On Monday, September 28, 2015, Mayor Murray presented his version of the budget for 2016. Once again, it falls far short of what working people need. Check out my response, and join me at City Hall on October 27 for a People’s Budget Town Hall to build the movement for a budget that reflects the needs of ordinary […]
On September 23, 2015, social justice activists and I held a press conference to discuss the visit of Chinese President Xi and send him an open letter. While President Xi is meeting with executives from corporations such as Uber, Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, DuPont, and Pepsi, the violations of rights of workers in both China and the U.S. […]
On September 21, 2015, the Seattle City Council unanimously adopted a resolution committing to a vision of zero youth detentions within Seattle. Congratulations to the activists and community members who have built such a powerful movement against youth detention and the school-to-prison pipeline. I strongly support this resolution, but words are not enough. Only months ago, every other Councilmember […]
On September 21, 2015, the Seattle City Council adopted a resolution calling on the Washington State Legislature to repeal its ban on rent control. This rent control resolution is a huge victory for our grassroots movement for housing affordability. Thirty five years after the state legislature sold out to big landlords by banning all rent […]
Seattle has seen a major construction boom resulting from strong economic growth. But very few of the new rental units are affordable to the majority of working people in this city. Additionally, existing units that used to be affordable are now experiencing skyrocketing rent hikes. Earlier this year, Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat summed it […]
On September 9, 2015, my resolution to designate the week of September 14-18 as Seattle Educators Week passed unanimously. Within this legislation, the Seattle City Council called on the school district to negotiate in good faith, and for the Washington State Legislature to fully fund education. Go here for the full text of the legislation, and watch […]
On Thursday, September 17 at 9:00 AM at City Hall, the City Council’s Housing Committee will discuss the Rent Control Resolution introduced by Councilmember Nick Licata and me (more details on the event here). Passing the Rent Control Resolution would make it official policy that the City of Seattle wants Washington State to lift its […]
Thank you to all those who came to City Hall today to support my resolution designating this week as Seattle Educators Week! With the unanimous passage of this legislation, the City Council calls on the school district to negotiate in good faith, and for the Washington State Legislature to fully fund education. See below for the […]
On September 10th, 2015, three days after the Seattle Education Association went on strike for a fair contract, I hosted a Community Forum, “Stand with Seattle Educators – Support a Fair Contract and High Quality Education for All.” The event was sponsored by the newly formed Coalition for the Schools Seattle Deserves, an alliance of educators, parents, […]
On Thursday, September 10th, I will co-host a community meeting with the Coalition for the Schools Seattle Deserves to discuss how we can come together and support Seattle’s striking educators. Please read the press release below for more information. Read my statement about the issues concerning the educator’s contract here. Councilmember Sawant to Co-Host Community […]