Seattle City Council Special Meeting 9222020

Good afternoon, colleagues.

It's September 22nd, 2020. Special meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 3.06 PM.

I'm Lorena Gonzalez, President of the Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Lewis?

Lewis?

Present.

Morales?

Here.

Mosqueda?

Here.

Peterson?

Here.

Sawant.

Here.

Strauss.

Present.

Herbold.

Here.

Juarez.

Here.

Council President Gonzalez.

Here.

Niner present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

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

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the city council agenda and the council's 2020 work program.

I appreciate everyone's ongoing patience as we continue to use this remote system and navigate through all that is required to make the remote public comment period possible and smooth.

We are always looking for ways to fine tune our remote process and adding new features that allow for additional means of public participation in our council meetings.

It does remain our strong intent to have public comment regularly included on meeting agendas.

However, the city council reserves the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that this system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and in a manner in which we are able to conduct our necessary business.

I will moderate today's public comment period in the following manner.

The public comment period for this meeting will be a total of 90 minutes today.

For the first 60 minutes, each speaker will have one minute to provide public comment.

For the last 30 minutes, each speaker signed up will have 45 seconds to speak.

I will call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If you've not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can sign up before the end of public comment by going to the council's website at seattle.gov forward slash council.

The public comment link is also listed on today's published agenda.

Once I call a speaker's name, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and an automatic prompt if you have been unmuted will be the speaker's cue that it is their turn to speak and the speaker must press star six to begin speaking.

Please begin speaking by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

As a reminder, public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda or the council's 2020 work program.

Speakers will hear at about 10 seconds a chime.

That chime means that you have exactly 10 seconds to wrap up your public comment.

If you do not end your comments within that allotted time period your speaker will be automatically muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Once you've completed your public comment we ask that you please disconnect from the line.

And if you plan to continue following this meeting we'd ask that you do so via Seattle Channel or the listening options listed on the agenda.

I'm now going to go ahead and open up the public comment period and begin the process of calling folks on the list.

It is approximately 3.10 p.m., so we will go at one minute per speaker until 4.10 p.m., at which time we will then switch to a 45-second allotted time on the timer and go for an additional 30 minutes before we consider the items on today's agenda.

Okay.

The first speaker on the list is Evelyn Chow, followed by Madison Howie.

Hi, my name is Evelyn Chow, and I'm calling on behalf of Real Change today to tell council members Lisa Herbold, Dan Strauss, and especially Andrew Lewis to override the mayor's veto of council bills 119, 825, 862, and 863. The demands of decriminalized Seattle and King County Equity Now, which represents tens of thousands of your constituents, are still to defund the police by at least 50 percent and use that money to invest in black and brown communities.

This includes dismantling the navigation team, which gets millions of dollars a year to bully homeless people and treat them in degrading and dehumanizing ways.

You took small initial steps, but now when it matters the most, you are giving into mayoral pressure, and the people are all watching.

We need you to stand with Black Lives, not with Jenny Durkan.

If you do not vote to override the mayor's veto, you're standing with the mayor in perpetuating the injustices that play politics with Black Lives.

Hold the line and override.

Do not go back on your word, and please reject the so-called compromise bill.

Thank you.

Next up is Madison, followed by Brian Clark.

Hi, my name is Madison Lynn Hockey, and I am a renter in District 7. If council truly believes that Black Lives Matter, they need to prove it by overriding the mayor's veto.

Through the Seattle process, we have seen the promise of 50% cut to SPD whittled down to 2%, and now a compromised 0.2%.

Everyday BIPOC organizers and their allies are risking their safety out there fighting for the divestment of policing and investment in the Black community.

Louis, this is specifically to you.

My partner and I have talked to you many times.

over the course of time, including but not limited to the treatment of EDM and what happened to TK and Tati, as well as what has happened to myself where I was arrested trying to protect the houseless community and protesters from, well, not the navigation team, from SPD.

and arrested, as well as at the Labor Day rally, suffering a life threatening situation due to indiscriminate use of force.

Lewis, do not turn your back on us.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

The next speaker is Brian Clark, followed by Rebecca Finks.

Hi, my name is Brian Clark, and I'm a homeowner in District 6. I'm calling on you today to hold the line and override the mayor's veto to the rebalance 2020 budget.

This is a vital first step in divesting from SPD by at least 50% with crucial investments in Black and Indigenous communities.

This legislation was passed by a veto-proof majority of this council, and I'm asking you to hold that line despite the mayor's obstructionist and racist attempts to reshape it.

Jerkin's pro-cop proposal guts the advances made as a result of the uprising this summer in defense of Black lives.

It dishonors the Black lives lost to police violence, including here in Seattle.

The so-called compromise also dishonors our houseless neighbors who are disproportionately people of color and are being violently harassed by the navigation team who destroyed their belongings with disregard.

Specifically, to my council member Strauss, as well as Lewis and Peterson, the white men on this council, please do not be the roadblock here for our black and indigenous community.

Strauss has committed to defunding SPD and has said he's following the lead of BIPOC community organizations.

If you don't vote to override this veto, you are failing to uphold your commitments.

Whose side are you on?

Thank you.

Okay next up is Rebecca Finkes followed by Joanna Bitton.

Hello council members.

I am Becca Finkes.

I ask that each of you vote to override the mayor's veto and uphold the previous vote to defund SPD and the navigation team.

I hope that we can rely on you to lead us to a better future by divesting from the existing system that perpetuates trauma racism police brutality and death and rather invest in community.

We voted you in because we believed in you.

So please don't let us down.

And please follow through with the sentiment that Black Lives Matter.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in.

Next up is Joanna Bitton followed by Peter Shilato.

Hello my name is Joanna and I'm from District 7. I'm calling on all council members to override the mayor's shameful anti-Black veto on the proposed budget.

The initially proposed defunding was already an insult to Seattleites But the compromise package is outright appalling.

By favoring the compromise package over the initial one you are publicly stating to your constituents that you do not think that Black Lives Matter and that you do not care for Seattle's growing houseless community.

Andrew Lewis I'm calling you out.

As my council member I am asking you to stand on the right side of history and choose to override the veto.

If you decide not to ask yourself why.

Your partner is a lawyer for the East Precinct which is a blatant conflict of interest.

Reflect on whether your vote is based on your constituents or your girlfriend.

Stand on the right side of history.

If Black Lives Matter prove it.

I yield my time.

Next up is Peter Shelito followed by Joe Kunzler.

Hello this is Peter Shelito.

I live in District 4. I encourage you all, and especially my representative, Alex Peterson, to override the mayor's veto of the 2020 budget amendments.

I want to see $14 million spent on scaling up existing organizations that effectively address gun violence in Seattle.

I want to see $3 million spent on community-led research into public safety solutions.

And most of all, I want to see the violent Seattle police force reduced in size.

They have shown in numerous ways an inability to reform.

For example, Seattle Times reported that Officer Ron Willis was paid for more than 24 hours of work in a single day on six separate occasions last year.

Sounds like a pretty dysfunctional department to me.

There is probable overtime fraud going on in plain sight, and you're all obligated to rectify the situation through your power of the budget.

Defund SPD, override the veto.

Thank you, I yield my time.

Okay, next up is Joe Kunstler followed by Hayden Bass.

Well, thank you, Council President Gonzalez.

You are, without a doubt, one of the greatest parliamentarians of our time.

Clearly, I'm trying to play the bingo here.

I mean, I really appreciate you working to get a compromise with Mayor Durkan on the crisis that's going on.

I have to say that, you know, I think having the Seattle Police do a great job, and I really hope that instead of being deployed to go after protesters who simply want more investment in their communities and need progressive tax options to do that.

Maybe it's time we sent the cops to go after all those evildoers, mostly white like me, who are not wearing a mask in public and spreading COVID.

They deserve the mace and the tear gas and the flashbangs, not people who stand out there in the street.

So I don't, and with that, I want to, I support Council President Gonzalez's compromise And I hope we will get on with fighting COVID.

Thank you so much Council President.

You're awesome.

Next up is Hayden Bass followed by Matthew Lang.

Good afternoon.

My name is Hayden Bass and I'm a District 2 resident.

I'm asking you to override the mayor's veto and defund SPD.

I'm a library manager speaking not as a representative of any library but from 15 years of experience working in a public space.

When a patron has a crisis in the library the only real option staff have is to call the police.

This endangers patrons in crisis and brings them into a system of punishment and incarceration.

It's also wasteful for taxpayers to pay for an expensive police response that never addresses root problems or offers lasting solutions.

To serve patrons in crisis I need community-based solutions that actually work.

Instead of continuing to overfund police put funds where they belong in Black and Indigenous communities.

Override the mayor's veto, defund SPD by 50% at least.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Next up is Matthew Lang followed by Emily Merrill.

Is Matthew Lang with us?

Yes.

Affirmative.

Okay, Matthew, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Can you hear me now?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

All right.

Hi, my name is Matthew Lang, and I'm coming here as lead organizer of the Transit Writers Union and the Climate Justice Chair at Standing Against Foreclosures and Evictions.

I'm proud of the majority of council for passing a budget that was a start at the real building that must be done to bring economic investment to the communities that need it the most in black community and by improving the lives of our unhoused neighbors by defunding the harmful institution of SPD.

That this is not the time to back down.

This is a time to press forward and for us all to collectively voice that we will not allow systems of white supremacy stand in Seattle which stands on stolen Duwamish and Coast Salish land.

I am especially today being on white council members to stand as accomplices to black and indigenous people of color.

That means actions, not words.

I ask for you all to override this veto.

Thank you.

Next up is Emily Merrill, followed by Paul Chapman.

Hi, my name is Emily Merrill, and I'm a district-side voter.

I'm calling on you to override the mayor's veto.

It seems patently absurd that when the voters of Paul, or when massive protests have been in favor of 50% defunding of the police, that after massive amounts of police violence are done to those protesters, and after repeatedly black protesters have been singled out by the police department, but is being criticized for being racist, that this council would back down from cuts that were less than 10% of the original Paul black protest.

It seems to me to be frankly undemocratic to pass the compromise measure.

