West Seattle, Washington
21 Thursday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Ballots are arriving. The biggest battle in the primary: Seattle mayor, 15 candidates, no incumbent,
Last Saturday, WSB and the West Seattle Junction Association co-presented the primary’s only mayoral-candidate forum in West Seattle (WSB coverage here, including video), touching on a wide range of peninsula-relevant issues. If you’re still making up your mind, another forum four days later focused on neighborhood issues including development. Wednesday’s online forum presented by Seattle Fair Growth – with co-sponsors including the Morgan Community Association – featured six candidates for all or part of it – Colleen Echohawk, Andrew Grant Houston, Arthur Langlie, Lance Randall for the entirety of the forum, Bruce Harrell departing early, Jessyn Farrell arriving late. Lorena González was invited, organizers said, but couldn’t participate.
You can watch it in its entirety here. We watched it as it happens, and our notes are below. As usual in our coverage, they are paraphrases/summaries except for whatever is between quotation marks:
(WSB photo. From left – Lorena González, James Donaldson, Jessyn Farrell, Colleen Echohawk, Andrew Grant Houston, WSJA executive director Lora Radford, Lance Randall, Bruce Harrell, Casey Sixkiller, Don Rivers)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
When nine of the 15 candidates for Seattle mayor sat side by side for an hour and a half at noontime Saturday, it wasn’t just the only pre-primary forum devoted to West Seattleites’ questions – it was also their first in-person forum of the campaign. With days to go until voting starts, they had appeared in dozens of forums, but all online.
So though the questions were serious, it was almost a festive atmosphere, unlike the more-typical mood by the time campaigning gets down to the wire.
Bruce Harrell joked that he wore shorts in the Zoom-call spirit. Lance Randall handed out custom-labeled mini-bottles of hand sanitizer. Casey Sixkiller and Jessyn Farrell asked to borrow scratch paper, confessing they were out of practice for toting supplies to in-person events.
Along with those four, the forum at the Senior Center of West Seattle featured James Donaldson, Colleen Echohawk, Lorena González, Andrew Grant Houston, and Don Rivers. WSB co-presented it with the West Seattle Junction Association, which streamed it live on Instagram’s IGTV while we streamed to YouTube. Our videographer for the occasion, Edgar Riebe of West Seattle-based Captive Eye Media, also recorded it, and here’s the video, followed by our summary:
12:08 PM: This year, Seattle elects a new mayor – Jenny Durkan decided not to run for re-election. Ballots for the August 3rd primary go out in a few days; you’ll have 15 mayoral candidates to choose from. WSB and the West Seattle Junction Association invited them all to participate in the first and only forum devoted to questions from West Seattleites – most were suggested by WSB readers – and it’s happening now at the Senior Center of West Seattle. You should see the stream embedded above; if anything goes awry, check the WSB YouTube channel or the WSJA Instagram IGTV feed; it’s also being recorded for later viewing.
1:38 PM: Forum’s over; we have removed the stream window above and replaced it with a photo. We will be uploading the recorded video in its entirety later, as well as adding notes. We had one no-show, so nine candidates participated:
James Donaldson
Colleen Echohawk
Jessyn Farrell
Lorena González
Bruce Harrell
Andrew Grant Houston
Lance Randall
Don Rivers
Casey Sixkiller
This, it turns out, was their first in-person forum.
4:16 PM: The lower-res YouTube stream is now archived – pull ahead to 5:40 for the start of the forum:
We’ll have a higher-res version with the story later, but if you don’t want to wait, watch it now!
Four years ago, 21 candidates ran for Seattle mayor, and we moderated a forum to which 15 RSVP’d. This year, 15 candidates are in the race, and 10 have RSVP’d for the forum we’re co-presenting Saturday with the West Seattle Junction Association. It starts at noon, with the candidates side by side at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon). Thanks to everyone who’s suggested questions – we’ll see how many we can get through with 10 candidates in an hour and a half. Our calendar listing has the lineup of participants and how to watch.
