Public Affairs Videos

Now in her second year on the Seattle City Council representing North Seattle's District 5, Debora Juarez discusses her path to politics, growing up in Indian country fighting for justice and overcoming personal odds. Part Latina and part Native American, Juarez is a member of the Blackfeet Nation. Before being elected as the City Council's first Native American member, Juarez worked as a public defender, King County Superior Court judge and as executive director of Governor's Office of Indian Affairs. She has juggled single motherhood and a career with multiple sclerosis, and survived cancer three times. She talks with host Josephine Cheng about her approach to public office and priorities for her North Seattle district, where she has lived for more than 30 years.