Council Events, Forums and Town Halls

This public forum, held in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall and hosted by Seattle CityClub, provided an opportunity for the community to ask questions and learn more about the eight nominees selected by current city councilmembers for the Seattle City Council Position 8 vacancy. These nominees emerged from a pool of 72 qualified applicants, as provided by the City Clerk.

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 – South Seattle & C/ID) hosts a discussion on Arts and Culture with local experts Randy Engstrom and Chieko Phillips alongside San Francisco’s Founder and President of Calle 24, Erick Arguello. This conversation addresses themes of how we build vibrant neighborhoods, and support the growth and sustainability of the arts and culture sector. This discussion will be a virtual meeting, and the sixth installment of Seattle Within Reach, an ongoing discussion series focused on a more well-connected, well-resourced, and equitable city.

Agenda:

Seattle Within Reach is an educational series hosted by Councilmember Tammy Morales about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play within reach. The series highlights different elements of the Comprehensive Plan, and works to bring local, national, and international leaders into conversations about how we create well-resourced neighborhoods that are connected and that offer goods and services that people can access without having to drive to them.

Speakers and attendees include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Chieko Phillips, 4Culture

Randy Engstrom, Third Way Creative

Erick Arguello, Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, San Francisco

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 – South Seattle & C/ID) hosts a discussion on environmental and climate justice with local expert David Mendoza and Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela. This conversation addresses themes of divesting from fossil fuels, working toward a just transition to support workers, and repairing the harm of environmental racism. This discussion will be a hybrid meeting, and the fifth installment of Seattle Within Reach, an ongoing discussion series focused on a more well-connected, well-resourced, and equitable city.

Agenda: Seattle Within Reach Introduction and Discussion Overview; Segment #1-Divesting from fossil fuels: Commuting and Building a greener Seattle; Segment #2-Are we there yet?: What are right policies and tools for success? Segment #3-Repair the Harm: Neighborhoods for a just transition.

Seattle Within Reach is an educational series hosted by Councilmember Tammy Morales about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play within reach. The series highlights different elements of the Comprehensive Plan, and works to bring local, national, and international leaders into conversations about how we create well-resourced neighborhoods that are connected and that offer goods and services that people can access without having to drive to them.

Speakers and attendees include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, Sacramento City Council

David Mendoza, Director of Public Advocacy and Engagement, the Nature Conservancy

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 – South Seattle & C/ID) hosts a discussion about building community wealth. 

This discussion is the fourth installment of Seattle Within Reach, an ongoing discussion series focused on a more well-connected, well-resourced, and equitable city.

Seattle Within Reach is a town hall series about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play - within reach. This event focuses on mobility and safer streets for all.

Agenda: Seattle Within Reach Introduction and Discussion Overview; Building towards transformative placemaking; Impact of Megaregions for BIPOC people; Moving to a regenerative economy & the role of Government in Community Wealth Building.

Speakers and attendees include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Tracy Hadden Loh, Fellow with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro.

Njuguna Gishuru, Community Development Consultant at People’s Economy Lab

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 – South Seattle & C/ID) hosts a discussion about creating safer streets with experts from Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. This conversation comes as cyclist and pedestrian deaths are on the rise in Seattle, despite the city’s Vision Zero pledge. This discussion will be a virtual meeting, and the third installment of Seattle Within Reach, an ongoing discussion series focused on a more well-connected, well-resourced, and equitable city.

Seattle Within Reach is a town hall series about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play - within reach. This event focuses on mobility and safer streets for all.

Agenda: Introduction; Streets for all uses and users; Transportation Planning for a Seattle Within Reach; Equitable distribution of infrastructure; Closing.

Speakers and attendees include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Councillor Christine Boyle, Vancouver BC City Council

Anna Zivarts, Director of Disability Mobility Initiative, Disability Rights Washington

Clara Cantor, Community Organizer, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

Seattle Within Reach is a town hall series about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play - within reach. This event focuses on community development, building resource-rich equitable neighborhoods, and social housing. 

Agenda: Seattle Within Reach Introduction and Discussion Overview; Neighborhood Essential Services Within Reach; Housing Diversity and Social Housing Within Reach; An equitable, anti-sexist Seattle Within Reach; Engaging Seattle Community Within Reach.

Speakers and attendees include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Deputy Mayor Pierre Emmanuel Marais, Nantes, France (Seattle's sister city in France)

Deputy Mayor Mahaut Bertu, Nantes, France (Seattle's sister city in France)

Miguel Maestas, El Centro de la Raza

Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, City of Chicago

Seattle Within Reach is a town hall series about how we build a Seattle in which everyone has the ability to live, work, and play - within reach.

