setting up all these interviews and the candidates for taking the time to answer all her questions. This was the first time we really jumped into local elections in a big way and it ended up being more of a project than we had anticipated. Apologies for sharing these so late in the game. Click here to read the other interviews in this series.
Mattice Hoyt
What are five words you’ve used to describe Tacoma?
Latasha Palmer
Yeah, I think there’s so many words that we could use, because depending on where you’re at, Tacoma, it’s just a whole different vibe, right? But the five I would use would definitely be diverse. You know, some people use the word grit, I’d say resilient. Connected. Wherever you’re at, usually you’re going to run into somebody you know. Gorgeous, and I don’t think I don’t know if I want so many people to know about that, but you know, we have some amazing views and spots in Tacoma. And then capable. I think there’s a lot that Tacoma can do in the future and is capable of. We just gotta do it.
Mattice
What do you wish people knew about Tacoma?
Latasha
I think some people know the rich history of Tacoma as a resilient and very community-oriented spot, but I think beyond its industrial roots, it’s definitely beautifully diverse. And right now, it’s kind of like the dumping ground of a lot of industries because it’s kind of seen as almost like the stepchild of Seattle. But I think we need a rebrand, really, where we’re thinking about making sure that when we’re looking at people, and we’re bringing in industry, and people are moving in that they know that it’s an ideal place for innovation and sustainability.
Mattice
What are the core values that will guide you in your decision making if elected?
Latasha
So my core values are centered on equity, collective power, sustainability, transparency, and justice. I think they’re deeply rooted in me both by having a father who worked union for 30 years, and so that collective bargaining, and I saw the power behind that, and what it can do. But then, also, I bring in Buddhist ideals of what a bodhisattva is—emphasizing compassion, selflessness, and commitment to alleviating the suffering of others.
Mattice
I totally understand that for sure. What is your vision for the future of our city?
Latasha
I picture a city that has housing for all. I think it’s important that we reclaim housing for everybody, and not just you know, developers and people that can’t afford the higher, more luxury places to live. Affordability needs to be defined, and it needs to be permanent. Yeah, it’s not just something that lasts during a tax credit for some of these developers, and it disappears after that. We need real permanent solutions, solutions for our houseless population. I think that part of that has to do with having enough housing and enough affordable housing. I picture a clean city, a city that puts people and planet before profit. And I picture folks being able to support themselves and live and thrive and live comfortably and not be on survival mode.
Mattice
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing our community, and how do you propose that we address them?
Latasha
So I view all challenges as connected. I think housing, crime, climate issues, and economic disparities, they all kind of stem from the same thing. I think that solutions also have to be interconnected and address the shared root causes of those issues. I don’t think we can address these issues by attacking them independently in silos and a lot of the time in Tacoma, that’s been an issue where you know we have all these great organizations and folks doing the work, but a lot of times it’s disconnected and so there’s no way to share resources or make sure that there’s enough resources for everyone but I think we have the power to empower our neighborhoods to address some of these problems.
Because they know the best way to do that. We know what we need. I think I’m a huge proponent of that. People understand what they need. They live it every day. We can address those things with permanent solutions by promoting things like Community Land trusts, and social housing for affordable housing, Green job Creations, and I’m a huge proponent of what I call neighborhood hubs that promote Mutual Aid and Collective safety that’s rooted in the values of compassion and Community well-being.
Mattice
What does public service actually mean to you and what motivates you to get in office?
Latasha
Public service to me means embodying ideas of compassion, and selfless action. Working to uplift the community, and like I mentioned before, alleviate as much suffering as possible. So honestly, I never thought I would run for office. It was not something that was in the cards for me, but after the charter review process that I went through last year on that committee, and understanding how much power these nine people have to pass things or not pass things on to the voters. I said somebody needs to be in there on the inside doing that work.
And so I think we have a community that cares already, so we don’t have to worry about what public influence is going to look like. We understand that a lot of people in Tacoma have their neighbors and their own best interest in mind. So I really think the government needs to get out of the way of the will of the people. I have my kiddos. It’s just they’ve always been the motivation for everything. A Better future for them and their friends.
Mattice
Can you elaborate on your stance about houselessness?
Latasha
We’re not addressing it right now. We’re in a crisis. And that’s partly why I wanted to come home because I feel like there’s so much potential in thinking of new ideas on how to address this. I think it needs to be done in three stages or three focal points. One would be prevention. I don’t think we’re doing enough to try and prevent folks from becoming homeless, and that to me is mental health support, it’s youth services, it’s keeping our kiddos busy and making sure they have the support and their basic needs met so that they don’t end up getting into things that make it so they end up on the street.
And then it’s temporary solutions like our shelters. I know the funding for shelters has been cut recently with beds, and I’m hearing from the folks that are on the ground that their solution to that is reallocating who’s allowed in those spaces and making the beds that we do have available for those that need it. There’s a lot of issues around people with a family, or if you’re with a partner, if you have a pet, you can’t shelter in some spaces. And then the long-term solutions again. I think finding ways to get people permanently housed in affordable housing. And we do that through community land trust and social housing in Tacoma.
