Breean a compassionate leader

I first met Councilmember Beggs when I was helping my friend write an article about Dreamers and DACA recipients for our school newspaper.

As a DACA recipient, I was anxious about talking to a city official, but Breean was very kind and accommodating. He told us that he recently worked on reforming the Spokane Civil Rights Ordinance so that Spokane police wouldn’t discriminate based on perceived immigration status. I particularly remember when he said “to send Dreamers off to some other country, put aside compassion and human rights but purely economically, it’s a bad idea because Dreamers are Americans.” This made me feel at ease that I had a compassionate council member representing me.

Breean gets it. DACA recipients work, pay taxes and contribute to the economy, but we are barred from certain things like voting and Social Security benefits.

After I graduated and heard that Breean was running for Spokane City Council president, I signed up to volunteer as one of his interns because I believe leaders should listen compassionately to their constituents. Councilmember Beggs continues to show that he has a caring heart and works tirelessly to improve the lives of everyone in our city.

Mark Mariano

Spokane