Agenda: Introduction; Community Comp Plan Education: Within Reach; Livable Neighborhoods: Within Reach; Equitable Neighborhoods: Within Reach; Dialogue and Conclusion.

Speakers include:

Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle

Jamie Stroble, Seattle Planning Commission

Rose Lew Whitson, Seattle Planning Commission

Radhika Nair, Seattle Planning Commission

Dylan Glosecki, Architect

Matt Hutchins, Architect

Ab Juaner, Puget Sound Sage

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Pos. 8 - Citywide), Chair of Select Budget Committee, presents the Council's balancing package, describes the approach her colleagues used to develop a response to the Mayor's proposed budget, and responds to the downward revenue forecast shared by the City Budget Office recently.

Speakers include:

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council Budget Committee Chair

Esther Handy, Seattle City Council Central Staff

Aly Pennuci, Seattle City Council Central Staff

The Racial Equity Toolkit Report on Seattle's Growth Strategy was recently released and feedback from the community sends a clear message: Seattle's system of exclusionary zoning on 75% of our residential land is not healthy, equitable, or sustainable, and we need zoning changes and strong anti-displacement policies in the upcoming Comprehensive Plan update to support housing affordability, housing choice, and racial equity outcomes in our city, rooted in communities most impacted by Seattle's discriminatory policies and practices of the past. The panel of community experts from housing, equitable development, small business, and more share how Seattle can grow more equitably as we gear up for the kick-off to the Comprehensive Plan update process

Panelists include:

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, City of Seattle  
Councilmember Tammy Morales, City of Seattle  
Andrea Reay, President & CEO, Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce
Maria Ramirez, Chair of Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition
Curtis Brown, Member of South End Community Development
Ab Juaner, Equitable Development Program Manager, Puget Sound Sage

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7, Magnolia to Pioneer Square) holds a town hall on homelessness outreach and services in Seattle. 

Panelists include:

Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, City of Seattle  

Chloe Gale, REACH Program Director Evergreen Treatment Services  

Yvonne Nelson, REACH Staffer Evergreen Treatment Services  

Alison Eisinger, Executive Director King County Coalition on Homelessness  

Colleen Echohawk, Executive Director Chief Seattle Club  

Sharon Lee, Executive Director Low Income Housing Institute  

Qiana Tyeskey, Housing Manager Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle  

Jesse Benet, Deputy Director Public Defender Association

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7, Magnolia to Pioneer Square) holds a town hall on public safety and the future of emergency response in Seattle. 

Panelists:

Chief Harold Scoggins, Seattle Fire Department

Daniel Malone, Downtown Emergency Services Center

Sharon Lee, Low Income Housing Institute

Roshan Bliss and Carleigh Sailon, Denver Justice Project 

Councilmember Tammy Morales and Marcus Green from the South Seattle Emerald lead a community discussion on rebalancing the 2020 City budget and preparing for a community-led 2021 budget session.

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7, Magnolia to Pioneer Square) will convene a panel of subject matter experts, including former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, to discuss the capital gains tax legislation he announced last week, which could generate resources to build affordable and permanent supportive housing, and fund additional homeless services. 

Speakers include:
Andrew J. Lewis, Councilmember - District 7
Robert Reich, Former U.S. Labor Secretary 
Colleen Echohawk, Chief Seattle Club
Joe Nguyen, Senator, Washington's 37th Legislative District
Sara Rankin, Director of Homeless Rights Advocacy Project at Seattle University

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Chair of the Budget Committee, hosts a forum with two panels. The first covers the national economic climate, how the state and federal government are able or not able to address local funding gaps, and what economic recovery looks like during and post COVID-19. The second panel includes community leaders and those with lived experience to talk about COVID-19 impacts on housing homelessness, labor, and small business. 

Speakers include:

Josh Bivens, Research Director, Economic Policy Institute

Lenore Palladino, Assistant Professor of Economics & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts

Shar Habibi, Research & Policy Director, In the Public Interest 

Deric Gruen, Co-Executive Director, Front & Centered

Misha Werschkul, Executive Director, Budget & Policy Center

Michele Thomas, Director of Policy & Advocacy, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance

Shaun Van Eyk, Organizing Representative, ProTec 17

Colleen Echohawk, Executive Director, Chief Seattle Club

Beto Yarce, Executive Director, Ventures Nonprofit

Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Alex Pedersen co-host a digital town hall with Seattle Department of Transportation on the West Seattle Bridge and traffic management while the bridge is closed for repairs. 

Presenters:

Sam Zimbabwe, Seattle Department of Transportation

Heather Marx, Seattle Department of Transportation

Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) held a ceremonial swearing-in for her third term on the Seattle City Council on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 at Washington Hall. Sawant had her oath of office administered by Kaylah Williams, member of the Association of Flight Attendants.