Mattice
What do you think about the current police presence here in Tacoma? Do you think that we need more or less or a different option?
Latasha
I am all for community-led safety initiatives that prioritize compassion and are around de-escalation, and that foster trust between the peacekeepers, no matter if that’s police or if it takes some other form and the residents. I’ve done work locally with disinvesting in things like police surveillance technology with ShotSpotter.
It’s not just me not believing, the facts show that those things are not effective and are a big waste of money. And so we need to put the money into safety and policing solutions that actually work. I think we need to invest more in our alternative response programs and teams. I looked at the budget literally last night, and the amount of money going towards the police versus those other programs is crazy.
I think right now Tacoma’s at almost 63% of the general budget going to the police department. I was looking at what the city pays for parking, and then I got immersed in all the other things and I saw that and I was like no way. And then I’m a huge urban design nerd, and so I really believe that urban design and building relationships between neighbors can have a lot to do with managing and creating safe spaces. We can design spaces where people can connect and where people you know neighbors have eyes on each other’s homes, and there’s just ways to make those things more easy, so we don’t have to depend on things like police as much.
And then, I have also pushed on the charter review for police oversight, community oversight of the police. And a lot of folks view that as anti-police. I view it as keeping them accountable. The police policing themselves is clearly not working, and we need somebody in there that has another set of eyes, and it’s better for the Tacoma residents to be able to have trust between the residents and the police that way. But then it’s also, not just in my opinion, but facts have shown that it’s better for the police officers as well, because sometimes there’s things happening in the department that they don’t feel safe reporting because it’s all handled internally. So, if we have an outside independent set of eyes on these things, a lot of the police officers actually appreciate that.
Mattice
How would you measure the success of your candidacy if you win?
Latasha
I really appreciate this question, because I don’t think we do it enough, actual measuring of success. And so I could personally say some abstract thing that you know how I feel or how people feel but I don’t think that’s enough.
I think measuring success involves planning, and so I want people to hold me accountable so that the platform and priorities that I’m saying, I want folks to be able to actually track my progress towards those things. So, I plan to track that and I’ll be making that information available. So, tracking my priorities like permanently affordable housing, neighborhood resilience, and safety and sustainable jobs. And I think that’ll encourage two things. So, again, accountability on my side, but then also collaboration with the community. I don’t think a lot of people understand or know what their council members are trying to do.
Mattice
What are your plans to ensure that your policies benefit all members of the community, including marginalized people?
I say I focus mainly on marginalized folks, because when we focus on those that maybe have been disenfranchised or left out of the conversation, then I think we help address issues for everybody. But for me, as one council person, I think I can make sure that everybody benefits by making sure that there’s equal access to me. Making sure that I am not just paying attention to the folks that maybe donated highly to my campaign. But, you know, all the people across the city that have issues. I’ve also heard from folks that timely communication is a huge thing. There’s a lot of development that happens that the community has an opinion on that they learn about way too late to actually do anything about it. I think people power is huge, and so letting folks know, hey, this could be coming to your neighborhood, keep an eye out. And I want to hear what you think about this, proactively doing that, I think, is huge.
I think we need more innovative outreach. We’re in 2025. You know, we have Zoom, we have lives, we have all sorts of ways that we could connect with folks, and so I think that we need to explore innovative ways of meeting people where they’re at. And then, as a city-wide council member, I really do think you know, there’s the district council members who can take care of the potholes and do all those types of things. I see it as my job to really connect the city together and hear from the different folks. And I’ve started that with my campaign. Some of the best parts of my campaign have been talking to the Tribe and talking to the API community, folks that I haven’t been able to connect with yet. And I think all of the opinions and bringing those together is kind of what’s going to be how I can be most useful in that position.
Mattice
How will you work with people who have different viewpoints than you?
Latasha
I’m happy to say that I kind of pride myself on having experience in this area. I went to Columbia University, and as a first gen non-traditional student, low income in that kind of an environment. I had to be able to adapt, and I don’t know if I want to use the word code switch, but being able to communicate with different groups and people from different backgrounds was huge. It also came up in my race and equity work when my kiddos were younger. That’s kind of my first advocacy work was just in their school, creating a race and equity committee. And this was pre Black Lives Matter, so you could imagine what that work looked like, and so it was educating folks. And again, meeting them wherever they were at and just putting myself in their shoes and having empathy as well. And like, hey, there was maybe a point in my life where I didn’t quite understand these things and I needed somebody to hold my hand through it, and so I have the privileged position to do that.
