City Council 10/14/2025

All right, folks.

Good afternoon.

The October 14th, 2025 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.04 p.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, Council President.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Saka?

Here.

Councilmember Salomon?

Here.

Councilmember Strauss?

Here.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Here.

Councilmember Juarez?

Here.

Councilmember Kettle?

Here.

Councilmember Rink?

Present.

Councilmember Rivera?

Present.

Council President Nelson?

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you very much.

All right, Council Member Juarez has two proclamations for presentation and signature today.

Council Member Juarez will share comments on the proclamation and then I'll open the floor for comments from Council Members.

After Council Members have made their comments, the roll will be called to affix signatures to both proclamations and then we will suspend the rules to present the proclamation to our guests and allow our guests to provide brief comments back.

Council Member Juarez, you are recognized in order to address the proclamation proclaiming October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Seattle.

Thank you, Council President.

I apologize.

I have two proclamations, and we have two guests, so I'm going to briefly go over them, and then I know my colleagues will have some questions later after the presentation to open up the floor.

So the first proclamation is Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Seattle, and that is going to be presented by Judith.

And Judith, I'm going to get your name wrong.

Where are you?

I'm going to say it.

I said it wrong, didn't I?

I knew I did.

Just let me go with Judith.

Judith is from the mayor's office, but this is a general one, then there's another one after this.

And this is, I'm just going to read the first section and then tell you a little bit about what this is, and our presenters can share more.

Whereas the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first established in October 1987 to foster dialogue, strengthen survivors' protections, educate leaders, and encourage public action against abuse.

and I'm going to let our presenters go more in depth, but I remember we were doing this a long time ago.

So what we want to do as a city in the end and the whereases is that the City of Seattle is hosting a Domestic Violence Month event at City Hall on October 28th from 11 to 2 to honor advocates, case managers, organizations, and survivors who cultivate hope and healing from gender-based violence.

Whereas this October, the City of Seattle recognizes Thursday, October 16th, as Purple Thursday, a day of action to honor survivors, raise awareness, and renew our pledge to ending domestic violence.

And I have a little bit more on the second proclamation.

And I know I'm gonna get this name wrong too.

Nassim, you're gonna have to help me out.

The second proclamation is a little bit more intentional in dealing with and discussing and also highlighting our immigrant population.

And it starts out as, whereas Seattle is strengthened by its diverse immigrant and refugee communities whose cultural, social and economic contributions enrich the life of our city.

and it basically goes into the domestic violence and gender-based violence that happens in these communities that often are silent for different reasons and I'll let again our guests go into that and so therefore the mayor is going to declare as well as Seattle City Council that Domestic Violence Awareness Month is this month in Seattle And again, it states and ends with recognition of the disproportionate impact of gender-based violence on immigrant and refugee communities, including women, LGBTQ+, and gender-diverse survivors in Seattle.

We urge all residents to stand with survivors, raise awareness, and help build a future free of violence and fear.

And with that, Council President, I'm going to hand it back to you and then I'll have some closing comments.

Okay, thank you very much for this presentation.

I'll now open the floor to comments from or questions from council members.

I'm just a second here.

Just raise your hand and get my attention as I pull this up.

All right, go ahead, Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

Just a note of appreciation to Councilmember Warriors for continuing to hold this mantle up, and thank you to everyone in the audience who's receiving these proclamations for the important work that you do on behalf of Seattleites.

I'm not going to go into the details here, but we rely on you in so many ways and in more ways than you know, so thank you.

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President, Council Member Juarez.

I also support this with the Domestic Violence Prevention Council, the work of the Fire Chief, the Director of HSD, the City Attorney, and us here on the Council.

Does a lot of work in this area and it's really important and we need to to ensure that we have these bases covered and to really, and part of that is really raising awareness.

And so thank you for your work on this and I think it's really important and something that we can build on.

Thank you, Council President.

I will also extend, Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

I too wanna extend my gratitude to our colleague, Council Member Juarez for bringing this proclamation forward.

It is important to recognize what many in our communities deal with.

And I think we always have to take the time to to recognize the various issues and struggles that our communities are facing in terms of providing support, a voice of support.

And domestic violence is certainly among those things that we need to speak out loudly against.

and in support of the victims.

So thank you, council member Juarez for bringing this forward.

And I'm so happy to lend my support to this proclamation.

Thank you.

All right.

I'm not seeing anything.

I'll just add my voice.

Thank you very much and thank you to all of the support and the providers that are doing the work out there because I often think of domestic violence or gender-based violence as a gateway crime, as a gateway issue that leads to so many of society's ills, homelessness when fleeing violence in the home, loss of job, loss of children because they get sometimes separated from parents.

It can lead also to cycles of violence perpetuated within the family unit.

And so by addressing it upstream, we really do We are also preventing further harm downstream.

And I also have to note that we know that when looking into the history of people who have engaged in sometimes quite serious public shootings, for example, and other crimes, oftentimes it's domestic violence in their history.

So it's an indicator as well as a perpetuator of other serious, serious problems.

And so I think that it is extremely important that we focus our attention and our investments on this issue.

So thank you very much for bringing this forward.

I just want to add a few other items and thank my colleagues for being supportive here today.

Thank the Mayor's Office for bringing the first proclamation, the Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and thank the Seattle Women's Commission for bringing this forward to put a spotlight on domestic violence in immigrant communities.

We all know that you can judge a society by the way they treat their women and children, and laws and policies and protections.

And that isn't just the United States, but it's globally.

and I think I read a United Nations Charter issue about that.

And I'm not, you know, throwing shade on other countries, but I think we can all agree that how a society treats its women and children and affords laws and protections really is a measure about is, I know, I probably shouldn't say this, but women's rights or human rights.

And I didn't coin that, as you know, Hillary Clinton did, but I always believe that and I'm glad that you brought this forward today.

I just have a few quick facts that I want to share because we knew that we were going to do this, these two proclamations for your group.

that for the City of Seattle, we have over 35 partners serving more than 10,000 survivors and their families, and this is particularly for Indian Country.

At the Seattle Indian Health Board, we have the gender-based violence programming helping individuals fleeing and those who are survivors and are recovering, and I want to thank this council and prior councils for funding that every year.

and we also know that Department of Justice awarded $8 million to combat domestic violence in September, this is September 2024. And this is where we did, in this city, we went to Washington DC to, on the city's behalf, to advocate for the Violence Against Women Act.

And it has to be renewed every four years and that was really important nationally to do.

and it was originally enacted in 1994. We went back to make sure it was reauthorized four years later and it was reauthorized in 2022 and it will expire again in 2027. So again, we will be in Washington DC.

I won't be here, but I'm sure one of my colleagues will to make sure that we have that because we do get funding for that.

But more importantly, it keeps women, children and the issue of domestic violence in the forefront.

And I think that's really important.

and so with that, I just wanna thank you guys for coming and getting us the proclamations, particularly the Women's Commission and the Mayor's Office.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you.

All right, seeing no further comments, let's go ahead and suspend the rule.

If there's no objection, well, first of all, let's take the vote for the signatures and then we'll suspend the rules for our guest to speak.

Okay.

Seeing there's no further discussion on the proclamations, will the clerk please call the roll to determine which council members would like their signatures affixed to the proclamations proclaiming October 25th as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Seattle.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Salomon.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine signatures will be affixed.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Now, if there is no objection, the council rules will be suspended to present the proclamation and allow our guests to accept it and provide remarks.

Hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended.

The proclamation will now be presented, and after it's presented, Judith, whose name I'm going to mispronounce, from the Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and Nassim Ghazanfari from the Seattle Women's Commission will provide some brief remarks as well.

Pictures.

with the proclamations?

Whitney in the green, she went to Nathan Hill.

Oh, she did?

Yeah.

I feel old.

You should tell her that.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name's Judith Pemlasigui and I'm with the Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, which is part of the Seattle Human Services Department.

And I just wanna give thanks to Council Member Juarez for pushing this proclamation and really shedding light into this issue of domestic violence.

I also wanna thank Council Member Kettle for his work as a co-chair for the Domestic Violence Prevention Council.

So October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to reaffirm our collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us.

DV affects millions of individuals across the country, cutting across every demographic in every community.

It is not only a personal tragedy, but a public issue that demands action at every level of government.

As policy makers and public servants, we must ensure that survivors have access to safe housing, legal protection, mental health services, and justice.

We must also invest in prevention through education, early intervention, support for vulnerable communities.

Let us not only raise awareness but commit to long-term solutions.

Safety is not a privilege, it is a basic right.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

The whole Council, the Office of Mayor.

Is this working?

Perfect.

Thank you.

My name is Nassim Ghazanfari.

I'm one of the commissioners with the Seattle Women's Commission as part of Seattle Office of Civil Rights.

I'm absolutely honored to be here with some of my amazing fellow co-commissioners here, bringing the attention to the additional burden of the gender-based violence and domestic violence on immigrant communities.

While the data is already staggering for domestic violence and gender-based violence in the United States, one every four women and one in every nine men has experienced this violence in their lifetime, the data when it comes to the immigrant communities can reach up to 94%.