Three days until the WSB/West Seattle Junction Association forum with nine of the 15 candidates for Seattle mayor. It’s happening Saturday (July 10th) at noon, an in-person event at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon). Questions will be asked by your WSB co-publishers, and this is your last call to suggest one. Thanks to everyone who’s made suggestions already – we want to stress that the focus here is West Seattle issues; certainly the city’s biggest overall issues affect the peninsula too, but the candidates have had dozens of chances already to answer general questions, and this is the first chance to run everything through a WS-specific lens. Email questions to westseattleblog@gmail.com. As for seeing and hearing the candidates’ answers, the forum will be streamed on multiple channels, including here on WSB and WSJA’s social-media channels. About 20 seats are available for vaccinated attendees, first-come first-served – doors will open at 11:30 am and close around 11:50.
Next week, the ballots go out and the voting begins for the August 3rd primary – including 15 candidates seeking to succeed Jenny Durkan as Seattle mayor. Dozens of organizations have hosted candidate forums on a variety of topics. This Saturday (July 10th) at noon, WSB and the West Seattle Junction Association will present the only pre-primary forum devoted entirely to West Seattle matters. We invited all 15 candidates; 9 accepted. We have roughed out a list of potential questions but are curious what’s on YOUR mind, so if you have a question to suggest – please email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com. The forum is an in-person event at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon); it’ll be streamed on multiple channels, including here on WSB, and we’ll also have a limited number of seats for those interested in being there – stand by for details on that in an update tomorrow.
“We know this crisis is not inevitable.”
That’s how the Alliance for Gun Responsibility‘s executive director Renée Hopkins opened a forum this past week with five mayoral candidates. The Alliance presented it along with Grandmothers Against Gun Violence and the South Seattle Emerald, whose publisher Marcus Harrison Green served as moderator. Though the forum had been scheduled for a while, it happened the day after four people were shot at Alki, one fatally, and during a citywide wave of gunfire incidents.
Participating candidates, in alphabetical surname order, were Colleen Echohawk, Jessyn Farrell, Lorena González, Bruce Harrell, and Andrew Grant Houston. The five qualified by participating in the Alliance’s endorsement process and having at least 1,000 donors, Hopkins said during introductions.
The questioning included full-length answers as well as lightning-round yes/no questions. Opening statements were requested to include the answer to: “If you could wave a magic wand and do one thing to end the gun-violence epidemic, what would it be?” Here’s how the candidates responded: (Note that in all responses in this report, only quotation marks signify an exact quote – otherwise it’s our summarizing/paraphrasing.)
We reported briefly via Twitter this morning that citywide Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, a North Delridge resident, is proposing what could be seen as a step toward getting rid of single-family zoning, which she has long opposed – changing its name. From the news release we just received:
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) announced legislation today that will change the name of single-family only zones, a recognition that the term “single family” as used in Seattle’s zoning code is a misnomer, inaccurately describes current uses, and has roots in exclusionary practices.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6, Northwest Seattle), is in response to the Seattle Planning Commission’s repeated request since 2018 to change the name of single-family only to “Neighborhood Residential,” as laid out in their Neighborhoods for All report. The Planning Commission has reiterated this call in their recommendations for 2019/2020 Comprehensive Plan amendments and in their recommendations for analysis for the 2020/2021 Comprehensive Plan update.
“Seattle’s neighborhoods have always been more diverse than the single family only designation would have us believe—from some of the longest-standing and beloved neighborhood businesses, to brownstone apartment buildings built before tightening zoning restrictions, connected housing with shared courtyards, that all allow for residents to live near schools, parks, and services our communities rely on. Changing the zoning title can help reflect the diverse housing we need across our city to support community well-being, walkability and affordability in Seattle, and create a more equitable and inclusive Seattle to accurately reflect our diverse neighborhoods,” said Mosqueda.
