Seattle Forward

Take Action Right Now

Wow, what a week we just experienced. The temperament and character of Mr. Trump are on full display; it's not pretty or comforting. In fact, it's downright scary.

A bit unnoticed was the executive order over the weekend reorganizing the National Security Council, the president's most important source of information and counsel on threats to our country. Mr. Trump just removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military's top command group, from the principal's group and replaced him with Steve Bannon, his political strategist and chief ideologue. Really?  

There are two very specific actions people can take right now to counter the dangerous actions Mr. Trump has taken so far.

First, support organizations that are defending our Constitutional freedoms and rights and those who are helping immigrants and refugees. Here are three nonprofit organizations with strong reputations for effective work. Click on their names to join or provide your financial support.

ACLU of Washington (Legal defense and advocacy in support of the rule of law and constitutional principles.)

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (Direct legal services for immigrants and refugees in Washington state.)

World Relief (The largest resettlement services organization in Washington state; direct services to refugees arriving in USA.)

Second, support an independent, objective and free media. In the face of constant lies from Mr. Trump (click here for an accounting of the lies from his first week in office), and the rise of "fake news," it is imperative that we bolster the news media. Here are three high-quality news media organizations in Seattle worthy of your support.

The Seattle Times (click here to subscribe to our only daily newspaper)

KUOW Radio (click here to provide support to this NPR station, a nonprofit anchor in our community)

Crosscut (click here to provide support to this independent, nonprofit news organization)

These are just a few concrete steps we can take to stand up against this administration's fear-mongering and threats to our basic civil rights, and to make sure our independent news media can continue to highlight the facts.   

 

Seeking Ethics and Elections Commission Applicants

The City Council is seeking candidates to fill a vacancy on the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC). The deadline to apply is this coming Tuesday, June 30.

The SEEC ensures an honest electoral process and an ethic of principled public service among City employees. The people of Seattle deserve diligent oversight over City business and I encourage anyone interested to apply.

The Commission is responsible for interpreting and applying the Seattle Ethics, Elections, and Whistleblower Protection Codes and the City's Lobbying Regulations. Six City staff members investigate complaints, monitor compliance, and offer information and guidance to residents and employees regarding these Codes.

Thank You Voters for Choosing the Seattle Preschool Program

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

Seattle voters had a clear choice on how to benefit the future generations of Seattle. I am very happy they selected the Seattle Preschool Program (Proposition 1B) crafted by Mayor Ed Murray, the City Council, early learning experts, and a wide variety of local stakeholders.

Yesterday’s vote means we will take a strong first step toward universal, voluntary, high-quality and affordable preschool for Seattle’s children. It is one of the best investments we can make.

The Seattle Preschool Program is based on extensive research on how to best prepare children for kindergarten and a life of learning. We reviewed the evidence of what works, we visited preschools throughout Seattle, we talked with teachers and parents, and we visited other cities to see how they provide universal preschool. At every step in development of the program, we were keenly committed to a critical principle: Quality.

Only quality benefits children for a lifetime. Only quality delivers an impressive return on investment for taxpayers. Only quality will enable our city to leverage dollars from the State and federal governments to provide even more preschool options for Seattle families.

Still Time to Vote!

It's Election Day and you still have time to drop your ballots into the mail or a ballot drop box.

Here is a list of the locations in Seattle where you can drop off your ballot until 8 p.m. today:

-Downtown at the King County Administration Building (4th and James)
-Ballard Library
-Magnuson Park
-Rainier Community Center
-University of Washington's Red Square
-West Seattle Stadium

More details are on the County's website.

Public Campaign Finance Statement

Consistent with my earlier blog post on this topic, I shared the following statement at the Full Council meeting this afternoon explaining my vote to not move forward a public campaign finance system this year:

We face a tough choice today as we consider this motion, but that’s what we are called to do.

We gather facts. We listen to various perspectives. We weigh the pros and cons of various arguments and then we decide. Sometimes our decisions are simple. Other times, like today, they are not easy; they’re complicated and require a balancing of various interests.

In the end, we make our decisions based on what’s best for the common good; what will benefit our city and region; and, in Seattle, with a special emphasis on what’s best for the most vulnerable among us.

