FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/10/2013
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmembers to host discussion of fast food workers' issues
in wake of May 30 strikes
Brownbag event will feature workers and policy experts on condit...
The City of Seattle seeks members for its new Living Building and Deep Green Pilot Technical Advisory Group. Application deadline: July 19, 2013.
On July 3 the Washington State Liquor Control Board voted to file proposed rules for implementing I-502, which legalized recreational marijuana in Washington state. The rules update the initial draft issued on May 16. The Board is planning to hold four public hearings statewide in early August, and vote on final rules on August 14. [...]
A greater demand for housing translates into higher rent. Until we embrace this reality, we will be a dog chasing our tail.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/2/2013
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Licata's statement regarding City's rising rents
SEATTLE - City Councilmember Nick Licata, chair of the Housing, Human Service, Health and Culture Committee, issued the foll...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 7/1/2013
Councilmember Nick Licata
Council approves funds to support 50 additional unsheltered homeless families
SEATTLE - City Council authorized spending today to support 50 homeless families in Seattle. This is in additio...
There is a suicide every 18 minutes in the United States, one every 30 seconds in the world.
In the wake of the passage of I-502, the City Council is considering setting limits on where marijuana-related activity can take place in Seattle. Legislation to set zoning limits was discussed on June 24 at the Full Council, and eventually held under July 22. Four committee meetings were held to review the legislation, beginning on [...]
Check out "Nights at the Neptune: A People’s Theatre Joint," featuring 8 art projects running through September 17.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/24/2013
Council President Sally J. Clark
Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Tim Burgess
Councilmember Richard Conlin
Councilmember Jean Godden
Councilmember Bruce Harrell
Councilmember Nick Licata
Councilmember Mike O'Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen
Seattle City Council Votes on Bill to Restore
Publicly Financed Elections in Seattle
Proposal to be sent to voters in November
Seattle - City Council voted on legislation today to restore public financing for local elections. Seattle was the first municipality in the country to introduce public financing, also called "voter-owned elections," in 1979, but has not had an operating program since 1992. The proposal will now be sent to Seattle voters on the November ballot.
Public financing is a system in which qualifying campaigns are funded in part with public dollars in order to increase the number of candidates running for office and increase the role of small donors in the electoral process. The Council's public financing proposal would only apply to City Council races and would be instituted in the 2015 elections.
"I'm looking forward to the robust debate about the role of money in politics in the months ahead," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.
To opt into the program, candidates must first qualify by collecting contributions of $10 or more from at least 600 Seattle residents. Once qualified, donations up to $50 would be matched six-to-one on the first $35,000 raised. Candidates who fully utilize the matching system would receive $210,000 in public funds throughout the entire campaign, split between the primary and general elections. Voters would be asked to approve a 6-year, $9 million property tax levy to finance the program, which would cost an estimated $2 million per year, or about $5.76 for a home valued at $350,000. Candidates would have the option to run for office without participating in the public financing program.
In December 2012, Councilmembers Sally J. Clark, Nick Licata, Mike O'Brien and Tom Rasmussen sent a letter to the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) asking the body to recommend a public financing model that meets three goals: (1) increases electoral competitiveness, (2) reduces financial barriers to entry for candidates and (3) increases the role and emphasis of small donors in the electoral process. In March, the SEEC delivered its recommendations to Council for consideration, over which the City Council's Public Campaign Finance Committee has been deliberating since April.
Seattle had partial public financing of campaigns in 1979 and 1981, and from 1987-1991. In 1992, state Initiative 134 passed, prohibiting public financing. In 2008 the State legislature adopted legislation allowing local jurisdictions to establish programs to publicly finance campaigns, if approved by a public vote, and the funding is derived from local sources only.