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April 15, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Rasmussen, News Releases

Council Approves Bicycle Master Plan Update

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/14/2014

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Council Approves Bicycle Master Plan Update

SEATTLE - Following a year-long discussion about safe and comfortable bicycling in Seattle, the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan Update (BMP) was passed by Full Council today with a vote of 9-0.

Resolution 31515, which officially approves the BMP, emphasizes the transformational new way of thinking about bicycle projects within Seattle. The Plan makes safety a top priority for all roadway users, including cyclists, pedestrians, and vehicle drivers. The Plan also makes recommendations for 238 new miles of neighborhood greenways that will create safe, healthy streets in our neighborhoods. The Plan additionally incorporates new and improved bicycle project design standards developed by National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) for intersections, signs and markings, and protected bicycle lanes.

The BMP legislation, sponsored by Transportation Committee Chair Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, expands on the 2007 BMP.  The 2014 Plan Update was developed in partnership with members of the Council's Transportation Committee, the Executive, and the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board (SBAB), and reflects comments submitted by stakeholder groups and neighborhood representatives during numerous community open house meetings over the last eighteen months. 

Rasmussen expressed pride following Full Council adoption.  "I want to thank my colleagues and the members of our community who have demonstrated continued interest in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.  Your comments have been appreciated, and the adoption of this Resolution ensures bicycling in Seattle is safe and comfortable for users of all ages and abilities," said Rasmussen.  "I also want to thank the local representatives and stakeholders who care deeply about bicycling in their neighborhoods.  I am committed to ensuring that SDOT will include you during the development of bicycle projects in your community."

"Public transportation and safe cycling are two issues that brought me to City Hall," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien, and member of the Transportation Committee.  "I've been a steadfast supporter of safe streets and city cycling from the beginning, and updating the BMP is a big step in that direction."

"I am confident that as we move forward with the Bicycle Master Plan, community engagement and input will play an important role in shaping priorities and ensuring the Plan is consistent with the needs of residents," said Councilmember Jean Godden, and member of the Committee.

"With this Plan we will enhance neighborhoods across the city and create a network of Neighborhood Greenways for all ages and abilities," said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw.  "Thanks to Councilmember Rasmussen and to SDOT, our growing Seattle Neighborhood Greenways group is brimming with potential and possibility."

The Plan requires an annual implementation progress report be submitted to Council and reviewed and endorsed by SBAB; and, will be updated every 5-7 years.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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April 8, 2014January 6, 2023News Releases

Councilmember Clark, Committee Members to Host ‘Lunch & Learn’ Meeting with Restaurateurs Regarding Minimum Wage, Income Inequality

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/8/2014

Councilmember Clark, Committee Members to Host 'Lunch & Learn' Meeting with Restaurateurs Regarding Minimum Wage, Income Inequality

Seattle - Councilmember Sally J. Clark and her colleagues will host a meeting on Wednesday, April 9 in City Council Chambers to hear input from restaurateurs and the public relating to raising the minimum wage in Seattle. Restaurant owners and others will share their thoughts with Councilmembers on raising the city's minimum wage.

WHAT: 'Lunch & Learn' meeting with restaurateurs regarding minimum wage and income inequality

WHEN: Wednesday, April 9 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: 600 Fourth Avenue, City Hall - Floor 2 in Seattle

WHO:
Seattle City Councilmembers
Public
Restaurateurs from Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Pho Cyclo Cafe, Pagliacci Pizza and Ethan Stowell

For a complete list of additional meeting dates, including a meeting on Saturday, April 12 on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality, visit the Council's Minimum Wage webpage (meetings are subject to change).

[View in Council Newsroom]

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April 3, 2014January 6, 2023News Releases

Minimum Wage Conversation with Councilmembers Next Saturday

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/3/2014

Councilmember Sally J. Clark

Minimum Wage Conversation with Councilmembers Next Saturday

Seattle - Councilmember Sally J. Clark and her colleagues will host a meeting on Saturday, April 12 at Northgate Community Centerto hear input from the public relating to raising the minimum wage in Seattle. Presenters will report on income inequality findings specific to Seattle at the top of the meeting. Following the discussion, the public will have an opportunity to break into smaller group discussions with Councilmembers.

