(Seattle Channel video of this afternoon’s meeting, with public comment starting 14 minutes in, bill consideration 58 minutes in)

West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember Lisa Herbold was the only “no” vote this afternoon as the council passed the so-called “sugary beverages” tax – officially known as an ordinance “imposing a tax on engaging in the business of distributing sweetened beverages.” Herbold said she isn’t opposed to the concept of the tax but today she tried again to lower it and expand its scope – and again, like last Friday, she couldn’t get a majority of the rest of the council to go along with her. The tax was originally proposed by Mayor Ed Murray, who plans to sign it at a ceremony tomorrow morning. It won final approval 7-1 (Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who voted against it in committee last week along with Herbold, was absent).

THE DETAILS: According to council staff via Twitter, the bill would tax distributors at one and three-quarters cents per beverage ounce for those with $5 million+ income, one cent per beverage ounce for $2 million-$5 million income, those with income under $2 million exempt. But spokesperson Dana Robinson Slote says the full text of the bill “won’t be official until tomorrow morning, when all amendments are integrated by staff.”

One of tomorrow’s big stories will be whatever happens when the full City Council takes up the proposed “sweetened-beverage tax” at its 2 pm meeting. Our area’s City Councilmember Lisa Herbold tried last week to cut it from one and three-quarters cents per ounce to one cent per ounce, and include “diet” beverages, saying that combination would still raise more money than the higher tax without “diet” beverages. But her proposals didn’t get committee approval, and she voted “no” on the tax as currently proposed. Herbold still tried to make her case one more time in her weekly newsletter/blog post. Will any of her colleagues change their mind? We’ll likely find out tomorrow. Meantime, the Seattle City Council Insight website breaks down why the bill is being pushed toward a final vote tomorrow, days after its non-unanimous committee passage – saying it’s related to the timing of a an expected referendum if the tax passes. Here’s the agenda for tomorrow’s 2 pm meeting at City Hall, which will have a public-comment period, and will be live on Seattle Channel.

What is known right now as the Veterans and Human Services Levy will become the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy before voters around King County are asked to renew it this November. The announcement came today from County Executive Dow Constantine, noting that this is a one-of-a-kind program:

No other county in the United States has a voter-approved levy of the same scale or scope that is dedicated to serving veterans, active service members, and their families. For more than a decade, it has helped veterans succeed by connecting them with housing, employment and treatment.

So what exactly does/would the levy pay for? Here’s a three-page PDF fact sheet from the county. And here’s the summary of its cost:

The rate would be 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. For the owner of an average home in King County – currently about $450,000 – that would mean an increase of about $3 per month, going from $1.50 per month to $4.50 per month.

You can read the full announcement by going here.

Filing week continues – and one West Seattleite has just announced that she’s NOT running for mayor. Persistent rumor had it that Councilmember Lorena González, a Junction resident, would jump in, after Mayor Murray bowed out, but she just sent this statement to media organizations including us:

After speaking with my family and much consideration, I have decided to not enter the Seattle Mayor’s race in 2017. While being the Mayor of Seattle would be an incredible honor, I remain focused on the work we have yet to accomplish on the Seattle City Council. Over the next four years, I am uniquely positioned to continue protecting our immigrant and refugee families and championing paid family and medical leave, police reform and housing affordability. I am humbled by the incredible outpouring of support and encouragement to consider this opportunity but I instead will redouble my efforts on the Seattle City Council as a citywide representative in Position 9.

The countywide list of “who’s filed so far” shows she’s officially filed for re-election to that role. No one else has filed for Position 9 yet, but the deadline’s not until Friday; six others have campaigns registered with the city.

Almost directly across the street from where Mayor Murray announced last week that he would not run for re-election, a new candidate announced tonight that he’s in the race. Greg Hamilton is an entrepreneur and military veteran who served in the Special Forces (his biography is here) and says he wants to “save Seattle.” He is the first candidate to make his announcement in West Seattle – it happened at Pegasus Pizza, where we talked with him for a few minutes:

P.S. This is official “filing week” for mayor of Seattle and many other offices around King County, through Friday; you can check here to see who has filed so far; 14 mayoral candidates had registered campaigns with the city through today (not yet including Hamilton), and they are listed here.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

This area’s largest political organization is now on record with more endorsements for the August primary. Last night’s meeting of the 34th District Democrats at The Hall at Fauntleroy included a sole endorsement for the much-contested Seattle City Council Position 8, in a process that wound up spanning two meetings.

SEATTLE COUNCIL POSITION 8 ENDORSEMENT: Chair David Ginsberg said it’s been determined since the April meeting (WSB coverage here) that the first Position 8 vote didn’t follow the organization’s rules – the slate of candidates included a non-Democrat).