“Language matters. ‘Single family’ zoning may seem to some as merely a planning term, but we know historically it has been used to further exclusionary practices and discriminatory policies of the past. If Seattle is going to be an equitable and just city, then we must also apply that same lens to our zoning code. After years of discussion, we are acting on what we know is right to undo the legacy of exclusion that exists within our planning documents — starting with how we talk about our neighborhoods,” Mosqueda concluded. …
The City Council requested this zoning name change be studied by the Executive every year since 2018 in the Comprehensive Plan Annual Docketing Resolution. This proposal would finally implement that recommendation by first amending the City’s Comprehensive Plan to make the change, and then follow with changes to the land use code.
This change will touch many elements of the Comprehensive Plan, including: (1) the Future Land Use Map; (2) the Land Use, Housing, and Parks and Open Space elements; (3) seventeen neighborhood plans; and (4) the Housing appendix.
These proposed changes can be seen on the Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee website at: seattle.gov/council/committees/land-use-and-neighborhoods. The City Council’s Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee will hold a public hearing to receive input on the preliminary proposal on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 9:30 AM. Councilmember Mosqueda intends to formally introduce legislation in August as part of the annual Comprehensive Plan update.
See the proposed legislation here. The announcement also notes this would change official neighborhood plans around the city, including, in West Seattle, those for Admiral, Morgan Junction, West Seattle Junction, and Westwood Highland Park.
While this is a proposal to change the zoning type’s name, not the zoning itself yet, it’s been a hot topic in this year’s mayoral and council races, with most candidates voicing support so far for ending “exclusionary zoning.” Mosqueda said during this morning’s council briefing meeting that potential future zoning changes could come in 2023 and 2024.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Still deciding who to support for Seattle Mayor? Here’s another chance to compare the candidates – some of them, anyway.
This past Wednesday, five of the 15 candidates participated in a forum focused on transportation, equity, and environmental issues, sponsored by the MASS Coalition (Move All Seattle Sustainably). The five candidates were Lance Randall, Andrew Grant Houston, Bruce Harrell, Lorena González, and Jessyn Farrell; organizers said Casey Sixkiller and Colleen Echohawk also had been invited, but were unable to participate (a surrogate for Echohawk presented an opening statement). The forum was moderated by Erica C. Barnett, editor/publisher of Publicola.
As transportation is a perennially hot topic here – and with an eye ahead to the forum we’re moderating in three weeks – we watched this event. You can see the coalition’s video recording for yourself above. Our notes don’t cover all the questions asked, but you can read the coalition’s transcript here. In addition to opening statements and standard Q&A, the candidates were also asked to give quick yes/no answers to several questions. We’ll start with those:
Out of a 43-page slide deck, that’s the one slide that caught our attention when Sound Transit briefed the Seattle City Council Transportation and Utilities Committee this morning. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the West Seattle to Ballard extension is now not expected to be released before fall. Last estimated release timeline (see this December 2020 WSB report) was “mid-(year),” and that already was a slide past the originally projected release this year. When the DEIS comes out, it will trigger a new round of public comment, and will provide an avalanche of new information about the potential paths that could be taken to get light rail across the Duwamish River and to stations at Delridge, Avalon, and The Junction. The topic of the briefing was the “realignment” process, which we’ve been covering – the pursuit of a new plan/timeline for system expansion projects to address what’s currently estimated as a $7.9 billion “affordability gap” (currently mostly because on new cost estimates, rather than revenue shortfalls). The briefing started an hour and 30 minutes into the meeting (recorded by Seattle Channel):
During the briefing, councilmembers repeatedly asked a question that several ST board members also have asked – isn’t it too soon to make a new plan when the post-pandemic revenue picture isn’t clear? ST in response said it has to make decisions soon about $2 billion worth of projects (not including West Seattle-Ballard), but also insisted that a realignment plan would be a “flexible framework” that could be revisited. West Seattle light rail, originally planned to launch in 2030, already has been delayed a year beyond that, even before further delays that might be part of realignment.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
With 5 weeks to go until primary voting begins, our area’s biggest political organization – the 34th District Democrats – met online last night to make their endorsements. It took almost five hours, even with a decision late in the evening to delay one set of endorsements until next month.
