Spokane Councilwoman Lili Navarrete to step down ahead of election
Navarrete announced in March that she would not run for a new term, citing health concerns. Alejandro Barrientos, chief operating officer at SCAFCO Steel Stud Company, and Kate Telis, a former deputy prosecutor from New Mexico, have both filed to run for the seat.
On Thursday Navarrete confirmed recent rumors that she planned to step down ahead of the election. In a brief interview outside City Hall, she cited two recent health scares worsened by the stress of the job and potential employment opportunities that she couldn't juggle with council commitments.
She hasn't decided exactly when to step down and hadn't planned on publicly announcing the decision yet, but will fully lay out her resignation plans soon, she said Thursday.
Navarrete's resignation opens the door to a short-term appointment to fill her seat, similar to the musical chairs that played out ahead of the council election in 2023.
At the time, then-Council President Breean Beggs resigned to accept an appointment as a Superior Court judge, then-Councilwoman Lori Kinnear was appointed to serve as council president, and Priority Spokane Executive Director Ryan Oelrich was appointed six weeks later in August to fill Kinnear's council seat.
Oelrich's appointed term was just over two months long; Paul Dillon and Katey Treloar were running at the time for Kinnear's seat, and while election winners are usually sworn in the following January, appointees are replaced immediately after the election is certified, so Dillon took office in mid-November.
In a brief interview Thursday, Dillon said neither Barrientos nor Telis should be appointed to fill the seat ahead of their election, arguing it would give the appointee an unfair and undemocratic advantage.
Navarrete also was appointed to her seat in January, 2024, to a nearly two-year stint representing south Spokane on the city council, filling a seat vacated when Wilkerson was elected as city council president.
At the time of her appointment, she anticipated serving the full appointed term and planned to run for re-election in 2025, she said Thursday.
Navarrete immigrated from Mexico City to Spokane in 1988 and wrote in her application for the open seat that while growing up she had not felt represented by city government, noting she had "always wondered why a person of color was not up on the dais" until recently.
Prior to her appointment on the city council, Navarrete served as community development officer for the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs and previously as director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood for Greater Washington and North Idaho, where she worked alongside Dillon, the other representative for south Spokane.
During her time on council, Navarrete has shepherded an ordinance to encourage the recruiting of more multilingual city employees, worked on a slate of reforms to increase employment and housing rights for the homeless which was ultimately whittled down to the hiring protection dubbed "Ban the Address." Most recently, she introduced legislation meant to prevent federal immigration officers from warrantless raids in city parks.
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What lessons have you learned from past failed efforts? Every important law — especially something so socially ingrained as immigration — needs Democrats on board. I believe the Democratic Party understands it's time to fix the problem. That's why we have a very important co-sponsor, Veronica Escobar, who joined us on the Dignity Act. It's a significant bipartisan legislative push. Q: How do you convince your fellow Republicans to back this? Immigration is a big topic on President Trump's agenda, and past immigration bills haven't moved forward. What's your strategy? Everything in life is timing. Now that the southern border has been secured and the disaster of the last administration has been stopped — now is the time to look inward and fix other problems within immigration. Border security and immigration are two different issues. Since the border has been sealed and illegal crossings are at record lows, now we can focus on immigration. 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Opposition is welcomed — this is democracy. We're not in a dictatorship. But at the end of the day, Republicans need to find a solution to a problem that's been here for 40 years. It's our job as legislators. Opposition may exist, but the reality is that these workers are needed, industries must function, and Americans need food, construction, and hospitality to continue as they are now. Q: Some critics say the Dignity Act creates a permanent underclass — a group of workers without full rights of citizenship. How do you respond to those concerns? It's the art of the possible. What's possible right now is letting these people go home at night without fear, not being deported, and continuing to contribute to the economy. If you talk to millions of those facing deportation after years here, they would say: "Of course, give me dignity." Q: Recent polls show Hispanic support for President Trump has declined somewhat due to immigration procedures in the past months. From your perspective, what do you think about those efforts, and what could the administration do better? Sign the Dignity Act. The president is an intelligent man. He's a construction guy with golf courses. He will sign Dignity and be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism. Q: And if this fails, what's next for you? Will you keep pushing? I'm not going to fail. Just watch.
