Council Press Conferences
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia) announced his intentions to protect Pike Place Market from proposed legislation that would permanently strip historic districts of key administrative review authority. The Market, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, was stripped of its independent administrative review processes like many other historic districts at the start of the COVID pandemic. This disconnect between the community stewards and administration of the Market has outlasted its need and is cutting out some of the Market’s strongest advocates from discussions on its future. Thursday’s event features representatives from Friends of the Market who have an extensive history of service to the Market and can speak to the importance of returning administrative review to the Market, provided by Councilmember Lewis’ amendment to CB120456.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Sara Patton, Friends of the Market advocate
Duncan Thieme, Friends of the Market Board member
Councilmember Moore announces legislation to crack down on sexual exploitation and gun violence
Councilmember Moore joined city leaders including Interim Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr, Councilmember Kettle, City Attorney Ann Davison, and other community members and small business owners to announce new legislation cracking down on commercial sexual exploitation and associated gun violence.
Speakers include:
Cathy Moore, Seattle City Councilmember, District 5
Seattle Police Chief Sue Rahr
Bob Kettle, Seattle City Councilmember, District 7
Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison
Community groups, labor organizations, and disability rights advocates will join Seattle City Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2) tomorrow to unveil new legislation to improve the proposed transportation levy renewal. The changes are focused on creating a safer, more accessible transportation system.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Tammy Morales, District 2
Chrissy Shimizu, Puget Sound Sage
Corina Yballa, MLK Labor
Cecelia Black, Disability Rights Washington
Clara Cantor, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
A coalition of organizations hosted a community-led press conference calling on the Seattle City Council and Mayor’s Office to protect investments in the Equitable Development Initiative & JumpStart, expand progressive revenue options at the City, and center equity for our Black and Brown communities during the budget cycle.
Speakers include:
Ken Workman, Duwamish Tribe
Crystal Brown, Cultivate South Park
Stephanie Ung, Khmer Community of South King County
Miguel Maestas, El Centro de la Raza
Leslie Morishita, InterIm Community Development Association
Quynh Pham, Friends of Little Saigon (D2)
Wyking Garrett, Africatown Community Land Trust
Rev. Dr. Robert L. Jeffrey, New Hope Missionary Baptist
Ayan Musse, Whose Streets? Our Streets!
Mike Tulee, United Indians of All Tribes
Councilmember Tammy Morales, District 2
Councilmember Woo answers questions following the Seattle City Council meeting where the council voted to appoint Tanya Woo to fill a vacant position. Councilmember Woo will serve in Position 8, which represents the entire city. The position was formerly held by Teresa Mosqueda, who resigned on January 3 after being elected to the King County Council. Councilmember Woo will chair the Sustainability, City Light, Arts, and Culture committee. She will also serve as the Vice Chair of the Libraries, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee and as a member of the Housing and Human Services, Land Use, and Transportation Committees
The appointment begins immediately. It will last until November, when voters will elect someone to continue serving in the position through 2025.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, union members, and renters discuss proposed rent control legislation. The press conference precedes a special meeting and public hearing of the Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Julia Kobelt, rank-and-file member of UAW 4121
Ellen Anderson, UW student & Seattle renter
Sally Soriano, 32nd Legislative District member, former Seattle School Board member
Jordan Young, PCC grocery worker at the View Ridge store, member of PCC Workers United, member of the UFCW 3000 PCC Bargaining Committee
Jonathan Rosenblum, labor and renters’ rights organizer
Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle) announced Wednesday a bold tax reform to make our system more fair for Seattle with legislation eliminating a regressive water tax for everyone and replacing it with a 2% local expansion of the State’s new progressive tax on high-end capital gains.
Matching the new State law, this local tax would apply to only a very small number who gain more than $250,000 in a single year from the sale of assets, such as stocks or bonds, and it would exempt retirement savings and real estate transactions. Using zip code-level information gathered for the state-level capital gains excise tax, a local 2% could generate approximately $50 million annually, which would offset the amount City Hall’s General Fund takes from your water bills each year, so that this tax reform is essentially revenue-neutral.