Council members, the men and women you see every day, many of them come from the countries either from patriarchal backgrounds or displaced by war or they are refugees.

They have either experienced these violence firsthand and they continue to remain vulnerable even after moving here.

There are multiple cultural barriers that prevents them from seeking help or expressing the trauma that they suffered from.

Today, we want to tell them that we hear them.

We see them.

We know their existence and we respect their resilience.

We know they are trying to build families among us and we admire their perseverance.

Today we want to make sure that we tell them that we understand violence is not cultural.

It is the product of systems that teach domination instead of equality.

Thank you so much for allowing us to be here to bring awareness to this issue and huge thanks for recognizing the disproportionate burden for this community.

Thank you.

Alright, thank you very much everyone.

We will now, colleagues, move into the hybrid public comment period.

Public comment is limited to items on today's agenda, the introduction and referral calendar and the council work program.

How many people are signed up today?

You have 13 remote and 16 in person.

Okay, everyone will get one minute and let's start with the in-person commenters.

We will go ahead and do, let's just do them all in-person and then remote.

It's easier.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they are registered.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

We are gonna start with Dean Kubato.

Jody, can you do me a favor?

Can you stop sharing your screen?

And I will do the timer in here so we can time the speaker.

There we go.

So we can hear the interpreter.

And we will double the time for this.

Thank you.

And we are moving you up first, so.

Oh, no, no.

Are you ready?

Oh, the interpreter can't see.

There we are.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Can the camera be moved some?

So that I can see your presenter better.

Is it possible to...

Also, I have requested, I do need to have a team on this call with me.

I cannot interpret the full meeting all by myself.

I'm sorry to have interrupted your meeting to say that.

Okay, and just to clarify, how do we do that?

Do we need to make an additional request or are you doing that on your end?

Oh, I can't call another person.

Y'all would need to add them on your end.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate you.

All right, I'm ready for you.

As an ADA accommodation, I will need more time as my fingers dislocate and I am still learning ASL after having my voice box removed after a pesticide exposure in Tanya Wu's building, the Louisa Hotel.

They Western Exterminator LLC hired by Tanya, who would not let me mask while they sprayed pesticides in my unit indoors.

Our building has had a roach and bed bug infestation for over a year.

I am now a stage four cancer patient.

As council member Juarez said, you can judge a city and community based on how you treat its women, children, and cancer patients.

MFT was the promise that if you build these luxury apartments, that you the city, you would make space for the people who are Seattle.

People like me who worked in Seattle before cancer and would have to have a positive background check and meet income requirements.

I was able to make these requirements, but so many good tenants in Seattle can't.

And now you're trying to up these requirements that would disqualify even more applicants that would be great tenants.

According to Seattle Times, About 85% of renters in those apartments were paying more than 30% of their income on rent, while a quarter were paying more than half their income according to the report.

Last year, the city's Office of Housing proposed that elected officials lower rent limits in multifamily property tax exemption units from what they currently are to fix these issues.

Developers protested, saying the requirements would be too expensive to be worth the tax exemption.

So, the city came back with a new plan.

This plan already rules out many survivors of domestic violence, financial abuse, who has their credit ruined by an abusive partner.

You're making it impossible for a student with zero credit who got kicked out of their home for being gay or trans.

You're making it impossible for a senior cancer patient with medical debt.

I was still given a unit that I had to be moved from due to a hole in the ceiling that accumulated mold.

MFT also asks for providing a positive consistent rental history.

This means that if you ever complained about issues within your building like mine, you may not be approved for housing.

It may be a standard across housing it discourages tenants from being able to complain about safety issues like mine.

There are great tenants for this program, but they are ruled out before they can apply.

They might be veterans or on SSI, but landlords violating fair housing law aren't advertising about MFD units and social workers for these communities aren't informed.

Seattle City Council currently want to change MFT by getting rid of corner stores.

By getting rid of corner stores, you get rid of mom and pop business that often are the only stores that take EBT.

Whole Foods and Amazon will have to enter the neighborhood whenever it's convenient like they did on Broadway.

But these small corner stores will stay for decades.

They create jobs, feed communities, and support other small businesses like famers and contractors in the city who eat there.

I am saying keep MFD, but yes, we do need to change it.

It needs more accessible to poor people and give protections for tenants, leaving a bad MFD.

Thank you.

You are welcome to send a printed copy to the rest of, to council after the fact.

Thank you very much.

Who is next, please?

We'll now go to Patrick Foley, then Emily Thompson, and Lissandra Vela.

Oh, just a second.

Patrick Foley with Lake Union Partners.

We're a Seattle development company that does mostly historic preservation and urban infill apartment projects.

We've built probably 3,600 units all over the city since the beginning of our company, more than 1,100 of which are affordable.

And we've been able to use the multifamily tax exemption in large part to deliver those affordable units.

And I guess I'm here to speak just real simple.

This is a math equation.

Program 6 as it is, we have 1,000 units in the pipeline from Northgate to the Central District to the Rainier Valley.

And Program 6 as is, we will not be able to move those projects forward if we keep Program 6 as is.

Just the economics are so tight.

The financeability of it is so tight that it just makes it extremely difficult.

So if Program 6, we won't be doing those projects.

If Program 7 happens, we will.

So very simple.

I would appreciate your consideration.

Thanks.

Hi, I'm Emily Thompson.

I'm a local developer focused on affordable and workforce housing in the community, and I'm here to urge you to adopt Program 7 today.

Not voting now, after almost a year of work has gone into this, in favor of yet more discussion, is putting the Seattle process ahead of progress.

I personally disagree that we should lower the AMI targeting and turn this tool into another low-income housing tool.

And I say that as a low-income housing developer.

This is the only tool that we have for middle-income renters.

We own and operate a building that has affordable city subsidized units and MFTE units, and they work in complement to each other.

As Patrick said, the economic reality of today is very different than when P6 was passed in 2018. And it's important that P7 work as an incentive and the changes to the AMI levels address that.

And please remember that the MFDE property tax exemption was not meant to be a one-for-one financial trade-off.

It was designed to be an incentive.

So please remember that and the value of the units that it leverages.

Thank you.

We have Alessandro Vela and then Matt Davies and Moana.

Hello, my name is Lisandro.

Seattle's MFTE programs isn't serving the working people.

It subsidizes developers and perpetuates low wage construction.

According to the University's Washington Owns report, nearly 80 million in property taxes shifted from MFT developers onto everyone else.

That means that people who build and maintain the city are paying for someone else's profit margins.

What do we get from that?

mostly small, high-end rent units working families can't afford, billed by workers earning below the area standard wage.

When the city hands out 12 to 24 year tax exempts without labor standards, it creates a system where wages get suppressed, apprenticeship opportunities disappear, and the very workers building affordable housing end up needing help themselves.

The loop that we're stuck in, our ask is that keep MFT moving but convene a 90-day stakeholder process where labor, responsible contractors, and the city to draft a return with labor standards amendments that include area standards pay for construction workers and registered apprentices.

If public resources build housing, they must also build economic stability, not property.

Thank you.

We have Matt Davies, Mona, and then Matt.

Good afternoon.

My name is Matt Davies.

I've been building housing in this city for years.

MFT is marketed as affordability, but on the job site, it's too often cheap labor and expensive living.

University of Washington's analysis shows that MFT tenants are still cost burden.

That's a symptom of policy architecture that pushes down wages while claiming affordability on paper.

Meanwhile, the same developers benefiting from tax breaks hire subs at rates far below area standards.

The people building the units can't even afford to live in them.

That's not success, that's circular poverty.

Our constructive proposal, don't stall the ordinance and prove it.

Commitment to a three-month city-led stakeholder table to craft the Labor Standards Amendment that ties MFT to prevailing wage and apprenticeship.

Make affordable housing mean affordable to live in and dignified to build.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Moana Ha'omowen, and I'm a very proud female union carpenter.

From the ground level, MFT projects are framed by working people, too often under substandard wage conditions.

That's not an accident.

It's a policy choice when tax exemptions are granted without labor standards.

Low wages, housing insecurity, more affordable housing, built again with low wages, not housing policy, its economic containment.

We can bring the loop without stopping the progress.

Direct OH and FAS to convene a 90-day stakeholder process with labor responsible contractors and affordable housing partners to bring back labor standards amendment.

Prevailing wage plus apprenticeship utilization for MFTE projects.

No tax breaks without fair wages.

No affordable units built by low paying jobs.

Thank you.

We have Matt and then following Matt will be Daniel Gallagher and then Norris Cooper.

Good evening, council members.

MFTE is sold as a trade-off.

Tax breaks for affordability.

But UW's analysis shows only part of the exemption reaches tenants.

The rest boosts margins.

While low-wage contractors cut workers' pay, we're losing twice.

Public revenue out, take-home pay down.

When the city extends MFTE without labor standards, the public ends up subsidizing both sides of the problem.

Rent assistance for tenants and suppressed wages, that makes the workers need that assistance.

You can change that now.

and keep projects moving.

Amend the ordinance to require a 90-day stakeholder process to draft labor standards amendment tying FTE to prevailing wage and registered apprenticeships.

