Category: Councilmember Godden

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October 3, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden

Celebrating Yesler Swamp

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On Sunday, dozens of neighbors and volunteers brought crockpots full of baked beans, bowls of potato salad, trays of summer fruits and vegetables and loaves of bread to share. Cheering along with the Cajun band Folichon, they were celebrating the completion of the first phase of the Yesler Swamp boardwalk. Yesler 8

The swamp, a wooded wetland, is a natural treasure that has suffered neglect and misuse for years. It is now being restored through the efforts of an inspired group of dedicated workers, the Friends of Yesler Swamp.

They, along with their partners, have contributed thousands of volunteer hours – more than 3,000 in 2014 alone – to remove invasive species, plant native trees and shrubs and construct … Continue Reading »

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September 18, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Bagshaw, Councilmember Godden, News Releases

Council and Mayor Seek Candidates for Seattle Park District Community Oversight Committee

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/18/2014

Council and Mayor Seek Candidates for Seattle Park District Community Oversight Committee

SEATTLE- The City Council and Mayor Ed Murray are seeking candidates to fill seven positions on the Seattle Park District's newly created Community Oversight Committee. The Seattle Park District was approved by Seattle voters in August 2014, creating a sustainable and long-term source of funding for the Seattle parks system.

The Community Oversight Committee will provide advice to the Mayor, City Council and the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, as well as provide oversight of projects, programs and services undertaken by the City and the Seattle Park District. The committee will meet quarterly to:

  • Make recommendations on the allocation of the Major Projects Challenge Fund;
  • Hold public meetings and make recommendations to update the next spending plan;
  • Review the Department of Parks and Recreation Annual Report; and
  • Provide the Mayor, City Council and Superintendent of Parks and Recreation with annual reports on the progress of expenditures and projects.

The Committee will be composed of 15 members, seven members of the public (one from each Seattle district), four Board or Commission members to be recommended by Seattle City Boards & Commissions and four members from the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners. Each will serve either a one, two or three year term, to be determined during the selection process. The City seeks to appoint Community Oversight Committee members with a diversity of expertise and perspectives including, but not limited to parks management, public financing, urban horticulture, landscape architecture, contract management and the interests of low-income and communities of color. The Committee's first official meeting will be held in April 2015, but members should be available to meet before this date, in early 2015.

The Council and the Mayor are committed to promoting diversity in the city's Committees. Women, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community and persons of color are highly encouraged to apply.

To be considered, please send a letter of interest indicating which district you represent and resume by October 20, 2014 to Councilmember Jean Godden, jean.godden@seattle.gov. Please title subject line: Oversight Committee Application. Electronic submissions are preferred.

To send a paper submittal, please address to:

Councilmember Jean Godden
PO Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124

[View in Council Newsroom]

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September 18, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Bagshaw, Councilmember Godden, News Releases

Council and Mayor Seek Candidates for Seattle Park District Community Oversight Committee

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Council and Mayor Seek Candidates for Seattle Park District Community Oversight Committee SEATTLE – The City Council and Mayor Ed Murray are seeking candidates to fill seven positions on the Seattle Park District’s newly created Community Oversight Committee. The Seattle Park District was approved by Seattle voters in August 2014, creating a sustainable and long-term...

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September 11, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden, Councilmember Harrell, News Releases

Council Passes Women’s Reproductive Health Rights Resolution

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 9/8/2014

Council Passes Women's Reproductive Health Rights Resolution

SEATTLE – The Seattle City Council today unanimously approved Resolution 31541, calling on the United States Congress and President Obama to repeal all federal bans on public coverage of abortion and supporting efforts to improve access to public and private insurance coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care.

"Every woman who enrolls in public government insurance should have the right to make their personal reproductive choices and receive coverage based on those choices, regardless of income or financial status,” said Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee.

The Hyde Amendment, a rider attached to the federal spending budget each year and first passed by Congress in 1976, bans Medicaid coverage of abortion. Federal law also prohibits insurance coverage of abortion for women and their dependents who receive federally sponsored health care.

Rachel Berkson, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, said, "Given that there are over 4,000 women in Seattle are insured through the federal government and subject to these restrictions on abortion coverage, we commend Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council for taking a strong stand against the Hyde Amendment. For far too long, coverage bans like the Hyde Amendment have disproportionately limited access to abortion care for low-income women and women of color. Seattle is a pro-choice city and Washington is a state with a pro-choice majority—it's time we embraced an agenda that reflects this, and identifies reproductive rights not just as an issue of gender equality, but one of economic and racial justice."

Lisa Stone, Executive Director of Legal Voice, said, "Every woman should be able to make decisions based on what is best for herself and her family instead of based on what she can afford. The Hyde Amendment and other federal bans of abortion coverage affect Seattle women in a very real way. It's time to tell Congress that when access to abortion is determined by the type of insurance a woman has, reproductive choice is meaningless."