WHAT: Saturday meeting on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality

WHEN: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, April 12 (9:00 a.m. for complimentary coffee and informal conversation with Councilmembers)

WHERE: Northgate Community Center Gymnasium - 10510 5th Ave NE, Seattle

WHO:

  • General Public
  • Seattle City Councilmembers
  • Presenters: Marieka M. Klawitter and Robert D. Plotnick, University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs; Ken Jacobs, University of California - Berkeley's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

The City Council's Select Committee on Minimum Wage and Income Inequality will have its next meeting on Tuesday, April 29 at 9:30 a.m. in City Council Chambers.

For a complete list of additional meeting dates, including a lunchtime discussion with restaurateurs on Wednesday, April 9, visit the Council's Minimum Wage webpage (meetings are subject to change).

Translation and Interpretation services available upon request. Please call (206) 684-8343.

Korean: "요청하시면 번역이나 통역을 제공해드립니다."

Vietnamese: "Dịch và thông dịch sẵn sàng nếu có sự yêu cầu"

Spanish: "Servicios de traducción e interpretación disponibles bajo petición"

Somali: "Adeega Turjubaanka waxaa lagu heli karaa codsasho"

Tagalog: "Matutulungan ka naming maintindihan kung hihingi ka ng tulong"

Mandarin: "我們可以提供翻譯服務"

Cantonese: "我们可以提供翻译服务"

[View in Council Newsroom]

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April 3, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember O'Brien, News Releases

Critical of Supreme Court Ruling, Councilmember O’Brien, Community Groups Want Public Campaign Financing in Seattle

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/3/2014

Critical of Supreme Court Ruling, Councilmember O'Brien, Community Groups Want Public Campaign Financing in Seattle

Seattle - Councilmember Mike O'Brien, Washington Community Action Network, the Washington Bus, Win/Win and Fair Elections Seattle expressed disappointment and frustration over Wednesday's Supreme Court 5-4 ruling allowing big campaign donors and corporations to make unlimited contributions to candidates, political parts and political action committees, as long as individual campaign caps are followed.

"Wednesday's decision is another disastrous step on the Supreme Court's path to overturn decades old campaign finance laws intended to protect our democracy from corruption. Democracy should not be a pay-to-play system, but that is the direction the Supreme Court seems intent on taking our national politics," said O'Brien. "Thankfully, Seattle is making moves to protect our local democracy from being overrun by campaign cash. We have strong campaign finance laws in place, including recent reforms to prevent local elected officials from establishing campaign war chests." 

O'Brien continued: "Last fall, Seattle voters approved a charter amendment to create a district-based Council system. And many people and organizations, including myself, continue to call for publicly financed campaigns in Seattle. District elections, paired with a public campaign financing option, could open the door to more grassroots candidates and ensure the healthy, robust local democracy that the people of Seattle want and deserve."

"Wednesday's decision is a disturbing wakeup call about the future of our democracy. We cannot afford to live in a society where elections can be bought by the highest bidder. We must take action at the local level to ensure the people's voice is not drowned out by the contributions of the wealthy few," said Mauricio Ayon, Political Director, Washington Community Action Network.

"This decision simply serves as another reminder of how important it is to work for change at the local level - where we, as concerned individuals hold the most power," said Estevan Munoz-Howard, Chair of Fair Elections Seattle. "At Fair Elections Seattle, we firmly believe that the first step toward reform must be to provide candidates with the opportunity to run viable campaigns that are fueled not by donors but by voters. We are optimistic about bringing voter-owned elections back to Seattle in the coming year, and setting the groundwork for statewide and, ultimately, nationwide reform in the near future."

"The Washington Bus believes that democracy works best when the most people possible are participating. We have worked since 2008 to advance voting rights, electoral reform, and increased participation in the political and civic process. When the voices of our generation are outweighed by money, we do our city, state and country a disservice," said Alex Miller, Program Manager, Washington Bus.

"Win/Win Network works with our partner organizations across Washington to increase participation in our political process. Particularly for those in underrepresented communities, communities of color, youth, and women, it is increasingly important to reclaim our democracy," said Dana Laurent, Executive Director, Win/Win Network. "That's why we are so glad to see Seattle taking seriously the need for public financing of campaigns, which has been shown to increase representation of and participation for all our communities."

