City Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) released this statement on the resignation of Councilmember Tammy Morales (District 2), effective January 6, 2025: “I want to thank Councilmember Morales for her dedicated service to the constituents of District 2. We worked together to pass a number of important pieces of legislation that benefit the people...
Category: Nelson
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City Council welcomes new councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck
Councilmember Rinck ceremonially sworn in by community member Sharon Maeda
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Council adopts strong public safety budget with historic housing investments and additional accountability measures
Adopted 2025-2026 City Budget marks a major shift in tone Today the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to adopt the 2025-2026 Biennial Budget and Capital Improvement Program along with several pieces of legislation necessary to implement the budget. The budget uses Payroll Expense Tax revenue in the JumpStart Fund to offset the $268 million operating...
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Council announces details on plans to save Seattle Channel programming, create plan for continued success
Seattle City Council PresidentSara Nelson and CouncilmemberDan Strauss (District 6, Chair of the Select Budget Committee) announced a two-pronged approach to restore full funding for the Seattle Channel and convene a workgroup of experts to suggest long-term solutions for its continued success. “The Seattle Channel needs sustainable and dedicated funding going forward and Seattle Channel...
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City of Seattle and King County Approve New Agreement to Streamline Governance Structure of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority
New structure creates one decision-making board to enhance coordination, oversight, and accountability Original post can be found here. Following votes from the Seattle City Council and King County Council, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine will sign a revised interlocal agreement (ILA) to streamline the governance structure of the King County Regional...
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City council approves police recruitment bonuses and technology for crime prevention tools
Bills part of the council’s coordinated focus on improving public safety Today the Seattle City Council overwhelmingly approved legislation, sponsored by Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9), to further accelerate police hiring by offering competitive bonuses to attract the new police recruits from across the country. The full Council also passed Councilmember Bob Kettle’s (District...
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Council President Nelson exploring ways to save Seattle Channel programming
Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) today announced that she’s working to preserve funding for the city’s Seattle Channel in response to last week’s release of Mayor Harrell’s proposed 2025-2026 Budget, which reduces Seattle Channel’s funding by $1.6 million and eliminates six full time employees. The city currently faces a $250 million deficit during the...
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Council creates new music venue parking permit to support musicians and live music venues
Council President Sara Nelson (Position 9) on Tuesday applauded the unanimous passage of legislation that prioritizes parking for musicians and their crews at qualifying live music venues. The new Music Venue Zone Permit program was proposed by the Executive and sponsored by Council President Nelson after hearing consistent feedback from local artists about some of...
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Seattle City Council passes legislation combatting commercial sexual exploitation
Today the Seattle City Council passed by an 8-1 vote Councilmember Cathy Moore’s (District 5) bill to fight commercial sexual exploitation and the violence associated with it. The legislation includes a prohibition on loitering for buying, selling or promoting prostitution, as well as a separate provision that allows a judge to issue a Stay Out...
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Law targeting drug-related criminal activity passes City Council
Legislation marks another major accomplishment for council’s public safety work Today the Seattle City Council adopted the creation of Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) which authorize the courts to prohibit a defendant from entering a designated areas in the city if they commit a drug-related criminal offense in that zone. Introduced in partnership with...