Seattle Forward

An Effective Regulatory Scheme for Marijuana Activity

The U.S. Department of Justice provided welcome clarity today about its approach to the prosecution of marijuana activity in Washington State given last year’s voter-approved Initiative 502 to legalize marijuana. The announcement is instructive and should push the City Council to adopt tighter regulations of marijuana activity in Seattle when we consider legislation on September 9.

Preschool for All Seattle's Children

After much research and input on the importance of investing early to produce the greatest benefits for our children and our city, I will soon introduce a resolution that establishes a new goal for the City Council: making voluntary high-quality preschool available and affordable to all of Seattle’s children. The resolution also outlines an initial plan toward achieving this goal. 

My committee, which handles education matters, will have its first meeting on the topic on Wednesday, September 4 at 9:00 a.m. in City Council chambers. I encourage you to join us.

Here is some recent news coverage from the Seattle Times, KUOW radio and Comcast newsmakers. You can also read earlier blog posts I wrote that talk about early education here and here.

It Takes A Mayor

This post is from City Council President Sally Clark, Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the Council’s public safety committee, and Councilmember Tim Burgess.

Last Monday morning’s shooting of a Metro bus driver reinforced for many a belief that downtown street crime and disorder is out of control.

Contrary to what the Mayor and police commanders say, the Police Department’s own statistics show an increase in violent crime to the highest level since 2009 in some areas downtown. This reality has prompted many downtown residents, workers and shop owners—from Belltown to Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District—to believe city government has abandoned them, shirking its responsibility to maintain safe streets for everyone. (The Seattle Times this morning has an analysis of downtown crime here. The Times’ review includes a smaller geographic area than the Council’s analysis.)

The public safety environment downtown demands leadership and pragmatic, solution-focused actions.  And it should start with the Mayor, our city’s chief law enforcement officer. (Article V, Section 2 of the City Charter reads: “The Mayor shall see that the laws of the City are enforced, and shall direct and control all subordinate officers of the City . . . and shall maintain peace and order in the City.”)

Here are three practical and immediate steps the Mayor should take.

Update from the City Retirement Board

This post provides an update to current and former City employees who are members of the retirement system on recent changes designed to strengthen the system.

I’m writing this post as Chair of the Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS) Board of Administration with an update on Board actions designed to strengthen the System and protect your retirement benefits.

As a Board, our primary responsibility is to make certain the retirement System is managed efficiently and effectively. This means ensuring your benefits are calculated correctly, your personal contributions and those of the City are invested wisely, and a defined benefit will be available for your retirement and that of future generations of City employees.

Seattle Night Out

Tonight is the annual Seattle Night Out, a chance to close down streets, connect more with your neighbors and enjoy potluck food. These informal block parties help tremendously with community building and crime prevention.

I will be stopping by a couple events in my neighborhood this evening and encourage you to do the same. You can check out the facebook page or this map put together by the police department to find events near you. Last year Seattle neighbors hosted more than 1,300 events, so even if you can’t find one on the map there’s a good chance one is happening close by.