Today the City Council voted 8-0 to adopt Resolution 31380, joining more than 100 municipalities and at least two states (Hawaii and Vermont) asking Congress to overturn the Citizens United ruling. Specifically, the City of Seattle calls on the United States Congress to take steps to amend the United States Constitution to make clear:

1. Corporations are not human beings, and only human beings are endowed with Constitutional rights.
2. Contributions and expenditures for political purposes are not Constitutionally-protected speech, and that, therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.
3. Congress and the States shall have the power to regulate contributions and expenditures for campaigns and ballot measures, and to require public disclosure of the sources of such contributions and expenditures.

This resolution is a positive declaration of Seattle’s values. It is clear to me that we need to take significant steps to stem the influence that unlimited corporate contributions are having on our national democracy. It is also clear to me that we can take steps to safeguard Seattle from the growing role that money is playing in our local elections.

I have been digging into this issue this spring to determine if there are things we can do at the local level to address the issues of money in politics.  I recently sent a letter with Councilmembers Burgess and Clark to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, asking them to weigh in on two proposals.

The first provision would limit the time period that candidates seeking local office can solicit or accept campaign contributions. The new fundraising window would run from January 1 of the election year to April 30 of the following year (candidates currently have several months after an election to retire debt and close up their books). The intent is to limit the actual or perceived influence of campaign contributions on elected officials, so that we reduce the amount of time that elected officials can solicit donations and make policy at the same time. This proposal would be a safeguard against corruption and ensure that while elected officials are focused on representing you, not working for re-election.

The second provision would cap the maximum amount of surplus campaign contributions that can be rolled over to a future campaign at $5,000. I initially asked this question about limiting surplus roll-overs from one campaign to the next in an April blog post and, after looking into the historical campaign numbers and the growing trend, I think now is time to act. Limiting roll-overs ensures that candidates honor the original intent of a person’s donation–this candidate, this office, this year.

Our staff have crunched data on some of the recent trends here in the City. Here is some of the data that supports our cases for local action.

The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission will discuss and hopefully weigh in on these two issues at their next meeting, June 6, 2012.

What do you think? Should we limit the time a sitting elected official can raise money for re-election? Should we limit the amount of money a candidate can roll over from one campaign to the next? What else should we do here in Seattle to ensure that we have a system where running for elected office is about a candidate’s values, ideas and ability to lead and not about how much money someone has access to? I look forward to the conversation.

Today, Puget Sound Sage released a new report calling for Seattle to move racial justice to the center of our transit oriented development (TOD) planning and policy. This report is a must read for all of us struggling with what we can do about gentrification and how to make light rail a “success” in the Rainier Valley (keeping you up at night too, right?).

The report is full of great insights. One of the big takeaways for me as an environmentalist is that we will not achieve our environmental goals for TOD in the Rainier Valley unless we center communities of color and low income transit riders who live there in our policymaking.

New immigrants and people of color are the region’s fastest growing populations. But while the population of people of color grew by 47% in King County over the past ten years, we only saw a 13% increase in Seattle and 5% increase in the Rainier Valley. Alternatively, the white population increased by 6% in Seattle and 17% in the Valley.

The report suggests that higher-income residents that are moving to the neighborhood are more likely to own and drive a car. Likewise, when low-income transit riders are pushed out of the transit-rich Rainier Valley, they are more likely to live in a suburban, auto-dependent area further from jobs, thereby increasing their amount of driving.

Everyone is driving more? That was not our intent!

The authors call for us to start focusing on outcomes, not intentions, and I think they are right. Despite our best intentions to increase transit ridership, it appears that we may be moving towards increased driving in this neighborhood.

Preventing displacement of communities–Rainier Valley’s communities are 77% people of color, speaking 40 different languages–isn’t only the right thing to do for racial equity, it’s also the environmentally sustainable thing to do.
I mentioned displacement above. The report helps to clarify two terms we often hear used synonymously–gentrification and displacement. These definitions from the report are helpful to keep us all on the same page.

• “Gentrification is a pattern of neighborhood change in which a previously low-income neighborhood experiences reinvestment and revitalization accompanied by increasing home values and/or rents.”
• “Displacement is a pattern of change in which current residents are involuntarily forced to move out.” Direct displacement occurs when residents and businesses are forced to move when their buildings are removed or renovated for new structures. Indirect displacement takes place over time when costs rise relative to income.