Public subsidy should produce public good, good homes and good jobs.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Daniel Gallagher.

I'm the president of Mississippi State and Company, one of the most active workforce and affordable housing developers in the city.

I encourage you very strongly to approve the MFT legislation as amended in front of you today.

I think everyone in this room, everyone in this room wants the same thing, and that's more housing built and more affordability in that housing.

MFT contributes to those things.

Supply is the answer here.

We are on the precipice of a severe housing shortage in this city.

Construction starts have dropped to nearly zero.

New permit applications have dropped to nearly zero.

This portends very bad things for affordability in the future.

MFTE is not the solution.

We grant you that, but it's part of the solution.

Please, please help us provide more supply of housing in our city where it's needed most and for the people who need it the most.

Thank you very much.

We have Norris Cooper and then Miriam.

Can you pause, please?

I don't understand what...

We need to see your presenter so that I can tell you what she's saying, please.

Just a second.

Okay.

All right, the interpreter needs a team so that they can take a break every 15 minutes.

You need to provide a team for your interpreter.

We have provided the request.

Stand by, here comes another one.

Thank you.

We've made two requests at this point, Council President, and we are waiting for someone else to join the current interpreter.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Sun.

Interpreter Brian is being promoted now.

Thank you.

Interpreter Brian, please accept promotion.

All right, please allow your current interpreter just a moment to inform the second interpreter what is going on.

I do not see them, though.

I'm here.

Hi Brian.

Hello.

Are you able to see host and panelist chat?

One moment.

Yes.

One moment.

All right, I'll let you go.

Take over.

Okay.

Interpreter is ready.

Okay.

We have an interpreter, so we will proceed with public comment.

I believe we left off on Daniel Gallagher, and so now we have Norris Cooper.

Is that correct?

And then after Norris will be Miriam Roskin and then Eric Kennedy.

Hello, Norris Cooper here.

I work for Holland Partner Group, a multi-family developer here in the Seattle region.

I'm here in support of MFT Program 7. In trying to get some of our projects started, it is one of the programs that is an incentive that is a tool that we are able to leverage, if the financials work, to produce more housing.

And we're at a time where we are battling tariffs and interest rates, escalating construction costs.

And Seattle region as a whole, as a state, has lost over 11,000 construction jobs.

as a result of development pipeline falling short.

And so anything that developers can do in conjunction with policy to produce more housing adds to the supply and is better for us all.

And the projects under construction pay millions of dollars in taxes and create jobs and afford and help the MHA fund as well.

Thanks.

Maryam.

Hi, Miriam Roskin, D3.

You've been told that P7's generous terms for developers will be enough to reignite the housing market, which is admittedly really tough right now, and bring back the cranes.

This would be a worthwhile claim to genuinely investigate.

There's a host of other questions that you might want to ask as well.

For example, if the ostensible justification for P7 is to grow supply, how come does it allow projects that were perfectly feasible under the supposedly horrible P6 to convert to the terms of P7?

How does letting existing buildings get an additional 12 years of tax breaks in exchange for less affordability do anything for supply?

OH or SDOT, you would be asking me hard questions and asking me to substantiate my answers.

It is hard to understand why that is not the case.

We have Eric Kennedy and then we'll go to Bennett Halston.

Hello, my name is Eric Kennedy and I am part of the National Youth Rights Association.

I am here to ask that the City Council give the right to vote in city elections to all school age minors K through 12. Every school kid who lives in Seattle is affected by the policies passed by city council.

And so they should have an equal say on who gets elected to sit on city council and in the mayor's office.

Youth rights are human rights.

Thank you.

We have Bennett and then after Bennett will be, I believe it's Nathan Vall and then Lily Hayward.

Good afternoon, so I was down in Portland for a couple days to document the protests going on outside the ICE facility.

The overwhelming evidence that I gathered was that the protests outside the facility are overwhelmingly peaceful and violence when it does happen is mostly instigated by the DHS and ICE agents physically assaulting protesters.

Now this is an issue where I think the entire city council plus the mayor plus most of the city are on the right side for once, but I'm once again offering if you're having a hearing to provide and argument for why we need to resist Trump federalizing the National Guard or sending more agents to this city.

I am happy to come back and do a longer form presentation about some of the evidence that I gathered.

Gonna see if this works.

So...

No laptop down.

for you to see what happens.

A woman talking to a row of cops.

She's just talking peacefully for about 10 seconds.

I think you can see on the screen what happens.

And then he's just sitting there speaking to them and then three, two, one, blasted her in the face of pepper spray.

What the hell?

And then the next person, I believe last name is Wall and Lily Hayward and then Carter Nelson and Gabriel Jones.

Sorry for my handwriting.

So I'm here today just to express my disappointment with this conservative city council majority.

You all are paid $144,000 a year.

And instead of representing your communities, you've run a very petty and ineffective council majority, bullying Tammy Morales out of her seat, failing to pass a bill in nine months, turning the comp plan in late.

It's really disappointing.

defunding programs, attacking the previous council, and going on Don Quixote-esque crusades against curbs.

Frankly, two of you have endorsed Alexis Mercedes Rink, who's running against a far-right MAGA extremist.

And I think it's disappointing that you seem to not really, I mean, Rachel Savage has no place on our council, and I don't understand why you can't put aside your differences with Alexa as an endorser.

Sarah, you're gonna lose in November, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself and your colleagues, and Tanya will be more as well.

We have Lily, and then Carter Nelson, and Gabriel Jones.

Good afternoon, Lily Hayward with the Seattle Metro Chamber.

We're here today to urge you to adopt the updated MFTE Program 7, which passed unanimously out of the Housing and Human Services Committee.

It's the only tool that Seattle has to create affordable homes for middle-income renters who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing, but still can't afford market rents.

Over the past 25 years, MFTE has delivered more than 8,000 below market units, which is nearly as much as the Seattle housing levy.

But participation has dropped by half because P6 made it too complicated and expensive to use for many developers.

P7 fixes that.

It keeps strong affordability requirements while expanding access to renters earning between 70 and 80% AMI, which is a group at high risk of being priced out of Seattle.

If we don't renew MFTE, thousands of renters could see their rent spike when current agreements expire.

We need an all of the above approach to tackle the housing crisis that includes public and private solutions.

Please pass P7 today and allow housing production at all income levels.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, members of the Council.

Carter Nelson on behalf of NAOP Washington State, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

We represent multifamily developers who actively use the MFTE program to deliver middle-income housing across Seattle.

MFTE is voluntary and one of the few tools that directly incentivizes private investment in below-market housing without requiring a public subsidy.

If the program isn't financially viable to participate in, the affordability it provides disappears.

We saw this happen with Program 6. When affordability requirements were pushed too far below market, developer participation dropped by nearly 50%.

That wasn't due to lack of interest.

It was because the economics no longer worked.

Some are concerned that Program 7 raises rents, but that's not true.

What it actually does is expand access.

by adjusting AMI limits to better reflect the middle income bracket, specifically 70 to 90% AMI, it opens the door for more renters to qualify for discounted units.

These are teachers, journalists, restaurant managers, and essential workers who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but not enough to afford market rate rents.

Thank you for the extensive work that's gone.

And Gabriel will be our next and last registered in-person speaker.

They will go to remote speakers.

Morning Council, my name is Gabriel Jones.

I'm here to talk about SPD and Cal Anderson.

It's been a minute since I've been with y'all, most because I'm recovering from the effects of SPD running wild.

Now we're about five months out from the hate event at Cal Anderson, and this is about the time we start getting body cam footage back, and unsurprisingly, a lot worse than we can even expect.

Early last week, footage came out of officer who's a sergeant, David Adams, tackling someone and repeatedly striking them in the head with a closed fist.

This person was not resisting and only protecting their head.

Their hands were visible and no threat to the officer who proceeded to punch the protester in the head repeatedly.

The footage also contradicted multiple statements he made in probable cause affidavit.

Also in this footage, you see me moments after I get tackled to the ground where I place my hands very clearly in the air before I'm punched in the head over and over while causing no threat to the officer.

I'm going to leave you all a copy to look at that.

Now, personally, if I show up to my job and I do poorly, I get reprimanded, demoted, or even fired.

When you do poorly, you get unelected, like Sarah's about to be.

But when SPD does it, they get raises.

They get bonuses.

They get the idea that we're discussing about subsidizing their housing.

It's time to make a change to SPD because I will make sure not a single one of you will touch that

We'll now move into remote speakers and a reminder to our remote speakers to please press star 6 after you have heard the message that you have been unmuted.

Our first remote speaker is Howard Gale who will be followed by Meredith Holzeemer.

Go ahead Howard.

Howard Gale Over 156,000 foreign-born Seattleites are now under imminent threat, as are their family members or anyone who might look or sound foreign.

Mayor Harrell's executive orders last week fall far short of the need to prevent egregious constitutional abuses, most notably the need for Seattle police to actively protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all Seattleites.

Contrary to this, Harrell has stated, quote, in no way will they, our police, enable this abuse of power from the federal government.

