FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/23/2014   Councilmember Mike O’Brien O’Brien, City Council Seek Emergency Order Prohibiting Transport of Flammable Crude Oil through Seattle First nationwide action by a City Council to call for immediate end to oil train transport near neighborhoods SEATTLE – City Councilmember Mike O’Brien and all eight of his council colleagues signed a letter calling for the U.S. […]

As a board member of the Seattle Transportation Benefit District, I am casting my vote today in support of Resolution 12, which would ask Seattle voters to approve a funding package to help retain bus service in the City when Metro starts making cuts next year. If we are serious about our climate goals and […]

Today, I was the lone vote against Council Bill 118140. This bill was worked out by the Mayor’s office in a negotiated deal with industry stakeholders from the Transportation Network Companies (TNCs, such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar), the taxi industry and the for-hire vehicle industry. There was no opportunity for the public to vet this bill, […]

City Council is currently considering a rezone of the North Rainier area surrounding the Mt. Baker Transit Center. Development of the North Rainier area is an issue that the City and community have been working on for over 15 years. The North Rainier Neighborhood Plan was adopted in 1999, and formally updated in 2010. In […]

I’m writing today with an update on the small lots legislation. The Planning, Land Use and Sustainability Committee voted out an amended version of the legislation at our last meeting (May 6), and I will explain some of the main provisions of the amended bill below. The final bill will be in front of the […]

Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw issued the following statement today: “Metro bus service is critical to the people of Seattle. It is necessary for those who cannot afford cars and depend on buses to get around. It is essential for our environment that people have multiple options for mobility and it is essential to reducing traffic congestion […]

The voters of Seattle recently approved a charter amendment to change the way we elect candidates to City Council. Starting in 2015, Seattle will elect a majority of City Council members by district—seven will be elected by district and two will remain at-large. In my view, the strongest reasons to support the move to districts […]

In Tuesday’s Transportation Committee, we voted on a street vacation to facilitate a new development project at Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Alaska Street (map to site, link to SDOT memo on the legislation). The Committee voted 5-3 to recommend approval of the alley vacation. I voted against the alley vacation and will share my rationale […]

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 […]

This is a guest post by our research aide, Giulia Pasciuto, who has been leading a research project I am collaborating on with the Seattle Women’s Commission to better understand the barriers and solutions to healthy food access for women in Seattle.  We finally have the results from our four-month qualitative research project to prioritize […]