Seattle Forward

Revisiting Wage Theft

Earlier this month I joined a community advocate and a local attorney to talk with Seattle Channel host Brian Callanan about the ongoing problem of wage theft. You can watch the video below: 

Looking Outside for Assistant Police Chiefs

Earlier this week, Chief O’Toole announced that she is opening up the five assistant chief positions in the police department to a competitive application process. Within the department, members at the rank of lieutenant and above can apply. In an effort to attract more talent and enhance the competitive pool, she is also advertising the positions across the country.

Last January the City Council lifted a longstanding restriction on recruiting outside candidates via legislation sponsored by Councilmember Harrell and myself. As I wrote a year ago, achieving truly sustainable reform in the police department requires strong leadership.  The Department and the City cannot afford to exclude highly qualified candidates from consideration; the stakes are too high.

The Chief’s decision sends a signal to her officers that they deserve to be led by the best and the brightest. And if they want to rise to leadership themselves, they must perform at a high level. This call and challenge should energize and inspire our officers.

Academics Unite Behind Investments in Early Childhood Education

Last month, leading academics in the field of early childhood education released a statement summarizing the benefits of increased investment in this arena. Hundreds of professors and researchers from across the country have joined the sixty-one founding signatories to show a strong consensus in the academic community on the positive effects of quality early learning. The letter opens as follows:

As policymakers debate investing in quality early childhood education programs, they should note the widespread agreement among researchers about the value of such programs. An extensive body of research in education, developmental psychology, neuroscience, medicine and economics shows that quality early childhood education programs produce better education, health, economic and social outcomes for children, families, and the nation. As researchers, we urge policymakers to make decisions based on the full body of scientific knowledge about early education and child development.

You can read the full statement and see a list of all the signers here: https://sites.google.com/site/ececonsensusletter/.

Looking Upstream

The following article was sent out in my City View Newsletter, which you can sign up to receive here.

President Obama announced a new initiative today—Invest in US—to raise awareness about the value of early learning. The president made the announcement at a White House Summit on Early Learning that Mayor Murray, King County Executive Dow Constantine and I are attending. 

The Summit includes a variety of national experts discussing the critical importance of child development in the first five years of life. What I’ve heard so far has reinforced my belief that we can overcome poverty and close the opportunity gap for our children of color. I make this point in a piece published earlier today by The Stranger. We know what to do. We must continue to build the political will to do it.

Reflections on Ferguson and Seattle

The following article was posted today on Crosscut.

It has been just over a week since the grand jury made its decision in the Ferguson case, my hope is that we can soon get beyond the conflicting evidence presented to the jurors and focus on the undeniable and powerful subtext that permeates this story. Understanding this subtext holds the key to the change I believe we all want to see. We must also identify specific actions that will contribute to this change or risk losing an opportunity to move forward.

Among African Americans, tension and conflict with the police is deeply rooted in decades of mistrust and weariness over police misconduct, corruption and persistent crime in many neighborhoods. It is a relationship that is profoundly troubled and, as we have seen, all too often leads to tragic consequences.

Tragic for black men and boys who are arrested and imprisoned or killed by police at a disproportionate rate. Tragic for black families who often live in neighborhoods with high rates of crime and who urgently desire effective police services. Tragic for entire cities that must carry the moral and monetary costs of this reality.

How did we get here? And, looking forward, what can we do to change it?