The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) consistently ranks Washington State as one of the most unfair systems in the country, where lower income residents pay a much higher percentage of their household earnings for taxes and fees than wealthier residents.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Alex Pedersen, City of Seattle
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, joined by a coalition of affordable housing developers, labor leaders, community organizations, the City of Seattle Office of Housing, and others, announced legislation (Council Bill 120584 and Resolution 32093) renewing the Seattle Housing Levy, including amendments proposed by the Seattle City Council. The Mayor and Select Committee Chair are in lockstep on the need for a robust $970 million package that invests in permanent supportive housing, resident services, workforce supports, and strong labor standards.
Councilmember Mosqueda chairs the Council’s Select Committee about the 2023 Housing Levy, which received Mayor Bruce Harrell’s seven-year, $970 million proposal for the Levy on March 30, 2023. The Select Committee has been meeting since March, unpacking the proposal, hearing from the public, and crafting amendments.
Seattle’s affordable housing needs have grown dramatically since the last Housing Levy was passed in 2016. The COVID pandemic and economic downturn have created far greater housing instability in our community than Seattle has seen in previous decades. At the same time, wages have not kept pace with inflation, and many workers in affordable housing are struggling with housing insecurity.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, City of Seattle
Patience Malaba, Executive Director, Housing Development Consortium
Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, MLK Labor
Maiko Winkler-Chin, Director, Office of Housing
James Lovell, Development Director, Chief Seattle Club
Naomi Lewis, Registered Nurse, DESC
K. Wyking Garrett, President & CEO, Community Land trust
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) joined workers from PCC Community Markets on Monday, March 13, 2023. The workers, who are members of UFCW Local 3000, shared stories of their working conditions, highlighted their demands, and announced a rank-and-file organizing effort at PCC stores across the Seattle area. PCC workers’ contract expires later this year.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Maddy Olson, PCC grocery worker, Workers Strike Back activist
Arlo Bender Simon, PCC grocery worker
Kai Lee-Kenniz, PCC worker
Jared Housing, PCC worker
Tiffanie Boldizsar, PCC worker
Varun Belur, Workers Strike Back activist
Shirley Henderson, Owner of Squirrel Chops coffee shop
Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) hosted a ceremony on Wednesday to rename a section of Union Street “D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. Way” in honor of the late community leader.
Pickett was shot and killed in October outside The Postman, the mailing services shop he opened in 2018. Pickett and his wife, KeAnna — who have three young children — opened their business named after the profession of Jacques Chappell, Pickett’s great-grandfather, a mail carrier in the neighborhood.
Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Mosqueda to pave the way for the renaming. The resolution was written in conjunction with Mayor Bruce Harrell and Pickett’s family to honor his legacy.
The street, which stretches between Liberty Bank Building, and Midtown Square, and is an area honoring important and loved figures including Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney Ave added in 2014 near Mount Zion Baptist Church and E Barbara Bailey Way designated in 2019 between Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill Station.
Speakers include:
Mayor Bruce Harrell, City of Seattle
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
KeAnna Rose Pickett, wife of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
De’Auzjanae Pickett, sister of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Cassandra Nicole Chappelle, mother of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Craig First-Rider, brother of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Jermaine Williams, friend of D'Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Paul Sutton, friend of D'Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Councilmember Sawant & community leaders rally for first-in-nation caste discrimination ban
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee, held a press conference and rally alongside community leaders, socialists, and supporting organizations to demand Seattle City Council vote ‘Yes’ on the ordinance her office has introduced, to make Seattle the nation’s first city to ban caste discrimination.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Samir Khobragade, tech worker
Tanmay Waghmare, tech worker
Ram Kumar, Ambedcar International Center
Raghav Kaushik, tech worker
Councilmember Lewis unveils amendment protecting Pike Place Market Historical Commission’s authority
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia) announced his intentions to protect Pike Place Market from proposed legislation that would permanently strip historic districts of key administrative review authority. The Market, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, was stripped of its independent administrative review processes like many other historic districts at the start of the COVID pandemic. This disconnect between the community stewards and administration of the Market has outlasted its need and is cutting out some of the Market’s strongest advocates from discussions on its future. Thursday’s event features representatives from Friends of the Market who have an extensive history of service to the Market and can speak to the importance of returning administrative review to the Market, provided by Councilmember Lewis’ amendment to CB120456.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Sara Patton, Friends of the Market advocate
Duncan Thieme, Friends of the Market Board member
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee, proposes City legislation aimed at fighting caste discrimination. Caste is a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy (completely closed categories), and social barriers based on birth and descent. Caste discrimination occurs in the form of social segregation, economic deprivation, physical and psychological abuse, and violence. Caste discrimination is also manifested in employment, education, and housing.
