Yesterday was the last Full Council meeting of 2015 and it was jam packed: 52 agenda items, 3 ½ hours of deliberations. We started with a resolution expressing our support for Seattle’s Muslim community in the wake of increasing anti-Muslim…

The Full Council voted to adopt the City’s 2016 budget today, incorporating changes Councilmembers have made from the Mayor’s proposal over the last two months. The Mayor’s proposed budget provided us with a good start, including funding for a hospital-based…

Budget deliberations have kicked into high gear here at City Hall. The first deadline for proposals to secure a baseline support of three councilmembers comes this Wednesday. After a couple more rounds of discussion over the next three weeks, the…

Today Mayor Murray and I announced new strategies to construct more sidewalks for less money. For decades, neighborhood advocates have pushed the City to provide sidewalks to the areas that have none, but the biggest hurdle has been cost. Traditional…

Of the critical issues facing the City of Seattle, transportation infrastructure is one of the most urgent to address.  Relieving traffic congestion and making safer streets are the issues I hear about in every neighborhood. It’s true.   Seattle’s hour glass shape makes it challenging to get people and goods through our city efficiently and safely.   […]

Legislation a Council committee discussed earlier this week has been characterized by one side as a dramatic giveaway to developers and, by the other side, an unnecessary and dangerous downzone. Both characterizations are false. The Council’s land use committee considered…

This post was written by Laura Robinson, my new Part-Time Temporary Legislative Assistant, who will be helping my office this summer! Laura is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura grew up in the Columbia City neighborhood and attended Garfield High School. She spent four years living and working in […]

The special session of the Washington State legislature will end today with no resolution to our state’s budget dilemma. Yet another special 30-day session will begin immediately. What a mess. The facts about the need for a complete top-to-bottom overhaul…

Move Seattle Transportation Levy In early May, Mayor Murray proposed a “Move Seattle” transportation levy. The levy would be funded with $930 million in property taxes over nine years, with an annual cost of $275 for the owner of a $450,000 home. You can examine the details at the Move Seattle website; materials from the […]

Two separate efforts by the Seattle Department of Transportation that have received attention recently should be celebrated. First, the Council received an update earlier this month about the School Zone Traffic Safety Cameras. Nine Seattle schools currently have these cameras…