Ready to Work Expansion On Monday April 16th I had the opportunity to visit the Ready to Work program’s expansion into District 1.  During the 2018 budget I advocated for funding to expand the Ready to Work (RTW) program into West Seattle.  Ready to Work is for people who face barriers to employment and need […]

Center City Streetcar: Pressing the “Pause” Button I thank Mayor Durkan for pressing the ‘pause’ button on the Center City Streetcar through her executive order to stop work. This step is necessary to ensure that the independent review earlier ordered by the Mayor is meaningful. Had work proceeded as scheduled—especially in awarding a construction contract—it […]

Schmitz Park Property Acquisition On Monday, years of work finally came to fruition. It was December 2015, just a week after my election was certified, and before I took office when I toured Bruce Stotler’s property on the southeast edge of Schmitz Park. I was joined by the Southwest Historical Society and Forterra (a land […]

City-Sound Transit Partnership Agreement On Monday the City Council will vote on legislation to enter into an agreement between the City of Seattle and Sound Transit. This agreement will formalize City-Sound Transit cooperation to implement the West Seattle and Ballard light rail projects, approved by voters in the November, 2015 ST3 ballot measure. The agreement […]

My Thanks There is much to be thankful for as I write this on Thanksgiving Day eve.  There are individual people to be thankful for their contribution to making Seattle a better city.  There are groups that I am thankful for as well who, in raising their voices together and with my occasional helping hand, […]

Highland Park Find It Fix It: May 25 Next week I’ll be participating in a “Find It, Fix It” Community Walk in Highland Park on Thursday, May 25th, along with the Mayor and City department staff. It all starts at the Highland Park Improvement Club (1116 SW Holden) at 5:30 p.m. for refreshments and information […]

UDP Medicare Rule Last October a constituent brought to my attention that Medicare Part B premiums were included as a source of income towards qualification to the Utility Discount Program (UDP).  The UDP, if you’re not familiar with it is City program for lower-income customers and offers about 60% on your Seattle City Light bill […]

Resolution on High-Earner Income Tax Seattle is a growing and prosperous city that should offer better schools and healthier communities, yet our City faces many urgent challenges, including a homelessness state of emergency, an affordable housing crisis, overcrowded classrooms, education equity and racial achievement gaps, inadequate provision of mental health services, and severe traffic congestion. […]

Age Friendly Resolution On Monday, the Full Council adopted the Age Friendly Resolution 31739, expressing Seattle’s commitment to being a more age-friendly city and committing to several areas of continuous improvement across every function of City government. In August 2016, AARP designated Seattle as the 104th community in the U.S. to be a part of […]

Equality Act Resolution On March 13 the Seattle City Council unanimously passed the Equality Act Resolution, naming the day Equality Act Day. This Resolution calls upon Congress to reintroduce and enact the 2015 Equality Act, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to existing protected classes in our federal civil rights laws, including protections from discrimination […]