In the future, do we want to be the Americans of the 1940s who could only say we did not help send those folks to internment camps?

Should we not want to be able to say we acted to prevent folks from being taken?

For this goal, the 36 legislative district Democrats unanimously passed a resolution last month calling upon Seattle City Council to create legislation requiring Seattle police officers act directly and affirmatively to protect the Fourth Amendment rights of all Seattle residents and workers.

It is urgent that you act on this.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Meredith Holzimmer, who will be followed by Irene Wall.

Go ahead, Meredith.

Hello, my name is Meredith Holzimmer with Mill Creek Residential.

We've built and own and operate many projects in Seattle using MFTE, and I urge your continued support of Program 7 and passage of the legislation today.

I wanted to address one topic a rumor that there is high levels of vacancy in MFT units.

We have not seen this across our portfolio and do not see this as a widespread problem.

I think there has been a temporary moment in the market where there's been an increase in supply in general in Seattle from the post-pandemic boom.

But now you'll see that Seattle's permit dashboard shows a stark decline in new housing permit activity.

And so we will soon be looking at a drop-off in supply, increasing market rents, and vacancies decreasing.

And so I urge you to approve Program 7 today.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Irene Wall, and Irene will be followed by William Schneider.

Go ahead, Irene.

And remember to...

There you go.

Good morning.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

Irene Wall here, District 6. I once again urge you to postpone voting on this MFTE reauthorization.

Yesterday I wrote to you asking why large national corporate real estate development companies should get Seattle taxpayers to underwrite their investments.

Here's another example, huh, interesting.

Mill Creek Residential based in Boca Raton, Florida is the developer of seven apartments in Seattle between 2017 and 2025 under the Modera brand.

Every one of them is on the MFTE dole.

the exempt assessed value exceeds $320 million in 2025 based on providing the minimum 20% MFTE units that equated to a taxpayer subsidy on average of $970 a month for each unit that's on top of the rent they charge all over Seattle these expensive new apartment buildings are having fire sales to fill up their vacant units offering months of free rent and free parking you can

Thank you.

Our next speaker is William Schneider and following William will be Sam Wolf.

Go ahead, William.

Good afternoon, Council President Nelson and members of the Council.

My name is William Schneider and I'm speaking on behalf of the Washington Multifamily Housing Association representing 734 property members and 92,500 units in Seattle alone.

Our members oversee MFTE buildings and work directly with the residents who benefit from this program.

Under Program 6, that work became far more difficult.

Affordability requirements pushed many properties out of participation.

And the recertification process created confusion, administrative strain, and in some cases caused renters to lose access to their units they had qualified for.

Program 7 is a critical improvement.

It's streamlined administration, adjusts AMI limits to better-served middle-income renters, and makes continued participation feasible.

Without these changes, many properties and their 12-year term ends.

MUFA is committed to being a part of the affordability solution, and we appreciate the Council's work on a stronger

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sam Wolf, and following Sam will be Rosalie Merck.

Go ahead, Sam.

Hello again, Council.

My name is Sam Wolf, and I work as the Seattle LEAD Program Director.

LEAD is one of the proposed recipients of funding generated by the Public Safety Sales Pax.

We work with people whose needs won't be addressed by singular connections to resources, which is why we utilize long-term case management to build relationships with clients create plans, connect them to resources, and continue until that person's situation and behavior have been addressed.

This work is complex because the situations faced by our clients are complex, and LEAD is a unique piece that allows us to bridge between first response and iterative long-term planning.

I'd like to appreciate Council President Nelson for working to ensure that the Public Safety Sales Pack centers substance use disorder and includes both recovery resources and the long-term care that can string those resources together.

I'd also like to thank Council for their support for this work both past and present and urge the committee to ensure that leads funding is stabilized in the 2026 budget.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll take a brief pause to switch interpreters.

Laura, is there a question?

I was just trying to...

This is one of your interpreters speaking.

I was just trying to get the attention of my team because he couldn't see that we had a replacement for him and the chat was disabled for me.

Okay, perfect.

Just wanting to confirm we're able to proceed.

And if you do need anything else, you can proceed with sending your messages via the Zoom chat.

And of course, if that doesn't work, then we'll send you an email address.

If we can get some sort of address from you specifically or should we email the company?

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker will be Rosalie Merckx and following Rosalie will be Alex Martin.

Go ahead, Rosalie.

and please remember you may need to press, well you will need to press star six.

Dear Council members, my name is Rosalie Merckx.

I'm in support of CB 121055 to extend the multi-family property tax exemption known as MSE as passed by the Housing and Human Services Committee with one proposed amendment that restores the unanimous vote of H&A's community to allow MFD projects expiring in 2025 to renew.

I manage Youngstown Flats in the Delvidge neighborhood of West Seattle.

Youngstown Flats is currently participating in MFDE, but a current agreement expires in December 2025. Youngstown Flats has 10 large two-bedroom MFDE and 29 one-bedroom MFDE units.

Our tenants love the family-sized MFDE unit.

It allows families to put down roots in the kids-friendly and safe neighborhood.

of West Seattle.

This is exactly the type of family size affordable housing the city should prioritize in through MFTE.

We want to keep it.

The HNHS committee unanimously passed an amendment committee to allow our property along with the other similarly situated MFTE property expiring in 2025.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Martin and following Alex will be Scott Lean.

Go ahead, Alex.

Good afternoon.

My name is Alex Martin.

I'm an Affordable Program Manager overseeing several MFTE communities in Seattle.

I'd like to speak in support of the Mayor's P7 proposal.

We're proud to have participated in the MFTE program.

We recognize how critical it is.

Some of our programs will be expiring soon, and we would very much like to continue offering affordable housing through MFTE, but it needs to be an accessible program.

Currently, the annual income certification process is difficult, lengthy, and feels like an incredible invasion of privacy for our residents.

We frequently also find that residents who are elderly or live with disabilities and other challenges face disproportionate struggles supplying a volume of information required to complete income certifications, an experience that is deeply uncomfortable for them.

These sevens changes to the income certification process will greatly help alleviate these challenges.

Middle-income residents who find themselves eventually overqualified for MST or overqualified at their initial application attempt are rarely overqualified by an immense margin.

Raising the AMI range to include 90% options would permit more access.

Please vote in favor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Scott Lean and following Scott will be Joe Kunzler.

Go ahead, Scott.

Good afternoon.

My name's Scott Leans.

I'm a principal at Kamiak Real Estate.

We're a locally based Seattle focused urban infill housing developer having delivered 600 units in the city of Seattle.

I strongly urge you to adopt MFTE program seven legislation because it will help push projects closer to feasibility.

Program six simply doesn't work from a math standpoint.

It's not encouraging more housing.

Our company has rescinded MFT applications on four of our last five completed buildings due to lack of MFT feasibility, providing direct evidence that the program is not working as intended.

We have another 1,000 units in our pipeline across the city.

On average, program six results in a loss of revenue and is not a consideration for these projects.

Program seven, however, provides enough incremental revenue to incentivize participation.

Program 7 will encourage new housing, will create workforce housing, support middle-income residents, and incentivize development.

Our next speaker is Joe Kunzler, who will be followed by Shreyasi Padel.

Go ahead, Joe.

Thank you very much.

Joe Kunzler here.

I've only got a minute, so I'm going to talk a little fast, but first is, per my email I just sent to Council President, you need to enforce RCW 42.17a.555 and stop anyone from campaigning, period.

Moving on, because we are time limited, I really want to really thank you for holding the line against Alex Zimmerman.

It's very much appreciated, the sensitive time for Jews and Jew adjacent in the world, very much appreciated.

Moving on, I do want to take a moment and call and As much as I'm still a Heidi Wills fan, I want to thank Councilmember Strauss for being on the Sound Transit Board and asking some really tough questions about Everett Link.

It is very much appreciated, as well as making sure that Ballard does get her sexy light rail and we do get to open the Heidi Wills station sometime in our lifetimes.

And finally, go Mariners, go Seahawks, and God bless Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker will be Shreyasi Padel followed by our last speaker, Hallie Willis.

Go ahead, Shreyasi.

And Shreyasi, you may need to press star six to unmute yourself.

Okay, we will move on to Hallie Willis.

Sorry about that, yeah.

Good afternoon to the Council.

My name is Sharycee.

I'm here on behalf of the University of Washington chapter of the Washington Public Insurance Group, and I'm advocating for rejecting and reworking the proposal to amend the current MSDE program.

Now, there are many flaws of the current MSDE program that this reliance on private development cycles and the loss of tax revenue that comes out of it, but the revised incision only exacerbates many of these issues.

Raising the rent cap to functionally match the market prices of 14 to 22 percent, according to the Seattle Times, and expanding tax rates for developers only further push-and-view problems to the very same citizens it aids out.

If we want to protect ordinary citizens, we start by making sure they have a thing to live.

We continue by making sure that they aren't living paycheck to paycheck with the threat of homelessness being over them.

MSDE is a policy in desperate need of revision, but this revised proposal marks the continuation of the more building tax crisis, one that tells hard-working of Seattleites that they're not welcome here.

