Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle) issued the following statement in support of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s proposed legislation being transmitted today to City Council to address public safety issues, including SPD’s record-breaking loss of officers — 286 police officers over the past 18 months, according to a Seattle Police Department memo:  “I commend our Mayor and Police Chief for responding to the surge in gun violence and the alarming […]

Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide) and the City Council adopted legislation today to create the Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts (ERFO), moving the work into a more transparent and independent entity that will help level the playing field between both branches of government in the budgeting process.   In Fall 2020, González identified the need for an independent forecasting office. Each year, the City Budget Office safeguards the process that is economic and revenue forecasting […]

Fund Created Focusing on Good Governance and Commitment to Investments Centered on BIPOC and Communities most in need of Recovery  Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Pos. 8 – Citywide), Chair of the Finance and Housing Committee, alongside her Council colleagues with support from community stakeholders, passed legislation today that would create the JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax Fund […]

SEATTLE, WA – Seattle City Council Public Safety and Human Services Committee chair Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle and South Park) made the following statement in receiving the recommendations of the Office of Police Accountability (OPA), resulting from the investigation of the Seattle Police Department officers in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021: “On January 6 in […]

M. Lorena González, Council President (Position 9, Citywide) and civil rights attorney, issued the following statement after the Office of Police Accountability released its findings regarding the six Seattle Police Department officers who were present at the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection:  “Like so many of you, I was deeply disturbed to learn […]

Council President M. Lorena González (Position 9, Citywide), Chair of the Governance & Education Committee, and City Attorney Pete Holmes unveiled legislation today to provide worker protections and job security to public disclosure officers (PDOs) who process public records on behalf of elected officials, an effort to ensure City of Seattle employees are shielded from […]

Zoning name change would more accurately reflect Seattle’s diverse neighborhoods with new equitable and inclusive definition Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) announced legislation today that will change the name of single-family only zones, a recognition that the term “single family” as used in Seattle’s zoning code is a misnomer, inaccurately describes current uses, and […]

— Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, (District 2, South Seattle and the C/ID) and her Council colleagues unanimously passed the $128 million Seattle Rescue Plan, with amendments sponsored by Morales that prioritize an equitable economic recovery strategy.  Morales authored an amendment that earmarks the $22 million for economic recovery toward grants for neighborhoods, business and nonprofits […]

Relief package includes aid for individual artists, BIPOC arts organizations Councilmember Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle and South Park) applauded the Council’s passage of the $128.4 million Seattle Rescue Plan, which adds critical new investments in Seattle’s recovery, including assistance to arts organizations and businesses, as well as direct aid to individual artists.  The […]

Plan invests $128.4 million of federal dollars into direct aid through housing, childcare, cash assistance, small business grants, and investments in an equitable economic recovery Budget Chair Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Council President M. Lorena González, and Mayor Jenny Durkan celebrated the successful passage of the Seattle Rescue Plan, which was drafted collaboratively over the past […]