Seattle Forward

Seattle's Nightlife Scene

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and I walked the Capitol Hill Pike-Pine Street nightlife scene last night (Friday, Aug 29)  starting at 10 p.m.  Brian Hawksford and Nigel Herbig, two of our legislative aides, joined us, as did a few police officers from the East Precinct.

East Precinct Captain Paul McDonagh led our walking tour; that's McDonagh in the photo explaining how police interact with club security staff.  We visited eight clubs, entering most for quick walk-throughs. 

Several things impressed me, beyond the fact that I'm far, far too old for the club scene.  McDonagh and his officers were on a first-name basis with almost all of the club and bar security staff we encountered.  The clubs were not heavily attended, except for R's, but there were no problems.  McDonagh explained that in the past year club owners, security staff, and police have open stronger communications links and there have been fewer problems in recent months. 

No doubt, the clubs create a lot of noise from the bands and DJ's performing inside.  But, generally, we observed a pretty tame night. 

Council to Close Ethics Loophole

The Council released this statement late this afternoon—

Five City Council members announced today they will introduce legislation prohibiting the use of taxpayer money to pay fines imposed by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission for violations of the city's ethics and elections laws.   

Councilmembers Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, and Tom Rasmussen, who serve on the Council’s Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, which has oversight responsibilities for ethics and elections issues, including the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, were joined by Council President Richard Conlin and Budget Committee Chair Jean Godden in announcing the proposed changes to city law.

Councilmember Sally J. Clark, Chair of the committee, said, "Employees carrying out their job duties should have the full faith and protection of the City behind them.  However, when an ethics violation occurs, no matter how well intentioned the employee may have been, the fine should not be passed along to taxpayers."

Councilmember Tim Burgess, Vice-Chair of the committee, and a former Chair of the Ethics and Elections Commission, said, "Our city has a strong reputation for transparency and openness in government.  We have extremely strong ethics and elections laws.  But I had no idea we had such a gaping loophole that would allow public officials to use taxpayer money to pay a penalty imposed by the ethics commission.  We will quickly close that loophole."

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, member of the oversight committee, said, "The public should not have to pay the fines of public officials who violate our ethics laws.  We need to make it clear that all public officials will be responsible for their actions.”

Council President Richard Conlin added, “The Council takes its responsibility as stewards of the public trust very seriously and I’m pleased to make local government more accountable by closing this loophole. This change is a clear demonstration of the City Council’s integrity and commitment to uphold that trust.”

The Council will be working closely with the Ethics and Elections Commission and the City’s Law Department to introduce the legislation in September.

Community Crime Meetings

I met yesterday afternoon with Mt. Baker and Rainier Valley residents and business representatives, plus police and criminal justice officials, about street crime in their neighborhoods.  We reviewed the Council-generated Safer Streets Initiative and had a good discussion about police staffing, alternatives to jail, drug treatment efforts (ala the lack of treatment-on-demand), and social services benefiting young people.

Yesterday's meeting was another in a series of neighborhood meetings council members have been having over the past few months as concerns about street crime have increased.  Councilmembers Clark, Harrell, and McIver have been attending many of these meetings.  Believe me, despite what some media reports indicate, council members are engaged on this topic; we're listening carefully to citizen concerns, we're talking with the police chief and precinct commanders almost daily, and we're working on long-term solutions. 

We haven't been grandstanding or using these community meetings for political advantage; we're quietly doing our job.  That means we're listening, planning for legislation, going out into the community, being present.  We're also staying close to our police officers, riding along in their patrol cars, meeting with them on the street, learning from them.  A week ago, Councilmembers Licata, Clark and I spent several nighttime hours with police in the West Precinct.  Councilmembers Harrell, Rasmussen and I will do this again in the East Precinct tomorrow night.  We've walked neighborhood streets, too, talking with residents who are deeply concerned about so-called "quality-of-life" or nuisance crimes that are tearing the fabric of their community.  We've heard the cries of mothers and fathers concerned about violence, drugs, and gangs.  I've listened to citizens plead for more police officers to be assigned to their neighborhoods. 

