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Tonight, October 22, 2015, students, teachers, staff, parents, and community activists will be rallying at Rainier Beach High School to demand free bus passes for ALL public school students that need or would like to use Metro to get to school. Currently, students who live two miles or less away from their schools are ineligible for the free […]

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Consistent with my earlier blog post on this topic, I shared the following statement at the Full Council meeting this afternoon explaining my vote to not move forward a public campaign finance system this year: We face a tough choice…

There has been news coverage recently about how as City Council President I won’t introduce legislation that would send a measure to establish public financing of political campaigns back again to the voters in November.* The Stranger has a story…

I am cosponsoring Mayor Murray’s minimum wage legislation because it’s time for cities to demonstrate bold and necessary leadership to address the stagnation of wages that has plagued our country for decades. Why does this matter? An economy where the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/9/2014

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw
Councilmember Mike O’Brien
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

Councilmembers Rasmussen, O’Brien, Bagshaw Pledge to Give Seattle Voters Chance to Save Transit Service

Seattle – Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw issued the following statement today:

“Metro bus service is critical to the people of Seattle. It is necessary for those who cannot afford cars and depend on buses to get around. It is essential for our environment that people have multiple options for mobility and it is essential to reducing traffic congestion as well. Too many buses in the city are at capacity, and with ridership at an all-time high we simply cannot afford to lose bus service.

“Seattle voters deserve a chance to preserve bus service in the city and we are committed to giving them that opportunity in November. We are exploring every option available to keep the busses running in Seattle in cooperation with our colleagues on the City Council and Mayor Ed Murray. We are also committed to working with King County Metro and cities in our region to ensure that we preserve and build a strong regional transit system.

“We commend Mayor Murray for his leadership in developing a proposal, which will be released next week. We also commend Keep Seattle Moving for keeping public momentum going to ensure we do not lose the bus service we so critically need in Seattle.

“On Monday, May 19 we will have a briefing in City Council Chambers at 9:30 a.m. to learn more about the impacts of the potential loss of bus service in the City and to learn more about the Mayor’s proposal. We will convene additional City Council meetings as needed throughout the summer to develop a proposal to send to the voters for the November ballot.”

Editor’s note: The City’s deadline for submitting a ballot measure to King County Elections for the November election is August 5, 2014.

[View in Council Newsroom]