by Erica C. Barnett
Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Monday that she will not run for reelection, making her Seattle’s third one-term mayor in a row, after Ed Murray and Mike McGinn.
Continue reading Durkan Won’t Run for ReelectionTag Archives: Teresa Mosqueda
OPINION: How we can build equity and economic recovery in Seattle’s 2021 budget
by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide)
The Seattle City Council’s fall budget process this year will be vastly different in many ways, as this moment demands elected leaders to step up and address a multitude of overlapping crises that are presenting themselves at once: an ongoing public health emergency that is COVID-19, a racial reckoning calling for investments in true community safety and long-term systemic change, a climate crisis made palpable by weeks of choking wildfire smoke, and we’re still in the midst of an affordable housing and homelessness crisis that plays out in our streets in every neighborhood in Seattle and in the lives of thousands of our neighbors.
Continue reading OPINION: How we can build equity and economic recovery in Seattle’s 2021 budget
The Morning Update Show — 10/1/20
The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.
We’ll also post the Morning Update Show here on the Emerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.
Morning Update Show — Thursday, October 1
Today on the Morning Update Show:
- Tonight’s Historic Town Hall
- Durkan Cuts Navigation Team
- Mosqueda Voices Concerns About Durkan Budget
- ACLU Files Suit Against City and SPD (Again)
- Attempted Arson at Black-Owned Coffee Shop in Shoreline
- Washington State Data Hack
- Crystal Fincher and Michael Charles Weigh in on Town Hall
Seattle City Council Passes “Historic” Big Business Tax
by Chetanya Robinson
Seattle City Council passed a $214 million big business tax proposal Monday to address the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, invest in affordable housing, and fund City services.
The 7-2 vote, a margin large enough to override a veto from Mayor Jenny Durkan, comes two years after the City Council passed and then walked back the Employee Hours Tax, or Head Tax, which would have raised $47 million per year for housing and homelessness services. Continue reading Seattle City Council Passes “Historic” Big Business Tax
Seattle Council Big Business Tax Will Move Forward After Passing Budget Committee
by Chetanya Robinson
A tax on big businesses that would raise over $200 million dollars per year and pay for COVID-19 relief and affordable housing is on the City Council’s agenda after sailing through the budget committee with a 7-2 vote. Continue reading Seattle Council Big Business Tax Will Move Forward After Passing Budget Committee
Mosqueda Introduces New Big Business Tax to Fund COVID-19 Relief
by Chetanya Robinson
With a new big business tax proposal from Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (At Large representative), the Seattle City Council is now weighing two plans to fund COVID-19 relief for Seattle with progressive revenue sources.
Mosqueda’s proposal, “JumpStart Seattle,” would tax the top three percent of Seattle businesses to fund grants for childcare facilities and small businesses, grocery vouchers for low-income people, direct financial help for immigrant and refugee households, construction of affordable housing, and more. Continue reading Mosqueda Introduces New Big Business Tax to Fund COVID-19 Relief
“You Can’t Fix What’s Fundamentally Broken.” Seattle City Council Considers Defunding Police Department
by Erica C. Barnett
As the Seattle Police Department announced it was removing all “sensitive items” from the East Precinct building on Capitol Hill in anticipation of another long night of protests, the Seattle City Council adopted a number of strongly worded resolutions demanding action earlier Monday afternoon.
Among other actions, the council unanimously signed two letters calling, respectively, for the demilitarization of SPD and for Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes to withdraw the city’s lawsuit against inquest reforms adopted by King County in 2019. Continue reading “You Can’t Fix What’s Fundamentally Broken.” Seattle City Council Considers Defunding Police Department
Seattle City Council Rejects Resolution to Restart Human Services Department Director Hiring Process
by Emerald Staff
An effort to block the appointment of Jason Johnson as the head of the Human Services Department failed March 4 in a Seattle City Council meeting.
Councilmember Kshama Sawant proposed a resolution that would send the appointment of Johnson back to Mayor Jenny Durkan for a complete search and hiring process involving community members and stakeholders in the process.
OPINION: 1919 Seattle General Strike Exemplified Solidarity
by Teresa Mosqueda and April Sims
This week marks the 100-year anniversary of the Seattle General Strike, a five-day solidarity work stoppage by more than 60,000 workers — or approximately 20 percent of Seattle’s population. Union workers across industries and across political parties came out to show support for shipyard workers striking to protect their right to fair wages and to bargain collectively and directly with their employers. The elected Strike Committee organized to ensure peace in the streets despite the mayor’s threats of martial law, and to ensure that essential services continued.
Continue reading OPINION: 1919 Seattle General Strike Exemplified Solidarity
Seattle City Council $6 Billion Budget Reflects Incremental Change
by Carolyn Bick
With the exception of Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the Seattle City Council almost unanimously passed its $5.9 billion 2019-20 budget.
The nine-member council voted 8-to-1 in favor of passing a budget that included increases in funding for police and the city’s homelessness outreach program, as well as funding for a new program aimed at low-acuity mental health response. The budget largely reflected what Mayor Jenny Durkan originally proposed, with minor changes.
Continue reading Seattle City Council $6 Billion Budget Reflects Incremental Change