A roundup of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!
by Vee Hua 華婷婷
New Seattle City Council Takes Office
Based on results from the November 2023 elections, the new Seattle City Council was sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 2. Recently reelected councilmembers include Tammy J. Morales (District 2), Dan Strauss (District 6), and Sara Nelson (District 9), who are joined by Teresa Mosqueda (District 8). Mosqueda was not up for reelection in the last race, but she will soon take on a new role serving on the King County Council. To temporarily fill Mosqueda’s seat after her departure, the current council will take nominations between Jan. 3 and 9, and it will vote to appoint an interim councilmember on Jan. 23 to serve until a special election in November 2024.
The council’s five new councilmembers include: Rob Saka (District 1), Joy Hollingsworth (District 3), Maritza Rivera (District 4), Cathy Moore (District 5), and Robert Kettle (District 7), who beat former Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis in the recent elections. Previous councilmembers who declined to run again included: Lisa Herbold (District 1), first elected in 2015; Kshama Sawant (District 3), first elected in 2013; Alex Pedersen (District 4), first elected in 2018; and Debora Juarez (District 5), first elected in 2015.
Their collective departures signal a loss of long-standing institutional knowledge, as well as a possible departure from a more progressive Seattle City Council. The new council is expected to be more focused on public safety and business interests; it may also be more receptive to the policies of Mayor Bruce Harrell, who endorsed Saka, Hollingsworth, Rivera, Moore, and Strauss.
The Seattle Times reports, “The council will soon decide committee assignments, with Saka set to lead on transportation; Morales on land use; Hollingsworth on parks and Seattle Public Utilities; Rivera on libraries, education and neighborhoods; Moore on housing and human services; Strauss on the budget and tribal governments; Kettle on public safety; Nelson on accountability and economic development; and Mosqueda’s replacement on sustainability, arts and Seattle City Light.”
Following a 9–0 vote with the new lineup, Councilmember Nelson is the new council president for 2024 to 2025. She is halfway through her first four-year term.
3 Tacoma Officers Acquitted in Trial Over Manuel Ellis’ Death
On Dec. 21, a Tacoma jury acquitted three Washington State police officers over the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man. Officers Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38, had been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter; officer Timothy Rankine, 35, had been charged with first-degree manslaughter. All three officers pleaded not guilty and had been free on bail during the time of their trial. They had also remained employed by the Tacoma Police Department on paid leave.
Following many delays, the Manuel Ellis trial began three and a half years after Ellis’ death and lasted for over two months. The jury consisted of seven men and five women who deliberated for three days. Nine of the jurors were white, two were Black, and one was mixed-race Asian and white.
As previously reported by the Emerald, both the defense and prosecution had differing accounts of what happened during the encounter, which took place at a Tacoma intersection. Ellis had been walking home from a 7-Eleven when he passed Collins and Burbank inside their police vehicle. The officers claimed Ellis had tried to open their car door, became aggressive after they questioned him about it, and displayed “superhuman strength.”
From there, the officers’ accounts differed from three eyewitness testimonies, and video evidence from a nearby home surveillance system also seemed to contradict the officers. The eyewitnesses stated that no provocation had taken place, and that Burbank threw open his door and knocked Ellis down. They also said the officers attacked Ellis and forced him facedown on the pavement; the officers did not stop even after Ellis pleaded and said he couldn’t breathe.
However, the officers’ defense attorneys argued that the officers had been acting in good faith and that Ellis had been high on methamphetamines at the time of the arrest. Their assertion was that the drugs and a heart irregularity were to blame for Ellis’ death. Ellis’ use of methamphetamines was confirmed by the Pierce County medical examiner, even though the medical examiner had ruled his death a homicide due to oxygen deprivation caused by physical restraint, including a spit hood that was placed over him.
Matthew Erickson, the lawyer of the Ellis family, wrote to the Associated Press, “The biggest reason why I personally think this jury found reasonable doubt is because the defense was essentially allowed to put Manny Ellis on trial. The defense attorneys were allowed to dredge up Manny’s past and repeat to the jury again and again Manny’s prior arrests in 2015 and 2019. That unfairly prejudiced jurors against Manny.”
Despite the verdict, which acquits all three officers, the City of Tacoma is also pursuing its own internal police investigation. Its investigation is expected to wrap up in early January, when Chief Avery Moore will announce possible disciplinary action, “up to and including termination.”
The Manuel Ellis case was the first where the state attorney general prosecuted officers for the use of deadly force, following the passage of Initiative 940 in 2018. I-940 dictated that police officers can be prosecuted for incidents of deadly force proof of the presence of “malice” and that they only receive protections against criminal liability if they meet a “good faith standard.”
Clean Vehicle Tax Credits Offer Funds for Limited Number of Electric Vehicles
Beginning Jan. 1, the Biden administration has finalized the list of electric vehicles that are now eligible for tax credits. The Clean Vehicle Tax Credits must be initiated and approved at the time of the sale. Up to $7,500 is available for each qualifying all-electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell vehicle that was purchased new in 2023.
All information has been posted on FuelEconomy.gov, a federal government website. The website writes, “The availability of the credit will depend on several factors, including the vehicle’s MSRP, its final assembly location, battery component and/or critical minerals sourcing, and your modified adjusted gross income (AGI).”
Similar tax credits are also available for qualified vehicles purchased before 2023; a lower tax credit of up to $4,000 may be available for pre-owned vehicles purchased in 2023.
A full list of requirements can be found online, including income limitations per individual or family, as well as the makes and models of eligible vehicles.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a co-chair of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. Learn more about them at linktr.ee/hellomynameisvee.
📸 Featured Image: Following a 9–0 vote with the new lineup, Councilmember Sara Nelson was voted in as the new Seattle City Council president for 2024 to 2025. (Screenshot from the Seattle Channel.)
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