Bills part of the council’s coordinated focus on improving public safety Today the Seattle City Council overwhelmingly approved legislation, sponsored by Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9), to further accelerate police hiring by offering competitive bonuses to attract the new police recruits from across the country. The full Council also passed Councilmember Bob Kettle’s (District...
Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) today announced that she’s working to preserve funding for the city’s Seattle Channel in response to last week’s release of Mayor Harrell’s proposed 2025-2026 Budget, which reduces Seattle Channel’s funding by $1.6 million and eliminates six full time employees. The city currently faces a $250 million deficit during the...
The City Council has voted unanimously to rename a street in honor of four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird. Tuesday’s legislation changes the name of a segment of 2nd Ave N, adjacent to Climate Pledge Arena, to Sue Bird Court. “Sue Bird is the indisputable G.O.A.T of women’s basketball and I want to thank Mayor Harrell...
Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) on Tuesday applauded the unanimous passage of legislation that prioritizes parking for musicians and their crews at qualifying live music venues. The new Music Venue Zone Permit program was proposed by the Executive and sponsored by Council President Nelson after hearing consistent feedback from local artists about some of...
Calls for keeping Admissions Tax granting authority in ARTS; greater resources for neighborhood groups, homeless LGBTQ youth, and refugee women Seattle City Councilmember Tanya Woo (Position 8) released the following statement today after the presentation of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Proposed 2025-26 Budget: “I am grateful to Mayor Harrell and his team for prioritizing the services...
Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss(District 6), Chair of the Select Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Mayor Bruce Harrell released his proposal for the City of Seattle’s 2025-2026 budget: “I want to thank Mayor Bruce Harrell and his team for their work. Now, it’s time for City Council to roll up our sleeves to...
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2) made the following remarks regarding the passage of CB 120835 (SODA) and CB 120836 (SOAP) at the meeting of the City Council this afternoon: “The City of Seattle had both SODA and SOAP zones for over 20 years and research has proven these orders did not reduce drug use...
Today the Seattle City Council passed by an 8-1 vote Councilmember Cathy Moore’s (District 5) bill to fight commercial sexual exploitation and the violence associated with it. The legislation includes a prohibition on loitering for buying, selling or promoting prostitution, as well as a separate provision that allows a judge to issue a Stay Out...
Legislation marks another major accomplishment for council’s public safety work Today the Seattle City Council adopted the creation of Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) which authorize the courts to prohibit a defendant from entering a designated areas in the city if they commit a drug-related criminal offense in that zone. Introduced in partnership with...
Alternative seeks to better align with city housing efforts and build in accountability measures Seattle City Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4) today introduced an alternative to proposed ballot Initiative 137 with Councilmembers Cathy Moore (District 5), Bob Kettle (District 7) and Tanya Woo (Position 8). In addition, Mayor Bruce Harrell has voiced support for voters...