I am therefore asking you to override this veto and to stand with such simple notions as the right to protest, because the other alternative is that the kind of police violence we have seen particularly targeted against black professors becomes rewarded by this council in the form of additional funding.

Thank you.

I yield the rest of my time.

Next up is Paul Chapman, followed by Allison Isinger.

Hi, I'm Paul Chapman.

I'm addressing the budget vote.

I'd like to address the three council members who, like me, are white men and who, like me, are determined to be allies with our BIPOC friends and neighbors.

This is a career-defining vote.

Will you define your political career by allyship and justice for our black friends and neighbors who have been abused for far too long?

Will you define your career by capitulation to white moderates who are more devoted to law and order than to justice, who prefer the absence of tension to the presence of true peace?

We cannot wait for a more convenient season.

There is no more convenient season to do the right thing.

Please override the mayor's cynical veto.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Allison, followed by Brittany Belay.

Hello.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you, Allison.

Go ahead.

Thank you so much.

Council members, my name is Allison Isengard, director of the Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness.

We stand with the community members and organizers who urgently and earnestly call on you.

to make real and drastic changes in our city's budget by shifting money from over-policing into effective but underfunded programs and by funding new approaches to meeting our community's urgent needs.

I call on you as a full council to overturn Mayor Durkin's veto and to set course for our community to challenge the systemic causes of homelessness and to advocate for a more just budget.

The 2020 budget balancing package vetoed by the mayor was imperfect, as would be any legislation considered under these extremely charged times and at a breakneck speed that was not the council's choice.

But to strip out the important principles and provisions council members included in the legislation effectively attempts to stop the conversation thousands of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and their allies have lifted up.

Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are wildly disproportionately made homeless under current institutions and systems.

don't use homeless people or the failed experiment of the navigation.

Thank you for calling in.

Next up is Brittany followed by Lynn Judge.

Brittany, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Okay, Brittany, we still can't hear you.

So if you can hit star six one more time.

Nope, one more time.

I can see that you're on the line, but you are muted.

There we go.

Looks like your line is unmuted.

All right.

We are still unable to hear Brittany.

OK, we're going to move to the next speaker and come back to Brittany and see if we can get the technology issues resolved.

Brittany, can you try one more time?

OK.

Let's go ahead and hear from Lynn Judge, followed by Jackson Pish.

Hi, my name is Lynn Judge, and I'm here standing outside of Councilmember Lewis's house with a group of his constituents.

I'm calling on all of you, Councilmembers Lewis, Strauss, Herbold, and Peterson, to maintain your vote to defund SPD and vote to override Mayor Durkin's veto.

If Black Lives Matter, then you need to prove it.

Don't backslide, override.

Don't backslide, override.

Don't backslide, override.

Don't backslide, override.

And the next speaker is Jackson, followed by Aaron Goodman.

Hi, my name is Jackson Peach.

I'm a renter in District 4. I'm calling on the council and especially my council member Alex Peterson to uphold your commitments to organizers and groups like King County Equity Now and Decriminalize Seattle and override Mayor Durkin's veto of the 2020 budget rebalancing package.

These gains are tiny, not even 2% trimmed from an SPD budget that's grown hugely bloated in recent years and only $17 million to invest in community-led organizations, which is far less than is needed.

but they're still important.

And the so-called compromise bill that's been proposed sets them back to almost nothing.

It keeps funds away from organizations that promote actual public safety, interrupting violence and saving lives instead of bringing in the SPD for a violent response.

Council Member Peterson, we've heard you claim over and over that Black Lives Matter, but we've much more than that seen you fail to deliver on that idea.

This is your chance to really show us that you mean it and take a small, easy step in the right direction.

Thank you, and I yield my time.

The next speaker is Erin Goodman, and then we're going to try Brittany Bollé one more time.

Good afternoon.

Erin Goodman, the Executive Director for the Soto Business Improvement Area.

I'm here today in support of the over 500 signers of the Seattle Small Business Pledge to urge council to consider and support the public safety needs of small businesses when considering the issues that are before you today.

Maintaining public safety and reimagining policing are not mutually exclusive.

But while we undertake this important work, we must commit to keeping our city and our neighborhood district safe for all.

Small businesses are essential for economic opportunity, mobility, and for recovery.

They are the very backbone and community fabric of Seattle, and today they are struggling.

In addition to being disproportionately impacted by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses, their employees, vendors, and customers currently face unprecedented public safety issues in their neighborhoods.

Okay, let's try Brittany Bollet one more time and then Shannon Cheng.

Hello.

Is it working now?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Yay!

Hi, thank you, Council.

My name is Brittany Bush-Bolay.

I'm a resident of District 7, and I'm calling this afternoon asking you to override the veto.

I am calling because for one brief moment, my friends in my city have seen hope.

They have seen hope that their voices are finally being heard.

You've seen hope that we were on the precipice of real change.

And I understand the challenges that you face from a hospital executive, but we need you and we are asking you with all of our hearts to be strong enough to keep that hope alive and to make the vote today to override the veto and move towards true community and public safety for all.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Shannon Chang, followed by Tilshawn Turner.

Hi, my name is Shannon Chang.

I am a District 7 constituent and part of a grassroots people power group focused on police accountability.

I ask that city council and especially council member Lewis vote today to override the mayor's veto of the rebalance 2020 budget you toiled over this summer.

Community has stepped up in many ways to make our voice heard.

And this budget is a small step toward letting us know where your values are.

This budget represents not just the police budget, but a city budget.

Money that is retained for SPD is being taken from other city departments or services that are also important.

We've heard all of our elected officials talk about their drive to reimagine the police.

The mayor's veto showed us she is not thinking big or listening to community.

City Council, today it is your chance to vote and show us where you really stand.

I hope to see you all take a strong stand and override this veto.

Thank you.

Next is Tealshawn Turner followed by Danny Livne.

Are you guys, hi it's Tealshawn Turner or TK.

Are you guys tired of hearing from me yet?

Cause I'm sure tired of calling y'all.

I'm sure tired of talking to y'all.

I hope you're just as tired as me as I am with you guys.

So let's stop being tired of each other and let's just do what we came here to do.

Because at the end of the day, what are we really here for?

To serve the public and to make sure that black and brown and indigenous communities have the same opportunities as these upper-class white neighborhoods that Mr. Peterson lives in.

To be exact.

You feel what I'm saying?

So like, why would you guys even think to even be okay with a compromise proposal from the mayor.

Like she ain't been against us this whole time.

Like she ain't been the one, literally the puppet pulling the strings for them this whole time.

Her and Spock.

Why are we even still entertaining the idea of giving the mayor what she wants?

Let's give the people what they want to defund SPD.

How about that?

Give the people what they want.

Your constituents give them what they want.

Give us what we want.

Who cares what the mayor wants?

What the mayor wants ain't important.

It's what we want, what the people want.

Serve the people.

If Black Lives Matter, prove it and serve.

Next is Dani, followed by Christina Nylander.

Hi, my name is Dani Lizney, and I'm calling to express my support for overriding Mayor Durkin's veto in regards to defunding the Seattle Police Department.

I would like to ask you all, in the absence of any sort of meaningful changes, what do you expect is going to happen?

For the past 100 plus days, the Seattle Police Department has made very clear they do not have any semblance of understanding of what it means to de-escalate, a reality that black folks have been hyper aware for a long time.

I had to shelter people in my apartment who were coughing up blood from tear gas.

I heard them lie over police banners about armed Proud Boys in what I can only guess was an attempt to incite fear.

I've heard them mock us, call us cockroaches.

They don't kill them, but hit them hard.

We know what happens in the absence of defunding.

Should you fail to override this veto, you are telling us that you have decided our current reality where black communities disproportionately suffer is permissible.

So what do you expect?

Are we to just sit in our homes and say, okay, or do we go to the streets and literally risk our lives?

Which let's be clear, that is what we are doing.

What do you expect from us?

What can we do if you fail us here today to do the bare minimum to let us know you're here?

Thank you and please follow the lead of the amazing black organizers and do what's right.

Next is Christina followed by Dusty Baker.

Hi, this is Christina Nylander with the Working Families Party and I'm here to ask you to overturn Mayor Durkin's veto.

The budget cuts to SPD are already far too small and this compromise is an insult.

Please consider how many black and brown working class people have been working full-time or more, supporting their families, staying politically organized during a global pandemic to build the political will to make this happen, and organizing mutual aid to fill gaps where the city could not meet the needs of the community.

If not now, when?

How much more labor from working class black and brown people is it going to take to make you realize that a vote to uphold this veto is a vote to uphold white supremacy in our city?

Please do the right thing today and overturn the veto, especially you, Council Member Lewis.

Even if you don't have a lot of working class people in your district, doesn't mean that your decisions don't directly affect thousands in the city.

Please act as if you represent all of us, because with your vote right now, you do.

Thank you.

Next is Dusty Baker, followed by Paige Spicer.

Hi, I'm calling to remind all of you that you have an obligation to your constituents to override the mayor's veto.

Seattleites have not been in the streets for the last 115 days straight, facing brutal violence and repression from our own police force just for you to turn face and completely capitulate to whatever our soon-to-be recalled mayor wants.

The only commitment she has shown has been to allow SPD to run amok and terrorize the public using whatever means they want.

Andrew, Lisa and Dan, you will be primaried if you do not stand up for what's right today.

50% was the compromise.

Durkin's plan is the opposite.

It gets a bigger percentage of the budget to SPD than we did before.

Vote to override this insult of a veto.

Defund SPD if you're not going to abolish it.

Please just end the violence.

Thank you.

Next up is Paige Spicer followed by Carly Gray.

My name is Paige calling in from D6, demanding the entire council hold the line and override Mayor Durkin's veto.

You, an entirely non-Black council, failed to defund SPD 50%.

Do not fail us by letting this racist veto stand.

Your constituents have been protesting in the streets every day, multiple times a day, for 118 days.

Not only have our demands for investing in Black and Indigenous lives been ignored, but the people protesting police brutality are being brutalized by SPD over and over again, causing life-threatening and lethal injuries.