Toward the meeting’s start, chair Carla Rogers acknowledged the event had brought a boost in membership (only those who were members by last month’s meeting could vote), surmising that was mostly because of the King County Executive race. Membership was announced at 548, and the onscreen counter showed attendance last night peaking at close to 400. At the start of the night, group leaders gave a pitch on staying engaged even after the vote.
A few notes first: The 34th legislative district includes West Seattle, White Center, Vashon/Maury Islands, and part of Burien. The group requires candidates to identify themselves as Democrats to be eligible for endorsement nominations, even for nonpartisan positions. To win endorsement, 60 percent support was required; if nobody got that on the first ballot, the top two votegetters went to a second ballot, and if neither got 60 percent, the remaining options were dual endorsement or no endorsement (the latter happened in one big race). There were up to four speeches for each candidate nominated – potentially two in favor (including the candidates themselves if the original nominator gave them the floor), two against.
Rogers said the meeting recording will be posted online within a few days. We watched it all in real time, 6:30 pm until almost 11:30; here are our toplines:
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
8 of the 15 candidates for Seattle mayor participated today in the campaign season’s first forum presented by a West Seattle-based organization.
The 34th District Democrats‘ forum happened online four days before our area’s biggest political organization meets Wednesday to decide who it’s endorsing in this and other key local races.
The 34th DDs’ chair Carla Rogers hosted; moderators were Rachel Glass and Chris Porter; timer was Ann Martin. Rogers said all 15 candidates were invited; 9 accepted, 8 showed up – Colleen Echohawk, Jessyn Farrell, Lorena González, Bruce Harrell, Andrew Grant Houston, Lance Randall, Don Rivers, and Casey Sixkiller. (If you’re just catching up, there’s no incumbent in the race – Jenny Durkan decided one term was enough.)
The questions and answers did not at any point get deeply West Seattle-specific. There were a few mentions of the closed bridge – Harrell scored local points there by briefly noting that the issue of accountability for its damage has yet to be settled – and González noted that she was the only West Seattleite there; Sixkiller said he had recently visited the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and local businesses. Answers to most of the questions by most of the candidates leaned more heavily on self-descriptive information – their background, their family status and/or history – than on concrete policy plans, with a few notable exceptions.
If you’re interested in the race, we highly recommend watching the video. If you don’t have the time, below are our notes – brief paraphrases or select quotes from each answer, following a transcription of each question as posted in the on-screen chat window by Rogers. First, each candidate got up to a minute and a half for an opening statement:
Got a question for your state legislators after the just-completed session that resulted in monumental legislation, from the capital-gains tax to climate action? Your next chance to hear from/talk with them is Thursday night, when the West Seattle Democratic Women host Sen. Joe Nguyen, Rep. Eileen Cody, and Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon at their monthly meeting. It starts at 6 pm online, and if you’re interested in attending, RSVP by tonight to WSDW chair Mary Fisher at maryfisher1@comcast.net to get the attendance info.
This was the official Filing Week for candidates who want to be on the August 3rd primary ballot in King County (and the November 2nd general election if they make the top two). The deadline has passed; here are the highlights:
SEATTLE MAYOR: Jenny Durkan, remember, decided not to run for re-election. 15 people filed this week to run, including West Seattleite Lorena González, president of the City Council:
Jessyn Farrell
Bobby Tucker
Bruce Harrell
Arthur K. Langlie
Omari Tahir-Garrett
Colleen Echohawk
Don L. Rivers
Henry C. Dennison
M. Lorena González
Andrew Grant Houston
Lance Randall
Casey Sixkiller
Clinton Bliss
James Donaldson
Stan Lippmann
KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE: West Seattleite Dow Constantine is seeking a fourth term; West Seattleite Joe Nguyen, the 34th District’s state senator, is one of four challengers.
