Seattle Forward

Acknowledging the Good Work of Seattle Police Employees

Last Friday night, nearly a thousand people gathered downtown for the 10^th Annual Seattle Police Foundation Awards Banquet.  The Mayor was there, so were Councilmembers Sally Clark, Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, Bruce Harrell, Tom Rasmussen and myself.

I’ve been to many of these banquets over the years; there’s something special about an evening dedicated to acknowledging the honorable work of our police officers and the civilian employees of the Police Department.  Friday night was the same; affirmation, praise and kind words all around. 

Even the Mayor revealed that we all change over time as he expressed his love of police horses, just a year after removing their funding from his police budget.  (The Mounted Unit controversy has been resolved, but it was difficult for me and my colleagues.  I wrote about it here.  More, including the list of award winners after the jump.)

Why I Asked for Housing Discrimination Audit

Fair and equal access to housing is a fundamental right.  No one should ever be denied a place to live because of race or the color of their skin or because they have a disability.  This equal access right is spelled out in Seattle's Municipal Code which also identifies other classes protected from housing discrimination.

Last December, after reviewing newspaper articles from 10 years ago that told of widespread housing discrimination in Seattle, Councilmember Bruce Harrell and I sent a letter to the City's Office for Civil Rights asking for an audit to determine whether illegal practices in rental housing were still occurring. 

Last Friday, the Office for Civil Rights announced the audit results.  Here are the key findings:

"Overall, 55% of the tests showed evidence of illegal discrimination. In the tests for race-based discrimination, 69% showed patterns of inconsistencies that generally favored white testers. The inconsistencies included quoting a higher rent to African American testers, not telling African American testers about move-in specials, or using different screening criteria with African American testers, including credit or criminal background checks.

"In the tests for disability-based discrimination, 38% showed patterns of inconsistencies that create barriers for people with disabilities. The inconsistencies included refusing to accommodate service animals, not telling testers about available units, or not providing parking areas with spots designated for people with disabilities."

These findings are highly disappointing. I am pleased that the City is pursuing legal action against some of the property owners identified in the audit because often the best education is good law enforcement.  Let's hope that in the future all property owners in Seattle comply with our fair housing laws which are intended to protect a fundamental American right to equal access to housing. 

 

Special Fund for Senator Scott White's Childrens' Education

The Scott White Memorial Fund, an education fund for his two children has been established at Wells Fargo Bank.  Here is the key information:

Scott White Memorial Fund
PO Box 95675
Seattle, WA 98145-2675

Account Number: 1559550528
Routing Number: 125008547

State Senator Scott White: A Tribute

My friend died today.

Senator Scott White was a man of character, rational, hardworking, a dedicated leader commited to public service.  We were together in Cle Elum the last couple of days at the annual conference of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.  Political, labor, environmental, business, nonprofit and education leaders from around the state were there. 

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and I moderated a panel that included Senator White on Thursday morning.  He was excited about arranging a bus trip to Yakima with Senator Curtis King and other legislators so we could better understand gang violence.  Senator White wanted to cut through the so-called Cascade Curtain between the east and west sides of Washington. 

Last night, Senator White joined a group of business leaders and legislators for a quiet dinner. We talked about the pending state budget cutbacks and how to protect core services, especially the safety net services so many rely on.  We briefly mentioned SR 520 and the Senator's planned testimony before the City Council on Monday.  We listened as friends from Boeing and King County government described efficiencies gained through Lean managment techniques.  We discussed the importance of higher education and how to get more funding; Senator White was a big booster of the University of Washington.

Tonight, a little after 7:30 p.m., we gathered in SODO to watch the beginning of the demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The word of Senator Scott's passing quietly spread through the crowd atop the Silver Cloud Hotel on First Avenue South. The celebration ended.  A friend was gone.  A friend who likely would have been there tonight to join the party, if he could.

 

 

"Don't Cut My Services"

The above photo is from last night's public hearing on the Mayor's proposed 2012-2013 budget. Many citizens testified about the reorganization of community centers, including a group from the International District/Chinatown area voicing objection to a reduction in center hours. 

Council budget meetings continue this morning.  Details and schedules related to the budget can be found here.

Molly Moon's Ice Cream Joins Queen Anne

There's a new addition to the south end of upper Queen Anne—Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream.  I love it, as you can tell in the photo below. 

Located on West Galer Street, Molly Moon's is part of a little community-within-a-community, snuggled with Café Fiore, Tribunali and Top Pot, all within one block.  Owner Molly Moon Neitzel runs a great company that gets the kudos it deserves, like being named one of the Top 100 companies in Washington.  What's more, the ice cream is homemade and delicious!