I urge the council to reconvene on MFPE to figure out a solution that prior- Thank you.

Our last speaker will be Hallie Willis.

Go ahead.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Hallie Willis.

I'm the policy manager at the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness and I'm a renter in district five.

I'm here to urge you to project the proposed P7 MFPE for new P6 for a year and rethink the program to provide the level of affordable homes we actually need.

P7 will make MFTE apartments more expensive, in many cases close to market rates.

This is a bad deal for MFTE renters and it provides too little public benefit to be worth the $20 million annual price tag.

We urge you to take the time that you need to work with MFTE renters and other stakeholders to develop a better plan.

We're making this recommendation alongside the Renters Commission, 28 community-based organizations, and over 200 Seattle residents and workers who signed an open letter that I sent you earlier in this process.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What's our last remote speaker?

We have one in-person speaker.

It'll be Caroline Sanders, and then that'll be the last registered speaker.

Hello everyone.

For the record, my name is Caroline Sanders-Lundgren.

I'm here representing PDA.

We want to thank the executive, this council, and specifically Councilmember Nelson for her leadership in ensuring that the people of Seattle would benefit from the opportunity created by the statewide House Bill 2015. Now, this vehicle is not perfect.

There's broad consensus that it would be much better if we were to leverage a progressive tax However, there's also consensus that we cannot afford to delay action on this issue even one more day.

And so we commend you for stepping up and using the tool at your disposal to fortify recovery support as an important part of our public safety continuum and lead as a part of that.

so I am also relieved to be able to say that every member of this council now has in your possession a lead data packet spanning the last two years.

This is identical to what we send to the mayor's office on a monthly basis.

Please know I was loathe to send you 240 extra pages of reading at this point in your life but my team was insistent that you needed it all and I know that they were right about that and so we look forward to digging into the details with you.

Thank you.

That was our last registered speaker.

All right.

We have reached the end of our public speakers list.

So the public comment period is now closed.

Let's see.

Will the clerk please read item one into the rec?

No, no, no.

I have to get out to all the other stuff here.

Let's see.

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing none, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

And if there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing none, the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar and the items on the consent calendar are the minutes of September 23rd, 2025, Council Bill 121085 through 121087, payment of bills.

six appointments from the Housing and Human Services Committee, three appointments from the Public Safety Committee.

Are there any items that council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council member Saka?

Councilmember Salomon?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

All right.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

The report of the city council agenda item one council bill 121077 relating to city employment adopting 2025 citywide position list.

All right.

I move to pass council bill 121077. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

As sponsor, I'll address it first and then open the floor to comments.

All right, colleagues, Amanda Allen from Central Staff sent out a memo on this legislation on October 9th, and I'll briefly read a bit from it.

Council Bill 121077 would establish a 2025 position list, identifying all positions in each city department or office as of January 1st, 2025. The 2025 position list reflects a total of 1,325 positions of those 12,890 full-time equivalents.

Council's consideration of this list is an administrative exercise anticipated by resolution 28885. Note that the beginning numbers being 2-8, that's a long time ago, and ordinance 1-2-7-1-5-6.

Resolution 2-8-8-8-5 adopted protocols for citywide biennial budgeting, including the expectation that the city would adopt departmental wide position list.

Ordinance 127156 adopted the 2025 budget and established an expectation that SDHR would submit a list of the city's regular positions in each department or office as of January 1st, 2025 for Council's consideration during the 2026 budget deliberations.

So passing this legislation would not have a substantive impact on city operations, employees, funds, or present other implications to the city.

So that's basically the rundown.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Salomon?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Juarez?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And will the clerk please read item two into the record?

The report, the Housing and Human Services Committee, agenda item number two, council 121055 relating to the multifamily housing property tax exemption program, renewing and modifying the program, including to make changes in conformity with state law.

The committee recommends the bill passes amended.

All right.

Council member Solomon is vice chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

I move to amend Council Bill 121055 consistent with Amendment 8 entitled Add a Policy Regarding Demolition of Units, Eliminate the Later Extension Application Deadline for 2025 Expiring Projects and Eliminate the Provision Allowing Units in Extending Properties to Maintain Their Original Unit Designation.

Second.

All right.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment A. Councilmember Salomon, a sponsor you're recognized in order to address it.

Thank you, Council President.

Basically, this amendment would do three things.

One, bring the MFTE program in compliance with state law, which requires Seattle to establish requirements addressing demolition of existing structures.

Two, eliminate the now-moot 2025 MFTE extension deadline, and three, better adhere to state law by striking a problematic revision regarding maintaining certain single-bedroom unit designations.

In short, this amendment helps ensure that Seattle's MFTE program complies with state requirements and better allows Office of Housing to administer the 2025 MFTE program.

And I ask for your support.

Thank you, council member.

Are there any comments on amendment A?

I am not seeing any hands raised on screen.

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of amendment A.

Council member Sacco?

Aye.

Council member Solomon?

Aye.

Council member Strauss?

Aye.

Council member Hollingsworth?

Councilmember Juarez.

Councilmember Kettle.

Councilmember Rink.

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

Are there any further comments on the amended bill?

Council President.

Yes, please go ahead, Councilmember Solomon.

I move to amend Council Bill 121055 consistent with Amendment B entitled Establish Conversion Procedures and Clarify the Start Date of the 12-Year Exemption for Converting Projects.

Second.

All right, it's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment B. Councilmember Solomon, as sponsor, you're recognized to address it.

Okay, thank you, Council President.

This amendment would establish application and conversion procedures for projects converting from the MFTE Program 6 to Program 7, while also clarifying that the start date for the 12-year exemption does not reset upon conversion.

The intent behind this amendment is to better ensure projects using MFTE choose to use the MFTE extension option, thereby further securing critical affordable housing units for an additional 12 year period.

And I ask for your support of this amendment.

Thank you very much.

Let's see.

Are there any questions or comments?

Council member Rink.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Councilmember Salomon, for bringing these amendments forward today.

I just wanted to briefly speak to my support for them because I think they addressed some of the outstanding community concerns we have heard.

And so I want to thank you again for bringing these forward.

I will be supporting.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any further questions?

All right.

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment B?

Councilmember Salaca?

Council Member Sullivan.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Aye.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Rink.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

The motion carries and Amendment B is adopted.

Are there further comments on the amended bill?

As Prime sponsor, Councilmember Salomon, I'm offering you the floor to speak to the amended bill.

Thank you very much, Council President.

As we have heard from our community members and our housing developers, it's really clear that one of the things that we need is more housing supply.

Given the economic realities of where we are right now, considering where the version 6 was passed, the economic realities are we need to do something different so that these units will actually pencil out and we can get more housing units online.

So I urge the passage of the bill as amended.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Rink.

Thank you, Council President, and apologies.

I was slow on my hand there.

I wanted to give the sponsor the last word on this, but wanted to chime in on just a couple of points here before final passage, namely that I'm glad that through Councilmember Solomon's amendments, we've addressed some of the outstanding concerns with the P7 proposal.

I know this addresses some of the primary community concerns my office has heard.

And I'm also very happy that in committee, the committee passed Councilmember Saka and I's amendment which would re-establish the sunset to provide clarity on the changes in the P7 program.

I think this also gives us the ability to be nimble when we're talking about changing economic conditions.

We know that there have been a lot of changes in our local economy, especially when it comes to the housing market.

And also happy to see that in this proposal we have changes to ensure that renters are getting a more streamlined application process and want to thank again the committee for passing my amendment to incentivize more multi-bedroom units so we can orient the program towards developing more family-sized housing.

I think it might go without saying, but worth reiterating here that MFTE alone cannot solve our housing crisis.

We have so many forces impacting our ability to build housing right now, but we also need to find ways to support more deeply affordable housing.

But MFTE is a tool in our toolbox to create workforce housing while also spurring development to address our housing shortage.

and we need housing that delivers on deeper levels of affordability, which is why I'll continue to champion our investments through the Office of Housing, the Social Housing Developer, our rental assistance, our tenant support services, and fighting to backfill our continuum of care funding, going towards permanent supportive housing.

But MFTE being an important program to help, again, spur workforce housing is tremendously important and I'll be supporting the legislation today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

First, I want to thank Councilmember Salomon and my colleagues for your work on this bill.

I also want to thank all the public commenters who have come out.

I really appreciate your coming here to speak to the bill and all the issues that relate to it.

Separately, I also want to thank OH Office of Housing Director Winkler Chin for her recently finished memo on the Seattle Housing Investment Plan.

as we've been calling the SHIP, the Seattle Housing Investment Plan, because it speaks to MFTE.

It actually speaks to MFTE plus MHA, PET, and also the levy.

And I really think it's important to center the discussion on MFTE as part of the other revenue sources that we have to include the mandatory housing affordability program, the payroll expense tax, and the housing levy.

I think it's really important to have that context.

And so I thank her for putting into the study, into the plan, because it's really helpful.

And I'd also ask that we go further and include, because as it says here, MFTE alone is expected to meet nearly 100% of the housing needed at the 50 to 80% AMI between 2024 and 2023. But the affordable housing is just one piece of what we're looking at.