Then last night, though he was nominated for endorsement, that same candidate, Jon Grant, was again ruled ineligible since he is running as an “independent Democratic Socialist.” That left three endorsees – Teresa Mosqueda, Hisam Goueli, and Sara Nelson. There also was a proposal for “no endorsement,” advocated by Chas Redmond.

Mosqueda won with 60 votes of the 94 credentialed 34th DD members on hand at that point. Read More

(Added 12:09 pm: Unedited video of the mayor’s 9-minute speech)

10:29 AM: We’re at Alki Bathhouse, where Mayor Murray has just taken the stage.

(Front of the room, moments before the mayor arrived)
We’re told he will not take questions after making his statement. He begins, “I’m happy to be back home in Alki, where I spent my childhood … Alki is my favorite place on this planet. I’m happy to be back .. where it all began. I’m happy to be back here, a poor kid from this neighborhood who never even heard the word ‘gay’.” He says he’s “standing here before you as your mayor” and gets applause – a round of which greeted his arrival.

He is detailing achievements, starting with transportation, including the Viaduct/tunnel. “I’m happy to have been here, and to have been in the (state) House … and I’m happy after a 29-year battle to have passed the (LGBTQ) civil-rights bill.” More applause.

He continues to run through highlights of his career. “I’m happy to have been part of some remarkable achievements … from the civil-rights bill to the ring I wear on my finger.” Husband Michael Shiosaki is standing at his left. Murray’s voice is breaking a bit. “… We together have made progress as a city,” he continues.

(One minute of the mayor’s speech just before confirming he won’t run for re-election)

He is withdrawing as a candidate for mayor, he said at 10:34 am. He says the mayor’s race must focus on the future, and the “scandal” – referring to the lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing minors decades ago – is making that impossible. He says it is hurting this city, as well as hurting him and his husband.

But, he says, deciding not to run for “the best job in politics – mayor of the city of Seattle – this career that has been my life” is painful. “It tears me to pieces to step away, but I believe it is in the best interest of this city that I love.”

… “I plan to remain mayor of this city until the end of my term, and I will be just as active (then as before). … As I have said in my final State of the City address, we cannot wait, Seattle cannot wait, we must continue moving forward.” And he thanks those who have stood by him for years, volunteers, family, friends. “I thank you for your support and your love .. and to the people of Seattle, thank you for the opportunity to serve you and this great city … It has been the absolute absolute opportunity of a lifetime.”

10:42 AM: The mayor has finished his remarks, and as an assistant told us beforehand, did not stay for questions. He left the stage after hugs and applause:

So who WILL be on the August 1st primary ballot? Next week is the official filing week for candidates, but 11 – besides Murray – have already filed campaign notices with the city – see them here – and we’ve heard of at least two more who aren’t listed there.

11:31 AM: We are back at HQ, uploading our video with the mayor’s entire statement, and we’ll be adding a few photos too. Here is the news release just published on the city website; it’s been one month and two days since the Seattle Times published first word of the lawsuit against the mayor.

While the mayor left right after his statement, some of those who stood behind him and along the walls inside the Bathhouse went outside and mingled a while in the sunshine, some doing TV interviews.

Yes, for those who are asking, Mayor Murray‘s office has just confirmed (via an advisory e-mailed to news media including us) that he will “make an announcement at 10:30 this morning at Alki Beach.” What that announcement will be, lots of rumors, nothing official. It’s been a month since he was sued with allegations of sexually abusing minors decades ago. Since then, he has continued to insist he’ll stay in office and run for a second term; the official filing period isn’t until next week. Why Alki? The mayor has an affinity for this area, having lived here for a while in childhood, and also, he noted after his election in 2013 that he had the largest margin of victory in this area. We’ll be there for the announcement.

3:36 PM: A short time ago, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting the idea of a “high-earner income tax,” co-sponsored by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold and Council President Bruce Harrell. Since it was a resolution, not legislation, all this means is that they like the idea – nothing actually happens until and unless a bill is drafted and approved. The resolution sets a goal of making that happen by mid-summer.

If you’re interested in more information about what could and might happen, a group called Trump-Proof Seattle has a town-hall meeting this Thursday in West Seattle – not a city-convened event, but Councilmember Herbold will be there – 6 pm May 4th, at Olympic Hall on the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus. That organization is proposing a tax it says would be “affecting only the wealthiest 5% of households … 1.5% on income in excess of $250K.” The council resolution expresses support of that, but city legislation has yet to be drafted, and “legal viability” is a big question. We’ll update this report later with video from this afternoon’s meeting.

