3 Questions with Wil Fuentes- Guest John Zingale

Brought to you by the 18th Legislative District Democrats with your host Wil Fuentes and our special guest John Zingale who is Candidate for Clark County Council District 2. Mr Zingale talks about his experience in teaching, jobs, and infrastructure in Clark County. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Three Questions, sponsored by the 18th Legislative District, Washington State Democrats. I'm your host, Wolf Wendis. My guest today is John Zengali, who is running for Clark County Council District 2. John Zengali is an award-winning educator here in Clark County. For the last 13 years, he has been teaching young individuals on how to get civically involved. He cares about public safety, affordable housing, and improving the lives of all Clark County residents. John, welcome to Three Questions with yours truly Will Fuentes. How are you? How are we doing well? Well, good for having me. I'm happy to have you here. I'm just really, really excited to get to know you, have the audience members get to know you. And why don't we start off with the first question? Question number one. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about yourself and what office you're running for. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

Thank you. Yeah. Well, Johnson Galley. Yeah. I'm running for uh Clark County Council District number two.

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

And you know, I'm excited for this because myself, I am a 13-year, actually 13, 14, something. Somewhere in there. Been working for Vancouver Public Schools the last uh several years. 13, 14 years. Yeah. And uh over those years at iTech Preparatory, I teach kids from all over Vancouver. Eastside, West Side, even Battleground. We pull a lot of our students. So I've had uh the opportunity to meet tons of different families from all over Clark County. Um, and that's where like I've stepped up to you know try to do something better and better the community because I hear a lot of uh the hardships that they're having and um the issues that matter to them. Um, you know, I've been teaching for these last 13 years. Um actually the current 2026 Southwest Washington Teacher of the Year. Congratulations. Congratulations, lots of other uh awards and accolades through that. Um and prior to that, I actually spent 16 years uh in grocery retail. Okay. Believe it or not. Okay. Started bagging groceries and worked my way up to assistant store director. Okay. So um I have a business background as well, um, lots of project management, um, getting things done and going to repair, and my job there would be going to fix stores that were in disarray. So um I I think uh County Council is uh ripe for my skill set.

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yeah, yeah. So now you said County Council District 2. Can you tell us uh geographically what areas does County Council District 2 encompass in? It's not an easy one.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

It's uh it's Salmon Creek, it's Philiida, um, it's Hazeldale, it's down to like I believe 63rd. So um it's it's a little bit of the 18th legislative district, which I've run for in the past. Yeah, yeah. Um and then the other part of it is the uh upper 49th. Okay. So um it does share, while there's a lot of unincorporated Clark County in it, it does uh have a bit of the city in it as well. Oh, it does.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Okay, so the northern part right of the city of Vancouver. Yep. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

And it most of it a lot of that borders, I think believe, 78th Street, and so it does drop down below that. Okay. Um, into the east side towards uh Costco and uh Home Depot and so.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Okay, that's right. But most of it is uh urban unincorporated Clark County. Correct. Now, let me let me ask you this. Uh uh, and I bet your your students are very excited that you're writing for Clark County Council, too. But let me ask you this what's something that you want boarders to know that they may not know?

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Um, yeah, so that's one of the funnest things I think about me is I've actually seen over, I think, 240 concerts.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

240 concerts?

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah. Um it's it's I love music. Uh just growing up. We used to travel to concerts all over the place. I even saw my favorite band uh in uh France last summer. Which is Dream Theater. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Most people don't know that. But um, yeah, I love music. Um I used to play bass guitar for a little bit. Um my son is now learning guitar. No, I'm actually gonna be learning guitar along Right Side Web. Are you in a band? No. Were you in a band? Um I had friends that were in bands. I was not good enough to do that. But I just I love music. I love going to shows because you never have a bad time. Right. Right? You're with friends you're you're you don't know those people, but you're friends with them. Right, right, right. Um, and you get to really enjoy and just, you know, um, I'm always amazed at the musicianship and what people can do live. I was just at a show again on last Friday.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Yeah. Um who was that? What's the last what's your?

SPEAKER_01 4:14

It was just a jazz like Frank Sinatra Louis Armstrong show. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

But not the original Frank Sinatra, the Armstrong.

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, they've been gone for a while. They have. Um and so like I love all different types of genre from metal to Pearl Jam to um jazz. Yeah. Um, you know, even some classical we went and saw Vivaldi a couple weeks ago. So my my daughter plays uh in band and orchestra, and so um been going to lots of concerts, you know, school concerts, and you know, celebrating the kids, and what you know, uh it's nice to see um music be a part of our community.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah, absolutely. No, it sounds like you have a very diverse range of musical styles that you're really into. But you know, I wanna I wanna learn a little bit more why you're running for County Council uh District 2. So we're gonna get into that.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Question number two. John, now audience members want to know, I want to know, you're running for Clark County Council District 2, why?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah, um, thank you for the incredible question. Um in the past, I've actually run for the 18th legislative district uh at the state level. Um, and as I was knocking on doors, I kept hearing some consistent threads through all of this, and that's really like people want to see where their tax dollars hit the road. And I think more and more as I've been a social science teacher and looked at got and taught government, I think the greater impact we have is at the more local level.