Bill Hirt
Joe Nguyen
Goodspaceguy
Dow Constantine
Johnathon Crines
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 8: West Seattleite Teresa Mosqueda is the incumbent, and has drawn 10 challengers:
Kate Martin
Kenneth Wilson
Teresa Mosqueda
Jordan Elizabeth Fisher
Paul Felipe Glumaz
Alex Tsimerman
Brian Fahey
Jesse James
George Freeman
Alexander White
Bobby Lindsey Miller
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL POSITION 9: This citywide seat is the one González is leaving to run for mayor. West Seattleite Brianna Thomas is among the seven contenders:
Corey Eichner
Sara Nelson
Rebecca L. Williamson
Nikkita Oliver
Xtian Gunther
Lindsay McHaffie
Brianna K. Thomas
CITY ATTORNEY: Incumbent Pete Holmes has two challengers:
Pete Holmes
Nicole Thomas-Kennedy
Ann Davison
Other positions you’ll see on the ballot include three Seattle Port Commission seats, each with the incumbent plus one challenger. See those lists, and links to more information about all the candidates, by going here. The list won’t be finalized until after the Monday deadline for filers to change their mind and withdraw.
Though we’ve been hearing from, and about, candidates for months, nobody’s officially on the ballot until they formally file to run – and the official Filing Week starts tomorrow. Here’s the reminder from King County Elections:
King County Elections is strongly encouraging all candidates to file online. Online filing opens at 9 am on May 17 and is open 24 hours a day until 4 pm on May 21.
In-person assistance will be available for those who need it at King County Elections Headquarters in Renton. Those who do come in person will be required to wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth. One can be provided, if needed. Candidates in need of assistance can also call 206-296-1565.
As the COVID-19 situation continues in our community, we will not be accommodating large groups or photo opportunities inside the facility.
Candidates can also file by mail. Mailed filings must be received no later than 4:30 pm on May 21, regardless of postmark.
The final deadline to withdraw one’s name from the ballot is 4:30 pm on Monday, May 24.
An updated list of candidate filings will be posted by noon and by 6 p.m. each day until the filing week ends. The list will be finalized following the withdrawal deadline.
There are many offices subject to election this year, including county and city level offices, school boards, and special purpose districts. You can find the complete list of offices subject to election in King County on our website here.
Candidates can sign up for notifications by email or text to get alerts about deadlines and other candidate-related information. Candidates looking for more information, please visit our website or call 206-296-1565.
In advance of filing week, candidates and ballot-measure advocates/opponents have registered campaigns with entities such as the city Ethics and Election Commission – see those lists here – and state Public Disclosure Commission – see those lists here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
After coasting to re-election twice, King County Executive Dow Constantine has a fight ahead in his bid for a fourth term.
As of today, it’s a battle of two West Seattleites.
This morning, two days after this year’s legislative session wrapped up, State Sen. Joe Nguyen announced that he’s running for county executive. Nothing personal, he says – saying that he even volunteered for Constantine’s first campaign in 2009 – but Nguyen says it’s time for a change. Without using the exact words, his pitch is that while the incumbent is the past, he is the future – and the person to fight for the future of even the youngest King County residents, his three small children among them.
We spoke with Nguyen before this morning’s announcement.
The State Legislature has just adjourned for the year. Two of the bills getting the most post-session buzz have West Seattle sponsors – Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon was lead sponsor on the clean-fuels bill, HB 1091; Sen. Joe Nguyen was a co-sponsor of the capital-gains tax, SB 5096. Both bills have gone to the governor’s desk. If you have questions about those bills or others passed – or not passed – by state legislators, the 34th District Democrats are presenting a Town Hall this Sunday (May 2nd) with Sen. Nguyen, Rep. Fitzgibbon, and Rep. Eileen Cody, online at.1 pm. Also scheduled to join them is our area’s U.S. House rep – also a West Seattle resident – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. You can send questions in advance via this link; no RSVP required for the event itself – here’s that link.
Four city councilmembers have a new-but-not-new idea for spending $20 in car-tab taxes.