Seattle has a strong and well-regulated campaign finance system, with individual contribution limits less than half those for King County and the State of Washington. Public financing of elections is a solid, progressive and important policy to pursue. We studied this issue extensively last year and asked the voters of Seattle to approve public financing of City Council campaigns. The voters said “no.”

Now we’re being asked to do a repeat this year. The easiest decision would be to put it back on the ballot and say, “let the voters decide again.” But, at what cost and at what risk? That’s where the decision gets difficult.

Public Campaign Finance: Right Idea, Wrong Time

There has been news coverage recently about how as City Council President I won’t introduce legislation that would send a measure to establish public financing of political campaigns back again to the voters in November.* The Stranger has a story about this in this week’s edition.

Public financing of campaigns is a good idea. Seattle established a system for partial public financing of campaigns in 1978. I helped oversee the later years of that program as a commissioner on the City’s Ethics and Elections Commission. In 1992 a statewide initiative put an end to this practice, but in 2008 the State Legislature allowed local jurisdictions to establish programs through a public vote.

Last year I voted to let Seattle decide if they wanted public campaign financing. The proposed system would have incentivized candidates to reach out to a wider segment of the population by providing matching public funds to small campaign donations; a property tax provided the funds. The voters said “no” by a narrow margin.

This November’s election ballot will have many candidates, issues, and multiple tax measures (including a resurrection of a tax for the monorail!). There’s always risk, however slight, that voters will experience “tax fatigue” and overreact by voting no on measures they might have otherwise supported, such as universal preschool or public transit funding.

At a time when frustration with government is running so high, I want the City to show voters that local government is focused on what’s most important. Maintaining and improving transit service and expanding high-quality preschool for our children top my list of priorities.

*In case you’re wondering, the Council President decides what legislation will be put before the Council and when, but this power is by no means absolute. Any councilmember can make a motion to introduce legislation during a Full Council meeting; councilmembers who favor placing a public finance tax measure on this November’s ballot have not done so. If a majority of the Council wanted to hold further discussions on public campaign finance legislation, that motion would succeed and the legislation would be introduced and referred to committee.

Seeking Candidates for Ethics and Elections Commission

The City Council is seeking candidates to fill a vacancy on the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) for a term lasting until December 31, 2016.

The SEEC is an independent committee comprised of seven volunteers. The Mayor and the City Council each appoint three Commissioners and the Commissioners select the seventh. 

The Ethics and Elections Commission is one of the City’s most important bodies. They are the guardians of our local democracy, ensuring a fair electoral process and an ethic of principled public service among City employees. I had the privilege of serving on this body more than a decade ago.

Returning to Kindergarten

Recently I returned to Stevens Elementary - where I attended kindergarten - to talk with the Seattle Channel's Josephine Cheng about preschool, the search for a new police chief, the minimum wage and more. Here's the latest installment of "Council Conversations": 

Encouraging Whistleblowing, Discouraging Retaliation

This morning my committee passed legislation that encourages and affirms the important role of public employee whistleblowers.

The most important part of the bill moves the investigation of retaliation claims from the Mayor’s office to the independent Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC). The current whistleblower code directs an employee to report retaliation to the Mayor’s office, which can then ask the employee’s department—often the original alleged retaliator—to investigate. Shifting the investigatory responsibilities to the independent SEEC strengthens confidentiality protections and the integrity of the investigation.

Timeline Established for Public Campaign Finance Review

The Council has established a timeline for reviewing a recommendation from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission for a system that would publicly fund campaigns for City Council. Washington State law allows local jurisdictions to create these systems if approved by the voters. The Council will decide whether or not to propose a system for consideration at the ballot box in November.

If we ask the voters to support a public campaign finance system, it is very important to clearly articulate the goals we want to accomplish. The academic literature shows mixed results at best when evaluating whether such programs achieve many of the goals touted by program advocates, including increased electoral competitiveness and lower election costs. On the other hand, some reviews of New York City’s campaign finance program show it has engaged much broader cross-sections of the public in the electoral process.

It’s the right time to explore new ways to engage Seattle in the electoral process. This city has long been at the forefront in upholding fair elections, but we should learn from others about what can be achieved through a public campaign finance system.