Their sweeps are violently displacing our houseless neighbors during a global pandemic.

Overriding this veto will save lives today.

We cannot wait to allocate these funds.

Please, especially you, Andrew Lewis, vote to override today and reject this insulting compromise bill.

And Andrew, I hope you're listening and not playing video games right now.

I yield my time.

Next up is Carly Gray, followed by Dawn Blakeney.

Hi, thank you for hearing public comments today.

My name is Carly Gray.

I'm a renter in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood in Andrew Lewis's District 7. a member of UAW 4121, and a member of Sunrise Movement Seattle.

I'm speaking today to uplift the demands of King County Equity Now and decriminalize Seattle to override Mayor Durkin's veto.

Council Member Lewis, I was one of the constituents outside of your apartment building last night when you waffled and wavered about how you would vote today.

Your constituents in the community you claim to serve have spoken.

We're asking you to override this veto.

The compromises have gone far enough.

We need to pay BIPOC community leaders for their work and begin defunding SPD by at least 50%.

The council needs to respond firmly to the mayor's anti-black proposal by voting to override her veto and invest in real community-led health and public safety solutions.

Andrew Lewis, it's really not that complicated.

You work for your constituents, not the mayor.

Listen to your constituents and BIPOC community leaders and override the veto.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Okay, next up is Dawn Blakeney followed by Rob Leslie.

Don, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

OK, can you hear me now?

OK, we can hear you.

Go ahead.

All right.

Thanks.

Hi, I'm Don Blake and I'm with the downtown Seattle Association.

And I'm here this afternoon to ask you to both sustain the mayor's 2020 budget veto and to come to the table and work with the mayor and the community to boldly imagine reimagine public safety and policing in Seattle.

Our city is at a critical juncture and as a city we face some of the toughest challenges in the nearly 100 years that we've ever faced.

From the continued health risks of this pandemic to the devastating impacts to our economy, to the safety issues that are unfolding in our parks and public spaces, to the harsh reality of systemic racism that must be addressed.

We need our leaders to work together and we need to build broad consensus on public safety strategies and outcomes to restore the public's confidence.

The council's process this summer was rushed and broke the public's trust in every corner of our city, from people who thought you moved too quickly without a plan to people who thought you broke your promises by not doing enough.

Your decisions today will continue to set the tone for the year ahead, impacting our ability to advance meaningful public safety and police reforms.

I urge you to come back to the table with the mayor and to sustain her veto.

Thank you.

Next up is Rob Leslie, followed by Sarah Bixler.

Good afternoon.

My name is Rob Leslie and I'm the Director of Partnership and Visit Seattle.

I'm a resident in District 6 and speaking in support in support of sustaining the mayor's veto.

I'm speaking today on behalf of Seattle's travel and tourism industry which in 2019 provided $8.1 billion in economic impact to Seattle and King County.

Over 80,000 jobs relied directly on travel and tourism.

And last year our region welcomed 42 million visitors with 22 million staying overnight.

Our industry has been decimated by the impact of COVID-19, and our road to recovery requires a safe, welcoming, and vibrant city for visitors and locals.

Unfortunately, we're seeing hundreds of small businesses shutter this year, and many more are struggling.

Small businesses create the fabric of our neighborhoods, and we want them to come back stronger than ever.

The city council should listen and collaborate with our neighborhood small businesses on budget and safety priorities.

Please sustain the mayor's veto and sign the small business pledge.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Sarah Bixler followed by Devin Crowley.

Hi, my name is Sarah Bixler.

I'm a citizen of District 4. I'm asking you to override the mayor's veto and to defund the SPD now instead of later.

We pride ourselves on being a progressive city, but we can't say that when we back down from making truly progressive steps and changes.

The status quo is not working for the whole population and pausing will not lead to change.

Divest from the navigation team and stop homeless sweeps.

Stop sending police with guns to wellness checks.

Make a difference in the lives of the whole Seattle community not just those who are comfortable with the way things are.

Be the example that we're all looking for.

And also just think about how much that guy in the White House will hate it.

That's the end of my time.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Next up is Devin, followed by Laurel Schendelmayer.

Hi, my name is Devin Crowley.

I'm a District 1 resident.

I'm in favor of defunding the police, and I call on every one of you to vote to override Dirk's veto of this weak compromise to rebalance the 2020 budget.

$3.5 million added to social programs and no reduction to the police budget of more than $400 million, already a third of the entire city budget.

That's pathetic.

You are our city accountability.

We all know how checks and balances have failed miserably within the present federal administration.

Do not be a microcosm of that same failure.

Stand up to Mayor Durkan or your position as a check on her power means nothing.

Others have made many pressing points on the basis of the police force's moral depravity and corruption, but this is the argument that I find most compelling.

The police are inappropriately tasked with a multitude of responsibilities that should be outside their purview.

responding to domestic disturbances, drug possession, transit fare evasion, dealing with homelessness, really all manner of circumstance involving people who are not armed and dangerous.

It is only sensible that the resources that go to the police to crudely handle all these ill-assigned responsibilities should be allocated to community-led solutions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next is Laurel, followed by Gabriel Pelley.

Hello, my name is Laurel Schannelmeyer and I'm a resident of Greenwood in District 6. Council members, you already voted to approve the rebalance 2020 budget that divested modestly from the police department budget and pushed for greater community investment.

I'm asking you to override the mayor's veto and stand with the legislation you already passed.

The mayor's so-called compromise flies in the face of everything the Black Lives Matter movement has pushed for this summer.

If you believe in your original plan when you passed it, stand up for it now.

Move Seattle in the direction you promised you would work toward.

Override the veto.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Gabriel followed by Teresa Homan.

My name is Gabe Pelley.

I'm a renter in District 4 and a member of Socialist Alternative.

Today's vote should be open and shut.

Seven of nine council members committed to defunding SPD by 50 percent.

Seven of nine council members can overturn Durkin's veto.

Vote will they.

However good their intentions, politicians without a movement or organization to hold them accountable, blow with the wind.

So council members, you have a choice side with the multiracial working class movement for racial justice or the capitalist state that enforces racialized violence.

True solidarity requires you stand up to the mayor and her quote unquote troops.

Instead, the democratic establishment has put forward a new 2020 2020 budget and all important compromise budget with the mayor.

Let's be clear.

The only thing the budget compromises is our movement, our demands and our community taking photo ops at the Capitol Hill protest one day, and then voting against cuts to SPD.

The next is co-opting the movement, plain and simple.

Defunding SPD by 50% and investing in community or any other demand is not one through good intentions, but by building a movement that can overcome the strength of the political establishment and the billionaires.

Today, we see who that is.

Next is Teresa, followed by Madison Silva.

Hi.

Hello.

Council members, we urge you to vote to override the mayor's veto today and redirect NAV team funding to REACH and other local service providers, such as the Chief Seattle Club, the Seattle Indian Center, Urban League, and others, who have longstanding relationships with individuals in the unsheltered communities they serve.

We thank you for being so supportive of the tiny house villages.

Our villages are the best form of shelter in normal times, but especially during the pandemic.

No resident of any of our villages tested positive for COVID-19.

Tiny house villages protect our residents by providing non-congregate separate four-walled spaces where they are not sharing air or space with others.

We are in urgent need of more and encourage you to spend the money that way.

I cede my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Madison Silva followed by Seth Cohen.

In July at the beginning of the current movement for Black Lives, seven out of the nine council members pledged to defund SPD by 50 percent at least.

Today is your opportunity to do the bare minimum and begin the process of realizing the defunding SPD vision.

As a reminder because it seems some of you have forgotten this is an urgent matter.

While Mayor Dorgan tied the council up in this veto override our unhoused neighbors slept in the streets during almost two weeks of dangerous air quality in addition to the COVID risk they face.

This money needs to be reallocated and we need it now.

I'm a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a group of us are currently outside Council Member Lewis's apartment.

We expect him to vote to override the veto.

And this is just the beginning of what we will expect him and the rest of the council to do to follow through on their pledge to defund SBD.

If Black Lives Matter, we yield our time.

Next is Seth, followed by Quan Wah Lu.

Seth, can you hear me?

Yep, we can hear you.

Yes, hi.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Seth Cohen, and I reside in District 6. Last week, I had the opportunity to have a one-on-one meeting with Councilmember Strauss about the topics being discussed here.

I've taken time out of my workday today to address the Council on this matter.

With regards to sworn officer cuts specifically, it seems fairly obvious that such short-term cuts will not give SPD enough time to bypass SPOG contractual layoff requirements, and that newer and more diverse officers will be laid off first.

Therefore, the Council's goal of pandering to the bulk majority of the city will spectacularly backfire.

Do not mistake me.

I wholeheartedly agree that the SPD needs a complete overhaul.

But in order not to reduce already horrible police response time, as I pressed upon CM Strauss, the defund the police card cannot come before the community services horse.

Therefore, I press upon the council to sustain the mayor's veto and adopt Council Bill 119900 as proposed today.

I yield the rest of my time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Kwan Wah, followed by Nate Wieland.

If you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

I'm unmuted.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Okay.

My name is Kwan Wellery.

I live in Pine Hill Square, which is District 7, and I'm demanding you guys, the City Council, to stand up for the people, not just with words, but action by overriding the veto package initiated by Jenny Durkin.

package is an insult to Seattle life.

It does not address any of the violence that was caused by the Seattle police for the last 115 days.

Jenny Durkan has continuously showed that she is a liar.

She is a very bad person and she should be recalled out of the office.

And you guys have a chance to stand up with the right side of history by siding with the people that are wanting less police violence and more human services.

The police needs to be defunded and they have been targeting car brigades, drivers, doxxing their place and arresting them, the ferry people who are protesting.

So I demand you guys stay on the right side and have a good day.

Bye.

Thank you.

Next is Nate followed by Cinda Stenger.

Hi, my name is Nate Wieland.

I live on Queen Anne.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Oh, sorry.

I live on Queen Anne.

I'm part of a Christian community called The Well, which is connected to Queen Anne United Methodist Church.

I want to address particularly my council member, Andrew Lewis.

