O’Brien:  Because of the leaders here today, I feel optimistic that the communities we need to lead this charge will have an ongoing voice at the table to drive Seattle’s Green New Deal forward SEATTLE – Councilmember Mike O’Brien (Dist. 6, Northwest Seattle), chair of the Sustainability & Transportation Committee, and his colleagues voted unanimously […]

Legislation follows through on will of overwhelming percentage of Seattle voters, expands harassment and health and safety protections SEATTLE – Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) and M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide), along with their Council Colleagues, passed legislation to protect Seattle’s hotel workers from harassment and discrimination, supporting safe workloads, promoting economic stability […]

September 16th, 2019 Dear Seattle City School Board and Superintendent Juneau, I hope the 2019-2020 school year is going well so far. As I am sure you are aware, on Friday, September 20th, hundreds of Seattle Public School students will walk out of classes to take part in the Global Climate Strike. The strike action […]

Metro Re-Routing West Seattle/Downtown Buses Starting September 12; 1st & Dearborn Intersection Closed Beginning September 12 King County Metro announced changes yesterday to the West Seattle/Downtown bus routes, beginning on September 9th. Here’s a link to a map showing the changes (also shown below). WSDOT announced that on September 12 they will begin removing what […]

On Sept. 5 the International Examiner published my editorial on how we must continue to build a powerful movement of workers, elders, students, and allies to fight gentrification in our Chinatown/International District. My International Examiner opinion article is here, and reproduced below: Early on a gray, drizzly Thursday morning in late June, I joined with […]

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide), Chair of the Council’s Housing, Health, Energy and Workers’ Rights Committee, in coordination with Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle City Light, passed two green energy ordinances out of her committee today. The first establishes a new program for large-scale solar energy producers, producers that are City Light customers who […]

We’re taking our fight against gentrification and displacement directly to the corporate developers who would destroy our communities for the sake of their profits. On Monday, my Office was proud to lead a diverse delegation of 40 working people and community activists – patrons of Saba Ethiopian Cuisine, union members, immigrants, people of faith, small […]

Tenant Protections for Survivors of DV and Roommates This week we had a first discussion in Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee on legislation I’ve sponsored to protect survivors of domestic violence from being held liable for damages incurred by an abuser, and to protect roommates and family members from categorical housing denials […]

Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council’s Human Services, Equitable Development and Renters Rights, shared her open letter written in response to the arrest of a 13-year-old middle school student and climate justice activist last Friday during a demonstration outside Seattle City Hall, and directed to Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best […]

Last Friday, Seattle police shamefully arrested a 13-year-old middle school student and climate justice activist during a peaceful demonstration outside Seattle City Hall. Today, I wrote to Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, urging them to explain the police action, apologize, and commit to not press charges. My letter is […]