Seattle Forward

What Yesterday's Election Means for Seattle's Future

There are still votes to count but it is clear from last night's results that the pragmatic, rational progressive candidates came out on top. Finally!

 

Congratulations to Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell, Councilmember-elect Sara Nelson, and City Attorney-elect Ann Davison. Each of you campaigned hard, shared your vision for our city, and achieved stunning victories. Well done.

 

This is very good news for Seattle's future, something I wrote about last January 5 in my Seattle Forward column. I'm repeating it here because it's more important than ever as our newly elected officials take office and begin the process of governing.

 

Here's what I wrote last January. I'm very confident our new leaders can make this vision even better and work to achieve it.

 

Seattle needs a vision reset.

 

The mayor is not seeking re-election. The school superintendent has resigned. The police chief was pushed aside by the city council. The coronavirus pandemic has left us isolated. Downtown is desolate. Where and how we work is being transformed. Many essential workers are struggling mightily to keep up and pay the bills. Our infrastructure systems are inadequately maintained. First responders are overloaded and stretched thin. Campers have taken over many of our parks, green spaces, and sidewalks, preventing others from accessing them safely. Ideological and political divides are pushing us further and further into our dogmatic corners. Herein, opportunity presents itself. 

 

The urban theorist Richard Florida argues cities and surrounding regions will thrive as we move beyond the pandemic, just as they have following previous calamities: “Covid-19 is a once-in-a-century catastrophe, but it also hands us a once-in-a-century opportunity to rebuild communities to be more equitable and more inclusive, as well as more livable.”

 

America has lifted itself from calamity before and, unexpectedly, created a more equitable and inclusive society. Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett document these sweeping recoveries in their new book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again. They propose a return to a “we” approach to public policy, business practices, and community affairs, a new communitarian mindset, if you will, instead of the intense “I” focus that permeates American society today.

 

Religious leaders are making the same plea. Pope Francis, in his latest book, Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future, encourages new approaches to bridge our divides, focused on making the world safer, fairer, and healthier for everyone. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times traces today’s crises to the loss of a strong, broadly shared moral code and the elevation of self-interest over the common good.

 

From Ideological Extremes to Common Purpose

 

So, while Seattle’s city government is adrift, consumed by the tyranny of the urgent and ideological extremes, and, in my opinion, lacking a broadly shared overall vision for where the city is headed, let’s grab this opportunity to cast a new vision of the city we want to build for an equitable and inclusive future for everyone.

 

I would guess most Seattleites desire an economically and culturally vibrant city built on a foundation of excellent schools, clean energy, efficient and diverse transportation options, affordable housing, and robust arts and sports entertainment. I also believe we sincerely want to tackle two of the most persistent challenges we face – racial inequity and how best to help those living unsheltered.

 

So, here’s some vision casting for your consideration; hopefully, it stimulates further discussion.

 

Confessing Original Sins

 

Let’s start by being a city that openly acknowledges our nation’s original sins of slavery and the vicious slaughter and horrible treatment of Native Americans, and the persistent racism these sins birthed — real estate redlining, mass incarceration of nonviolent offenders, police violence, banking discrimination, public education that leaves so many behind, to name just a few. These racist practices and policies became woven into the fabric of our daily lives, crushing in their consequences. If we committed to honestly wrestle with this history, we would be guided by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s warning, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We would give voice to those most affected by these wrongs, work to mend the damage, and make economic investments designed to build opportunity and wealth within the affected communities, a form of 21^st Century reparations if you will. We would be a city that reaches high toward racial equity and justice for all.

 

Focus on Children

 

How about a city that so loves, nourishes, and invests in all of our children that they soar and push the limits of their potential. If this were our vision, we would follow the science of early child development in the all-important birth-to-five window of opportunity, making sure every child gets the strong and fair start they deserve. We’d do that by making high-quality, affordable, and accessible childcare available to working parents, so no family pays more than 7% of their household income for the childcare they need. We would provide free, high-quality, universal preschool to our three- and four-year-olds so every child enters kindergarten ready to learn, erasing the kindergarten-readiness gap that today sees one-third of all Seattle children and one-half of children of color start school already behind. Tragically, kids who start behind often stay behind, which is why it is so crucial to invest early in what works best to prepare kids for kindergarten.

