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How hard will it be for the new mayor to achieve her goals?

A look at the political challenges and advantages Nadine Woodward will face.

SPOKANE, Wash. — On Monday, Nadine Woodward was sworn in and gave her first speech as mayor of Spokane.

It was a fairly short speech, but one that succinctly outlined her key policy objectives for her term.

Parks

Following a campaign that focused mostly on crime and homelessness, the first issue Woodward addressed in her speech was something completely different.

"We are on our way to finishing the redevelopment of Riverfront Park, continuing to build opportunities for recreation throughout our gorgeous city," she said.

Improving parks is a goal that politically speaking shouldn't be too difficult.

It was a big focus of the past mayor; the revamping of Riverfront Park remains one of David Condon's most visible accomplishments. And Woodward is keeping on a lot of Condon's key staff.

The revamp still has several more phases already in the works. The current council has repeatedly shown an interest in funding parks, and many of its members are staying on in 2020. So, park investment should be a highly achievable goal.

Downtown Precinct

Woodward then transitioned to the messaging that was core to her campaign: public safety.

"Make our neighborhoods and our downtown core safer and comfortable for everyone," she said.

Crime in Spokane has actually gone down quite a bit this year, according to Monday's COMPSTAT report. Year-to-date, it's decreased by 16.34 percent citywide, and 13.05 percent downtown.

But Woodward has long said her goal is not just to reduce the stats, but improve the general perception of downtown, an objective that begins with relocating the downtown police precinct.

"We will also bring the downtown precinct back into the core," she said. "We need to give our law enforcement the right tools to do their job effectively, and it starts with more officers on patrol."

A more visible precinct, and taking officers out of cars and putting them on foot patrol, are ideas Woodward has been working on throughout the transition. She has indicated a new location is nearing selection already.

Given that multiple council members have also backed similar proposals since before the campaign, precinct relocation seems to be a goal that will be achievable very soon.

It's also worth noting that more officers on foot doesn't necessarily mean more officers hire; it'd likely be more a change in assignment than new personnel. And, there are some concerns that if police are on foot, it'll be harder to quickly respond to calls.

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Homelessness

Homelessness is still the number one issue to many people. And it's likely to be one of the more challenging ones for the Woodward administration.

"My administration will focus on providing our most vulnerable a path to self-sufficiency," Woodward said in her speech.

A lot of homelessness policy over the past few years has been mired in political gridlock. The outgoing administration and council have each repeatedly blamed the other for failure to arrive at permanent solutions.

One of the most high-profile failures was a recent push for a full-service shelter on East Sprague, which was repeatedly postponed and eventually died.

That combative dynamic could change, however, given the so-far highly collaborative relationship between the new mayor and the new council president, Breean Beggs.

But, it's still the probably issue on which Woodward has the most significant ideological differences from the majority of the council.

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