While budget season officially kicked off Tuesday, September 29, 2020 when Mayor Durkan transmitted her budget proposal for 2021, City Hall has been working on this budget for months, with each of the mayor’s department heads and her budget office determining how best to invest tax dollars for Seattle. Now that the Mayor has crafted […]

New policy will require City to formally consider impacts of all new legislation on carbon emissions and resiliency to climate change The Seattle City Council unanimously approved Resolution 31933 crafted by Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4, Northeast Seattle). The Resolution will, for the first time, require the City Council to formally consider the crisis of […]

Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle), Chair of the City Council’s Transportation Committee announced the delivery of the audit report on Seattle’s bridges with a focus on the efficacy of the City’s infrastructure maintenance program. “In a city defined by its many waterways, our bridges connect us and this audit report proves city […]

On September 8, 2020, I voted against scooters in Seattle and here’s why: I support improved mobility options by encouraging environmentally friendly alternatives to gas-powered, single occupancy vehicles.  Ideally, electric scooters (e-scooters) would provide an alternative for some trips for some travelers. At the same time, the City government is essentially authorizing a new mode […]

Friends and Neighbors, While City Hall refers to the past two weeks without City Council meetings as a “recess,” your District 4 office continued to work for you—having more conversations about the role of policing in our community, preparing for the bigger budget process this Fall, and responding to constituent requests. After Labor Day we […]

Seattle, WA — Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle) and Chair of the Transportation and Utilities committee, and Councilmember Lisa Herbold (District 1 – West Seattle and South Park), voted to pass an interfund loan for the West Seattle Bridge on Wednesday. Council Bill 119858 will authorize the loan of funds in the amount of $50,000,000 from the Construction and […]

Friends and Neighbors, Due to the COVID pandemic, revenues to our City’s treasury have dropped substantially, creating massive budget deficits (an estimated $325 million this year and $325 million next year). Last week your City Council took action to re-balance our 2020 budget and made initial changes to our police budget. While calling for more collaboration […]

AUGUST 12, 2020 UPDATE: SUPPORTING MAYOR’S VETO AND RESPONSIBLE COVID RELIEF: Today, our City Council responded not only to our Mayor’s veto of Council Bill 119812 but also to new information about a slower economic recovery and a larger budget deficit than expected. Our forecast of revenues dropped substantially since we unanimously passed our original COVID relief package (CB […]

SEATTLE – Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle) issued the following statement in response to the announcement by Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best that she plans to retire on September 2: “I am deeply saddened by the resignation of our Police Chief Carmen Best. Chief Best has served Seattle faithfully and honorably for decades and happens to be […]

Councilmember Alex Pedersen, Chair of the Transportation Committee and Chair of the Committee on Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD) Funding, released the following statement today after the City Council passed Council Bill 119833, which will provide voters with the option to renew funding for STBD. “Because I believe public transit is an essential and affordable […]