Much of what I've been hearing so far is that you're back and forth on whether to override Jenny Durkin's veto of the proposed cuts to the SPD.

And I think I just want to name, as other people have so far, the absurdity of that.

And it's the absurdity of deciding that a wealthy white woman can better reimagine what public safety looks like in black and brown communities than those who are on the ground, in the community, and are most impacted by police violence.

To go with Mayor Durkin is to make an anti-black decision.

It is anti-black creativity, anti-black ingenuity, and anti-Black capability to care well for our communities.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Cynda, followed by Thomas Campbell.

Hello, I'm Cynda Stanger from the Great Island District 1 and serve on the CAC for Camp Second Chance.

I'm urging you to override Mayor Durkin-Cito.

You are all highly skilled professionals working your tails off on your plan.

You got this.

You know the path forward for shifting funding away from SPD and the NAV team to reach other local service providers like Chief Seattle Club, Seattle Indian Center, Urban League, and others who have longstanding relationships with individuals in unsheltered communities.

Direct more funding to tiny house villages.

These villages are the best form of shelter in normal times and during this pandemic.

The villages have very high rates of exit to long-term housing.

There is more land available for villages and community partners and faith organizations interested in hosting.

We are in urgent need of more villages.

More homeless are coming with evictions and climate change.

Please override the veto and shape a new vision for our future.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Thomas Campbell followed by Lily Gu.

Thank you for this time.

I'm Thomas Campbell and today I'm adding my voice to the many others calling on the city council to exercise democratic oversight over the Seattle Police Department.

I strongly believe that each human life is uniquely and infinitely valuable.

I hope to live in a city where government policies reflect this.

What what would it mean if our city government was unable to meaningfully address police who have for too long abused their power.

Who else could.

For the sake of the families of those killed by police and to preserve a sense of trust in the city government, I urge the council today to override the mayor's veto and work to reinvest at least half of the SPD budget towards the things our Black, Indigenous, and unhoused community members need.

I owe my time.

Next is Lily, followed by James Winiford.

Hello, Council.

My name is Lily Gu, and I have stood before you once before to accept a city proclamation and ask you to direct resources towards those who most need them in our community.

I am asking you to do the same today in what will go down as one of the most important votes of your careers.

I'm specifically asking you to stand by your promises and use your votes to protect Black lives, to override the mayor's veto of an investment in Black-led public safety research.

Black and indigenous people in our communities have been grossly harmed by a public safety system that doesn't protect them for far too long.

There is no other way to rationalize this.

The constituents of every race and every district are begging you.

Please do the right thing.

Thank you, Black Lives Matter.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is James, followed by Afomya Assefa.

Hi my name is James Winiford a constituent of District 3 and a constituent of Seattle as a whole.

Your duty is to serve your constituents.

You listen to us.

You do not serve and represent the mayor.

That is why we elected you.

I demand you listen to those who have called emailed and have marched directly to your house with the demands of defunding SPD.

Three million is a joke of a start but we will take some more than nothing.

Be the change for Black people.

Be the change for Brown people.

Be the change for Indigenous lives.

Override the vote.

Stop abiding next to Jenny Durkan and her agenda.

The agenda is of the people and you need to serve us.

Thank you to Gonzales and Mosqueda for taking responsibility and accountability for the harm that you have caused.

Special thanks to Sawant for the long fight.

Juarez, Peterson, Straus, Herbold, especially you, Lewis, do better.

We are watching your actions and holding you accountable.

Represent your district and your city.

Override the veto.

Summer Taylor did not die for this to happen.

I yield my time.

Next up is Maya Garfinkel followed by Kate Simpson.

Hi this is Maya Garfinkel with B Seattle and I'm voicing my support of defunding the navigation team and investing that money in trusted community partners as well as overriding the veto and then fighting to defund SVD by at least 50 percent more.

The navigation team has a long history of harassing and criminalizing those experiencing homelessness Instead of focusing on addressing root causes of housing insecurity, the navigation team prioritizes the concerns of property owners.

Instead of focusing on what community safety and care should be, the navigation team sweeps encampments, destroys people's belongings, and contributes further to displacement.

Defund SBD, defund the navigation team, and invest in community.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Kate Simpson followed by Patricia Allen-Dick.

My name is Kate Simpson and I live in Capitol Hill.

I'm calling in today to urge the council to vote to overturn the mayor's veto.

Although the proposed budget falls short of what protesters across the city have been protesting for, namely defunding SPD by 50%, it is better than the so-called compromise bill.

If you do not vote to overturn the mayor's veto, it will be seen as nothing less than betrayal of BIPOC communities and Black Lives Matter movement.

I urge you to reject the compromise bill, overturn the mayor's veto and defund SPD by 50%.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Next up is Patricia followed by Josh Castle.

As a founding member of Indians for Justice, and on behalf of the Coalition to End Urban Indigenous Homelessness and Chief Seattle Club, I urge the City Council to respect the wishes and efforts of our historically oppressed and resilient Black and Indigenous communities by removing the Navigation Team and its reliance on police encampment removal.

In a total of 5% growing homelessness population early this year, with over 16% being Native and Pacific Islander during a world health crisis, during a tribal and global environmental crisis, we need long-term housing solutions that are both community-led and culturally responsible.

It's proven that these culturally responsible models actually create higher impacts and accountability processes than relying on the city or county alone.

We support decriminalize Seattle and not the so-called compromise bill.

Please read our June 2020 navigation team letter sent to Mayor Durkin and the City of Seattle on our press and media page on urbanindigenoushomelessness.org.

Give our communities a real solution to end Indigenous homelessness.

Thank you.

Next up is Josh Castle followed by Erin Whitlatch.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

Lehigh stands with the many community members leaders and organizations testifying today to urge you to vote to override the mayor's veto and reject compromise measures.

We specifically urge you to redirect NAB team funding and the referral process to reach Chief Seattle Club Seattle Indian Center Urban League Casa Latina local faith organizations and other service providers who know closely the unsheltered people and families in the communities they serve and whose relationships are not based on trauma cohesion and displacement.

In addition to fundamentally reforming the referral process away from SPD we are greatly in need of more villages to help many more people receive dedicated case management support and get on a path to permanent housing.

There is land available in every district to do this and community and faith partners all over Seattle interested in hosting and supporting these.

Tiny houses are ideal for keeping people protected from COVID and continue to have the highest rates of exit into long-term housing.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Aaron followed by Jamie Paul.

Hi, my name is Aaron Whitlatch, and I'm a member of District 6. I'm calling to ask you to vote to override Mayor Durkin's veto of the 2020 budget rebalancing package.

You know, I had something written out that's basically along the lines of, as a cis white male, I'd like to direct those towards council members Dan Strauss, Andrew Lewis, and Alex Peterson, but I think that point's been belabored.

And honestly, I don't think there needs to be a qualifier for what I'm about to say.

Look, people or super depressed right now everyone is docket inside you know are terrified about the future and in this one small glimmer of hope that we have a is that the actions of all of the people in the streets and for once they're like white people outside marching alongside bipoc uh...

people in the bipoc communities seattle city council was actually going to step up follow the lead of the people and show that it cares about the livelihood of Seattle.

So maybe do that.

Maybe follow through this time.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Next is Jamie followed by Eliza Cohn.

Hi, I'm Jamie Paul.

resident of District 7. I grew up in District 4. I'm calling on behalf of the People's Party in the morning marchers as well as the everyday marchers.

I'm asking specifically Andrew Lewis as well as the other council people to override the veto.

Safe communities are only safe because they are extremely funded and they do not have police presence.

Continuously, the Seattle Police Department has shown exactly who they are this summer.

Vindictive abusers that hold grudges and want to suppress people's voices.

It has been a hell of a summer and it has been a hell of a 400 years for the Black and Brown and Indigenous communities.

They deserve better.

Please override the veto and support the people of Seattle.

Thank you.

I.

Whatever.

Veto my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Eliza Cohn followed by Carrie Ryerson.

Hi my name is Eliza Burmer-Cohn.

I use she her pronouns.

I implore you all to override Mayor Dirk and Vito.

I'm a social worker in community mental health and continue to witness the profoundly disturbing effects of over-policing and lack of resources in the children and families I work with.

We already know the Seattle Police target Black and Brown individuals.

Say their names.

Charlena Lyles.

Shawn Fure.

Terry Caver.

Shay Taylor.

There are countless others.

You have the capacity to shape the future of Seattle.

As an elected official you have the explicit responsibility to listen to the citizens of our city.

You took on that responsibility when you took this job.

Listen to Black organizers and community members who have been advocating tirelessly for years.

We are listening.

We are watching.

We are calling on you to stand on the right side of history.

Hold the line and override this veto.

Ensure that this process of defending the police starts now, and investment in black community starts now.

Thank you.

Okay, next up is Carrie Ryerson followed by Kelsey McGrath.

Carrie Ryerson, District 5, standing with the everyday march demand that you all override the mayor's anti-black veto.

No compromises, no substitutions.

Some of you seem to lack the empathy and humanity to do the right thing when your only motivation is to protect black people from the violent white supremacist nature of the Seattle Police Department.

So I'd like to appeal instead to political expediency and cowardly self-interest.

Things of soulless politicians who haven't committed to this override, Juarez, Lewis, Peterson, Strauss, and Herbold, seem to be more concerned about than the loss of black, brown, and indigenous lives at the hands of police.

To them, I say, siding with this cartoon villain of a mayor who is on the verge of being recalled does not bode well for you.

Secondly, if you fail to override this veto, there is a network of extremely committed and capable people who do care about black lives, who will do everything in their power to unseat you from your positions on the city council.

Black lives are on the line and so is your career.

If black lives matter, you must prove it.

Override the veto.

I yield my time so that others have a chance to beg you to protect your black constituents.

Thank you.

Okay, Kelsey McGrath followed by Audrey Rauer.

Hi I'm Kelsey McGrath renter in District 3. I urge the City Council to override the mayor's veto.

We are long past due as a city to take real action for Black and Indigenous lives.

As a council of all non-Black people I urge you to reject the mayor's anti-Black and anti-Indigenous veto and pro-police compromise.

