Seattle Forward

Poll Shows Strong Support for High-Quality Universal Preschool

A new public opinion poll released yesterday shows very strong support for a publicly funded, voluntary preschool program for Seattle’s three and four year olds. I believe this confirms Seattle’s compassionate commitment to children and universal high-quality education.

The poll was conducted by Strategies 360, a public affairs consulting firm. The live telephone survey of 400 likely Seattle voters was conducted in mid-October and has a margin of error of 4.9% at the 95% confidence level. Here are some of the survey highlights.

• 79% of the total respondents and 83% of women said they would support a publicly funded, voluntary preschool program. Support was highest from respondents in central and southeast Seattle, 88% and 79% respectively.
• There is not much support (37%) to fund universal preschool by trimming other city government departments or programs and moving the savings into the preschool program, but there is strong support (79%) for charging a sliding scale of fees depending on a family’s income.
• Respondents were mixed (46% support, 52% oppose) on whether property taxes should be raised to support the preschool program. Support grew to 62% when respondents were asked whether they would combine all three of the potential funding sources (trimming from other city departments, increasing property taxes and charging parents  a sliding scale based on their income).

The City Council approved legislation last month establishing a new City Council goal and work plan to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available and affordable to all 3- and 4-year-old children in Seattle. You can read some of my previous posts on this subject here and here.

Budget Review Continues

As we move through October, the Council continues its diligent review of the Mayor’s proposed 2014 City budget. Next week we will meet to hear from the Council’s central staff analysts who will identify issues in various department budgets for further exploration and discussion.

The Council also continues to seek feedback from the community. On Tuesday, Councilmembers Clark, O’Brien and I will be talking with a group from El Centro de la Raza. On Wednesday I travel to Greenwood to meet with my 12^th District Council (out of 13) to talk about the budget. And on Thursday we have a Budget Town Hall - come join us at 6 p.m. at the Garfield High School Commons to share your thoughts on how the City can best address the challenges we face.

City Inside/Out: Budget, Preschool for All, Federal Shutdown and More

I joined Councilmembers Bruce Harrell and Jean Godden on the October edition of the Seattle Channel's City Inside/Out. The video premieres tonight at 7:30 p.m., but is available online now:

UW Ranked 25th Best University in World

A quick nod to the University of Washington, which was just ranked the 25th best university in the world by the (London) Times Higher Education. The rankings also affirmed the university's leadership in the fields of health and science. With such a strong research institution in our backyard (that also happens to be the City's largest employer), it's not surprising Seattle has witnessed the emergence of a thriving life sciences industry. Go Huskies!

Budget Public Hearings in October

October means it's city budget time. The City Council will hold two public hearings this month to receive comments and concerns about the proposed 2014 City budget.

The Council received the Mayor’s 2014 budget proposal last week and we have begun our review. Councilmembers will spend the next two months pouring over the proposal and making any changes necessary to meet the needs of Seattle residents in areas such as public safety, education, transportation and affordability. 

The first hearing is this Thursday, October 3 at City Hall (600 Fourth Avenue). Sign-up for public comment opens at 5 p.m. and the hearing will start at 5:30 p.m.

The second hearing will be on Thursday, October 24 in the Garfield High School Commons (400 23rd Ave). Sign-up for public comment at this hearing opens at 5 p.m. and the hearing will start at 6 p.m.

If you don't want to show up in person, you can also tune in through the Seattle Channel. More information about the budget process is available on this page or through this two-page handout.