It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country. Sawant and other speakers will present the draft ordinance, which will be the first of its kind in the nation if passed by the City Council. Speakers will explain the caste discrimination that exists locally and nationally, and how the proposed ordinance will help fight caste discrimination.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Samir Khobragade, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Raghav Kaushik, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Hassan Khan, Human rights activist
Javed Sikandar, Technology leader
Lama Rangdrol, Seattle-based African American teacher of Buddhism
Alvin Muragori, Socialist & community organizer
Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda presents the balancing package and provides an overview of the budget.
Speakers and attendees include:
Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
Esther Handy, Director, Seattle City Council Central Staff
Councilmember Sara Nelson (Position 9, Citywide), film industry professionals, and community members urge the Seattle City Council to pass her legislation to create a Seattle Film Commission. The Council is scheduled to vote on the legislation during its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 20. If passed, the Commission would help advise city leaders on ways to both bring the film and television industry to Seattle and ensure creatives already in Seattle have more professional opportunities in the city.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Sara Nelson, Seattle City Council
Tom Skerritt, Emmy Award winning actor
Susan LaSalle, Seattle-based film producer & member, SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT
Anthony Tackett, member, SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT
Markham McIntyre, Director of Seattle Office of Economic Development
Amy Lillard, Executive Director, Washington Filmworks
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (President of the Seattle Park District Governing Board and Councilmember from District 7) announces his budget for the Seattle Metropolitan Park District. The Park District is a supplemental funding source for Seattle’s parks that was approved by voters in 2014, making investments citywide for six years at a time. This is the second round of investments by the Park District. More information here.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Jon Scholes, President & CEO, Downtown Seattle Association
Christopher Williams, Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Rebecca Bear, President & CEO, Seattle Parks Foundation
Andrea Ornelas, Assistant Political Director, Laborers Local 242
Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Laborers Local 242
Nicole Grant, Executive Director, 350 Seattle
Following the the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2, Chinatown / International District and South Seattle) and Councilmember Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle and South Park) are joined by reproductive justice advocates to announce legislation that will protect people seeking abortions in Seattle.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Council
Councilmember Tammy Morales, Seattle City Council
Kim Clark, Legal Voice
Kia Guarino, Pro-Choice Washington
Yvette Maganya, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (PPAA)
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide), Seattle Office of Housing, and affordable housing providers unveil the first slate of housing projects funded by JumpStart Seattle. JumpStart is a progressive payroll tax that makes historic investments in affordable housing and also funds critical investments into equitable development, the City’s Green New Deal, economic resilience, and workforce development.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
Maiko Winkler-Chin, Office of Housing
Velma Veloria, Filipino Community Center and former WA State 11th LD Rep
Miguel Maestas, El Centro del la Raza
James Lovell, Chief Seattle Club
Nicole Macri, State Representative (D-43rd)
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), joined by community leaders, announce legislation making Seattle a sanctuary city for pregnant people and their doctors. The legislation is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Sam Sumpter, UAW Local 4121
Dr. Amy Zhang, Resident & Fellow Physician Union
Emily McArthur, Socialist Alternative
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2) and community representatives of the maritime industry announce the release of $1 million in funding by the city to support maritime training and education.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, Seattle City Council
Deputy Mayor Kendee Yamaguchi, City of Seattle
John Lederer, Seattle Office of Economic Development
Louise Chernin, Seattle Colleges
Daniel P. Golosman, Seattle Skills Center (Seattle Public Schools)
Berit Erikkson, Sailors Union of the Pacific
Forest Reese, Student, Seattle Maritime Academy
Lisa Herbold (District 1 – West Seattle/South Park) and Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 – Pioneer Square to Magnolia) join Working Washington and Seattle Restaurants United to discuss the first in a suite of bills called “PayUp” focused on labor standards protections for app-based workers.