The police are a racist and violent institution that protect the wealthy White elite and property.

Full stop.

To the White men and women on the council.

Lewis, Strauss, Peterson, and Herbold.

If Black Lives Matter is more than a trendy and political platitude for you, then you will vote to override the veto, period.

There are no excuses.

What does it mean to represent the interests of your constituents if your constituents are wealthy and white, and representing their interests literally means upholding white supremacist systems that inflict terror on Black and Indigenous communities?

It means you are complicit and an active participant in the violence against Black and Indigenous people.

I call on you to override the mayor's veto and invest in Black and Indigenous communities and defund STD.

Thank you.

Next, we will hear from Audrey Rower followed by Lila Burns.

Hello, my name is Audrey Rower and I live in District 7. I would like to call on the council today to fulfill their promise to prioritize Black lives by overriding the mayor's budget veto and by defunding Seattle PD by at least 50%.

No compromise, no substitution.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Next is Kelsey Newton followed by Lila Burns.

Hi, my name is Kelsey Newton and I'm a renter in District 3. I'm calling to ask you all but especially white council members to vote to override the mayor's veto.

A few weeks ago a majority of you voted to approve the modest but absolutely necessary changes to the 2020 budget.

Now you must hold strong and override the racist anti-Black veto to ensure we start divesting from SPD and instead start investing in BIPOC communities.

Not overriding the mayor's veto is a dishonor to all of the Black lives lost to police violence especially this summer.

Please don't go back on your promises to defend black lives and please reject this insulting so-called compromise bill from Jenny Durkin.

Thank you.

Okay, next up is Lila followed by Montserrat DeCastro.

Hi, I'm Lila out of District 4. I urge Council, especially Council Member Peterson, to override Mayor Durkin's veto.

Her anti-Black, pro-police stance must be challenged.

Black and Indigenous communities continue to educate council on ways to support them in very non-abstract ways, like overturning this veto.

Your platitudes won't protect against the system's brutality.

Today in Louisville, just in anticipation of a ruling favoring the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor, they've declared a state of emergency.

They'd rather mitigate the outrage of the system that killed her than proactively prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.

Be proactive.

Overturn the veto.

If Black Lives Matter, you have to prove it.

I yield my time.

Next up is Montserrat, followed by Mallory Crisp.

My name is Montserrat DeCastro, and I'm calling on the entire city council to hold the line and overturn the mayor's veto.

Andrew Lewis, I'm speaking specifically to you as your constituent.

Exactly one week ago at the corner of 5th and Harrison, less than five minutes from your home, Andrew Lewis, FPD had my 5 foot 1, 95 pound, woman of color face shoved to the ground while several golden men had me pinned down after a dozen cops stormed at me and tackled me while I was standing on the sidewalk.

I'm lucky I got out with a few cuts and bruises, but Charlene Lyles wasn't that lucky, Sean Fury didn't make it, and John T. Williams will never face justice.

Please, we are your constituents too.

If Black Lives Matter, prove it.

Andrew Lewis, can I count on you to defend me, your constituent, and more importantly, the black residents of Seattle?

Or will you continue to be complicit in SPD's abuse of power and murders?

Please don't turn your backs on us.

What side of history will you tell your grandchildren you were on?

I yield my time.

Next up is Mallory Criss, followed by Mark Crawford.

My name is Mallory Crist homeowner and mother in District 2. You already voted to approve the rebalance 2020 budget.

I urge I beg you to stand with Black Lives.

Hold the line and override the veto.

We need reinvestments in the Black community.

This legislation has already passed and I'm asking you to hold strong in the face of Durkin and her racist attempts to reshape it.

Durkin's pro-cop deal guts the advances made by the result of the uprising this summer in defense of Black lives and Indigenous people.

It dishonors the Black and Indigenous lives lost to police violence including here in Seattle.

We voted you in.

Now listen to us.

Help and save Black lives.

Reinvest in the community.

Override the veto.

Andrew Lewis, you work for us.

Please wake up and override the veto.

Black lives matter.

I yield my time.

Next is Mark Crawford, followed by Lando Mandu.

My name is Mark Crawford, Executive Director of the U District Partnership in District 4. Public safety is the highest priority of municipal government, and we encourage a more thoughtful process that achieves the goal of reimagined public safety.

I speak on behalf of over 500 business owners, operators, employees, and customers who ask for a more careful process where the objectives are clear, the plans are created, and resources more appropriately allocated to achieve the specified and desired goals.

This is critical to the small business community.

For businesses who are struggling to survive the pandemic, reopening can only happen if the vendors, the delivery people, the employees, and the customers feel safe enough to return.

If not, the jobs are lost, the dreams are crushed, and our neighborhoods wither.

Please sustain the veto and work together to create a more successful path moving forward.

Next is Lando, followed by Nathaniel Steiner.

Hi, can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Okay, great.

Hi there, my name is Orlando.

I live in District 3. I'm demanding that council members, particularly Herbold, Strauss, Peterson, and Lewis, vote to override Durkin's veto and stand by not only the residents that you're supposed to serve, but also stand on the right side of history.

Durkin's compromise is explicitly anti-Black.

She has made it clear that she doesn't care about any of us outside of her very wealthy, very gated, very white community.

I think it's time for you to regain our trust back and show us who you really work for.

Defund SPD, I yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Nathaniel followed by Catherine West.

Hi, my name is Nathaniel Steiner calling from District 4. I'm calling on the council to override the veto at sabotaging mutual aid and attempting to run over protesters, quote, unquote, like cockroaches.

To the small business owners, a militarized SPV does not protect the city.

If you study grassroot proposals by decriminalized Seattle and King County Equity Now, there are solutions for violence intervention.

Please go read.

And building equity to prevent crime from occurring.

You do not speak for all of your employees and customers of the city.

Don't buy into fear mongering by Jenny Durkin's empty words and Como.

Hold the line, council.

have us ready for real equity in BIPOC communities because of Black Lives Matter, prove it.

It is not just a laminated sign, Alex Peterson, looking at you too, Lisa Herbold, looking at you, Dan Strauss.

And Andrew Lewis, I hope you're paying attention and not listening to Sims 5. Black Lives Matter, be on the right side of history.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Catherine, followed by Alice Lockhart.

Catherine, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Go ahead, Catherine.

Okay, looks like we can't hear Catherine, so let's move on to Alice Lockhart, and we'll try coming back.

Good afternoon, Council.

I'm Alice Lockhart, and speaking for 350 Seattle, we stand in solidarity with the rigorous community process through which Council made a modest start at defunding SPD and the brutal navigation teams and funding real safety.

I personally have on multiple occasions witnessed the NAV teams destroying encampments.

I asked one of these members if tents and belongings would be held and returned.

He said no, they would be thrown away.

I asked him if he was ashamed and he said no.

I asked the cops and the other NAV team members.

They said they felt no shame, but I do.

And I know you do too.

It's been so long and so hard for so many.

Please override and begin to end police and navigation team assaults on our citizens.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Laura Radford and then we will try Catherine West again.

Do we have Laura Radford on the line?

Just remember to hit star six so we can hear you.

Laura is on the line.

Okay.

Laura, do you want to hit star six so we can hear you?

Okay, we're having a little bit of technical issues there.

How about we try Catherine West one more time?

Hi, this is Catherine West, and I'm here in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Movement for Black Lives.

Now is the time to center the experiences of black, indigenous, and people of color and listen to their recommendations for reallocating money from law enforcement to fund community strategies and solutions.

Budgets are moral documents.

It's time to override the mayor's veto and reimagine community safety.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

We're going to go to Laura Radford one more time.

And then for IT folks and those on the line, we're going to go after Laura.

We're going to go to 45 seconds and hear public comment for an additional 30 minutes.

So let's see if we can get Laura on the line at one minute.

Yeah, I'm here.

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

My name is Laura Radford.

I'm the executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association.

Responsible governance requires leadership and planning.

The City Council needs to sustain the vote the veto the vote and work with the mayor to move Seattle forward.

Seattle should be a place where everyone thrives.

Unfortunately we are seeing hundreds of small businesses shudder this year and many more struggling because of the COVID-19 recession and the impacts of repeat criminal activity.

Small businesses create the fabric of our neighborhoods and we need them to come back stronger than ever.

Seattle should be a place where people are proud to operate businesses work and live.

The city council should listen to our neighborhood small businesses and small businesses on budget priorities.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Let's go to 45 seconds here and we'll go for another 30 minutes.

And next up is Alyssa Michaels followed by Christina Shimizu.

And Alyssa if you're with us you need to hit star six.

Hi I'm Alyssa Michaels and I am a voting resident of Seattle and I am calling to tell the City Council to hold the line and override just as they have agreed to.

Seattle City Council has already voted to approve the Rebalance 2020 budget.

I'm asking you to ensure that divesting from SPD starts now alongside crucial reinvestments in Black community.

This legislation has already passed and I'm asking you to hold strong in the face of the mayor's obstructionist and racist attempts to reshape it.

Surkham's pro-cop deal guts the advances made as a result of the uprising this summer in defense of Black lives.

It dishonors the Black lives lost to police violence including here in Seattle.

That's all I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Christina followed by Heidi Rhodes.

Hi Council Member.

Go ahead Christina.

For the AD&D Criminalized Seattle.

Can you hear me.

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Oh now now we lost you.

You hit hit star six.

Go ahead.

Can you hear me.

Yep.

I'm calling on behalf of the CID coalition, decriminalize Seattle and decriminalize CID.

And I want to remind you that you're standing on the history of generations of activists and leaders and that people have been beaten and murdered in this fight.

And you can't even give the black community 5% of what they're owed for true public health and safety.

Your compromise plan is a betrayal and your actions and careers will be remembered through history as a betrayal to black lives.

I remind every person on this council and every person listening that the 5% proposed cut in the budget that you initially passed was the compromise.

And it was still a slap in the face of the community demands to the 115 days we've been on the streets and every single black life this movement represents.

You need to override the mayor's veto and outright reject the compromise plan and put to work deeper cuts in the 2021 budget.

And I yield the rest of my time.