Councilmember-elect Tammy J. Morales (District 2) takes the Oath of Office on Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, at El Centro De La Raza on Beacon Hill. The Council seat for District 2 - an area that includes Beacon Hill, Columbia City, Georgetown, Hillman City, parts of the International District, and Rainier Beach - fills the position of former Councilmember Bruce Harrell.

Morales worked for the Rainier Beach Action Coalition and served as a Seattle Human Rights Commissioner. She is trained as a community and regional planner, and has spent her career working with frontline communities on local issues including food security, displacement in low-income neighborhoods and community-centered development.

Morales previously served as a Legislative Director for a state representative in Texas, as a city budget analyst in New York, and ran a successful consulting firm on food access research and programming, with clients such as the City of Seattle and King County.   Raised by a single mother who always worked two jobs, Morales is a champion for families who struggle to find affordable housing and childcare.   Morales has been a Seattle resident for nearly 20 years. She is a mom with three kids - two in the Seattle Public School system and one a proud Viking at Portland State. Morales and her family call the Lakewood neighborhood home.

Following her ceremonial District 3 swearing-in on Monday, Councilmember Kshama Sawant launched the 'Tax Amazon' 2020 campaign with progressive unions, organizations, and hundreds of community members.

List of speakers: 

• Councilmember Kshama Sawant
• Kaylah Williams, Association of Flight Attendants
• Susan Fitzgerald, international leader in UNITE the union, the largest union in the UK and Ireland and a member of the Irish Socialist Party
• Maurice Mitchell, national executive director of Working Families Party, which was involved in beating back Amazon's threats last year in NYC
• Paula Lukaszek, President WFSE 1488
• Nikkita Oliver, community leader and 2017 Seattle mayoral candidate
• Chris Natale, Democratic Socialists of America

Councilmember-elect Andrew J. Lewis (District 7, Pioneer Square to Magnolia) takes the Oath of Office on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, at the UpGarden P-Patch on top of the Mercer Street Garage. The Council seat for District 7 - an area that includes Pioneer Square, Downtown, Belltown, First Hill, Queen Anne, and Magnolia - fills the position of former Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. Following the swearing-in, Councilmember Lewis announces that an agreement has been reached to preserve the UpGarden P-Patch. The plan had been to close the P-Patch after next season to make room for 100 parking spaces.

Councilmember-elect Dan Strauss (District 6, Northwest Seattle) takes the Oath of Office on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, under the Ballard Centennial Bell Tower. The Council seat for District 6 - an area that covers Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood and Phinney Ridge - fills the position of former Councilmember Mike O'Brien.

Councilmember-elect Alex Pedersen (District 4, Northeast Seattle) takes the Oath of Office on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019, at the Magnuson Park Officers Club. The Council seat for District 4 - an area that covers Eastlake, Ravenna, University District, and Wallingford - fills the position vacated earlier this year when then-Councilmember Rob Johnson left his position.  On April 22, 2019, Councilmember Abel Pacheco was appointed to fill the seat until the elections had been certified.

Councilmember Abel Pacheco and Mayor Jenny A. Durkan host a meeting for District 4 residents to learn about the city's budget process, and budget items that will address D4 priorities in public safety, transportation, housing, and homelessness.

Speakers include:

Councilmember Abel Pacheco, City of Seattle  

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan, City of Seattle

Ben Noble, Director, Seattle City Budget Office 

Kirstan Arestad, Director, Council Central Staff 

Maureen Ewing, Executive Director, University Heights Center 

Andrés Mantilla, Director, Department of Neighborhoods  

Renters, workers, housing advocates, socialists, and community activists participate in a Rent Control Rally.

Special Joint Meeting of Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, and Arts & Civic Development, Public Assets & Native Communities Committees. Agenda: The AIDS Memorial Pathway: where we started and where we're going; Public Comment.

Seattle Channel host Brian Callanan moderates a Public Forum to allow community groups and audience members to ask the qualified Council District 4 applicants questions. The eligible applicants are listed in alphabetical order: Brooke Brod, Darby DuComb, Kathryn Gardow, David A. Goldberg, Jordan Goldwarg, Sherae Lascelles, Jay Lazerwitz, Juan Martinez, Abel Pacheco Jr., Marjorie Press, Maritza Rivera, and Luke Wigren.

A special City Council meeting will be head on Wednesday, April 17, 5:30 p.m. and provide qualified applicants the opportunity to formally present a 3-minute presentation and respond to questions from City Councilmembers. The public will have the opportunity to provide comments.

The Council will vote to fill the vacancy at the 2:00 p.m. Full Council meeting on Monday, April 22.