The bill sets minimum compensation standards, transparency in employment terms, and flexibility in employment issues for app-based workers. This bill is the result of nearly a year of engagement with stakeholders including drivers and the companies with whom they work. Engagement thus far has included over a dozen large-format stakeholder meetings and three public meetings in the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee. Discussion of the introduced bill will begin at the April 12 Public Safety and Human Services committee.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Lisa Herbold, Seattle City Council
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Mikey Pullman, gig worker & PayUp campaign leader
Kim Wolfe, gig worker & PayUp campaign leader
Carmen Figueroa, gig worker & PayUp campaign leader
Wei Lin, gig worker & PayUp campaign leader
Jeanie Chunn, Seattle Restaurants United
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, holds a press conference at the Starbucks Headquarters with Starbucks Workers United members from Buffalo and Seattle, local progressive union members, and socialists. The group unveils a new council resolution in solidarity with Starbucks unionization.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Casey Moore, Starbucks, Buffalo, New York
Gianna Reeve, Starbucks, Buffalo, New York
Michah Lakes, Starbucks, Seattle
Brent Hayes, Starbucks, Seattle
Sydney Durkin, Starbucks, Seattle
Sarah Pappin, Starbucks, Seattle
Star Willey, Starbucks, Seattle
Sam White, Darwin's Ltd. coffee shop, Boston
Elan Axelbank, Socialist Alternative
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda join local child care provider Jenny Lowery and representatives from SEIU 925 to highlight the importance of long-overdue investments in child care. The U.S. Senate continues to negotiate the Build Back Better Act that was passed by the House of Representatives in November.
The Build Back Better Act is a $1.85 trillion package that would make unprecedented investments in working people, families, and communities across America. This is particularly true when it comes to child care. The House bill includes universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, expanding access to free, high-quality preschool for more than six million children; affordable, high-quality childcare with costs limited to no more than seven percent of income for families earning up to 250 percent of the state median income; and four weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave, guaranteed.
Speakers include:
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Dist. 7.
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
Jenny Lowery, Hullabaloo Preschool
Councilmember Strauss, partners discuss new model of encampment removal used at Ballard Commons Park
Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 - Northwest Seattle) and a coalition of homelessness service providers, city officials, business leaders and others highlight their successful work to offer people residing at Ballard Commons Park appropriate shelter and a path towards permanent housing.
Since August, Councilmember Strauss has worked to bring together a host of community members, city departments, and service providers to coordinate a robust response that ensured people living in the park were offered the support they needed, including 24/7 enhanced shelter with wraparound onsite services like case management and housing navigation.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Dan Strauss, Seattle City Council
Mike Stewart, Ballard Alliance
Chloe Gale, REACH
Rev. Canon Britt Olson, St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the council's Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee, joins tenants at the Terrace Crest Apartments in Seattle's First Hill Neighborhood to demand their landlord, Breier-Sheetz Properties, fix the boiler which has been broken since mid-September, leaving tenants almost entirely without hot water and/or heating for the last two months. Councilmember Sawant shares a letter she has sent to the landlord in support of tenants and announces future plans for legislation to protect renters from landlord negligence.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Allison Rau, Terrace Crest Tenant
Fran Love, Terrace Crest Tenant
Thaddaeus Hug, Terrace Crest Tenant
Violet Lavatai, Tenants Union of Washington State
Melina McCombs, former Terrace Crest Tenant
Mark Dunn, Terrace Crest Tenant
Perry Holstein, Terrace Crest Tenant
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia) and a coalition of service providers, members from the business community, and others provide an update about the team effort to successfully shelter 31 individuals experiencing homelessness on 1st Ave. and Yesler, all of whom accepted appropriate shelter voluntarily. The JustCARE alliance coordinates whenever possible with City-funded shelter options via the Human Services Department (HSD), and partners with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), and Public Utilities (SPU) for debris removal when people have voluntarily left items behind when they move. As Seattle wrestles with the homelessness crisis, this model - non-siloed teams of JustCARE and the City working in concert - has been repeatedly proven effective, both humanely providing shelter services for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness as well as clearing public spaces for everyone.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Dominique Davis, Wheeler Davis Safety Team
Emily Kim & Heather Hodge, The Pastry Project
Lisa Howard, Alliance For Pioneer Square
Jon Scholes, Downtown Seattle Association (DSA)
Karen Salinas, Evergreen Treatment Services - REACH
Nichole Alexander, Public Defender Association
Lyly Nguyen, JustCARE
Lisa Daugaard, Public Defender Association