 

And, we would erase the racial inequity that has existed in our public K-12 schools for far too long, a dysfunctional system that every year leaves behind about a quarter of our children of color when they fail to graduate from high school. Done right, these efforts would buttress the work of parents and — as the evidence clearly shows — would achieve measurable and wonderful outcomes for our kids: higher education achievement, fewer teen pregnancies, less involvement in the criminal legal system, better health, and higher earning power as adults. These steps alone would transform lives and be a major step toward racial equity and lasting economic prosperity.

 

Shared Prosperity

 

How about a city that continues to pursue public policies designed to strengthen economic opportunity, like we did with the higher minimum wage and paid sick-and-safe leave, while also, and importantly, honoring our small and large businesses and applauding their job creation. A city that nourishes a win-win compact between employers and employees — businesses thrive and acknowledge their employees as their most valued asset and treat them as such with excellent wages, strong benefits, and long-term retention and development plans. Too idealistic? Take a look at those local companies that have already created exemplary win-win work environments — Costco, Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants, Expedia, Nordstrom, Zillow, Alaska Air, Redfin, PCC Community Markets, to name just a few.

 

Justice for All

 

How about a city that has a criminal legal system that values the dignity and worth of every person, those engaged in criminal behavior and their victims. If this were our vision, we would be a city where our police officers worked diligently as true partners with the natural guardians who live, work, study, and play in our neighborhoods. This would be a city where law enforcement focused primarily on those offenders causing the most harm, especially crimes of violence and crimes directed against our most vulnerable residents — children, the elderly and disabled, immigrants, those experiencing homeless, and those living in poverty. A city where everyone respected and valued our police officers because of their exemplary behavior of dignity and fairness toward everyone. A city where we first and foremost sought reconciliation and restorative justice, but also held offenders accountable to protect the health and safety of all.

 

How about a city that recognized the oppressive harms of untreated substance abuse disorder and mental health crises and offered truly on-demand, medically-based treatment services instead of leaving people to fend for themselves wandering our streets, living unsheltered, some preying on others, and causing further harms. This would be a city that stopped waiting, hoping some other level of government would step in with a solution. We would step up and act to solve this very obvious problem by providing the evidence-based help needed, starting with safe off-the-street housing, like tiny houses, rented hotel rooms, and more enhanced, 24-hour shelter. At the same time, and very importantly, we would stop ignoring, excusing, or allowing ourselves to be paralyzed by the harmful criminal acts some of these same individuals commit, a tolerance that has created chaos in parts of the city and caused many to lose confidence in the city government’s ability to keep our neighborhoods safe.

 

Paying Attention to Basics

 

How about a city that carefully tended its environment and infrastructure — increasing our tree canopy, preserving open space and parks for all to enjoy, maintaining in good order our bridges, roadways, bike, and pedestrian pathways, community centers and sports fields, sewer and storm systems, electrical grid, and our Tolt and Cedar clean watersheds. A city with a maintenance and repair plan rigorously followed and funded, a far less expensive approach in the long run than emergency repairs.

 

Moving Taxation into the 21^st Century

 

Thinking even more boldly, how about a city that champions across the state a fair and equitable tax system to modernize Washington’s unjust, inadequate, and antiquated system that extracts a higher percentage of household income from our poorest families than it does from our wealthiest. As our local economist and nationally-recognized state tax expert Dick Conway has said, “If you want to address income inequity, adopt a state income tax and eliminate all other state and local taxes.” A tax system created in the early 1900s can’t adequately, nor equitably, serve our needs today. We would be a city known for advocating tax modernization based on fairness and sensitivity to our current economic systems and practices.

 

Lifting Up the Common Good

 

How about a city that unites around the common good, works to understand different opinions, and practices the politics of inclusion and compromise without the divisive rancor and personal attacks so common today. A city that restores the “we” spirit Putnam and Garrett describe, and that Pope Francis and Rabbi Sacks have prayed for. A city where people come together to achieve shared goals, just like we’ve done in the past with the cleanup of Lake Washington in the late 1950s which stopped the discharge of 20 million gallons of raw sewage into the lake every day, the adoption of Forward Thrust in 1968 that created community centers, fire stations, swimming pools and expanded parks across the city, the Sound Transit light rail system being built now, voter approval in 2018 of the Seattle Promise free community college benefit, and the remodeling of our libraries and fire stations in recent years.