Next up is Haiti.

or Hattie, followed by Tati Swan.

Hello, council members.

I am Hattie Rose, site coordinator for Georgetown Tiny House Village in District 2. I wanted to first say thank you for all your support for the villages.

Having experienced homelessness myself, I can say that this model is by far the best for safety and stability.

And in this pandemic, it has also been a great way for vulnerable people to isolate without feeling isolated.

No resident at any of the villages has tested positive for COVID-19, so let's build more villages.

They are desperately needed.

REACH, Urban League, Chief Seattle Club, and other local service providers have longstanding relationships with those that are still unhoused.

Please add funding to them and override the mayor's veto.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in.

Next up is Tati, followed by Leah Lucid.

Hi Seattle Council it's Edie again.

I'm asking you all to override the mayor's veto.

Show me that you won't protect the police officers that beat the shit out of me while in their custody.

Lisa Herbal you were ready to stand up for me in court but that's not enough.

I'm asking you all and the rest of Seattle City Council to stand with me and other BIPOC folks.

How much longer will you allow the police to abuse us.

You've all seen the violent crimes SPD has committed.

If y'all aren't ready to stand with us then it's time to quit your job and hand your seat to those who are.

You guys are supposed to be for the people, and you have all told us that you are for us.

You need to show us that you are for us.

Ooh, shit.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Leah Lucid, followed by Madeline Dunwoody.

Leah, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Hi, I'm a homeowner in District 4. Councilman Peterson, we are here outside right now to ask you to shock us all by voting to override the veto.

We also ask the other council members to hold the line.

District 4 is a very white, privileged, and historically redlined district that already looks exactly how the whole city should and could look if money was divested from SPD's over-policing and invested into preventative community programming as outlined by King County Equity Now and Decrim Seattle.

I am protesting every day with the morning march for basic human rights.

We put our lives on the line every day, knowing the biggest threat to our safety is SPD's excessive force, especially against our car brigade and amazing Black organizers.

If Black Lives Matter, prove it.

We will never say thank you.

Next up is Madeline followed by Evelyn Caldwell.

Good afternoon, my name is Madeline Dunwoody and I'm calling to ask all of the Seattle.

This is the city council members to override Jenny Durkin veto.

Andrew Lewis as a lifelong as a lifelong district seven resident I'm speaking directly to you walk through your district and see how your local income communities and communities of color are impacted.

No city residents should be making their home on a traffic island or freeway on-ramp under tents and tarps or selling bits of old clothing on the streets to survive.

Defund the police and reinvest these funds in communities of color and community-based solutions to build a more vibrant, ethical city where all residents enjoy the benefits of living in a city ranked as a top 10 blessed place to live in America.

Don't forget, your district is not just the white money in Queen Anne and Metz, and I say that as a lifelong Queen Anne resident.

rep your whole district, and do your job to help your constituents live full lives that are not threatened by white supremacy and state-sanctioned violence.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Okay, next up is Evelyn, followed by Joseph Smith.

Hi, my name is Evelyn Caldwell, and I'm a homeowner in Northeast Seattle.

I'm calling to ask you to override the mayor's veto to defund SPD and the navigation team.

The mayor's veto is insulting in the wake of SPD's brutal conduct against protesters this summer, and against black and brown residents for long before that.

The navigation team has further criminalized homelessness instead of providing resources to our houseless neighbors.

These cuts are long overdue.

If you accept the compromise bill, you're condoning a department that takes a bloated one third of our budget, but rejects accountability and reform.

Council members, now's the time to follow through and override the mayor's veto.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Joseph Smith followed by Spencer Visick.

Hello.

My name is Joseph Smith.

I am a lifelong resident of Seattle and a current resident of District 4. I'm asking all of you and especially my council member Alex Patterson to please override the veto today and to move funds from police to more effective programs.

In my lifetime I have never seen so much unified support for a protest in this city as with the Black Lives Matter protest this year.

The police response to these protests has frankly been abhorrent and just goes to show how important defunding the police is.

Do not let these protests go to waste.

Listen to the protesters and to your constituents.

This change is not enough, but it's a real start.

Show that you know Black Lives do matter and override this veto.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Spencer followed by Steven Bowie.

Hi, I'm Spencer Visek, a homeowner in Greenwood District 6. I'd just like to remind all of you that when the Chamber of Commerce and the mayor tried to defeat you with piles of money, we were all there to support you.

Please show that we were right to do that by overriding the mayor's veto.

I've noticed today that the only people who are in support of sustaining the veto were all people working for the Chamber of Commerce.

It didn't help last time when y'all repealed the head tax.

That didn't save you from coming after you.

Doing this won't save them from coming after you again.

Be loyal to the people of the chamber.

Thanks.

I yield the rest of my time.

Next up is Stephen, followed by Francesca Favarini Sorba.

Hi, I'm calling to ask my council member, Andrew Lewis, and the rest of the council to override the mayor's veto of their budget.

This is an opportunity to show you have heard the demands of community members, has seen the violence committed by Seattle police, and that you believe Black Lives Matter.

The mayor has shown what her priorities are, to cut services and maintain a violent police force.

There can be no compromise with people whose goals are opposite to our own.

So I ask you to hold the line, override the veto, and begin the process of drastically reducing the size of SPD.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Francesca, followed by Katie Roberts.

Hi, my name is Francesca Favarini-Torva from West Seattle, and I'm calling today to remind Lisa Herbold, as well as all city council members, that you were not elected to act out of fear.

You were elected to act in the best interest of your constituents.

That is the clear choice in front of you today.

You can choose fear, fear of backlash, fear of the mayor, fear of the unknown, and you can sustain the veto.

or you can choose the well-being of your constituents.

You can prioritize the most marginalized in our communities over your feelings and your fear, and take a step in the right direction to honor and protect them.

I urge you to tap into your strength, tap into why you probably got involved in politics in the first place, follow through with your commitments and promises, and protect our communities by overriding the mayor's veto.

Thank you.

Okay, next up is Katie followed by Frankie May.

Hi, this is Katie Roberts calling from District Six.

We must invest in black and indigenous communities as well as restorative justice now.

We can do this by defunding SPD by the amount set out by the city council for 2020. And by 2021, we need to reach 80% at least.

We cannot continue to defund education and then complain about the crime rate.

We must invest in our youth now so that we can have the future that we desire.

I urge you to hold Mayor Durkin accountable by overriding her veto.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Frankie, followed by Heather Barnett.

Can you hear?

Am I on?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

My name is Frankie from D4, and I'm calling regarding the overriding of the mayor's veto.

Council members, this vote is not just for political process and gain.

It's for the reputation of not just the city council, but for the entire city administration and leadership.

Thousands of your constituents, city organizations, and community leaders have spoken.

After HSC's lack of action last week in the smoke and Parks and Rec repeatedly allowing the SPD and SPOG to operate to their end unchecked, it's clear that you are possibly the last politicians that could stand up to the mayor's veto and begin healing this divide and continuing the community discussion of defunding the SPD.

Please use your vote wisely, hold the line, invest in Black communities, and show support for the people and not just those that can afford it.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Heather, followed by David Della.

Hi, my name is Heather Burnett.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Hello.

OK, sorry, I'm a resident of District 3. I want to start off by thanking Kshama Sawant as well as the other council members for having me speak and for advocating for this budget in the past.

I'm calling today to ask you to override the mayor's veto and keep up with your promise to defund SPD by 50%.

I know that this is just the beginning of a long process, and I hope that we can make true change in our city to help better support marginalized people within our community.

I'm appreciating also all the other people who have called in, showing you an overwhelming support for overriding this veto, and I hope that you listen to the people in your community.

Thank you.

I yield my own time.

Thank you.

Next up is David Della, followed by Nia Lanier.

Good afternoon.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Hi, my name is David Dell.

I'm a lifelong resident of Seattle, former city council member and District 7. I urge the council to not override but sustain the mayor's veto.

Our city is in a crisis with COVID, economic downturn and police killings.

This is a time when we need our leadership to work together to address these issues, especially to reimagine and restructure the police department.

Please take the time to work with the mayor, police chief, experts in public safety, and all communities to come up with a plan to safety of all of our residents are resting on this.

And this is not to be taken lightly.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next up is Nia followed by Faith Gundren.

Hello, can everyone hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Hi, my name is Neonier.

You already voted to approve the rebalance 2020 budget, fight against the systemic racism and murder by people of color that has taken place for far too long instead of capitulating to the dishonesty of the mayor who represents the interests of businesses and law enforcement above all.

Loss of business is not equal to lost lives.

I'm asking you to hold the line and override the mayor's veto to ensure divesting from SPD starts now alongside crucial reinvestments in the black community.

This legislation has already passed, and I'm asking you to hold strong in the face of the mayor's obstructionist and racist attempts to reshape it.

Durkin's pro-cop deal guts the advances made as a result of the uprisings this summer in defense of Black lives.

It dishonors the Black lives lost to police violence, including here in Seattle.

I yield the rest of my time.

OK, next up is Faith followed by Eli Goss.

Yes I'm Faith Gundren and I'm a constituent of District 7. Pay attention Andrew.

I'm talking to you.

You committed to defunding SPD by 50 percent.

Y'all made like a 1 percent cut.

If you allow the mayor to undo that cut you're a weakling or a liar.

Your choice.

No excuses.

No compromises.

A compromise is a middle finger to every single person in the city of Seattle who has shouted Black Lives Matter.

A compromise is trash.

Override the veto, Andrew.

Override the veto, Andrew.

Override the veto, Andrew.

I'm done.

Thank you.

Next up is Eli, followed by Nadine Emmons.

Yes.

Hello, Council President Gonzalez and fellow city council members.

My name is Eli Goss with One America here today to speak on behalf of our organization's leadership and grassroots immigrant members.

When America supports an override of the mayor's veto and requests that cuts to Seattle Police Department continue to happen.

The police department both from a funding and structural view does not meet the public safety needs of our city.

And as an immigrant rights organization we know the devastating impact of family separation at the hands of government agencies and police violence also deals in family separation through the tragic killings of Black and Brown residents that are based on a racist and xenophobic fear and stereotyping of our Black and Brown neighbors.