First, the backstory: The city used to charge $80 for the Transportation Benefit District. Then after the last election, that dropped to $20, but the city has authority to add another $20 and is doing so starting in July. In November, three councilmembers including West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold proposed spending the money on bridge maintenance. But instead, a council majority had SDOT come up with a different plan, which only spent 24 percent on bridges; you might recall the community survey about it last month.
Now that plan is going to the council (here are its toplines). Four councilmembers, including the three who originally proposed bridge spending, are bringing back that idea. The four say that while the SDOT plan is fine for this year, starting next year they’d rather use the fee’s $7 million revenue to finance $100 million in bond money, with three-quarters of that going toward bridges. (While the councilmembers’ news release mentions the West Seattle Bridge, spending for that project isn’t specified in their proposed amendment, which you can read here. They instead would direct SDOT to come up with a bridge-spending plan. This will all play out before the Transportation and Utilities Committee starting this Wednesday (agenda here).
Seattle Port Commissioner Ryan Calkins announced today that he’s running for a second 4-year term. Calkins, who works as a business consultant, says economic recovery from the pandemic-caused hardships will be a priority. He lists job creation as a focus. His announcement also says he “is running to build on his commitment and track record as a climate champion and advocate for mitigation and cleanup in communities that have historically suffered the impacts of pollution, dislocation, and development.” Calkins, an Eastlake resident, holds Position 1 on the commission; so far no one else has registered a campaign for that seat. The formal filing period, however, isn’t until next month. Commissioners are elected in a countywide vote.
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(2018 Emergency Hubs drill photo courtesy Tamsen Spengler)
The state’s “Good Samaritan Law“ will expand to protect emergency-services volunteers in more circumstances, thanks to teamwork between West Seattle advocates and legislators. The bill has passed both houses of the Legislature. It’s explained in this announcement as:
House Bill 1209 expands Washington’s Good Samaritan Law by providing that a person is not liable for any act or omission while providing volunteer nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency or disaster, unless the act or omission rises to the level of gross negligence, or willful or wanton misconduct.
The main sponsor, Pierce County Rep. Dan Bronoske – who happens to also be a firefighter – explains, “Say a flood is approaching and the only way to help you escape is to break down a door or windows, response teams would be able to take that emergency step without fear of personal liability. That does not mean you would be left without financial help like insurance or disaster aid, just that the emergency volunteers responding would be protected too.”
Key advocacy came from the volunteers of the Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs; West Seattle-residing Hubs advocate Cindi Barker tells WSB they first approached West Seattle state Rep. Eileen Cody, who in turn worked with Rep. Bronoske to make the bill happen (Cody and West Seattle Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon are among the co-sponsors). Barker tells WSB, “The Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs have been aware of this issue for several years; the question of liability protection often comes up when we do outreach about emergency preparedness and talking about helping our communities after a disaster. The State Attorney General’s Office had provided us information that a general response after an earthquake would not be covered by the Good Samaritan provisions because when it was written, it addressed medical responses only. Even most recently, during the COVID response, some people have held back from volunteering, worried about the liability. So we decided to fix that gap.”
Next step will be for Gov. Inslee to sign the bill into law; no date for that is set yet.
This Thursday, the West Seattle Democratic Women invite you to learn about two hot topics from their guest speaker. Here’s the announcement:
In honor of Women’s History Month, for its meeting on Thursday, March 25th, the West Seattle Democratic Women have invited Alison McCaffree from the League of Women Voters of Washington to present the history of the Equal Right Amendment and current efforts to get it passed. She will also tell us about Speak Up Schools in Washington State, a program created to inspire people to testify in front of the Washington State Redistricting Commission which will draw the lines for our legislative districts this year. Why do we care about these issues? How do they impact us? To join us on Zoom for this interactive and engaging presentation, email Mary Fisher at maryfisher1@comcast.net by 11 a.m. Thursday for the Zoom link. Speaker begins at 7 p.m, after we share positive news of the month in a pre-meeting discussion starting at 6:30 p.m.