 

How about a city with elected officials who cared more about the effective and efficient delivery of city services — about governing — than about advancing their own political careers or scoring points with the radical fringes of our political landscape. A city where people viewed city government as consistently and effectively getting good things done for everyone. A city where we valued the common good above all else. Imagine what we could do and what it would mean.

 

Just imagine. A child born in Seattle immediately cared for not just by her parents, family, and neighbors, but by an economy that gives her parents time off to nurture her and quality childcare and prekindergarten services that foster her development and allows her parents to continue working. As she grows, she attends an excellent public school that works equally well for everyone, regardless of the color of their skin. She enjoys parks and playgrounds as a healthy way to meet friends and stay active. She witnesses the most vulnerable among us protected and cared for. She knows the police officers and firefighters in her neighborhood, and they know her and understand her family and their community values. As she enters the workforce as an adult, she finds many well-paying jobs to choose from at iconic Seattle businesses. Is that too hard to imagine?  I don’t believe so.

 

Yes, sometimes Seattle’s government and political environment can feel like it’s locked in a hamster wheel, constantly moving, yet not progressing. We — you and I — can change that with a compelling vision for the future, a future based on shared values, and an unwavering commitment to the evidence of what works to strengthen the common good.

 

This is my vision for Seattle. What’s yours?

Time to Vote: My Recommendations

Your mail-back election ballot will arrive today or tomorrow, so here are my voting recommendations for your consideration.

 

Help set the future course of our city by returning your ballot no later than Tuesday, November 2.

 

Some candidates on the ballot have advocated extreme and destructively radical positions on homelessness, police services, and relations with our job-producing businesses. If you think our city is on the right track and you like and trust the current approaches at City Hall, then vote for these candidates.

 

On the other hand, if you believe the city is headed in the wrong direction, then vote for candidates who take more reasonable, pragmatic approaches. Leaders who want to govern effectively, who will recenter City government on implementing thoughtful solutions, not those hung up on ideological purity tests. Leaders who listen carefully, follow the evidence of what works to solve problems, welcome accountability, spend taxpayer dollars wisely, and exude a humility worthy of public servants. Leaders who aren’t afraid of compromise and focus on the vital services our city government is responsible for delivering every day.

 

With that in mind, here are my voting recommendations for some select positions, followed by additional comments.

___________________________________________________________

 

King County Executive: Dow Constantine

 

Seattle Mayor: Bruce Harrell

 

Seattle City Attorney: Ann Davison

 

Seattle City Council Position No. 9: Sara Nelson

 

Seattle School District No 4: Vivian Song Maritz

 

Seattle School District No 5: Michelle Sarju

 

Seattle School District No 7: Brandon Hersey

___________________________________________________________

 

The best choice for Seattle’s next Mayor is evident in the policy positions the two candidates have taken. I wrote about their differences a few weeks ago. Bruce Harrell is the best choice, in my opinion.

 

Bruce and his opponent, Lorena Gonzalez, are committed to public service. They are bright and engaged. They value our city and its people. But Bruce’s solutions for the challenges the city faces are more pragmatic, more data and research-based, and will address current and long-term problems more holistically. Bruce has a better chance of bringing people together to serve the common good and effectively govern, unifying city government employees (all 11,000+ of them), and making progress on the long-term inequities we see all around us. Vote for Bruce Harrell.

 

The Office of City Attorney is crucial to the effective operations of the city government. The City Attorney has a staff of about 200 and is responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor crimes in the city; these crimes include domestic violence assault, DUI, firearm violations, theft, menacing and harassment, and many others. The City Attorney also advises the Mayor, City Council, and city departments on legal matters and represents the city in court. As this article points out, the City Attorney plays a crucial role in coordinating the city government’s overall response to crime, everything from policing strategies to diversion programs and social services.