It's ongoing work that in many ways--perhaps surprisingly--is so very satisfying.  Being connected at the sidewalk level where we work, live, and play; indeed there's something fulfilling about that experience. 

Priceless!

The following Email was circulated to city officials this morning by the City Clerk--

I have received a number of inquiries about how to withdraw one's name from the petition for Referendum No. 1 - disposable shopping bag fees.  Those who've called have said they were "mis-led" about the purpose of the petition, and they now wished to remove their name and signature from the petition.

Withdrawal of a name from a petition is addressed in in RCW 35.21.005 (4).  I've attached the RCW section for your easy reference.

In a nutshell, the person has to submit to me in writing and signed, a request to withdraw.  I will accept those written requests in person, via fax and via email attachment in an image that depicts their signature (PDF, etc.).

Requests to withdraw a name have to be submitted PRIOR to the terminal date established by King County.  I do not know what the terminal date is going to be but it will likely be one day early next week.  I have not yet delivered petitions to King County but will probably do that this afternoon or tomorrow morning.  Referendum 1 people are bringing in another batch this morning and I will take them all at once.

Call me if you have questions.  JP

Judith E. Pippin, City Clerk
City of Seattle
206-684-8361

"The Office of the City Clerk supports open government and the democratic process by preserving and maximizing public access to the City's official and historical records, promoting City-wide compliance with records retention law, and facilitating the legislative process."

"Kids Killing Kids" in Seattle

I attended a press conference at the Urban League this morning.  James Kelly, president, announced plans for Project Interruption, a new outreach effort aimed at involving young people in meaningful activities such as media production, art, writing classes, and other group efforts. 

But, the most powerful moments of the conference came when individuals directly touched by recent firearm assaults and accidental shootings told their stories. 

June Adams talked about the accidental shooting death of her son, Brandon.  "He was my only child; my linage is stopped right now," she said.  (June is addressing reporters in the photo above.)  Caela Palmer, 15, a 10th grade student at Chief Sealth High School, described attending her fourth funeral for a child-hood friend, gunned down in a gang-related shooting.  Kyle Mathews, 14, said "violence makes me sad and angry.  Every weekend there are shootings where I live, you can't go out to buy milk." 

The Rev. Harvey Drake, standing partially hidden behind June in the photo above, disclosed that his own son was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting two weeks ago.  "He will be released from the hospital today or tomorrow.  We thank God he's alive."  Drake opened the news conference with a prayer for Seattle, calling for an end to violence.  It's the first news conference I've ever attended that started with a prayer. 

Kelly praised city efforts to provide alternative choices to kids, but said more needs to be done.  He said the Urban League would do its part to quell the recent violence.  Kelly called on parents, neighborhood leaders, churches, and city officials to join together to reduce gun violence and illegal guns.  At one point, Kelly remarked, "let's not let plastic bags trump body bags," an obvious reference to the city's recently enacted green fee on disposable bags. 

Today's announcement by the Urban League is welcome news indeed.  Organizations throughout the city need to step forward and contribute to solving youth violence, including nonprofit organizations, churches, businesses, and private individuals.  This issue is one that impacts every citizen, every neighborhood.  The Council-generated Safer Streets Initiative (more on SSI here) is one part of the solution, but efforts like those announced today by the Urban League are crucial as well. 

Safer Streets Initiative Gains More Support

The Seattle PI takes a strong editorial stand in support of the Council-generated Safer Streets Initiative in today's newspaper.  Read it here. 

Read my earlier post about the Safer Streets Initiative here. 

Tomorrow, my office will submit to King County two grant requests that, if approved, will fund the first two steps of the Initiative.  We will post those documents once they are submitted to the county. 

Plastic Bags and Seattle

NPR had an excellent report this morning on plastic bags.  Seattle is mentioned in passing.  More importantly, the story helps to establish why shifting away from the use of plastic bags is indeed a very good thing.  You can listen to the NPR story here. 