SPEAKER_02 5:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

And so um as uh in district two, I there, you know, we um have a diverse area, like it's some of the city, but a lot of it's unincorporated. Right. So we don't have the same services as the city does. Right. Um, and so we're seeing different issues play out. One of the big ones that I hear from a lot of uh parents, I had a mom stop me at Target the other day telling me their kid has just graduated college, they're gonna come back here looking for a job, but it's so expensive to own a car.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

And so they're like, How are we trying to figure out transportation? And so um, you know, that's a big piece. Um, I hear from a lot of constituents about you know they need they want the bridge. Yeah, we need to get that bridge done. Yeah, I know the county doesn't have the end all, say all, be all on that, but it's a part of that process. Yeah, um, these kids want to start their first jobs. I've got kids that I've been teaching, they're 17, 18, but they don't know how they're gonna get there. Right. Because, you know, and costs are so expensive. I keep hearing too um from a lot of families, you know, in my grocery retail days, uh right now, this time we're living in reminds me of the Great Recession, where people are putting groceries back because they can't afford all that. Right. And so, um, you know, we want to make sure that our county tax dollars are being spent appropriately, um, you know, making sure we're maintaining our roads, fixing those different things, right? Um, adding public transit stops. I know some CTRAN has been doing a lot of incredible work right now. Absolutely, but you know, we have to think when I first started teaching 13 years ago, Vancouver and Clark County in particular were smaller.

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

I think Vancouver was the 10th largest city. We're now the fourth.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Right? Clark County is growing exponentially. So the stuff that we have, we have to make sure we're adjusting and thinking, forward thinking, yeah. Um in the in our decisions about the county. But we also don't want just unabanded growth that's getting rid of you know the stuff that makes Clark County just at home and beautiful. Like those views, those mountain views, and um, you know, the land that we have. Yeah. So we have to be able to balance those. And you know, those are two big things that just have stuck with me as I'm hearing the families talk about them. Like even during parent-teacher conferences, like, oh what about this, what about that? You know, they come up to me and you know, um, they know I'm active in the community, and so they want to share those things because um they believe I can get things done.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah, yeah. You know, and we'll we'll get into some of your priorities in just a moment, but I do want to acknowledge that you make an you know a very valid point, right? Uh parents are struggling, right? Uh food is getting more expensive. Uh I mean, just a 12-ounce cup of coffee will set you back almost $5 with a dollar chip, right? Uh, it's just it's not cheap. And then you mentioned, you know, that parent who told you that their child uh can't afford a car. If I remember uh recently I read an article that an average price of a car is about $50,000 for a brand new, right? A new car, yeah. I mean gas. You know, gas is like upwards of five dollars right now. And then insuring a 17-year-old? Yeah, it's been a while since you are still young. Yeah, we're still young.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah, absolutely. Um yeah, it could be I just had a kid tell me they're $180 a month. Just for the insurance, yeah. Insurance. Yeah, and it's probably not even liability. Or excuse me, full coverage, full coverage. Right, and so like we have to be able to make sure that you know our tax dollars that we're using within the county are being used in the appropriate ways. Yeah, right. And um, one of the things I've always heard when I was door knocking was roads, like the things that people touch every day. Right. They want to make they want to see their tax dollars at work.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Absolutely. And we'll get into some of your priorities right now. Question number three. All right, John, you know, you've talked a little bit about some of what you're hearing, and what you heard uh out on the you know on the streets as you were door knocking uh when you were campaigning uh last season. What are your top priorities based on that information?

