FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/22/2013
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Council dedicates speed camera revenue to school zone safety
Stand-alone fund will provide millions of dollars for sa...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/15/2013
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick L...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/15/2013
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Council funds traffic safety improvements
Legislation shifts more funding to immediate safety and mobility needs
SEATTLE - City Council authorized funding ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/10/2013
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmembers to host discussion of fast food workers' issues
in wake of May 30 strikes
Brownbag event will feature workers and policy experts on condit...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/2/2013
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Licata's statement regarding City's rising rents
SEATTLE - City Councilmember Nick Licata, chair of the Housing, Human Service, Health and Culture Committee, issued the foll...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/1/2013
Councilmember Nick Licata
Council approves funds to support 50 additional unsheltered homeless families
SEATTLE - City Council authorized spending today to support 50 homeless families in Seattle. This is in additio...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/26/2013
Council President Sally J. Clark
Council President Clark's statement on Supreme Court ruling to strike down DOMA
SEATTLE - City Council President Sally J. Clark issued the following statement on today's Supreme Court decision:
"I'm elated that the highest court in the land has recognized that the relationships of lesbian and gay people are equal under the law. It's been a long, hard fight, and we've prevailed.
This is a great day and comes just before Seattle's Pride weekend, an opportunity to celebrate and honor the many, many people who have worked decades to see this day."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/24/2013
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
Seattle City Council Votes on Bill to Restore
Publicly Financed Elections in Seattle
Proposal to be sent to voters in November
Seattle - City Council voted on legislation today to restore public financing for local elections. Seattle was the first municipality in the country to introduce public financing, also called "voter-owned elections," in 1979, but has not had an operating program since 1992. The proposal will now be sent to Seattle voters on the November ballot.
Public financing is a system in which qualifying campaigns are funded in part with public dollars in order to increase the number of candidates running for office and increase the role of small donors in the electoral process. The Council's public financing proposal would only apply to City Council races and would be instituted in the 2015 elections.
"I'm looking forward to the robust debate about the role of money in politics in the months ahead," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.
To opt into the program, candidates must first qualify by collecting contributions of $10 or more from at least 600 Seattle residents. Once qualified, donations up to $50 would be matched six-to-one on the first $35,000 raised. Candidates who fully utilize the matching system would receive $210,000 in public funds throughout the entire campaign, split between the primary and general elections. Voters would be asked to approve a 6-year, $9 million property tax levy to finance the program, which would cost an estimated $2 million per year, or about $5.76 for a home valued at $350,000. Candidates would have the option to run for office without participating in the public financing program.
In December 2012, Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Nick Licata, Mike O'Brien and Tom Rasmussen sent a letter to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) asking the body to recommend a public financing model that meets three goals: (1) increases electoral competitiveness, (2) reduces financial barriers to entry for candidates and (3) increases the role and emphasis of small donors in the electoral process. In March, the SEEC delivered its recommendations to Council for consideration, over which the City Council's Public Campaign Finance Committee has been deliberating since April.
Seattle had partial public financing of campaigns in 1979 and 1981, and from 1987-1991. In 1992, state Initiative 134 passed, prohibiting public financing. In 2008 the State legislature adopted legislation allowing local jurisdictions to establish programs to publicly finance campaigns, if approved by a public vote, and the funding is derived from local sources only.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/24/2013
Councilmember Bruce A. Harrell
Seattle City Council Confirms Pierce Murphy
Murphy to serve as new Director of the Office of Professional Accountability
Seattle - City Council unanimously confirmed Pierce Murphy ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/24/2013
Council President Sally J. Clark
Seattle City Council authorizes funds to transition campers out of city-owned 'glass yard' property
SEATTLE - City Council unanimously adopted legislation today authorizing the Human Services Department to provide outreach, engagement, case management, shelter, housing and other services to transition campers out of the encampment at 7116 W Marginal Way SW.
Council Bill 117815 authorizes $500,000 in new General Fund dollars for services to camping residents of the City-owned property commonly known as "Nickelsville." Residents in the surrounding community have expressed ongoing concerns about environmental contamination at the site and the public safety impact of the encampment for campers and the surrounding neighborhood. Passage of this legislation underscores a majority of councilmembers' long-standing position that encampments are not an acceptable response to homelessness in Seattle and that providing housing, treatment services, and shelter are the most appropriate assistance to set homeless individuals on a pathway to ending homelessness.
The City invests more than $30 million annually in programs and services to assist homeless individuals and families. In the past two years, the Council has provided an additional $1 million in funding for shelter, rapid re-housing and other services to help move homeless individuals and families off the streets and into shelter and housing. In recent years Council has also affirmed the constitutional right of religious organizations to provide shelter, including encampments, with minimal requirements.
"Our goal is to provide safe, secure housing, to anyone at the West Marginal Way SW location who is willing to accept it," said Council President Sally J. Clark.
Seven Councilmembers signed a letter earlier this month requesting the Mayor to direct the Human Services Department to prepare a plan to provide immediate, targeted outreach and engagement services, case management and housing, shelter and services for Nickelsville residents and closure of the encampment by September 1. Several cities, including, New Orleans, Baltimore and San Francisco have also taken the approach of providing intensive outreach and engagement efforts, coupled with the provision of housing, shelter and services to residents of encampments. The cities have been successful moving individuals at the encampments into stable, safe shelters and supported housing.
"We recognize that the problem of homelessness is a regional, state and national problem. We can't end homelessness alone, but we can help the residents of Nickelsville today - and that's worth the investment," Clark added.
The Council's Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee (HHSHC) will host an evening hearing on Tuesday, June 25 regarding alternatives for encampments in the city. The next meeting of the HHSHC committee is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26, where the committee may take action on legislation broadening the ability of encampments to locate on public or private property in the city.