We must continue to reimagine what public safety means in our communities, both from a policing enforcement and immigration standpoint.

Thank you.

Thank you, Eli.

Next up is Nadine, followed by Hannah Wong.

Nadine, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Hello Nadine.

Go ahead.

We can hear you.

Hello.

Yep.

Nadine Emmons co-founder of Lesbians Against Jenny Durkin pleading that you do not tie yourself to a woman whose white fragility and tone deafness will soon have her out of the mayorship.

Your sad attempts to placate your constituents and laughable breakdown of the SPD budget has not been enough.

Vote to overturn Durkin's veto and continue to redistribute redistribute funds from SPD to community growth through equitable education low bar affordable housing mental health and addiction services.

We must end attacks on the houseless community.

The long history of burning and trashing people's belongings must end now.

We need a cooperative and informed housing plan that takes into account the wants and needs of the houseless community.

Divest from SPD abolish ICE separate SPD from schools parks and hospitals.

Your careers will be defined as you move forward.

Lastly I'd like to add that it is well past time for reparations

Thank you for calling in next up is Hannah followed by Katie Neuner.

Hi, can you hear me?

We can we can hear you go ahead.

Yeah, hi.

My name's Hannah One.

I'm a property owner in District 7. I'm also calling in as one of the supervisors for Andrew Lewis.

Yeah, so the Seattle Police Department has been receiving significant increases to its budget for militarized equipment, tear gas, and pepper spray that's being used against citizens while people are dying due to lack of funding for essential services.

So yeah, when you were hired, you said you would defund the police.

So I'm going to need you to go ahead and do what the majority of Seattle voters support.

and override the mayor's veto.

Okay, I yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Next up is Katie followed by Aisling Cooney.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Hello, City Council.

It's me again.

I know I've been visiting you every day for the last 118 days.

I'm tired of it.

You're tired of it.

And it's time for a Black Lives Matter or Indigenous Lives Matter.

It's time for you to prove it.

I went to city council in 1964. That was not the change.

Be the council that is for Black lives and is for Indigenous lives and is for their word.

Don't be the politicians that we know and expect.

Be the politicians that are for change and for this movement.

I know the Black population is only 6.7% of this city, but that 6.7% matters, and it's by design that there's only that many.

So you need to listen, and you need to be the change today.

Override the veto.

Thank you so much, Aisling and Cooney, followed by Lily Crowlop.

And Aisling, if you're with us, make sure you hit star six so we can hear you.

OK, looks like we're having some difficulties with caller number 97. So let's go ahead and go to Lily Krolop.

OK, is Lily with us?

And Lily, if you are with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Can you hear me now?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Hi, I'm calling on behalf of Black Lives Matter movement.

You must override this veto.

The council has the opportunity to make real change with this veto.

And they need to do that now if they want to prove their word.

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Robert Crookshank.

Hi, my name is Robert Crookshank, and I'm a homeowner in District 6. Council members face a decisive moment today.

You need to keep your promises to defund the police, invest in the BIPOC community, and override the mayor's veto.

Let's remember why we're here.

Seattle police have spent years shooting, wounding, and killing BIPOC people in the city.

They keep doing it and act as if there's nothing wrong with it.

A fed up public took to the streets and demanded change.

The council responded with initial steps to defund SPD.

The mayor supports the status quo.

She doesn't want compromise.

She wants to assert her power, make you cave, and stop any efforts to change SPD.

Those who express concerns about response times and public safety should instead be asking SPD to stop wasting time harassing protesters, peaceful encampments, or Black families.

Vote against white supremacy.

Vote to override the veto.

We will never forget the choice you make today.

Thank you.

Okay, next up is Catherine Gendry, followed by Jordan Glander.

And Catherine, if you're on the line, you need to hit star six.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

My name is Katie, and I'm a resident in District 6. I'm urging the entire council, specifically my council member Dan Strauss, to hold the line and override the mayor's veto to ensure divesting from SPD starts now, alongside crucial and long overdue reinvestments in the Black and Indigenous community.

We, your constituents, will remember how you vote today, and we will see whether or not your actions actually agree with your words to support the BIPOC community.

Do the right thing and show us that you truly stand with Black Lives Matter and override the mayor's veto.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Next up is Jordan Glander.

And then we will try Aisling Cooney one more time.

Hi, my name is Jordan Glander.

I'm a resident of District 3. I just want to say something about the homeless problem that's going on in Seattle.

You know, it's gotten really bad, to be honest.

I used to live here, and I just moved back about a year ago.

It's just sickening to see all the encampments on the street.

It really is.

I mean, it's been a problem for a long time, but something really needs to be done.

You know, just the other day I was having a hamburger at Shake Shack and I got violently accosted and spat on by some homeless guy and no one was there to do anything about it.

Not even a policeman.

So who's going to come there and help me, huh?

All I got to say is just be wise about the budget this time.

That's all I'm saying.

Look out for the taxpayers of Seattle.

Thank you.

OK, next up is Aisling Cooney, followed by Alana Lessing.

Hi, I'm Aisling Cooney, and I am calling to urge my council member, Andrew Ruiz, as well as Stroud, Turbould, and Peterson to override the veto.

I would like to point out so far there have been seven people calling in to sustain and there have been seventy-plus calling in to override.

All of the sustained have been people who claim to be business owners.

It sounded like they were reading off of a script.

They are trying to fearmonger.

Protesters are not attacking small business owners.

They are not attacking customers.

As you can see, over 90 percent of the people calling in are in support of this.

So we're not criminals attacking, and we'll know where you stand on the police brutality that we have endured if you do not choose to override.

You said this was a down payment.

I spoke with Andrew Lewis about my abuse.

You asked me to connect you to more victims.

Why should I do that?

Retraumatize them when you don't even keep your word.

Please override the veto.

OK, next up is Ilana Lessing, followed by Anitra Freeman.

My name is Ilana.

I'm wondering what exactly has changed over the last several months, or was your support for Black Lives Matter always performative?

Was your cut by 2% ever sufficient?

It is not your job to fulfill mayor's demand.

What sort of compromise is a 0.02% cut when the initial proposal was 50%?

So please don't keep us safe.

We keep us safe.

Alex Peterson, you are my council member, and you gave the everyday march at the open table, but you stood wide by while they were brutalized by the police.

Frankly, what good is a seat at the table if there are police beating up and arresting them before they can arrive?

What changes are you going to make so this doesn't happen again?

Defund SPD.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Next up is Anitra Freeman followed by Maxwell Goodwin.

Hello.

I'm Anitra Freeman.

urging, with wheel and share, urging you to override the veto without compromise.

Can you hear me?

You have heard already.

Okay.

You have heard for years from the lived experience of homeless people that the NAV team doesn't help.

You took a courageous and hopeful action to move funding from the NAB team and a little bit of funds from SPD and put them towards some of the things that do work.

I'm heartbroken to hear that you might renege on that tiny bit of progress.

Stand by your conscience.

Stand by your community.

Please do not betray homeless people again.

Next up is Maxwell Goodwin followed by David Hanson.

Hello, my name is Maxwell Goodwin.

I'm a Seattle voter and a small business owner.

I demand the City Council not turn their back on the people of this city.

Most of you promised to defund SPD by 50%.

Most of you watered down your promise from behind excuses of bureaucratic and legal hurdles.

Now some of you are considering changing your votes.

and upholding dictator Durkin's vindictive veto of even your lackluster legislation, which would provide some relief to the countless Seattleites under SPD's boot.

Stick to your word and vote to override this veto.

Do not insult your constituents with the assumption that they will be fooled by the mayor's preposterous proposal that thoroughly failed to defund SPD.

You may not be able to hear our movement growing and thriving because some of us have lost faith in you.

You may think that we are tired or that you have demoralized us.

This is a dangerous misconception.

Do not stab the people of Seattle in the back or we will vote you out in 2023. Louis Peterson and Juarez, thank you.

Next up is David Hanson followed by Star Wiley.

This is David Hanson.

I'm a District 7 resident and I'd like to just address this to Andrew Lewis.

I'd like to remind you that you already voted to defund the SPD and that there's really no there's no reason for you to advance a compromise with the mayor who lied to us and covered for the police as they gassed neighborhoods and threw explosive devices at crowds of peaceful protesters.

The compromise is with the people of Seattle and we're already compromising a lot.

I live in your district and I appreciate your work on repealing the loitering laws earlier this year.

But if you failed to vote to override this veto, there is no way you will ever regain my trust and you will never receive my help again.

I yield my time.

Thank you so much.

Next up is Star Wiley followed by Chris McDaniel.

Okay, Star, if you're on the line, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Okay, looks like we're having some difficulty with Star's line, so let's go to Chris McDaniel.

Hello?

Go ahead, Chris.

Hello?

Hello, council members.

I am Chris McDaniel.

I live in Tiny House Village in District 2, and I'd like to urge you to overturn the mayor's veto and plan more tiny houses.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Jacob Novziger.

Hi, can you hear me?

We can hear you.

This is Jacob Knopfgram in Beacon Hill.

Yeah.

I want to urge the council to override the mayoral's veto of the budget proposal for the remainder of the year and renew their commitments they've made to the community.

We stand by those commitments.

Thank you for calling in, Jacob.

Colleagues, that does bring us to the conclusion of a 90 minute public comment session here.

So we're going to go ahead and close out the public comment period and go ahead and begin items of business on our agenda.

Thank you so much.

So, colleagues, we're going to go ahead and begin the process of going through the items of business on our agenda, as I just mentioned.

The first item is reconsideration of council bills vetoed by the mayor.

And I'm going to go ahead and ask that the clerk please read reconsideration of Council Bill 119825. Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Agenda item one, Council Bill 119825, relating to the city's response to the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, and then the ordinance 26000, which adopted the 2020 budget, changing appropriations to various departments and budget control levels, and from various sums in the budget, imposing a proviso and ratifying confirming 13 prior acts, followed by a resource vote of the city council.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I am calling up the reconsideration of passage of Council Bill 119825 to consider passage of the bill and the mayor's veto.