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Yeah. Um, cost of living. Yeah, it's expensive to live, um, just in general. And so we want to make sure um at the county level, we're doing everything to help keep people in their homes. Right. Um, whatever, whether they're buying, whether they own or what they whether they rent. Um, you know, unincorporated Clark County where I live, a lot of that um we still see a lot of unfortunately houseless out on the streets. Yeah. Um and Vancouver and the county council has done a lot, yourself included, to help facilitate a lot of what the city of Vancouver is doing. Um but I think that the county can be doing more. Yeah. You know, we those say facilities have been uh doing really well, but we don't have any on the county. Right. And so um, you know, I'd love that that would be one of my top priorities because it just it pains me when I'm driving with my kids and they see in the backseat just people struggling. Yeah, you know, um in a place that I think we shouldn't be. Um once again, I I think transportation, roads, infrastructure, we need to make sure those dollars are coming back home. You know, Vancouver and Clark County have been growing exponentially. Yeah. Um, but then Washington was just raised uh rated, I believe, 47th out of 50 states for our roads and highways. Oh wow. And so that bad. Yes. Oh my goodness. This is just a couple weeks ago. Yeah, yeah. Um, and so you know, one of the things I want to do is keep fostering the relationships I have, is why I'm endorsed by Senator Adrian Cortez and Monica Stonier, because those funds at the state level need to be coming back to Clark County. Right. Um we're growing, everything shouldn't be going to Seattle or out of Spokane, and need to come back here to Clark County, and I will be a tireless advocate for those funds. Um, and then you know, number three would be making sure we're just you know lowering costs where we can, and you know, making sure our streets are safe too. So public safety. Public safety, and there's so many different facets to that. Um, you know, uh you've been outdoor knocking. There's so many places that don't have sidewalks in safety. Oh, yeah. And that's some of the things too. I've met lots of people, like they're out walking, but cars are whizzing past them because there's and they don't feel safe. Right. Um riding bikes. Riding bikes, yeah. Like I've I just saw a ton of kids today, they're out on their little e-bikes, they're they're getting away, they're trying to be kids, and we we're in this new delicate balance where it's tough to you know, do we let our kids go out and do these things? Um, you know, I've got a 12-year-old and a nine-year-old at home. You know, I gotta feel safe letting them go be kids. Yeah. Um, and so I want to make sure that we're there, and you know, uh I I've been sh we've been showing up for the community for all these years. Clark County has been terrific for me. I want to keep showing up for Clark County as they've shown up for me.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, no, absolutely, you know, and so just to kind of recap, you you know, you mentioned affordability, uh, which is an issue that uh really, well, first of all, resonates with a lot of people because a lot of people are struggling, whether it's housing or the costs of goods, right? Infrastructure is important. Uh, you know, it's particularly true in unincorporated Clark County where a lot of communities were built out, were developed without sidewalks, right? Right. And so, you know, going out for a run or your kids riding their little tricycles on a that's not a a thing because there aren't enough sidewalks.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Even just getting to the park sometimes where they can go and be is a little hazardous. Yeah. And so we want to make sure our families are safe, and because let's keep face it, Clark County is an amazing place to live. It's a great place. That's why more people keep moving here. That's exactly it. And um, we just can't keep putting temporary band-aids on things. We have to be forward-thinking, um, a little bit of innovative in our thought process. Yeah. And uh, you know, uh making sure that we're also retaining our history and our sensibility of who we are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Um, you're not wrong that people are wanting to move here, and I've said this a number of times before on this show that we're gonna grow, we're estimated to grow about 200,000 people in this county alone in the next um in the next 20 years. That's a lot of people that we need to accommodate. We need to build a lot more houses, right? Uh, you also mentioned finally uh uh public safety, right? Making sure that people feel safe. Can you go into a little bit more detail? How how can how can uh Clark County support uh public safety?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yeah. Um, I mean Sheriff's Department, we uh we need to make sure we increase, I think, you know, I think you guys just passed a tax, right, to help pay for some more sheriff's deputies. Um and so like we want to keep moving that forward. Um but we want to like hire and retain people, right? And um, make sure that you know, and that's just part of public safety. One of the things I would love to see is you know, as a public school teacher, a lot is placed on our plate. Right. We're not just teachers or counselors or you know, listeners, we we do all these different things. Our officers are not always trained to handle every situation, right? Um, we have a lot of mental health illnesses that keep growing up and popping up. And so I want to make sure I would love to see where we can start sending out different people based on the situation in data. Right. Um if we're ha if someone's having a mental health breakdown, we shouldn't necessarily be sending an officer who might exacerbate the situation. Yeah, um, it's been working out in several other cities and I think Clark County and is right for transitioning that and showing how that can work at a different level because um that's how we can build community trust. Right. Right? It's we want them to feel safe, and by putting the correct person into the response, we can do that.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Yeah, yeah, and I and I agree with you. Uh recently, uh Echo Ending Community Homelessness Organization, which is a committee made up of uh law enforcement and leaders from across uh different sectors that are addressing the homelessness situation in Clark County, uh, held a panel. Uh these panelists were law enforcement officers, chief of police from different jurisdictions across the county. And one of the things uh their main concern is that they do not have the training to address mental health crisis. So you made a very valid point, right? Making sure we have the right people to deal with those situations versus sending uh police officers or sheriffs, right? Because they're not trained. That's that's not their job.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

It's it's not, right? It's it's we want to make sure the right people are sent to the right job.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

That's exactly it. John, thank you so much for being the show. We really appreciate you having you uh here today and learning a little bit more about you and your race. Best of luck to you.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Well, thanks, Will. This has been an absolute pleasure. It's uh well, there's not another fern over here, so we're not between two ferns, but yeah, this is this is the only fern that's the only way. So um, I yeah, this has been an absolute pleasure, and uh, I'm looking forward to working with you. Awesome. Folks, that is our show for today.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

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