 

Here’s another piece that was written by three respected former Seattle police chiefs and published earlier today. These experienced police leaders make the case for electing a rational, pragmatic leader who can reform police services and keep our neighborhoods safe.

 

I will be very blunt, we dare not elect Nicole Thomas-Kennedy who has pledged to eliminate prosecution of most misdemeanor crimes and wants to abolish the police, both reckless and dangerous positions. The Seattle Times explained how unqualified Thomas-Kennedy is for this office because of her demeaning hostility and a rabid hatred of the police, her repeated encouragement of violence during protests, and her belief that property destruction is a “moral imperative.” In defending her position on dropping misdemeanor crimes, Thomas-Kennedy dismisses these crimes as minor and asserts that people are routinely being arrested and prosecuted for stealing a sandwich because they are hungry or a jacket because they are cold; those prosecutions rarely occur, and if they do, there is almost always other criminal behavior involved.

 

On her outrageous comments justifying violence, disparaging the police, or damaging property as a "moral imperative," Thomas-Kennedy now says she was joking or communicating sarcasm, and that she wasn't a candidate for public office when she made those statements. That's an interesting attempted makeover. Why doesn't she instead retract those comments and explain what she really meant? She refuses to do so.

 

Ann Davison is the other candidate for City Attorney. She describes herself as a moderate and has won the endorsement of The Seattle Times and former Seattle Mayors. She is supported by former Washington governors Gary Locke, Chris Gregoire, and Dan Evans, 30 retired judges, and a host of community leaders. Vote for Ann Davison.

 

Our public schools need our support and a firm commitment to eliminating the racial inequities existing for decades in Seattle. To do this, we need strong school board directors who will set specific goals and effective policies. We need board directors who understand their role to establish budgets, set policy, and ensure the day-to-day management of our schools is done effectively through the superintendent. As has been the case for far too long, we don’t need board members micro-managing district operations, leading to a revolving door of superintendents. Vote for three incredibly prepared, effective leaders: Vivian Song Maritz, Michelle Sarju, and Brandon Hersey.

 

Remember to return your ballot before Tuesday, November 2. You can mail it back postage-free or place it in a ballot dropbox. Click here for ballot box locations. You can also track your ballot to make sure it is received by King County Elections and counted. 

Seattle Needs A Vision Reset . . . Quickly

Seattle needs a vision reset.

The mayor is not seeking re-election. The school superintendent has resigned. The police chief was pushed aside by the city council. The coronavirus pandemic has left us isolated. Downtown is desolate. Where and how we work is being transformed. Many essential workers are struggling mightily to keep up and pay the bills. Our infrastructure systems are inadequately maintained. First responders are overloaded and stretched thin. Campers have taken over many of our parks, greenspaces and sidewalks, preventing others from accessing them safely. Ideological and political divides are pushing us further and further into our dogmatic corners. Herein, opportunity presents itself.  

The urban theorist Richard Florida argues cities and surrounding regions will thrive as we move beyond the pandemic, just as they have following previous calamities: “Covid-19 is a once-in-a-century catastrophe, but it also hands us a once-in-a-century opportunity to rebuild communities to be

Mayor Durkan's Decision, Crime and Economic Recovery, Wrong Vs Evil

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's decision not to seek re-election didn't come as a total surprise, but it certainly creates uncertainty for our city going forward.

 

When I write that it's not a surprise I mean that in today's political climate where verbal personal attacks, threats of violence, and name calling — the politics of personal destruction — are so common I understand the Mayor's decision. Add to this ugliness the illogical populism of the far left and far right and we have a mess that makes governing all the more difficult. (Unrelated, but important, see below for Anthony Robinson's discussion of being wrong versus being evil.)

 

Mayor Durkan's decision to focus on the significant challenges we face instead of a re-election

On Tyranny

I’m reading Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. It’s an analysis of democratic surges in Europe following World War I, World War II, and the fall of communism in 1989. And then the abject failure of the democratic institutions that followed.

Snyder points to this history to inform our present circumstances. His warnings are stark. Democracy is threatened when individuals and institutions falter. Tyranny becomes acceptable.

