Seattle Forward

Street Disorder: Nearing A Dangerous Tipping Point

“I want our downtown to be economically strong and safe for everyone. That’s important to our nearly 1,000 formerly homeless Plymouth residents living downtown. Councilmember Burgess’ proposals fairly balance a police response with a social services response to enhance safety downtown. We at Plymouth Housing Group welcome these ideas.” 

Paul Lambros
Executive Director, Plymouth Housing

"The nightlife and music industry want more police officers on our streets. We want aggressive solicitation stopped. Our customers and neighbors need to feel safe on our sidewalks as they enjoy our vibrant nightlife. These proposals are certainly a step in the right direction."

Mike Meckling
President, Seattle Music and Nightlife Association

“Pioneer Square business owners and residents are very concerned about street crime and disorder. This part of downtown is teetering on the edge and the City should be forceful in its efforts to make our streets safer for everyone."

Lisa Dixon
Program Director, Pioneer Square Community Association

The most serious felony crimes increased 22% in 2009 in our downtown—stretching from South Lake Union to Pioneer Square—compared to 2008.  It was the second consecutive year of significant increases in reported Part I crime in this important area of our city. To many observers, including business owners, community leaders, social services providers, and residents, we are approaching a dangerous tipping point where perceptions of crime and unsafe conditions could lead to long-term negative consequences.

Today, I unveiled my "continuum of response" designed to address this rising crime rate and . . . (continue below jump for more, including various documents supporting this initiative.)

My Council Priorities for 2010

My primary committee is Public Safety and Education.

In the public safety arena, a singular focus for the Council this year will be to consider confirmation of the Mayor’s Chief of Police appointment.  Just a few weeks ago, we laid out our policy goals and priorities for this appointment and confirmation. 

Other public safety priorities include developing a continuum of responses to reduce street disorder. Later this week we will announce a series of policy recommendations concerning this issue as it affects our downtown and neighborhood business districts.

Councilmember Rasmussen and I have asked the City Auditor to examine how the City responds to graffiti and litter in comparison to the best practices of other cities.     

But I want to spend my remaining time on education, an issue that is directly related to public safety and our future as a city.

Mayor McGinn's State of the City

The Mayor addressed the City Council this afternoon and offered his view of the state of the city.  Former Mayor Nickels used to pack the Council chambers with city employees, often leading to the opening of the rear doors for the standing-room-only crowd.  About a third of the seats were vacant for today's mayoral speech; I suspect the Mayor's staff will check the "fill the room" box next time around. 

The Mayor covered a host of issues, including his lists of our civic assets and challenges.

Taking Sides: Helping Prostituted Children Escape the Street

Two years ago I sat in my City Hall office reading a city-commissioned report on children involved in street prostitution.  I was shocked at the documented number of kids throughout King County caught up in what is a coercive, violent and predatory environment.

As I finished the report, I reflected on what I could personally do to help rescue these children, mostly young girls, some as young as 12 and 13 years of age.  I focused on one of the report's recommendations . . . establish a safe house where the kids could receive the specialized care and services they would need to escape from their pimps and the men who prey on them.  It's been a two year journey and today we were able to announce that the City has raised the necessary funding to open just such a safe house, only the fourth of its kind in the United States. 

Here's a press release announcing the launch of the program.  And this Q & A document provides more details.  Today's Seattle Times carries a front page story with the news.

Here's what I've written previously on this topic. 

This is an issue not normally brought up in dinner conversations.  But it's one we can't avoid.  We must take a side and advocate strongly for our children who are victims of this domestic trafficking.  A unified and strong community voice is being heard on this issue and today signals yet again that we won't turn away.

Thoughts on New Police Chief

One of the most significant decisions the Council will make this year involves confirmation of a new police chief to lead our police department.  Chief Gil Kerlikowske served as Seattle chief for nine years.  Chief Norm Stamper before him served four years.  Chief Patrick Fitzsimons served 16 years before Stamper. 

The average tenure of a major city police chief in the United States is 3.5 to four years.  So in the 29 years since Chief Fitzsimons was first appointed Seattle has had three police chiefs, while the typical large American city would have ground

More On SR-520

Lots of folks are commenting on what the final configuration of SR-520 should or should not be, especially here on the west side of Lake Washington.  The Seattle Times and the Tacoma News Tribune weighed in today with strong editorials advocating a "stay the course" approach.  I shared my personal opinions and where the Council stands here.

Most important, this project—in planning and design for nearly 13 years—must continue to move forward, remain on schedule and be completed within budget.  That's important because the bridge is deteriorating and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.  It's also important because of the bridge's importance to our regional commerce.

My colleagues and I are now engaged with state and City transportation officials to review options for the west side of the bridge.  We especially want to determine how to shrink the size of the Montlake interchange, improve transit connectivity, lower the height of the over-the-water bridge across Lake Washington and nudge commuters away from single occupancy vehicles.  I think these objectives can be achieved through this process of regional engagement and dialog. 

Spreading Stories: Anatomy of a Police Incident

Sometimes truth escapes the best of us.  Fear, adrenaline and chaos can distort reality, sometimes very quickly. 

On December 9, 2009, at a community meeting in Ballard, I heard several individuals describe an incident in their neighborhood that, if true, revealed a troubling collapse of the city's emergency response services.  A bar owner alleged that he was stabbed by a customer and that it took 25 minutes for police and medics to arrive at the scene.  I apologized on behalf of city government.  Here's a story in the Ballard News Tribune about