Editor's note: Since the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, and amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, political donors were limited by both a cap on contributions to individual campaigns and an overall cap on the amount that could be given in any two-year election cycle to all campaigns, parties and political action committees. With today's decision, just the individual cap remains, opening the door to millions more being spent by big donors to determine who gets elected to Congress.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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April 1, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata, Councilmember O'Brien, News Releases

Councilmembers O’Brien, Licata Urge Congress to Stop Misuse of Antibiotics in Livestock Production

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/1/2014

Councilmembers O'Brien, Licata Urge Congress to Stop Misuse of Antibiotics in Livestock Production

Seattle - Councilmembers Mike O'Brien, Nick Licata and members of the Planning, Land Use and Sustainability (PLUS) Committee voted in favor of Resolution 31514, a measure to support a statewide and national ban on nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock production in order to help prevent the proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria in our food.  The Resolution urges the passage of House Bill 1150, the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) in the United States House of Representatives, and of Senate Bill 1256, the Prevention of Antibiotic Resistance Act (PARA) in the United States Senate. 

Low doses of antibiotics are routinely fed to livestock for growth promotion and disease prevention, a practice known as "nontherapeutic use", which is done in an effort to compensate for crowded, unsanitary conditions. The development of antibiotic resistant bacteria on livestock operations have been known to spread to retail meat, farmers and farmworkers, and rural environments. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotic resistant bacteria have been the cause of several foodborne illness outbreaks; including a 2011 outbreak of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in ground turkey that sickened 136 people, hospitalized 37, killed one person, and lead to the third largest meat recall in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's records.  A 2013 outbreak of antibiotic resistant Salmonella in chicken sickened 416 people and hospitalized 162.

"Antibiotic resistance is a lot like the 'global warming' crisis of clinical medicine," said O'Brien. "It's a serious problem which will only worsen unless we take immediate action at all levels of government."

The CDC has reported that eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used in livestock production.  At least two million Americans suffer from antibiotic resistant bacterial infections each year and twenty-three thousand Americans die from those infections.

"What makes today's resolution particularly important is that despite ongoing acknowledgement of a significant public health threat, the federal government still largely relies on voluntary compliance to reduce overuse in livestock," said Licata.

City Councils in four other cities, including Pittsburgh, PA; Cleveland, OH; Providence, RI; and Redhook NJ, have passed resolutions in support of a statewide and national ban on nontherapeutic uses of antibiotics in livestock production. 

"The overuse of antibiotics on factory farms is making our families sick," said Food & Water Watch organizer Eva Resnick-Day. "Dozens of members of the medical community, farming community, and Seattle citizens have volunteered their time to raise awareness and to advocate for this resolution with Seattle City Council. With this important step, we want Senator Patty Murray to know Seattle has her back to tackle this public health crisis."

This Seattle campaign is the seventh campaign PCC Natural Markets has supported over the past 14 years to end the use of non-therapeutic drugs on livestock. "PCC Natural Markets has sold meat and poultry raised without antibiotics for almost 20 years. It's what shoppers want, and rightly so: industry needs to address the filth and stress from confining animals, not rely on drugs to allow those conditions to continue," said Trudy Bialic, Director of Public Affairs at PCC Natural Markets. "Passing this council resolution sends a message to Congress and the FDA that people want action—not more loopholes like the ones in FDA's proposed, voluntary plan."  

"Health professionals across the country are working hard to curb inappropriate antibiotic use in human medicine—and it's something every prescriber has been guilty of—but human antibiotic use accounts for just 20% of total antibiotic use in the U.S.," said Scott Weissman, Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Seattle Children's Hospital. "We in the medical community have an obligation to our patients to preserve these life-saving drugs by also seeking to curb unnecessary usage in agriculture, which accounts for the remaining 80% of use in the U.S."

In addition to this local resolution, the University of Washington Medical Center's Food and Nutrition program have announced they are amending their policy to state that all pork and poultry products served at UWMC will be 100% antibiotic free. 

The Resolution is expected to be voted on by Full Council on Monday, April 7.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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March 28, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Harrell, News Releases

Councilmember Harrell Statement on Assistant Chief Pugel Retirement

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/28/2014

Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell

Councilmember Harrell Statement on Assistant Chief Pugel Retirement

Seattle - Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council's Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee, issued the following statement today in response to the announcement that Assistant Chief Jim Pugel will retire:

"I thank Jim for his three decades of dedicated service, protecting and serving the great people of Seattle. Jim will be remembered as one of the best officers to ever serve the Seattle Police department. Graduating from the University of Washington and living in Seattle all of his life, without a doubt, Jim was committed to creating the best police department in the country. In my time and work with Jim, he has always been honest and direct. I appreciated his candor and outcome driven approach in keeping this city safe. I wish him the best in his next endeavors."

[View in Council Newsroom]