3:51 PM: Video now added above.

So you’ve probably heard by now that former Mayor Mike McGinn wants that title again. He announced it this morning with this tweet:

… and then invited reporters to his Greenwood home at midmorning to find out more. (We were on the list but couldn’t go. Pick your favorite citywide source for details.)

Though citywide media has focused on just a few candidates, even before McGinn’s announcement, nine campaigns were registered with the city Ethics and Elections Commission. They are, in alphabetical order, with links to campaign websites when we could find them, so you can learn a bit about who they are and what they want to do:

Casey Carlisle
David Ishii
Mary Juanita Martin
Ed Murray (incumbent)
Nikkita Oliver
Jason Roberts
Andres Solomon
Alex Tsimerman
Keith Whiteman

None listed a West Seattle address with the city, at least for the campaign. The two who don’t seem to have websites, Ishii and Martin, also ran in 2013; Ishii dropped out before the primary, in which Martin received 1.06% of the vote, far behind Murray with 30% and McGinn with 29% (in the 2013 general, Murray won with 52% to McGinn’s 47%).

While those listed above have registered their campaigns, the official candidacy-filing period is still four weeks away – to get onto the August 1st primary ballot, candidates will have to file with King County during the week of May 15 through 19. Top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the November 7th general.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The 34th District Democrats‘ forum for Seattle City Council Position 8 had a winner – but did not result in an endorsement, for now.

The forum, billed as a “showdown,” was the almost-three-hour meeting’s main event, though U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal‘s appearance – which punctuated the candidates’ forum, because of her time constraints – brought down the house. So we’ll start with her – here’s our video:

Rep. Jayapal said the Democrats are not a “minority party” but rather an “opposition party” right now. She explained that the transition into her new role has been easier than she expected because the focus has been on immigration and health care, two issues she has long worked on. She also talked about the health-care bill that was scrapped, calling it really “a tax bill” with tax breaks for the richest Americans that at one point carried a “trillion dollars” in breaks. “It was really hard to sit there in committee and hear about all these people who ‘didn’t deserve to have health care’.” While she hailed the victory in getting the bill pulled, “don’t think that it’s over,” she warned, and said that goes for other issues, such as privatizing Social Security. She said she’s signed onto the “Medicare for All” bill. And she said that it’s important to “fix what needs to be fixed.” Overall, our area is “the moral conscience of the country,” she declared. But she also said there are some Republicans “who want to work on immigration reform” so there is some hope on that issue, “working on a proactive solution as well as all the things that we are fighting against.”

Regarding the Syrian situation, “it was unconstitutional for the president to do what he did with that strike … You cannot bomb your way to peace; that is my belief. … We were all devastated by the images we saw, but if you care about those kids,” let refugees in, she said. She also criticized the proposed budget for “cut(ting) everything that you care about.” She said an “educational campaign” is planned to explain to people what’s in the budget. “It’s a horrible horrible budget for all of us, for the entire United States.” Overall, she urged people, “stay engaged … As a longtime organizer, I believe that strength emerges in times of crisis … We are in a fight for the soul of this country.” It was noted that she has a Town Hall on Vashon Island tomorrow night (“and we already have an overflow room!” someone pointed out).

Last but not least, Rep. Jayapal delighted the locals by saying she is hoping to move to West Seattle within the next six months – which means, she pointed out, she will officially live in the 7th District. (She currently lives just outside its boundaries, in Columbia City.)

Now, to the forum for Seattle City Council Position 8, the at-large position that has no incumbent because Councilmember Tim Burgess is not running for re-election. Read More

3:36 PM: One month after County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a sales-tax increase to pay for increased arts/culture access, the County Council’s budget chair says he’s shelved it. South King County-representing Councilmember Dave Upthegrove pulled the proposal from the agenda for a committee meeting tomorrow, “effectively killing” it, according to a subsequent news release, which quotes Upthegrove as saying, “This is the wrong proposal at the wrong time. As currently configured, the funding is distributed in an unfair manner that hurts, rather than helps, our efforts to achieve equity.” He says he’d be willing to reconsider it next year.

5:16 PM: Responding to our request for comment from or on behalf of Constantine, Deputy County Executive Sung Yang told WSB that the executive is not giving up hope of getting it onto the August ballot. He noted that three councilmembers co-sponsored it, and that there’s still time to take action by May 1st to let voters decide its fate in August.

Both at-large (citywide) positions on the Seattle City Council will be on the ballot this fall. One – Position 9 – has an incumbent, West Seattle resident Councilmember Lorena González, and two challengers so far. The other – Position 8 – is open, since Councilmember Tim Burgess isn’t running for re-election. So far, 10 people have filed to run for that seat, and you can see and hear from all 10 of them at Wednesday night’s 34th District Democrats meeting. An endorsement vote is expected afterward. The organization also is scheduled to hear from 7th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Tomorrow night’s meeting starts at 6:30 pm (program @ 7) at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW).