Shockingly, tyranny revealed itself this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Three innocent people lost their lives, dozens were injured, as white supremacists protested the planned removal of a monument to Robert E. Lee, the secessionist military commander who led the Confederacy during our American Civil War. On Friday and again on Saturday, we saw expressions of racism, hate, and violence, all elements of tyrannical authoritarianism. It was racism bared raw. Neo-Nazism in full revelation. Hate of others displayed openly.

Heather D. Heyer, of Charlottesville, died when run down by a car driven by a young man from Ohio who has a history of pro-Nazi statements. Police arrested the driver and charged him with murder. Two Virginia police officers—Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates—were killed when their helicopter crashed while providing aerial surveillance of the rioting on the ground. Tragic losses for all of America.

But, why now?

The answer is President Donald Trump. He has used the past year-and-a-half to denigrate the rule of law by attacking our institutions that uphold democracy. He initially refused to speak out against the individuals and groups who promote violence and hate in Charlottesville. During his campaign for president, Trump often directly and indirectly encouraged violence, as when telling his supporters to “beat the crap” out of people who disrupted his speeches. Words matter and Trump uses them to encourage violence and disregard for our core civil institutions and values. It’s shameful behavior and I don’t hesitate for a moment in calling it out.

Snyder addresses the critical importance of protecting democratic institutions in chapter two of On Tyranny. And in chapter four he discusses how tyrannical leaders and their support groups gain power by sowing division through hateful rhetoric, violence and symbols that reinforce their beliefs and mark opponents. Snyder’s commentary on symbols is particularly helpful in trying to sort through what happened in Charlottesville. Look again at the video and photographs from Charlottesville; note the Nazi flags, “alt-right” shields, burning torches, and Nazi salutes. These are dangerous symbols of tyranny.

I’m sensitive to the potential for alarmism. But on the other hand, being too sanguine that everything will just turn out okay leads to complacency and a failure to learn the lessons of history.

On Tyranny traces the fall of democracy to fascism, Nazism, and communism in Europe. It provides 20 lessons we should understand if we are to resist tyranny today, as we must. It’s well worth the read.

More Tragedy, More Inaction

Tragedy struck our country early yesterday morning in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people killed in an attack on that city’s LGBTQ community, dozens more injured.

This was a hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism, just like the mass shooting perpetrated by a white supremacist at an African-American church in Charleston one year ago this month. These tragedies are all too familiar, but we must not let ourselves become desensitized.

At last night’s memorial vigil at Cal Anderson Park I was moved by the diversity of the crowd, the heartfelt emotions, and the many discussions about pursuing actions that will make a difference.

Mayor Murray spoke from his heart, sharing deeply held values. I think he’s at his best when he is providing this kind of clear, values-based leadership. You can read his full remarks here.

In December 2012, following the horrific Sandy Hook killings, I proposed several steps we could pursue as a state to reduce gun violence. The people of Washington overwhelmingly passed universal background checks after the Legislature failed to act. But the rest of the list remains stalled in Olympia.

I have yet to hear a legitimate reason for any civilian to own an assault rifle — a weapon designed to kill at a mass scale. Sadly, just like they do in Washington, D.C., the gun lobby has an incredible grip on our legislators.

Seattle’s Clean Water Supply

I’ve been reading about the city of Flint, Michigan, where local, state, and federal government agencies utterly failed to protect its population from lead in its water supply. When that city switched its water supply to the Flint River, it did not add to the water anti-corrosive chemicals that prevent lead in pipes from seeping into the water. As a result, the residents have been poisoned by their own water for nearly two years. It’s a horrible story.

Lead poisoning is not to be taken lightly. The Centers for Disease Control states that there is no safe blood lead level in children; the damage to development can be permanent.

Flint’s story led me to ask Seattle Public Utilities about our drinking water here in Seattle. Fortunately, we have a much better system in place to protect our water supply: We have protected watersheds that supply excellent source water. We have a state accredited lab that runs every day of the year, where chemists, microbiologists and limnologists (what is limnology?) analyze more than 20,000 samples and produce more than 150,000 test results annually. We have more than 150 sampling stations throughout Seattle and the Utility’s wholesale systems. We monitor for lead continuously and don’t have it in our source water.

The Utility’s latest water quality report is here. We are indeed blessed with an abundant and very clean city water supply.

