Category: Councilmember Licata

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June 19, 2013January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata

Committee Continues Work On Nickelsville Relocation

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Last week in my Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture (HHSHC) committee the 3 Councilmembers in attendance there with me agreed to continue working on one of the 3 options I wrote about two weeks ago to help Nickelsville relocate from their current location. Nickelsville residents have been camping outside on City-owned property on West [...]

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June 17, 2013January 6, 2023Councilmember Bagshaw, Councilmember Burgess, Councilmember Godden, Councilmember Harrell, Councilmember Licata, Councilmember O'Brien, Councilmember Rasmussen, News Releases

City Council Adopts Bold Climate Action Plan Plan provides pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/17/2013

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

City Council Adopts Bold Climate Action Plan
Plan provides pathway to carbon neutrality by 2050

Seattle - Seattle City Council voted unanimously to adopt Seattle's Climate Action Plan (Resolution 31447) today. The Climate Action Plan is composed of recommended actions to be taken to meet Seattle's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

The Seattle Climate Action Plan is the result of a three year collaborative effort between the City and community to produce a blueprint for a prosperous and climate-friendly city. "With this bold plan to reduce our carbon emissions now in place, we must now get to work on implementing the actions called for in the plan," said City Councilmember Mike O'Brien. "In the Energy & Environment Committee, we will begin exploring how to make energy use more visible to consumers and developing the tools we need to improve Seattle's home and building energy performance."

The Climate Action Plan includes specific short- and long-term actions the City needs to meet its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. For example, the transportation sector accounts for 40% of Seattle's greenhouse gas emissions, but the biggest challenge Seattle faces to reducing emissions in this sector is funding. The plan calls for new funding sources like extending the Bridging the Gap levy and securing local authority for a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) to help improve bus service and reliability, invest in improvements that make it easier and safer to walk or bike and take steps to build out the region's light rail system. The plan also calls for supporting the adoption of low carbon vehicles and fuels.

In the building energy section, the Plan calls for accelerating Seattle's already strong conservation work by enhancing the tracking of utility use, providing better energy performance information to building owners and users, and generally help to improve the public's understanding and manage their energy consumption. Additionally, the Plan calls for getting the right mix of policies and incentives to spur retrofitting in Seattle's housing stock and commercial buildings.

"Making Seattle carbon neutral is an audacious goal that takes time, hard work, creativity and the commitment of the City, business community and Seattle residents," said City Councilmember Richard Conlin. "We have laid out the path to meet this preeminent moral challenge of our time and we will lead the way to secure the future for generations to come."

"We must ready the city's infrastructure for climate change meanwhile leading in reducing carbon emissions," said City Councilmember Jean Godden. "Recycling and composting, as well as preparing for more intense rainstorm episodes with green stormwater infrastructure, are the first steps my committee will take."

"This policy document sets very ambitious environmental goals to stride towards, 62% and 91% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2030 and 2050 in the vehicle and building energy sectors. At each step, our strategies to reach these targets must go through the lens of the Race and Social Justice Initiative. In order to get residents and businesses to support climate action and include it as a part of their lives, we must be inclusive in our education and outreach with all communities," said City Councilmember Bruce Harrell.

"While I'm pleased that Council adopted the Plan today, we know the real work is just beginning," said Jill Simmons, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment.

The Plan focuses on three sectors where the City of Seattle can have the greatest influence in reducing carbon emissions: transportation and land use, building energy and solid waste. The Plan also includes a section outlining how the City should prepare for the impacts of climate disruption we expect to occur, as well a section on actions individuals can take to reduce emissions through purchasing decisions.
The Climate Action Plan can be viewed online at: http://www.seattle.gov/environment/climate_plan.htm

[View in Council Newsroom]

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June 13, 2013January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata, Councilmember O'Brien, News Releases

Councilmembers to host discussion of fast food workers’ issues in wake of May 30 strikes

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City of Seattle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 6/13/2013

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 conditions facing workers
and what industry trends could mean for Seattle

Seattle - The May 30th "Strike Poverty" day of action, which included hundreds of fast food workers and impacted dozens of restaurants across Seattle, raised questions and concerns about the job security and working conditions facing low-wage fast food workers in Seattle. City Councilmembers O'Brien and Licata will host a "brownbag" discussion to continue exploring the issues raised by striking fast food workers. Councilmembers will discuss the growth of poverty-wage jobs and hear from fast food workers and policy experts about a range of workplace issues, including illegally withholding wages or the denial of benefits owed to an employee, or "wage theft", health and safety concerns, and threats of retaliation by managers for union organizing. 

"It often falls on local governments to help the working poor meet their basic needs.  As an elected official, I have a responsibility to hear more about the issues these workers raised on May 30th. From subsidized housing to energy assistance to health care, these workers' struggles impact all of us," said Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

"This will be an opportunity for me and my colleagues and to hear more from the workers who took a huge risk in walking off the job to speak out for better pay and working conditions in the fast food industry," Councilmember Nick Licata said.

The brownbag will be held on Thursday, July 11 from 12:00-1:30 in Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall (map). Council will invite workers to share their experiences and insights on working in the industry and the challenges they face. A local representative from the National Employment Law Project will discuss findings from a report on wage theft and other labor law violations many low-income workers regularly experience.

The public is welcome to join the conversation and there will be an opportunity for comments, questions and feedback on the presentations or by email in advance:  council@seattle.gov

[View in Council Newsroom]

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June 3, 2013January 6, 2023Councilmember Licata

Urban Politics #337: The Rise and Fall of Seattle’s Monorail Movement

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I was recently handed Dick Falkenbury’s “Rise Above it All” book and found it a compelling personal story of one man’s attempt to install his vision of what the future for Seattle should be. Aside from the over-sized drama that Falkenbury portrays, some serious questions are raised about the effectiveness of government initiating and financing [...]