This Week in the Budget The Council began meeting today as the Budget Committee to consider identification of particular budget issues relevant to individual City Departments. Here is the schedule through Tuesday, October 17. Today we discussed Councilmember ideas and budget proposals for each the Office of Planning and Community Development, Seattle Department of Construction […]

SEATTLE – Councilmember Mike O’Brien (District 6, Northwest Seattle) and Councilmember Kirsten Harris-Talley (Pos. 8, Citywide) together announced a proposal intended to help meet the costs associated with alleviating the factors contributing to Seattle’s homelessness crisis – namely, places for people to live in the short- and long-term. Three critical changes to the City’s approach […]

This week in the budget The City Council’s Budget Committee held the first of two public hearings on the 2018 budget last night. The second hearing will be on November 1. Next week the City Council’s Budget Committee will begin the Issue Identification portion of its review of the Mayor’s proposed 2018 budget, with meetings […]

SEATTLE – City Councilmembers selected and appointed Kirsten Harris-Talley this afternoon during a Special Meeting of the Full Council to fill the vacancy in Council Position 8. Harris-Talley brings more than fifteen years of experience in advocacy to her appointment on the City Council.  Most recently she served as Program Director for Progress Alliance of […]

For almost 15 years, I have worked on championing civil rights for the people of Seattle and Washington State. That work has included advocating for an inclusive work force, suing large corporations and government when anti-discrimination laws were violated and mentoring young people of color, especially women of color. Indeed, in my office, three of […]

Petition: Stop the Sweeps, Fund Housing & Services! Dear members of the Seattle City Council: In the coming weeks, you will be debating and voting on the 2018 City budget. The budget is not simply numbers. It is a moral document that speaks to our priorities and values as a city. Seattle has become two […]

On Monday morning, our nation woke up to reports of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. We grieve for the 59 people who lost their lives and the hundreds injured in the attack in Las Vegas. As new evidence and details emerge we learn that the shooter brought in 23 guns along with […]

Like most other states, we in Washington spend millions of dollars prosecuting and incarcerating drug users every year. If, instead, we invested that money in treatment and public health, we would see progress in tackling the opioid addiction crisis, reducing the spread of diseases such as HIV, and in improved public safety outcomes. This is exactly what I will propose in […]

Limits New Heavy Development in Urban Villages SEATTLE – Councilmember Debora Juarez (District 5, North Seattle) and her colleagues voted unanimously in favor of passing Council Bill 119093, effectively placing a temporary limit on new heavy commercial development to encourage more housing and pedestrian friendly commercial development in the Aurora Licton Springs Urban Village. “I […]

Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues we face in Seattle today. The City has identified a need for providing a mix of housing types at prices accessible to people at all levels of income for homeowners and renters alike. I believe lowering the barriers to creating accessory dwelling units (ADUs) is an important […]