But, individual users still could have water quality issues if the pipes between the city supply pipes and your faucet are bad. Older homes may also contain lead contamination from lead paint. If you are planning a remodel or a demolition of an older home, make sure you take steps to mitigate for lead exposure.

Supporting the Muslim Community, a Voice for Drivers, Labor Standards, and More

Yesterday was the last Full Council meeting of 2015 and it was jam packed: 52 agenda items, 3 ½ hours of deliberations.

We started with a resolution expressing our support for Seattle’s Muslim community in the wake of increasing anti-Muslim hate rhetoric and violence. The City of Seattle welcomes and affirms our Muslim residents, both native born and immigrant, and recognizes the enormous value they add to the cultural and economic life of this city. When we respond from fear, we respond from weakness. We all want our community to be safe, but fear does not lead to safety.

The Council then passed landmark legislation that allows drivers of for-hire vehicles to collectively join together and negotiate better working conditions, making Seattle the first city to take this step. We must continue to find ways to protect workers in the new gig economy where the traditional employer-employee relationship is less prevalent.

We approved a thick bill (146 pages) improving and standardizing the enforcement processes for our local labor standards. We debated nuances while updating the Council’s rules and procedures. We made a small change to our business licenses that allows us to more easily revoke these for unlawful businesses. We designated the P-I Globe as a landmark and we created a new Arts & Cultural District in the Central Area.

It was a full, productive meeting. It was also the final Full Council meeting of three of my colleagues, Nick Licata, Jean Godden, and Tom Rasmussen. Between the three of them, we are saying goodbye to 42 years of collective service on the Council. As we get excited about the incoming councilmembers, I will miss the wisdom, dedication, friendship, and passion for service of my exiting colleagues.

When Fear Reigns, Extremists Win

Photo courtesy World Relief Seattle

Recent rhetoric across the country hyping fear and scapegoating Syrian refugees takes our country back to earlier, dangerous moments in our country’s history. The vote in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday was a disturbing reminder of how quickly our nation reverts to a fear-based mentality.

The result, sadly, is only more fear: an overhyped fear for the majority and now a very real fear of persecution for our Muslim and Arab neighbors. And fear fuels extremism.

I find it particularly disturbing that much of the fear comes from those who would consider America a “Christian nation,” but who refuse to acknowledge Jesus’ life experience as a refugee or Biblical exhortations to welcome the stranger.

How do we counter this fear?

Stories of hope help. I’m reminded of my late friend Cal Uomoto, the son of Japanese parents interned by the U.S. government, who dedicated his life to welcoming immigrants and refugees. Many of us know individuals like Cal who live to share hope with others.

Building inclusive community helps. I encourage residents of Seattle to take extra steps to welcome their immigrant and refugee neighbors and learn their stories. There are numerous organizations like the International Rescue Committee, World Relief, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, OneAmerica, Casa Latina, Refugee Women’s Alliance and many, many more that could use support and volunteers.

And leadership helps. I’m thankful for statements made by our Governor Jay Inslee (on NPR’s Morning Edition and in the New York Times) and by the Seattle Times Editorial Board denouncing this fear. I’m also grateful that Seattle’s two representatives in the House voted against yesterday’s xenophobic legislation. But other civic, faith and community leaders must speak out as well.

Seattle has proven so far to be resistant to this national epidemic of fear, but we are not immune.

Seattle for Washington in Action

Several years ago, former Council President Richard Conlin created the Seattle for Washington program. Councilmembers met with elected officials from around the state to build relationships and to discuss mutual interests and areas of concern. The message was simple: Seattle needs Washington and Washington needs Seattle.

The emergency wildfire situation unfolding in Eastern Washington presents another opportunity for Seattle to help our in-state neighbors. The Seattle Fire Department has 20 staff deployed across the state and three fire engines in Fruitland, Okanogan, and Twisp. Other city staff members have been deployed to help with sheltering displaced community members, coordinating emergency management logistics, and providing public information officer support.

The current reality faced by communities east of the mountains can feel very removed from our own reality here in Seattle, but each side of this state depends on the other. It is in our best interest to help our neighbors—and it’s the right thing to do.