Category: Councilmember O’Brien

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Councilmembers Rasmussen, O’Brien, Bagshaw Pledge to Give Seattle Voters Chance to Save Transit Service

City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/9/2014

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Councilmembers Rasmussen, O'Brien, Bagshaw Pledge to Give Seattle Voters Chance to Save Transit Service

Seattle - 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 as well. Too many buses in the city are at capacity, and with ridership at an all-time high we simply cannot afford to lose bus service.

"Seattle voters deserve a chance to preserve bus service in the city and we are committed to giving them that opportunity in November. We are exploring every option available to keep the busses running in Seattle in cooperation with our colleagues on the City Council and Mayor Ed Murray. We are also committed to working with King County Metro and cities in our region to ensure that we preserve and build a strong regional transit system.

"We commend Mayor Murray for his leadership in developing a proposal, which will be released next week. We also commend Keep Seattle Moving for keeping public momentum going to ensure we do not lose the bus service we so critically need in Seattle.

"On Monday, May 19 we will have a briefing in City Council Chambers at 9:30 a.m. to learn more about the impacts of the potential loss of bus service in the City and to learn more about the Mayor's proposal. We will convene additional City Council meetings as needed throughout the summer to develop a proposal to send to the voters for the November ballot."

Editor's note: The City's deadline for submitting a ballot measure to King County Elections for the November election is August 5, 2014.

[View in Council Newsroom]

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Let’s Give Seattle Voters a Chance to Save Transit Service

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 […]

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Revisiting public financing for local elections

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 […]

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Councilmember O’Brien’s Statement in Support of Governor Inslee’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Taskforce

City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/29/2014

Councilmember O'Brien

Councilmember O'Brien's Statement in Support of Governor Inslee's Carbon Emissions Reduction Taskforce

SEATTLE -- Councilmember Mike O'Brien offered the following statement in response to Governor Jay Inslee's creation of a Carbon Emissions Reduction Taskforce today:

"Today, I am proud to see Governor Inslee stand with leaders from business, public health, labor and public interest organizations to move Washington forward on climate action. This is the kind of leadership that exemplifies Washington values - acting in the best interest of our economy and environment.

"The City of Seattle has prioritized climate action. We are excited to work with the state to reduce carbon pollution while fostering business solutions to the challenge we face.

"Washington State has a history of being on the cutting edge. To address the challenge of climate change, it will require all of our innovation, energy and ability. Together I know we can make positive change happen."

[View in Council Newsroom]

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West Seattle Alley Vacation Vote

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 […]

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PRESS RELEASE: Critical of Supreme Court Ruling, Councilmember O’Brien, Community Groups Want Public Campaign Financing in 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 […]

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

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

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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Seattle Women and Food Access: Learning from Women in Delridge

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 […]