While gentrification comes with a major investment such as light rail, Sage argues that displacement doesn’t have to follow gentrification. With more precise policies focused on equity, the increase in income and wealth that comes with reinvestment and revitalization should benefit the people currently living in these neighborhoods.

The Rainier Valley currently has many factors that place it at “high risk” for displacement, including high rates of renting and foreclosures, high rates of unemployment and low rates of living wage jobs. We must keep these factors in mind as we tailor our TOD policies for the neighborhoods. Some projects such as the Neighborhood Equitable Transit (NET) Oriented Development Initiative, which promotes land acquisition to assist small locally serving businesses and facilitate cultural center development, are on the right track and need to be taken to scale. We need to consider other policies as well, such as the idea of a land bank to keep land available and affordable for housing projects, or a region-wide loan fund for the development of affordable housing.

Finally, at the core of this report is a call to put jobs – good living wage jobs – at the heart of our TOD planning. While we talk a lot about affordable housing and creating “livable” TOD neighborhoods, for low-income communities, access to living wage jobs is the lynchpin to fighting displacement and being able invest in their own communities. The profile of Maria Gutierrez, a hotel housekeeper whose union job helped her purchase a home for her family in Rainier Beach, tells the story (page 36).

These are ideas we can all get around – protecting our environment, developing more local living wage jobs, building stronger communities and retaining culturally diverse neighborhoods. With smart thinking and a focus on the outcomes we’re trying to achieve, we can get there.

One of the core tenants of creating equitable TOD (according to the report) is placing communities of color at the center of power and decision making about these policies. So, I’m headed out to the Filipino Community Center in Rainier Valley tonight to hear what residents there think about these ideas.

Will you join me?

Transit Oriented Development that is Healthy, Green & Just!
5:30 – 8:00pm
Filipino Community Center
5740 ML King Jr. Way South
Seattle, WA 98118

I was on Seattle Channel’s Inside/OUt: Council Edition last week with my colleagues Councilmembers Tim Burgess and Nick Licata. We discussed the May Day demonstrations, the proposed SODO sports arena, my ideas for some elections reform and more.

Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien

Queue up your questions for the Seattle City Council
Councilmembers Burgess, Licata and O'Brien to appear on
May's City Inside/Out: Council Edition

SEATTLE – Take a moment to ask your questions of City Councilmembers. What should be the top priority for Seattle Public Schools new superintendent? What's the City doing to prepare for the upcoming plastic bag ban? How can residents get involved in this year's budget process? Whatever your questions, submit them now.

The May 8 episode of Seattle Channel's City Inside/Out: Council Edition will feature Councilmembers Tim Burgess, Nick Licata and Mike O'Brien answering your questions with host Brian Callanan.

Submit your questions for the Councilmembers by noon, Friday, May 4.

• Email: contact@seattlechannel.org
• Online: http://www.seattlechannel.org/CouncilEdition/
• Twitter: @SeattleChannel
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SeattleChannel

Don't miss this opportunity to put your issues before the City's lawmakers. Send in your questions now and tune in to Seattle Channel, Cable 21, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday,
May 8 to hear the Councilmembers respond.

Follow SEATTLE CHANNEL on Facebook and Twitter!

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

(Note: This article was written for the CityBeat newsletter by our Spring policy intern, Chris Rule, who is in his second year of a Master’s program at the Evans School of Public Affairs)

Visitors to 15th Ave E on Capitol Hill this Monday (4/23) got a special surprise to go with 75 degree weather. On 15th Video and Environmental Works teamed up with landscape architects and the Parfait food truck to make a parklet outside the former fire station that houses their businesses. This was an ideal place to sit on an ideal day to eat ice cream.

Temporary parklet in front of Video on 15th in Capitol Hill

Parklets, also called pop-up parks, are cheap and easy ways to add greenery, public seating and other features in neighborhoods where we have a lot of people and a shortage of places to be outside. You may have seen dozens of temporary parklets in September on PARKing Day.

More than a quarter of our land in Seattle is in the public right of way, but most of it is not available for us to linger. Businesses that would like outdoor seating face a web of regulations, and sidewalks are often too narrow to accommodate seating, tables and people passing by. While residents and merchants need space for parking, many also would like street features that attract more pedestrians to the area.