Critical Mass Cyclists

My office facilitated a discussion between police commanders, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Critical Mass riders yesterday afternoon in an effort to avoid the type of confrontation that led to injuries, assault, and arrests in late July on Capitol Hill. 

Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and Assistant Chief Nick Metz participated, as did City Attorney Tom Carr, Cascade executive director Chuck Ayers, and Cascade political director David Hiller.  Kerlikowske and Metz agreed that police would have a stronger presence at the next Critical Mass ride in late August and that they would be at Westlake Center (all Critical Ride events begin at Westlake) before the ride begins to answer questions and encourage safer riding practices. 

Chief Kerlikowske provided an update on the police investigation of last month's incident, reporting to the group that police had submitted their case file to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's office for their review and decision on whether to file criminal charges. 

Safer Streets Initiative

Reported violent crime in Seattle is at its lowest levels since the 1960s, yet many residents complain bitterly to the Council about the deterioration of their neighborhoods caused by street crime and social disorder.  Today, I'm releasing my Safer Streets Initiative which is designed to curb street crime and improve our quality of life at the sidewalk level.

You can read a summary of the Initiative by downloading this file:  Download safer_strees_initiative_81808.pdf.  Read today's Seattle PI coverage of the Initiative. 

Later today, my Council committee will begin discussion of the Initiative and review a preliminary schedule for consideration of new legislation required by the Initiative. 

The latest literature on policing strategies and social disorder shows that an integrated approach involving prevention and treatment, assertive policing, and community outreach/engagement provides the best results for neighborhoods.  You can read about the experience of Providence, Rhode Island with quality-of-life or problem-solving policing here.  It's a great story about how a community took back their streets and restored civil order.  Academic research has also established that more assertive policing can be effective at restoring a community's confidence and reduce fear of crime.  This article from May 2008 is an excellent summary of current thought among criminologists and practitioners about "broken windows policing" and why it's necessary. 

The Safer Streets Initiative is a 12-part program to address the many complaints we receive about social disorder from nearly every neighborhood in the city.  It's not a magic bullet or quick fix.  It's a beginning designed to address a complicated set of problems. The Initiative would pair police officers with mental health professionals to respond jointly to incidents, create alternatives to jail or hospitalization, continue the city's plan to increase the number of patrol officers in our neighborhoods, increase financial penalties for patronizing a prostitute and use the funds to restore peer-counseling and support groups for women involved in prostitution, create safe housing and transition services for children involved in prostitution, impose civil and criminal penalties on business owners and property owners who "knowingly allow criminal behavior to occur and fail to take steps to stop it," call for more assertive policing targeted at gangs, illegal weapons, graffiti, and open-air drug markets,  re-establish the city prosecutor's High Impact Offender Targeting Program, and return School Resource Officers to some Seattle Public Schools. 

I would appreciate hearing your comments or questions about the Initiative.  Please send me an email or comment below. 

Street Drug Sales

I had an interesting experience this morning in Belltown while dropping off some laundry.  It helped me understand the frustration and anger of citizens who email or call my office and complain about open-air drug markets in their neighborhood. 

It was shortly after 7 a.m. when I stopped at my laundry at 1st Avenue and Battery Street.  I noticed a group of eight individuals standing at the corner, six men and two women.  One man had a wad of cash in his right hand; he acted as though he was making change, waving the money around, and coaxing the others to engage.  One of the women was arguing with the money man, saying "too much," and "more than last time."  I went into the laundry and remarked to the desk clerk, "that's pretty brazen, isn't it?"  She replied, "we see it all the time, this group is up from Pioneer Square." 

After dropping off my laundry, I got on my scooter and watched as the group turned to walk westbound on Battery Street toward Western Avenue.  One man handed the complaining woman a small plastic bag, kind of like a mini Zip-lock bag.  The group moved about half-way down the block, still debating, completing transactions, passing money, arguing, and turned into an alley. 

I called 911 and reported it all to the police.  Another morning in a city that doesn't have the will to stop this type of street crime that is destroying our quality of life.