Into the breach
By reporter Steven Smalley
What would inspire a Magnolia mother of four children to enter politics and run for office? The elected position in this case is the open seat on the Seattle City Council previously held by Sally Bagshaw who is retiring.
Daniela Eng is a family woman – she calls herself – who wants to enter city government without the benefit of ever being involved in politics. Married and employed in her family’s business just off Commodore Way, WBL Services, Daniela has been in the news lately because of the fear she has going to work, and that’s her prime motivation.
“I don’t have a history of being in politics, but I have a history of advocating for my community,” she tells Magnolia Voice. “Our Magnolia business continues to get burglarized over here for years. It’s scary to come to work. When I showed up today there was a sketchy person standing across the street with a hood and a backpack. He was just staring at me.”
Eng has the videos to prove the crimes she alleges. As seen recently in The Voice and other media, you can plainly observe vagrants and other assorted criminals committing crimes from burglary to public urination on her porch. No one has been arrested, according to Eng.
“I am deathly afraid something’s going to happen to me. There are heroin users right outside my front door. Just this past week they used bolt cutters to break in and steal a generator. It’s on Craigslist right now,” she exclaims. “I have video of everything.”
What will she do if elected to the council?
“I’m going to run for city council and change the way we prosecute these crimes,” Eng says. “I want there to be less drug use and fewer needles in the parks. Parents are afraid of their children playing in Discovery Park because of used needles everywhere. I wouldn’t be running if I thought I didn’t have a chance. I am running as a Latina woman who lives in Magnolia, who has kids, and I want to make this a safe environment for families.”
City Council District 7 covers Magnolia, Queen Anne, and downtown to Pioneer Square. The position is non-partisan.
“I’m going to make the Seattle City Council transparent, so we are not making backdoor deals like we did with the head tax,” she says. “Coming in and out of Magnolia now is a pain for people in cars because of the new bike lanes. Coming into Magnolia on Emerson is backed up all the way to the Ballard Bridge at night because of the new bike lanes. I don’t think we should continue to take away car lanes for them.”
On the subject of transportation, there is one other thing.
“I want to make sure there is a one-to-one replacement for the Magnolia bridge,” she says.
Eng’s website is: DanielaForSeattle.com
Email: DanielaForSeattle@gmail.com