Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) issued the following statement after it was announced Seattle won the C40/Bloomberg Philanthropies “United in Building a Movement” award for the work the City is doing to advance the Green New Deal, funded by the JumpStart Seattle progressive payroll tax prime sponsored by Councilmember Mosqueda: 

“Cities are positioned to experience some of the most dynamic on-the-ground realities of climate change—from the impacts of smoke, flooding, and extreme weather on our large populations and our infrastructure, to climate migration that will find millions of people around the world seeking safety, services, and stability in our communities. Creating climate resilient cities means connecting the dots between affordable housing, zoning, and health; energy use, good union jobs, and community-driven economic development; transportation, access to services, schools and green space, and racial equity—to ensure that our city investments and policies work in concert to help our communities to thrive while welcoming new neighbors as climate change intensifies.”

“Seattle’s Green New Deal investments will help forge these connections to close economic disparities and create greater equity, shore up resilience in our communities, and reduce our city’s contribution to climate change. We’re proud to join cities across the globe that are stepping up to create an equitable response to climate change, from the ground up. Our efforts in Seattle are frontline and fenceline community led—and this honor goes to the advocates and communities who have worked to build this vision, and the broad coalition who fought to create a dedicated stream of funding for the Green New Deal—along with affordable housing, equitable development, and economic resilience investments—through JumpStart progressive payroll tax.”