Author: Mike O'Brien (Mike O'Brien)

(Remarks presented as prepared, see Seattle Channel for the full video and remarks as delivered.) This is a new beginning for me, but so many of the challenges we face are not new, and Courtney’s story really embodies some of our biggest challenges in the coming years. Courtney and her family moved to Seattle like […]

It feels like an understatement to say that 2015 has been an incredible year. Seattle continues to be at the forefront of a bold, progressive movement in our country, continually demonstrating that cities can lead the way forward to a just economy and healthy environment. Of course, we face huge challenges too, particularly with regard […]

I continually hear from people in our city struggling to keep up with rising rents. That is why I have been working to ensure that as Seattle grows, new development helps pay for new affordable housing. For me, this work dates back to 2013, when the Council debated the rezone and affordability requirements in South […]

For the past few years, Seattle has been on a mission to make sure that every worker in this city has the opportunity to earn a living wage. We’ve made wage theft a crime, expanded paid sick and safe leave to workers across the city, and instituted a new minimum wage that will see workers […]

There has been a lot of discussion and disagreement about some of the recommendations that came out of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda Committee (HALA), specifically around the recommendations regarding the future of our single family zones. It appears that even among some members of the HALA committee there are different interpretations about the single family zone […]

Click the graphic below to view a larger version.

Last week in the Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee (PLUS Committee), we voted out the lowrise legislation that we have been deliberating over for the past couple of months. The bill makes several changes to the multi-family code to ensure that new development in lowrise zones is at-scale with the neighborhood, while continuing to […]

The past few months, I have been one of thousands of activists trying to stop Shell Oil’s irresponsible, reprehensible plans to drill for oil in the Arctic. We’ve fought to prevent Seattle from becoming the home base for Shells Arctic drilling fleet, but the bigger fight has always been about stopping Shell’s drilling plans. We […]

Today’s oil train explosion in Heimdal, North Dakota and the fire raging at the oil refinery in Tacoma are stark visual evidence of the need to transition away from our dependence on fossil fuels. My thoughts go out to the first responders in both cities, and I hope they are able to safely combat those fires. […]