Andrea Miller, President of National Institute for Reproductive Health, said, "By withholding abortion coverage from women utilizing federal insurance plans, our nation has effectively created a class-based system for access to abortion care. But today Seattle joined the ranks of cities across the country—including Cambridge, New York City, Oakland and Philadelphia – that are leading the national movement to strike down the unjust bans that deny too many women access to abortion care. The National Institute for Reproductive Health is proud to support these efforts, and congratulates the women and men of Seattle."

Councilmember Jean Godden, who chairs the committee overseeing the City's efforts to eliminate gender inequity in the workplace, agreed. "Each of us should have the right to make reproductive health choices, based on what's best for oneself and for one's family."

Seattle joins a grass-roots movement to repeal the Hyde amendment and becomes the first jurisdiction in the Northwest—and the sixth nationally—to declare its support for overturning the Hyde Amendment.

According to the most recent U.S. Census, over 311,650 women live in Seattle. 67,824 women in Seattle are enrolled in public insurance and over 4,000 women of reproductive age are insured through the federal government and are therefore subject to federal restrictions on abortion coverage.

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[View in Council Newsroom]

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September 10, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden, Councilmember Harrell, News Releases

Council Passes Women’s Reproductive Health Rights Resolution

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Council Passes Women’s Reproductive Health Rights Resolution Seattle– The Seattle City Council today unanimously approved Resolution 31541, calling on the United States Congress and President Obama to repeal all federal bans on public coverage of abortion and supporting efforts to improve access to public and private insurance coverage for comprehensive reproductive health care. “Every woman who...

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August 27, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden

Gender Wage Gap: A Report Card

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It’s taking time, more time than anyone would like, but we’ve rolled up our sleeves and are laying the ground work necessary to address the region’s jumbo-sized gender wage gap.ReportCard

Last year, the National Partnership for Women and Families reported that the Seattle area has one of the widest wage gaps in the nation: on average, women make 73 cents for every dollar men earn.  City leaders, responding to a request from the Women’s Commission, studied our own gender wage gap and learned we’re not off the hook:  the City’s gender wage gap is 99 cents on the dollar and much worse in certain departments.

As chair of the Seattle City Council’s first committee to oversee the work to … Continue Reading »

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August 20, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden, News Releases

Councilmember Godden Statement on Acting Parks Superintendent Williams

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/20/2014

Councilmember Jean Godden

Councilmember Godden Statement on Acting Parks Superintendent Williams

SEATTLE - Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden, Chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries and Gender Pay Equity Committee, released the following statement in response to Christopher Williams stepping down as Acting Superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation:

"When I became Chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries, and Gender Pay Equity Committee in January, Christopher Williams reached out and was a great help to me.

"His job as Parks Superintendent is a very visible and stressful one. I have been a great admirer of how well Christopher has handled responsibilities, especially during the great recession, when the Parks Department lost about 20 percent of its general fund support. Even in difficult years, there were some amazing successes – the opening of a Belltown Community Center, the renovation of Kinnear Park and the Maple Leaf Reservoir, just to name a few.

"I look forward to continue working with Christopher in his role as Deputy Parks Superintendent to build a strong Seattle Parks District and to secure the future of our great parks system for generations to come."

[View in Council Newsroom]

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August 19, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden

Women in the Workplace: Marination

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What do you do when the world hands you a lemon? Folk wisdom says you make lemonade. The Marination duo had a different answer: Make Hawaiian-Korean tacos.Marination3

Marination is a crazy, runaway success story that co-owner Kamala Saxton likes to talk about.  The story began five years ago when Kamala and co-owner Roz Edison, had some financial reverses, like many of us who weathered the Great Recession.

Roz and Kamala became acquainted while both were working in educational programs in Boston. Kamala, a one-time Seattleite who grew up in Hawaii and California, has degrees in education and public policy and a professional background at the Gates Foundation. Roz, who was born in Greece and has lived in Romania, is Chinese and Filipina and … Continue Reading »

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August 13, 2014January 6, 2023Councilmember Godden

Women in the Workplace: Joanne Ort CPA

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When Joanne Ort went off to the University of Washington in the 1980s, she thought she’d emerge as a doctor. That was before organic chemistry. The college class left her scratching her head. Instead she enrolled in accounting and discovered a perfect fit.

The switch shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Joanne’s dad and one of her sisters were CPAs and she was about to become one. She graduated with a business degree, later acquiring a master’s with a tax concentration. Joanne Ort

She says, “I always knew I wanted to have my own practice.” And, after raising two children and working for three accounting firms, she has reached that goal with Joanne Ort CPA. Hers is a small business with one … Continue Reading »