And the charter review was another example of that, where a lot of folks were appointed into the charter review committee were already really involved in the city and politics and I’m coming from more of this grassroots position and I brought forth some non-conventional ideas during that process and at first there was a little pushback but then I was able to, by the end of that process, get those folks on and agreeing to put a lot of those recommendations forward to the council. Even though the council didn’t do much with it, I was happy to be able to do that, and I did that by just presenting the facts, research, and again, meeting people where they’re at and explaining things that maybe they hadn’t thought about bringing things that worked in other cities. And just with care, you know, keeping the ego out of the equation.
Mattice
How do you ensure transparency and accountability in your position?
Latasha
I think we’ve talked about making sure people know what I’m doing and what my goals are and how far away I am from those goals. But on the city side. I think that there’s some things that need to change policy wise in order for the city to be more transparent and accountable. One of the things I fought for again during the charter review was a form of government change where we move from a council/manager form of government to more of a strong mayor.
And what a lot of folks have said is that it matters who’s in those seats, yes, but the system itself allows for the city council to say, oh, no, we did this because the city manager told us to, and then the manager can say, oh, no, I did this because the final decision is with the council, and so there’s no end the accountability that you go kind of go back and forth, but with a strong mayor versus a weak, then we can make sure that people have a say, so whoever we can vote in, we can vote out, right? So if they’re not doing their job we get the next person in. That can’t happen with the city manager. There’s a lot happening right now, where Council will come out with a 9-0 vote, and you didn’t get to see any of the work that got to that point. That to me is not transparent.
Mattice
What do you consider to be your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
Latasha
Again, empathy. I pride myself on that and being able to put myself in other people’s shoes. There’s versions of me in the past that I probably wouldn’t like very much right now, but it took other people’s patience and time and learning to get me to where I am now. And I think my experience too. So, in this position, I feel like I am the only one who’s ready to get in there and govern on day one against some of these bigger issues, like the federal overreach that’s happening because I’ve already gone through a lot of the training through that charter review process. I understand how the council works and how it doesn’t work. I’ve reviewed the budget, I’ve connected with folks in different departments around the city. So it’s not going to be a steep learning curve for me as much as maybe some of the other folks that maybe even haven’t gone to a council meeting ever.
And then my weakness is thinking that I can do it all and do it all myself. But I’ll say that this campaign’s been kind of like a crash course in being able to lean on other folks and delegate. It hasn’t been like me, saying, hey, will you do this? It’s been folks coming up and saying, what do you need? So, it’s a work in progress.
Mattice
What do you think are some plans for job creation and economic growth in Tacoma?
Latasha
My whole thing again is this rebrand that we need in Tacoma. I think we need to incentivize and encourage job creation through sustainable industries that again prioritize the well-being of both people and the planet. And I also am a huge supporter of collective power. There’s the collective business model where you know employees basically have ownership of their business that they’re working with, and so there’s not this huge wealth gap, and people are invested in what’s actually happening with the business. I think Tacoma can almost be known for being welcoming to that kind of a business model. Don’t know any other city locally that that is. There’s still a lot of red tape to being able to create those types of businesses. And then, of course, supporting our unions and making sure that collective power is something that is not hard to do. It should be the standard in my opinion.
Mattice
My last question is, I think really important because I just see it so much in Tacoma. What steps will you take to promote racial and social justice in Tacoma?
Latasha
So, as we’ve kind of discussed, I’ve done a lot of work trying to get that community police oversight going, and I think that that’s huge when it comes to the people who are mostly affected by police violence and having a say in what’s happening and being able to review use of force cases and complaints and things like that, so that’s huge. And then I’m also for promoting real diversity when it comes to our city leadership and commissions. I think that that’s become almost a neutral word now, when we talk about diversity, but I’m not talking about necessarily skin color or things like that. I’m talking about diversity of thought, right?
I’m happy that we have maybe one of the most diverse council boards when it comes to race and ethnicity but they’re still, in my opinion, not enough diversity of thought. And that, to me, is people coming from maybe lower income backgrounds, maybe people coming from, you know, hey I’ve been on food stamps. Hey, I’ve been homeless. Hey I view things maybe different politically, I have different solutions to these things than a capitalist system. Things like that. And so I think that’s huge. Shifting that it will do a lot towards social justice. And then again, addressing the root causes of the systemic inequities through things like food justice initiatives and in housing, health care, and public safety. And again, starting that at the neighborhood level through neighborhood driven initiatives and policy reforms rooted in values of Justice and Equity.
Mattice
I would end, but you have a bonus question. I’ve noticed that on your signs and on your page, it says vote local. What did you mean by that?
Latasha
I mean, obviously, vote for me (laughs). But when we’re knocking on doors and we ask what do you want to see changed at the city level, a lot of folks’ energy and time is being put towards what’s happening on the national level. And a lot of folks don’t understand that that’s happening there and there’s a little bit we could do about that, but what we can do locally is what’s going to affect those things the most, and in the long run and affect our daily lives. And so it’s trying to have folks understand, don’t pass by on the local elections. They’re just as important, or if not more important, than voting in those national elections.
Mattice
Thank you so much for your time today.