Activating our streets has numerous benefits besides making them more attractive. People who stroll through the neighborhood spend more money visiting local businesses. More eyes on the street help prevent street crime, and promoting walking combats our current epidemic of obesity. Our city departments have been easing the rules over the past few years so that we can use more of our scarce land for all the things we want to see in our city. These include urban agriculture in our planting strips and green stormwater infrastructure that prevents our aging sewers from overflowing. The Seattle Department of Transportation has already streamlined the process for sidewalk cafes and adapted the rules that govern construction sites for sidewalk cafes and food trucks.

Now SDOT is taking up parklets. San Francisco and several other cities have policies and processes that we might look to as we decide where it is fair and appropriate to create a parklet. These allow community groups or businesses to apply for about two parking spaces – with clear rules and a public process for comments for and against. With some effort and attention, we should be able to have a pilot program in Seattle by this summer. Imagine if there were more places to spend time outdoors, even if only for the summer. Parklets seem to me like a cost-effective and attractive solution.

Would you like to see more outdoor amenities where you live, work, shop or play? Fill out this short survey to share your ideas for how we can activate our public space.

Here are some additional pictures of parklets taken by legislative aide, Esther Handy, on a recent visit to San Francisco.

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Special Committee to discuss Seawall

SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council’s Special Committee on the Central Waterfront, Seawall and Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program will meet after Full Council on Monday, April 23. 

The Committee will discuss public safety and protection of the Central Waterfront, the downtown business district, transportation and public infrastructure, a possible bond measure to replace the Elliot Bay Seawall and the Seawall design, schedule, cost estimates and next steps.

WHEN:
Monday, April 23, 2012, following Full Council
(approximately 2:30 p.m.)

WHERE:
Council Chambers, Seattle City Hall
600 Fourth Ave, Second floor, Seattle 98104

View the committee agenda here.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.

As part of the Next Fifty celebration kicking off this weekend at Seattle Center, City Councilmembers were asked to record our favorite Seattle Center memories. Here is what I had to say:

Councilmember Mike O’Brien’s fondest memory of the Seattle Center took place in the Pacific Science Center during the 1980’s.  Watch this video to find out what he was doing at the Science Center and how true his predictions were.

Historical perspective from Seattle Municipal Archives:

Leading up to the World’s Fair, the US Government committed over $9 million to the fair, chiefly to build the NASA-themed United States Science Exhibit (now the Pacific Science Center). A number of foreign governments provided the international flavor crucial to a World’s Fair, and eventually 35 states signed on as exhibitors.

More information from the Pacific Science Center:

Pacific Science Center began as the United States Science Pavilion during the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. Millions came to explore the wonders of science during the World’s Fair and upon closing ceremonies, the Science Pavilion was given new life as the private not-for-profit Pacific Science Center, becoming the first U.S. museum founded as a science and technology center. On July 22, 2010 Pacific Science Center was declared a City of Seattle Landmark.

For more information on this weekend’s Next 50 opening celebration at the Seattle Center, visit http://www.thenextfifty.org/.

Seattle Municipal Archives has some excellent resources on the 1962 World’s Fair.  Click to view digital files, text files.  Image files can be viewed here and here.

Last Friday I visited Ross Lake and Dam–one of Seattle City Light’s own hydroelectric dams in the North Cascades–along with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. It was a great opportunity to see where our energy comes from, and as you can see in the pictures below it was a beautiful day.

Pyramid Peak from atop Ross Dam

Ross Dam

Ross Lake

Inside the dam

Me with Mayor McGinn in front of Ross Dam

Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Watch Seattle City Councilmembers share their
favorite Seattle Center memories

SEATTLE - In anticipation of the Seattle Center's Next Fifty celebration kick-off on Saturday, April 21, Seattle City Councilmembers sat down to share their favorite Seattle Center memories. Tune in to our Council Connection blog over the next week as they share their stories.

What:
Seattle City Councilmembers share their Seattle Center memories

When:
Morning and afternoon blog postings, April 16-20, 2012

Where:
Council Connection Blog at http://council.seattle.gov/
Subscribe to the RSS feed at http://council.seattle.gov/feed/

For more information on the Seattle Center's Next Fifty celebration, including the schedule of events, visit http://seattlecenter.com/news/detail.aspx?id=1719.

Seattle City Council meetings are cablecast and Webcast live on Seattle Channel 21 and on the City Council's website. Copies of legislation, Council meeting calendar, and archives of news releases can be found on the City Council website. Follow the Council on Twitter and on Facebook.