We have permanent supportive housing, and we also have social housing.

And so I love this plan.

I love reading it.

But we also have to have a bigger picture understanding of what's going on with housing.

What's going on with KCRHA, permanent supportive housing, or now the new social housing with the new PDA, the Public Development Authority.

and to really have a true sense of what is happening on the housing front, particularly with the various revenue sources.

To that, I think we need to have a strategy in terms of these funding sources.

Are they the right mix?

Do we have it right?

I believe, you know, as related to the types of housing, and also questions.

And this has come up as I've dug into this more and more in terms of building new or maintaining and preserving what we have now.

And this has become a bigger issue as I've been jumping into this.

And I think an expanded plan that has a strategy piece that speaks to these is really important.

And, you know, I do want to say, again, thank you to everyone who's come out to include on the developer side, but also on the union side of the Carpenters Union and the broader union community.

You know, apprenticeship programs, I've often been speaking to this on the maritime side, but I do think that we need to build apprenticeships.

We need to build a program that really builds up our trades in our city and our broader labor community.

And I think, so I thank you for coming out and I bring this up because, you know, the Office of Housing is part of a broader strategy.

You could speak to this in a way that, you know, looks at it in terms of how can we really address all the various pieces.

As somebody noted, this housing piece is so complicated with so many different funding sources, different housing, all the little pieces, you know, build new, you know, conserve what we have.

You know, are those we see on the street, do they already have housing?

Why do they do this?

You know, and that goes to, preserving and the like.

And I think if we do this and we can fold in this piece because I do think it's really important because long-term, again, not just for the maritime but for our entire labor community, the apprenticeships programs and building this kind of, you know, trades community is really important.

So I just wanted to, again, thank them for coming out.

And just to conclude with all that said that I will be supporting the P7 program.

So thank you very much.

Councilmember Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, as many of us have said, we need more housing across the board in the city.

I understand it is not perfect, but this latest iteration of the MFTE program attempts to incentivize the building of housing at a time when construction has stalled due to increased costs, especially those related to increased tariffs coming from the federal government.

It's another tool to address much needed housing.

I do not sit on the Housing and Human Services Committee and I appreciate my colleagues who do and who worked with the various stakeholders and contribute amendments that strengthen the initial proposal.

And to our labor partners who came out for public comment, I really just want to thank you for being here.

I recognize it is not easy for you to take time out of work to come here and give us public comments.

So please do know that while maybe you may not get the outcome you would like at the end of this vote, I do want you to know how much I personally appreciate you being here.

I do not take your comments for granted.

These are tough votes and I know that I want you to know how much I appreciate you being here and how much I value you.

So thank you for being here.

Thank you, Council President.

Council Member Juarez.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I just want to start out, first of all, to thank the carpenters that showed up here today.

As Council Member Marisa said, I'm sorry, Marisa Rivera.

We know that it takes time out of your day to come down and provide public comment.

And I'll tell you the truth, after being up here for a few years, I really appreciate when community groups and groups like yourself show up and speak and don't let other people speak on your behalf and I want to reiterate what Councilmember Rivera said that you may not be completely happy but again this is a tool and it's voluntary and I want to just for that purpose thank you I also want to thank Councilmember Solomon for just shepherding this legislation through numerous committee meetings and at one point we had over 14 amendments.

Also a huge thank you to Thaddeus Gregory who worked with Council Member Solomon to make sure this got across the finish line.

But I will be supporting this and I'll tell you why.

This is a continuation of what we saw in 1990 with the Growth Management Act when the city adopted MFTE in 1995 to follow the original intent of the state law.

I'm sorry, the state adopted MFT in 1995, the city adopted MFT in 1998, and the original intent was to go ahead and stimulate construction, rehabilitation, stimulate housing opportunities, transit-oriented development, walkable neighborhoods, and so that's the lens in which I look at a tool like MFT.

So in the big picture, in the scheme of things, that is the original intent and I want to be able to support the original intent and spirit as our counties and our cities grow and that we are actually paying attention to the housing and job that are coming online so we can house folks that come to Seattle to live and work here.

And we know that rent is too damn high.

And again, as Council Member Rink shared, these are just another tool that we can work with developers, nonprofits and profits to go ahead and get people housed and get this stuff built.

So again, I just want to thank you all for being here.

And I also want to thank, again, Council Member Solomon and thank you, Council President, for getting this across the finish line.

Thank you.

Thank you, I believe that you had one more comment.

I was, I should have thanked our colleague Councilmember Salomon for shepherding this through.

These are heavy lifts.

This program expired in May, so it was something that we had to get done.

quickly and so I really want to thank you and your team for shepherding this through and also I want to say I never talk about myself because I feel like it's self-serving but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my dad was in the Brotherhood of Carpenters Union and that is another reason why My dad's no longer with us, so I try not to get emotional either, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being here and how much I really do care.

That is genuine from the heart.

So thank you, Council President.

Are there any other comments?

I'll just say a couple of words before we leave it to the sponsor to close us out.

Okay, so I first wanted to, I have spoken of my strong support for the MFTE program before.

Now I'd like to read an excerpt from an op-ed on MFTE that I read in The Urbanist this morning because I think it gets to the heart of the issue behind what we're doing here.

Emily Thompson writes, increased AMIs in the proposed MFTE program seven in the MFT program, seven translate to equitable access.

It's returning the opportunity for renters who earn between 65 and 90% AMI, their one tool they had access to for rent discount.

This is what the voluntary program was always meant to do.

It was not meant to replicate subsidized housing, which the housing levy, MHA and nonprofit builders create.

It was meant to compliment it.

middle-income renters are also extremely cost burdened and should not be left behind.

So anyway, I hope you'll, so if you didn't read that, that is available for your perusal.

I'll just simply reiterate that this is the only program in our city that provides for units for our teachers, artists, retail workers, our bus drivers, et cetera.

And I don't want to leave them out.

There is a large swath of Seattle's population that makes between 60, 70 to 90% of AMI that is completely left out except for if you've got the money, to buy a house, then maybe you can afford one of the homes that $50 million in the $970 million housing levy allows to produce.

And that is usually, so that's a teensy-weensy workforce sliver, but it's not for renters, it is for buyers.

And so I will simply say that as the only program, I've always been a strong proponent of this, and I'll say my thing again.

This program achieves three goals.

It incentivizes the production of housing in general.

We've got a housing crisis.

We need more housing, period.

It also incentivizes on site the 25% of affordable units.

And then finally, it meets a policy goal that we always strive for, but rarely meet, which is mixed income housing in this city.

MHA provides for the developers to choose between a fee in lieu or performance on site.

and the vast majority of times developers choose to write a check.

This is allowing for the construction of workforce units on site and we need to, that's why I support this program.

So I'm obviously going to be voting yes for this and I think that it's been a long time in coming.

We were going, the program six expired last year and I'm glad that we're finally at a point where we can take a vote on program seven.

Are there any further comments?

Councilmember Salomon, would you like to close us out?

Thank you, Council President.

It's all been said.

I'm not going to belabor the point.

I urge passage of this bill.

Thank you.

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Salomon?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Juarez.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Rink.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

All right.

Will the clerk please read item three into the record.

The report of the Select Budget Committee, Agenda 3, Council Bill 121083, related to taxation, imposing a local sales and use tax to fund investments in criminal justice.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Strauss is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you, colleagues.

As we all were in the Select Budget Committee last week, this bill was put forward as a way, as Council President outlined in her resolution, a way to provide many important resources for Seattleites who are struggling.

And this is also required if we want to balance the budget as it was presented to us.

So colleagues, I urge a yes vote.

Are there any comments on the bill?

All right, I'll go ahead and make some comments as soon as I find my notes here.

These progressive investments will save lives and fill gaping holes in our response to Seattle's drug crisis.

And I've led the charge to put addiction treatment at the center of the city's agenda because the fentanyl epidemic and addiction are root causes of both our public safety and chronic homelessness challenges.

This might be shocking to hear because I think back for three years when I took office, it was very surprising to me when I found out that up until the pilot program I started a couple years ago, neither the city nor the county funded rehab.

And so I'm talking about residential treatment.

We only had programs that offered opioid use disorder medication.

So I'm very happy to see that one of the line items in that passage of this bill will facilitate if we approve its proposed proposal in the budget is an expansion of that program and so many in a long list of other things that are absolutely necessary to fill in the gaps toward providing a pathway to recovery for for our Seattle residents.

The state legislature, the state gives us very limited set of tools to raise revenue for the essential services that the city provides.

And I don't like that this is a regressive tax, but this isn't about raising taxes on working families.

This is about using public safety dollars for public safety.

When we invest in getting people off the streets and into treatment, we prevent crime, reduce emergency responses, and make every neighborhood safer.

And that is smart public safety spending.

And more importantly, it is the moral thing to do.

So I look forward to passing this today and then working with all of you to be good stewards of this new revenue by prioritizing the investments in the highest needs area like treatment recovery and recovery housing, et cetera.

And we'll be talking about that in the coming weeks.

Council member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, as I said last week, I struggled with this vote.

