Time to Treat Spokane’s Health and Safety Crisis Like the Disaster It Is – Part II

Article Summary

Spokane faces a worsening crisis of homelessness, drug overdoses, and public safety concerns—yet even with temperatures near zero degrees this morning, a person dying each day from overdose, and businesses closing, leadership has failed to respond with the urgency this disaster demands. 

This article argues that Spokane should adopt the same emergency response protocols that successfully mitigated our 2015 windstorm crisis and other large-scale disasters across the country. Without that kind of decisive leadership, cross-jurisdictional coordination, and immediate action, this crisis will continue to erode public trust, economic stability, and community well-being.

This crisis will not go away on its own!  It’s time for Spokane’s regional leaders to step up and lead – together.  The longer we delay, the more lives and businesses we lose.  Our region must unite and treat this crisis like the disaster it truly is.

In last week’s Three for Thursday, we discussed the need to treat Spokane’s homelessness and public health crisis as an actual emergency. We also suggested that the Mayor and her Cabinet begin a daily 4 a.m. walk through downtown to jumpstart that response, and continue that walk until the problem is resolved (read last week’s article).

This week, we’re taking that idea further—what does it actually mean to treat this crisis like the disaster it is?

Lessons from 2015: The Windstorm Spokane Was Ready For

When disaster strikes, leadership matters. Resources matter. Planning and Coordination matter. And, above all, urgency matters.

Spokane knows this firsthand. In November 2015, a devastating windstorm tore through our region, toppling trees, crushing homes and cars, and leaving 180,000 residents without power. Despite the scale of destruction, only two lives were lost—tragic, but remarkably low given the circumstances.

That outcome was no accident. It was the result of proactive planning, decisive leadership, and a coordinated urgent response—the kind of response Spokane was ready for because former Mayor David Condon laid the groundwork before the storm hit.

Earlier that year, Condon invited Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox to Spokane.  Maddox had led his city through one of the worst disasters in modern U.S. history—the 2011 tornado that obliterated entire neighborhoods. Maddox came to Spokane to share critical lessons, including:

• • • How to mobilize resources across agencies
    • How to coordinate efforts across jurisdictions
    • How to execute an emergency response that doesn’t stop until the crisis is under control

When the 2015 windstorm hit, Spokane didn’t hesitate. Every morning, Condon and his team met at the Regional Emergency Operations Center (EOC), bringing together top leadership, emergency responders, utility crews, and dozens of other key stakeholders. They broke down bureaucratic silos, established clear priorities, and deployed resources immediately —without delay, politics, or excuses.

As the City’s CFO, I watched that process unfold each day, ensuring financial alignment across agencies, including FEMA. It was truly an all-hands-on-deck effort with “can’t fail” leadership, further strengthened by Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), a coalition of nonprofits dedicated to unified disaster response.

A Crisis Without Urgency

Fast forward to today—Spokane is in the midst of another disaster. But this one doesn’t have downed power lines or crushed homes. Instead, it’s playing out daily on our streets, in our hospitals, and in our businesses, including:

• • • Nearly one person dying each day from drug overdose.
    • Open drug use, lawlessness, and untreated mental illness crippling the City.
    • Businesses closing at an alarming rate.
    • Public safety fears escalating.

Public trust in local leadership has plummeted, with a recent Greater Spokane Incorporated poll showing:

• • • 77% of respondents distrust local authorities,
    • 58% feel Spokane is on the wrong track,
    • 56% have considered leaving the area, and
    • 94% agree Spokane will never fully recover without addressing homelessness and public safety

So where is the urgency?

• • • Where are the daily emergency meetings, like those held in 2015?
    • Where is the coordinated, cross-agency response, marshalling all available regional resources toward a unified goal?
    • And where is the leadership to drive it forward?

Unlike a natural disaster, this crisis has steadily worsened over years, making the lack of urgency and strong leadership even more unacceptable. The death toll from our health and safety crisis far exceeds that of the windstorm or any other disaster we’ve experienced. The economic damage is also severe and long-lasting. Yet we are seeing none of the decisive, all-hands-on-deck response that Spokane once knew how to deliver.

This is a Disaster That Requires a Disaster-Level Response

The response to the 2015 windstorm, and other well managed disaster efforts across the country, prove a simple truth:  when leaders treat a crisis like an actual emergency, results follow.

Former Mayor David Condon understood this. When disaster hit, he didn’t form another task force, spend years conducting studies, or wait for another election cycle.  Instead, he mobilized resources, coordinated every available asset, and urgently got to work — every single day — and didn’t stop until the crisis was under control.

What Needs to Happen Now – and Who Should Lead?

A crisis response requires immediate, clear, decisive, and accountable leadership – otherwise resources remain scattered.  For years now, we have been looking to the City could lead – however with this type of crisis, strong consideration should be given to moving to County leadership for multiple key reasons:

• • • Spokane County maintains a comprehensive emergency management department, providing coordinated disaster response services across the region (vs. the City’s emergency management department focused on response within City limits). 
    • The County serves as the region’s Administrative Services Organization (ASO), overseeing substantial behavioral health funding and crisis response services, including crisis hotlines, mobile crisis teams, and involuntary treatment evaluations.
    • Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SREC) is mostly led by emergency response leaders outside the City.   Real-time communication across jurisdictions and agencies, with continual updates and resource deployments is critical.
    • County Sheriff John Nowels has already demonstrated strong collaborative and cross-jurisdictional leadership, including the establishment of the Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC), which became operational in December, 2024.
    • The RTCC provides deputies and investigators with real-time surveillance data, social media feeds, and intelligence from multiple law enforcement agencies, dramatically improving situational awareness and response efficiency.
    • Building on the RTCC’s success, the County’s next step could be to expand its capabilities to coordinate responses to broader regional emergencies – including this current public health and safety crisis – by integrating public health data and mobilizing multiple agencies across jurisdictions for a unified response.

This crisis isn’t just a City of Spokane problem — it impacts the entire region.  That’s why the County is uniquely positioned to lead a truly regional response, ensuring daily, real-time coordination across all key sectors – political, law enforcement, public health, business, social services, and many others – all working intensively and in unison to resolve this crisis.

This Crisis will NOT Go Away on Its Own

It’s time for Spokane’s regional leaders to step up and lead – together.  The longer we delay, the more lives and businesses we lose.  Our region must unite and treat this crisis like the disaster.