P.S. Everybody campaigning for city offices so far this year is listed here.

Tuesday morning, King County Executive Dow Constantine watched Bertha’s breakthrough with other VIPs at the north end of the future Highway 99 tunnel. Tuesday night in West Seattle, he launched his second re-election campaign. Here’s what he told the crowd:

(WSB photos and video by Leda Costa)

As you can hear about 11 and a half minutes in, the event at The Hall at Fauntleroy drew protesters as well as supporters. Some held signs outside.

For months, there’s been a campaign to try to convince Constantine to cancel a county project that includes a new youth-detention center. He issued a statement two months ago saying “zero youth detention” is a goal to work toward, but the project, approved by voters five years ago, is proceeding. (As you can hear in the video, his speech also addressed the issue before the interruption, saying his administration had been reducing “disproportionality” in the system.)

Meantime, his second re-election campaign since moving from the County Council to the Executive position in 2009 is starting without anyone actively campaigning against him so far – the main opponents he cited last night were the Republicans in the White House and Congress. “The last seven years have seen some challenges and some successes,” he said. “But the next four years … are going to be a fight.” Even without an opponent, the state Public Disclosure Commission website shows he’s raised $1.1 million in campaign contributions.

The official call has gone out this morning for volunteers to serve on the city’s newly created Renters’ Commission. Here’s the announcement:

Established by ordinance in March, the SRC will advise the City on policies and issues of interest to renters citywide.

The Commission is composed of 15 members – six are appointed by City Council, six are appointed by the Mayor, and one position will be filled by a young adult through the Get Engaged program. Two positions are selected by the SRC once established. Commissioners will serve without compensation.

The SRC will consist of people living in an array of rental housing types, including students, low-income renters, LGBTQ renters, people with past felony convictions, people in subsidized housing, and those who have experienced homelessness. It’s also expected that members be geographically representative of Seattle. SRC meetings will be open to the public.

Those interested in being considered should complete the online application by Monday, May 1 by 5 p.m. If you cannot submit the application online, contact Seferiana Day at 206-684-8806 and an application will be mailed to you, or you can pick one up at the Seattle City Council main office – Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd floor, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You can also learn more on the Seattle Renters’ Commission’s website.

(King County photo: County Councilmembers Jeanne Kohl-Welles, speaking, and Claudia Balducci, with McDermott, Constantine, and Murray)
Elected officials including King County Executive Dow Constantine, Mayor Ed Murray, and County Council Chair Joe McDermott have just announced a new regional collaboration on homelessness. As part of it, the mayor is dropping his proposal to ask Seattle voters for a property-tax increase to raise more money for homelessness-related efforts, and instead, county voters will be asked next year to approve a one-tenth-of-one-percent sales-tax increase. Here’s the full announcement, published as a city news release:

Today, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine announced a new regional effort to help people experiencing homelessness receive services and access to a permanent home.

Along with city leaders, service providers and All Home, Mayor Murray and Executive Constantine will convene a joint task force to assess needs and resources, and propose a strategy that will get people living unsheltered into permanent homes, keep people in their homes and out of homelessness, and coordinate responses to root causes such as behavioral and mental health and substance use disorders. The scope of the effort reflects the reality that homelessness is a regional crisis, and presents an opportunity for a robust, coordinated response.

The effort would be funded by a 0.1 percent sales tax increase that would go to King County voters in 2018. Seattle, King County and other jurisdictions have been working together closely to address this regional crisis, creating a more coordinated system that focuses on the individual needs of people living outside and that uses a data-driven approach to ensure programs are accomplishing the goal of getting more people into permanent housing. Today’s announcement will lead to increased coordination and accountability, while the City of Seattle continues its work to address other impacts, such as increased trash and needle cleanup.

This region-wide, $68 million per year funding package would replace the previously-proposed, Seattle-only property tax levy.

Read More

Next Wednesday night (March 15th) your phone might ring – and it’ll be your state legislators calling. 34th Legislative District State Sen. Sharon Nelson and Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon are holding a “telephone town hall” 6 pm-7 pm that night. Thousands of numbers will be auto-dialed to offer the chance to participate, but if you don’t get the call, today’s announcement says, you can call in by dialing 877-229-8493 and using ID Code 116287. Or, two live-streaming links are promised to be available: Here or here. With the Legislature handling hot topics such as school funding right now, they’re inviting you to join and ask about the issues that matter to you.