This tax proposal is of concern to me because basically what it does is tax poor people to help poor people.

I say this because as we know, sales taxes are the most regressive taxes that governments can levy, and they hit our low-income families the hardest.

while groceries are exempt from sales tax or many other items that our low-income communities purchase that are not exempt, like clothing and shoes for their kids, among many other important needs.

We know we have an affordability problem in Seattle, and this proposal is just going to make things worse.

Combined with the recent 0.1% sales tax increase levied by King County, Seattle sales tax will be 10.5%, which is higher than San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Boston.

Even among the eight states without an income tax, we're still at the top compared to cities of our size.

And what's more, this comes instead of what we really need to be doing, taking a very hard look at the city's budget.

For these reasons, I will not be supporting this proposal today.

Thank you.

I'm not seeing additional hands raised, but I do want to say to my colleague, Rivera, I very much respect your position and I also struggled with it.

So thank you very much for your courage.

Okay.

Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you.

Is this last word?

Yep.

Great, we'll move on to a vote after this, I hope.

Just this to say, we had a lot of work that we accomplished this last year in Olympia requesting different ways that the city could fund the programs and resources that we provide Seattleites.

This was from all 281 cities across our state working together to ask for new revenue options.

because as the property tax is capped at 1% plus new construction, our ability to keep up with inflation is limited.

And without state authorization for different options, we can't move forward except for what they provide us.

And while I wish that we had other options such as, I wish that we had had other outcomes that came out of Olympia.

Olympia has more work to do to help make cities whole and keep up with inflation so that we are able to provide the basic services our residents request.

At this time, this is the option for us and we need to take it.

Thank you.

Thank you for those comments.

I will just, oh, Council Member Rink.

Thank you, Council President.

I am hopping on board in the chorus of folks saying, I wish we had better options.

I'll also use this as an opportunity to say I sincerely hope that we work together with our state delegation this year in the state legislative session to get better options, but also understanding that this is what we have in this moment.

and what we're voting on authorizes this tax, but I understand the work of taking up the spend plan will be a part of budget.

And from what has been transmitted by the mayor, I understand there's a lot of new spending associated also with this.

And so while I can appreciate a number of the highlighted investments, they're all things that I certainly have championed throughout my career and with status needs, would take a moment to highlight our own structural budget challenges and thinking about budget sustainability moving forward and how we grapple with the circumstances we find ourselves in, our structural budget challenges.

And so I wanted to just add to those notes.

I hope this is the last sales tax we approve.

SINCERELY MEAN THAT AND INSTEAD WE PURSUE MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE REVENUE OPTIONS MOVING FORWARD.

BUT FOR TODAY AND CONSIDERING THE MOMENT THAT WE WERE IN, I WILL BE SUPPORTING THIS LEGISLATION.

THANK YOU.

OKAY, ONE FINAL NOTE.

THIS, THE PROPOSED spending plan that came with the bill as an attachment that the additional sales tax would be used for is entirely consistent with the resolution that was passed unanimously by council over the summer in July.

We basically said that 25% of whatever public safety sales tax revenue be directed toward recovery services, recovery based housing, stabilizing existing services.

And in fact, I will read off the expenditures in here.

$5 million for LEAD, that's the Stabilizing Existing Services bucket, $1.6 million to expand Health 99 for Post-Overdose Response Team, $1.2 million for DESC's ORCA Center's Patient Outreach Division, or POD Team, $2.9 million for Detox and Inpatient Treatment in Residential Set-Aside Beds, and $1.8 million for the Thunderbird Treatment Center.

So glad that we were able to include that as well.

So altogether, that equals about 32% of the total, which is pretty darn close to 25. I believe I do have my math correct on that.

Let's see, but my staff will tell me if not.

But the point is that it's entirely consistent with the intention that we voted on over the summer.

So recovery wins on this one.

So thank you very much.

And if there is no further comment,

Council President, thank you.

Since you read all that, I don't want to leave it unsaid that I, of course, support Thunderbird and the other uses of the tax.

I just think we should be looking at the budget and find revenue, not revenue, excuse me, money to pay for those things out of our existing budget, but not that we should be increasing a sales tax that's really, as I said earlier, a regressive tax that's going to hurt our low-income families.

So thank you.

Thank you.

I understand.

I didn't read it too.

Okay.

Yes.

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Council member Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Sullivan.

All right.

Councilmember Strauss.

All right.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez.

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle.

Aye.

Councilmember Rink.

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera.

No.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And will the clerk please read item four into the record.

The report of the Parks Public Utilities and Technology Committee.

Agenda item four, Council Bill 121051 relating to the solid waste system of Seattle Public Utilities, revising rates and charges for solid waste services, revising credits to low income customers for solid waste services.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Councilmember Hollingsworth is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

And there was a question from Councilmember Kettle.

You were saying, Councilmember Kettle, that if they could all be read together, what were you meaning?

Well, I was a council president.

Thank you.

Actually, this comes after the public safety.

I mean, the parks for the council bills, one, two, one, zero, seven, nine, 80 and 81. I was speaking about those three being done together.

Sorry, not related to parks.

Okay, please go ahead.

Sorry about that.

No worries.

Thank you, Council President.

There is always a correlation with parks and public safety.

So thank you, Council Member Kettle.

September 10th, the Parks Public Utilities and Technology Committee approved Council Bill 121050, which sets Seattle Public Utilities solid waste rates for 2026 to 2028. This ordinance would raise solid waste rates on residential and commercial customers by an average of 3.3% of those years.

Transfer station rates will be increased by 5.2% in 2026 through 2028. combined these new rates account for inflation and are also consistent with the overall average rate path of 3.1% per year for solid waste rates approved by Seattle City Council a year ago through the Seattle Public Utilities Strategic Business Plan.

I do wanna thank the committee, and different council members for engaging as well.

I know that there were some concerns and I know there were some follow-ups for different council members regarding some of these rates and then services as well in different districts.

I am confident that these measures will assure a more accurate billing for SPU and also ensure that Sorry, I can't read.

I am confident that the follow-up from SPU will also ensure accurate billing for SPU as well.

I also want to note too that I know we always, when something comes before us and we see an increase of rates, the first thing that we always talk about is affordability and that has been brought up.

I know from a number of people, Council Member Rivera and also different people on our, in our committee.

That's also something of mine that I'm very concerned about.

And just talking to SPU and talking about the thresholds for eligibility from different residents and people that we need to continue as rates are going up.

we need to continue to raise thresholds in thinking about different ways in which we can activate and get people involved in some of the relief that for some of these rates because that is one thing that we're always thinking of.

And I will take this time to also mention that 30% one-third, 30% of overall solid waste is actually food waste.

There's a strategic plan to get that down to 20% by 2030, but know that we can cure some of our food insecurity needs by redirecting food before it gets wasted and extending its life as well.

That's also a strategy that's in our food action plan.

So I wanted to take that time.

There's always a correlation with food anywhere.

All right, thank you, Council President.

Thank you very much.

Are there any comments?

Councilmember Rivera.

Thank you Council President and thank you Councilmember Hollingsworth for bringing up.

You're always so gracious.

We've had a lot of conversations about affordability.

and so you and I share that concern.

I really appreciate your leadership.

I voted no at committee, as you know, but I do appreciate and I believe you're doing everything you can to address affordability in your role as chair.

So I wanted to acknowledge that.

And then I wanna say colleagues that The affordability piece is something of concern for me, especially because I have a lot of retirees in the district, as you know, who are living on fixed income.

And every time we raised something, they are disproportionately impacted as are our low income communities.

So I will also say that included in this rate increase was a special pickup rate and to bring that program to do like a cost-sharing model.

And I thought, you know, folks, some folks to utilize this service, you have a couch that you need to get rid of, you call for a pickup, they will come, SPU will pick it up you pay for that pickup and this particular proposal also includes now the rate is increasing a certain percent so that everyone can just pick up and then they pick it up quote unquote for free.

These are the kinds of things where while I support SPU coming to pick up these items so they're properly disposed of, it's hard to continue to pass all these costs on to all the constituents across the board because a little from here and a little from there, et cetera, et cetera.

and then it all adds up and so I don't want to be cavalier about this or say I know people might say oh well it's a slight increase yes but we're increasing other things as well and in the aggregate these things have impact to our low income and also our our retirees across the city and for those reasons I voted no on this and I'm gonna vote no today but I very much appreciate as I said my colleague, council member Hollingsworth, who's done an amazing job shepherding all of this through her committee.

And again, I know how much she cares and she's always finding opportunities to find areas where we can help people.

And you've supported a lot of the things I've brought in the past.

So I do wanna recognize, I super appreciate that.

And I know you care.

So anyway, thank you colleagues.

Alright, seeing no further comments.

Okay, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Salomon?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera?

No.

Council President Nelson?

Eight in favor, one opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And will the clerk please read item five into the record?

Yes, we'll go ahead and group item five, six and seven.

Is that the case?

Okay.

So just go ahead and read those into the record.

Thank you.

Do you want to do eight as well?

Okay, thank you.

Okay, agenda items five through seven.