For the past two months, the City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, chaired by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold, has been considering a proposal to cut $5.4 million from the Seattle Police Department budget. Despite representing a relatively small part of the SPD budget, it’s loomed large in symbolism even more than effects. Today, on the eve of a possible committee vote, a new proposal – but first some backstory:
The $5.4 million was actually added to the SPD budget last December – as explained in the original council memo, $1.9 million in federal pandemic reimbursement, $1.9 million to cover spending on paid parental leave, and $1.6 million to cover increased separation-pay costs that accompany increased departures from the department. But, sponsoring councilmembers including Herbold originally argued, that money shouldn’t be needed because, said the memo:
• SPD would have had sufficient appropriation authority to cover the $5.4 million had it not overspent its overtime budget, due largely to over-deployment of officers during the largely peaceful demonstrations in the summer of 2020, including a deployment of officers that exceeded $10 million in overtime costs in less than 60 days; and
• That there would be salary savings in SPD’s budget achieved in 2021 due to higher than anticipated attrition that has already occurred in October 2020 and may continue to occur during November 2020 and December 2020.
So they instead sought to move the $5.4 million to the “participatory budgeting” process which has been under way, focused on the development of alternative public-safety responses.
At the committee’s last meeting March 9th, SPD and mayor’s office reps made their case for keeping the money in the budget. Deputy mayor Mike Fong declared flatly that SPD “is in a staffing crisis.” He and others recapped that the department lost 200 officers last year. We have reported, following Southwest Precinct leaders’ appearances at local community meetings, that the precinct serving West Seattle/South Park has lost a third of its staff. The precinct-by-precinct staffing reports in the March 9th agenda packet showed that SW Precinct patrol staffing dropped from 79 to 66 just in the last quarter of last year.
This is not because the staffing budget has been cut – but a variety of factors, including the perceived lack of City Council support, has led to departures, SPD says. And if this cut is made, the committee was told, the department could be in a staffing shortage “beyond mitigation.”
Already, the committee was told, the department has “minimum staffing days” more frequently citywide, as well as an increase in times when it’s on “priority call” status – times when they can only dispatch officers to the highest-priority calls, such as violent crimes. Response times are higher, with averages no longer meeting the 7-minute target. And with the redeployment of officers to the patrol ranks, they’ve lost “problem-solving teams,” like the Community Police Teams. But the SPD presentation didn’t just focus on what’s wrong currently – it also focused on how it’s not too late for a positive turning point, with the department still experiencing a record number of applicants for the openings it has – while warning that more officers “will leave if they see these continued cuts.” SPD also spelled out what it would do with the $5.4 million if it’s not cut, including technical support for the increase in online reporting.
At tomorrow’s committee meeting, a vote is possible – which would then send the measure to full council. But at this morning’s weekly council briefing meeting (one hour and 45 minutes into this video), when each councilmember provides a preview of the week ahead, Herbold announced she had come up with a new version of the bill to present tomorrow. We requested and just received a copy – see it here. It cuts less, moving $2 million to “participatory budgeting” instead of the original $5.4 million, and specifies other spending such as 5 mental-health responders to join SPD crisis responses, and also funds the civilian positions, technology improvements, and separation pay funding that SPD had requested, Herbold said..
In addition to announcing the new proposal, Herbold said that even if it – or another version – passes out of committee tomorrow, a final full council vote is likely to be delayed because those overseeing the consent decree have questions before final action. Tomorrow’s meeting is at 9:30 am; the agenda explains how to view it as well as how to sign up to comment.
The 15th candidate to enter the race for Seattle mayor is Jessyn Farrell. This is her second mayoral campaign – she finished fourth in the August 2017 primary. Farrell is a former state legislator (2013-2017) who is senior vice president of Civic Ventures, described in her campaign announcement as “a public policy incubator,” and has also been executive director of the Transportation Choices Coalition. She vows to “establish a new standard for successful, thriving cities” with priorities including “making housing more affordable and establishing universal birth-to 5-childcare.” Her website says she’s seeking community collaboration to develop a full policy platform. Farrell is a Northeast Seattle resident. The primary to narrow the race to two candidates is August 2nd; the lineup will be finalized in May.
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