Agenda item five, Council Bill 121079 relating to the city's civil infraction code conforming to the Seattle Municipal Code with changes in state law and making technical corrections.

Council Bill 121080 relating to the City's Criminal Code conforming the San Misfa Code with changes in state law and making technical corrections.

And Council Bill 121081 relating to the City's Traffic Code conforming the San Misfa Code with changes in state law and making technical corrections.

The Committee recommends that these bills pass.

As Chair of the Community, Council Member Kettle, you're recognized to address them.

Thank you, council presidents.

Colleagues, Council Bill 121079, 121080, and 121081 are all related in the sense that this is three bills that will align Seattle Municipal Code with the Revised Code of Washington, basically ensure that the city and the state's laws are in sync We have routine updates to align the city code to state law.

And this is really done because we have to ensure that the city attorney's office and the Seattle Municipal Court and also the Seattle PD, that connection can basically adjudicate these laws.

Otherwise, it would be falling on the King County.

And as you know, they're focused on felonies and this would not be done.

The city, just to remind you, is responsible for all misdemeanors in the city.

And so this basically catches us up through the various bills that have been passed out of the state legislature through the 2025 legislative sessions.

And so basically what we have here is something that I also speak to on a regular basis.

We have to have a functional criminal justice system.

and to do that we have to have all these pieces working.

We have to have our city code lining with state law so then when the city, when our police department takes action and then refers to the city attorney's office that they can take their action and then obviously the Seattle Municipal Court as well.

This is again about having a functional criminal justice system through all phases and all pieces of it and this has basically been a focus for our committee, Public Safety Committee over the course of 2025. Council Bill 121079 relates to the Harbor Code that, you know, changes the designation and basically brings this up into alignment with other technical corrections.

There's a littering and faction penalty, you know, basic stuff like that so that it aligns with the $125 penalty.

080 relates to allowing the city attorney's office and the Seattle Municipal Court to work these changes in state law that relate to hazing, to firearms and weapons restrictions that restrict and regulate assault weapons, prohibit import, distribution and sale, vehicle prowling in the second degree, catalytic converter theft, something that we've been seeing in our city over the years.

Again, all these things are done so that we can properly prosecute and work these issues.

and then, again, have a functional criminal justice system.

081 relates to traffic code technical corrections, again, based on state laws.

One is to ensure, again, aligning with state law, that license plate requirements to make those covers that you see illegal.

Increase the response time to responding to a ticket from 30 days from the current 15, and also adds a negligent driving infractions in regards to vulnerable users, basically covering up a gray middle area that we have.

with our legislation, I mean, with our code as it is right now.

So again, in summary, this is about aligning Seattle Municipal Code with the revised codes of Washington, and I ask for your support for all three bills, Council Bill 121079, 121080, and 121081. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Are there any questions for any of these bills?

All right, seeing none, we'll just go ahead and we will have to vote on them separately.

So will the clerk please call the roll on item five.

Council member Saka?

Aye.

Council member Solomon?

Aye.

Council member Strauss?

Aye.

Council member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council member Juarez?

Aye.

Council member Juarez?

Aye.

Thank you.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And will the clerk please read, call the roll on item six?

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Solomon?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez.

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle.

Aye.

Councilmember Rink.

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill is passed and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

and will the clerk please read items, I mean, will the clerk please call the roll on item seven?

Council member Saka.

Council member Solomon.

Council member Strauss.

Council member Hollingsworth.

Council member Juarez.

Council member Kettle.

Council member Rink.

Council member Rivera.

Council President Nelson.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

And will the clerk please read item eight into the record?

Agenda item eight, council bill 121064, lean to the removal of removing the city residency requirement for judge pro tempore in Seattle.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

All right, council member Kettle is chair of the committee.

You're recognized in order to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, as chair of Public Safety Committee, I work with presiding Judge Crawford Willis and the Seattle Municipal Court on a regular basis and working through those issues, again with an eye of ensuring that we have a functional criminal justice system.

And then the challenge that the court is facing that's undermining the court is that there's a requirement to have residency in Seattle.

As you know, there's a lot of difficult challenges in this, in terms from affordability, all those kinds of considerations, but then there's also conflicts and the like.

This bill will waive the residency requirement and then allow for the court to bring on more pro tem judges and to basically give the flexibility that's needed in court so they can accomplish their mission.

And this is really important as they're taking on new work to include the Drug Prevention Agreement Program, things that we worked through in addition to bringing on more marshals, all with the idea of working these special programs to ensure that we move forward in our criminal justice system across the board.

to include those divergent programs, but then also the other standard elements of the court.

So again, I ask for your support on Council Bill 121064. Thank you.

Thank you for that synopsis.

Are there any comments or questions?

All right.

I'll just ask one question.

I remember there was a lot of discussion about this when it was going through Olympia this past session, right?

Yeah, we're in a unique case because of our size.

So this is kind of unique to Seattle Municipal Court.

This is not something that other elements of areas of the state are having to deal with.

So this basically, in a way, aligns us with the rest of the state as well.

I just remember it being part of our legislative agenda and why it was necessary.

Okay.

So will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Salomon?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

All right.

There were no items removed from the consent calendar and there is not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

Is there further business to come before the council?

Council President, I would like to other business.

And this relates to public safety.

It also relates to what is happening with our federal government.

And we do not have our standard meetings.

We do not have our public safety committee meetings.

So I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to an issue.

And I think it's really important because it's what we've been seeing in Portland.

and other places around Chicago and other locations around the country.

We have to have this baseline in facts.

We have to have this baseline in reality.

Recently, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that the network of Antifa is just as sophisticated as MS-13, TDA, as ISIS, as Hezbollah, as Hamas, as all of them.

and ISIS being, by the way, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which predated, or Daesh in the Arab world, or the Islamic State in Iraq and before that Al-Qaeda in Iraq with Abu Musab al-Zaqawi, and I bring them up for a reason.

But you know, the idea of Antifa is something that is really a term of art that the right has jumped on, but in reality, There are black-clad protesters that we've seen in the city.

The mayor recently mentioned Black Bloc.

And we've had these protesters in chambers.

I've seen them.

I've seen them in chambers and locations.

So I have a sense of what they are.

We've seen them in different protests and the like.

But I just wanted to say that to compare this group with ISIS and Hezbollah and Hamas is absurd.

As I noted, ISIS and ISI and AQI and going back to Abu Masab Azakawi, You can't compare the two.

I would note that al-Zaqawi was behind an 8 November 2004 attack on the President's special advisor in Iraqi WND and the leader of my unit in Iraq, the Iraq Survey Group.

The attack on the 8th of November that year killed two within the personnel, personal security detail, two people that I knew.

And their actions, to save the lives of that President's Special Advisor.

And that was the vehicle that I used to be in, a vehicle that was totaled in the attack.

So the comparisons from the DHS Secretary are absurd and hyperbole.

We need to get back to being where we need to be in terms of addressing the issues that are before us.

We also need to get to a place where our protests are done in the manner of our namesake, Martin Luther King.

And this is something that most protesters do, and I want to thank them.

I think it's important to protest, but I think doing so in the manner of our namesake as a county, Martin Luther King, is important.

And so I ask that all do so.

to include those that, you know, the mayor said, black bloc, or as I say, black clad protestors, that we all do so to show that even further, out of touch, our DHS secretaries with our hyperbolic assertions that what we have in Portland or Chicago is somehow equated to ISIS, Hezbollah, and Hamas.

and it's absurd and as I noted in my example, extremely absurd.

So thank you colleagues for taking, for me, allowing me to have this opportunity to speak to this issue because it's really important that we are all based on what is reality and so we can face the challenges that we face together.

Thank you.

Thank you for those comments.

Is that a new hint?

Okay, go ahead.

Thank you, Councilmember Kettle for your remarks.

I really appreciate always your leadership as Chair of Public Safety.

Separately, I did want to say because we haven't had an opportunity to do a full council meeting because we're in the middle of the budget process is that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This is a really important time for recognition and also to remind folks how important it is to women get your mammograms.

it saves lives so I didn't want the month to end without the recognizing the month as breast cancer awareness month and reminding folks if you are eligible go get your mammogram it really does save lives so thank you.

That's why I'm wearing my pink ribbon.

Thank you very much and I will say in memory of my mother thank you.

All right, not seeing any further business.

This hearing the further business will now move into an executive session.

All right, as presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle City Council will convene into an executive session, the purpose of which is to discuss pending potential or actual litigation.

The council's executive session is an opportunity for the council to discuss confidential legal matters with city attorneys as authorized by law.

A legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to ensure the council receives questions of policy, uh, reserves questions of policy for open session.

I expect the time of the executive session to end by 515. All right, 515. If the executive session is to be extended beyond that time, I will announce the extension and the expected duration.

at the conclusion of this executive session, this council meeting will automatically adjourn and the next regularly scheduled meeting of October 21st will be canceled due to ongoing budget deliberations and the city council will meet again on October 28th, 2025 at 2 p.m.

The council is now in executive session.

Council members, please log on to the executive session Zoom meeting.

This is a very good one.