The reconsideration of Council Bill 119825 is now pending before the City Council.

Colleagues, we know that under the city charter, we are required, we are mandated by our city charter to take up for reconsideration any bills that have been vetoed by the mayor.

Today's agenda includes reconsideration of three Three bills that were vetoed by mayor Durkin in mid August.

And so this is the 1st of those 3 bills for us to consider.

We will have to take a vote on each of the 3 bills.

independently and I will walk through before we call the roll.

I will make sure to walk through as a reminder to each of you and a reminder to the members of the public how many votes will be needed for each one of those bills.

Again right now we are considering Council Bill 119825 which is now before us.

for consideration in front of the council.

I'm going to open up the opportunity for council members to make comments.

If you are interested in making a comment, please do either send me a message on my phone or email, or you can raise your hand and I will call on people in the order that I see them raise their hand.

I have council member Peterson first, who wants to make comments and again, colleagues, become interested in making comments, please do let me know and I will call on people in the order that I see you.

So first up is Council Member Peterson, please.

Thank you, Council President.

And if I may, I'll just speak once and speak to all the bills before us, if that's all right.

Council members may speak to all the bills before us with the understanding that the bill we are currently considering is Council Bill 119825, and each bill will be taken in order that it appears on the published agenda.

And there will be an opportunity to make comments at each bill.

So if there's something that you forget or only want to address one bill at a time, you will have an opportunity to speak to all three bills when I call them up for consideration.

So thank you for the question, and I hope that provides some clarity.

And if folks have any other questions, please do let me know.

Thank you, Council President.

Hi, colleagues.

As we know, our mayor vetoed three of the council bills we adopted to help rebalance this year's 2020 budget with an emphasis on our police department.

I would like to explain how I'm planning to vote today and the reasons for the variety of my votes today.

First, allow me to paint the broader picture, since I'm the first to speak here.

In the middle of a persistent pandemic, ballooning budget deficits, and even the cracking of our West Seattle Bridge, stranding 100,000 of our residents, in the middle of these crises, I believe we're all striving to seize this historic moment in the wake of the brutal and wrongful killing of George Floyd and countless Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

so that we root out institutional racism by revamping our police department and revitalizing community health and safety.

As we have seen with the recent back and forth on these complex issues, this is not a neat or easy process to reach consensus.

It's messy, difficult, uncomfortable, but it's necessary.

Even as I speak now, I'm getting emails and phone calls from constituents who want me to override the mayor's vetoes and those who want me to sustain or support the mayor's vetoes.

I'd like to thank all the voices who spoke up to contact me by email and phone, and for the many Black leaders who had conversations with me about their viewpoints on public safety in Seattle, from new leaders who have been demonstrating boldly in the streets for the past several weeks, every day, and for those who have been fighting this fight for decades, including the Reverend Harriet Walden of the Community Police Commission and many others.

As you know, we were elected not only to synthesize the various viewpoints and address the concerns of our constituents, but also to craft thoughtful plans on how we will do things better.

And we also have to recognize the city charter shares decision making authority between the mayor and the city council.

And from a practical standpoint, we get more done faster and in a more sustainable way when we work together.

I believe we can and should lean into the common ground that we share today.

Fortunately, we have quickly reached consensus that the status quo of policing is not acceptable reforms alone or not enough.

Now, the question is, how do we move ahead with meaningful change?

So, I was not part of the ongoing discussion.

Some council members and the mayor's team had to craft.

a potential replacement piece of legislation, Council Bill 119900. I'd like to thank Council President Gonzalez and the Mayor's Office for putting that legislation on the table yesterday so we could all read it and have a public discussion about it today.

I believe it is a well-intentioned and reasonable start to reach a compromise, but I'm concerned about a key portion of that alternative bill.

The reduction of money to community organizations run by Black, Indigenous, and people of color leaders.

I would prefer that this council stick to its promise to allocate the full $14 million, rather than reducing it to $2.5 million in the replacement bill.

I hear the concerns it will be difficult to get $14 million out the door during the remaining three months of this year, and that an interfund loan structure is far from ideal.

I also understand that the mayor is likely to propose even larger investments in BIPOC communities when she unveils her budget proposal next week, which will impact the calendar year, the next calendar year, 2021. But I believe it's imperative to honor the commitment we made as a city council to provide more money to the many effective organizations run by Black, Indigenous, and people of color leaders who operate successful programs that prevent crime, reduce harm, and deliver justice.

Therefore, while I respect the mayor's decision, I intend to vote to override the third bill the mayor vetoed, which is Council Bill 119863. Coupled with my override of that bill, I've circulated an amendment to the replacement council bill so that we can immediately reauthorize the full 14 million to those organizations.

And I think others may share that view and will speak up about this.

It's time to scale up community safety programs proven to work here in Seattle, proven to work in other similar U.S. cities.

Overriding Council Bill 119863 will restore the Interfund loan as a potential source of funds for these BIPOC organizations because we cannot afford to wait, and I believe we need to honor that promise.

At the same time, I've made clear that I was disappointed with the results of the first council bill 119825. This was the council bill that deleted the city government's navigation team funding.

That's the hardworking team made up of, in my opinion, dedicated city government employees who engage with unauthorized homeless encampments throughout our city to offer housing and services.

The decision on whether to keep or delete the navigation team should have never been part of that council bill, which was supposed to be about rebalancing the budget in the police department.

After we adopted that bill, it became painfully clear that we did not have at the ready an organized and comprehensive and effective replacement for the navigation team.

I believe we need a city run team that coordinates efforts to engage with encampments and deal with fire risks, obstructions and public health hazards.

Private nonprofits do not pick up the trash or coordinate efforts.

We need to restore the navigation team.

The replacement bill that is before us today, Council Bill 119900, could improve the situation by authorizing $3 million more for shelter.

That nearly doubles the amount we originally authorized, so we can move more people off the greenways and into housing.

The replacement bill also would add $500,000 for behavioral health services that are imperative for helping those in need.

I also have an amendment that I circulated regarding Council Bill 119900 that will make sure we preserve the data analyst positions on the navigation team.

The data analyst positions, they were added to the NAV team to improve data collection and transparency.

I believe we need to continue to gather data and to measure results so we have greater accountability and a focus on positive outcomes.

As we enable more nonprofits to assist with engagement, the data analysts can also provide support to them so that all organizations are collecting the same types of data.

I hope my colleagues will support my amendment to make sure we preserve the data analysts on the navigation team.

Council Bill 119825 was also the legislation that tried to remove positions and funding that many believe are necessary to adhere to the federal consent decree that we must keep in place to sustain police reforms.

The federal judge overseeing the consent decree made it clear that major changes to the police department that impact the consent decree must be approved by him.

This includes areas such as training, data collection, and crisis response.

No matter how much we adjust the size of our police force, we will still have a police force and we need to make sure the reforms are not only preserved, but also expanded.

These reforms require sufficient staffing.

Also, there's the issue of attrition, the rate of attrition, the natural reduction of officers on the police force due to retirements or them leaving for other police departments has seemed to have accelerated.

Therefore, the recent reductions in officers due to attrition must be combined with reductions proposed by this bill.

So we have the full picture and know the true impact on response times.

We have already seen the new chief reallocate community policing officers away from neighborhood business districts and communities they know so well.

Now they're in patrol positions, indicating that there is a shortage that we must be mindful of.

In addition, one of the most impactful consequences of Council Bill 119825 is that it contributed to the early retirement of our city's first black police chief, and I believe recklessly cut the salaries of her handpicked and diverse command staff.

So per our city charter, the mayor has a right to veto, which she exercised, and I appreciate the reasons she outlined in her veto letter.

And for this particular council bill 119825, I plan to vote to sustain the mayor's veto.

The final bill is Council Bill 119862, which would provide $3 million for a nine-month community engagement process, as we decide how best to invest even more in BIPOC communities.

The replacement bill on the table today will still provide sufficient funding to start the community engagement process this calendar year.

I believe we need a broader, more methodical community engagement process, which includes more BIPOC leaders at the table than we had during the summer.

We also need a coordinated engagement approach with the executive departments of our city government so we don't have a separate process that competes and conflicts.

Yet I am willing to override the mayor's veto on the $3 million bill so that we can start that process now and have a more detailed discussion about this during the 2021 budget.

I'm open to discussing this further today.

So in summary, I plan to vote to override two of the bills and sustain one of them.

But I want to close my remarks, my long remarks, by highlighting for those listening today that the most sustainable and meaningful way to reallocate dollars to BIPOC communities, to root out institutional racism, to improve community safety and to deliver justice, is to fix the deficient police union contract.

The police union contract is the chief roadblock because it legally governs and supersedes nearly all aspects of what we are trying to achieve.

To revamp this unjust, inflexible, and expensive contract and system, we need to marshal our resources toward rebuilding the police union contract.

rebuild that contract so we have the flexibility and resources to do what we need to do.

Every progressive and well-intentioned move seems to be met by a brick wall of that contract.

The example of how we would expect Seattle leadership to reduce police officer positions out of order, for example, is hobbled by the long uncertain process due to the inflexibility of the police contract.

I believe it would be better for our communities and our officers if we fix the contract now.

It's as if we're being asked to rebuild a house and instead of getting the concrete for the foundation and the lumber for the frame and the shingles for the roof, we're fixated on the interest rate of the mortgage.

While the interest rate on the mortgage is like the police budget, It's important we first need to rebuild the underlying foundation structure that's causing the decay and that's the police union contract.

So I would respectfully implore my colleagues on the labor relations policy committee, which officially represents the management of all city employees and includes the mayor's team.

to meet every week until the police contract is fixed, fix the employment contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild to remove excessive and costly overtime, to fix the police contract to correct the unjust disciplinary system, fix the police contract to expand the reforms, and fix the police contract to enable the city council to reallocate budgets and the police chief to redeploy police officers in ways that finally remove institutional racism and deliver effective public safety.

Finally, while we are here arguing with each other, let's remember that the real enemy to our city and our future is the current President Donald Trump.

Calling Seattle an anarchist city is absurd as calling him a good president.

His potential re-election is only weeks away, and his generational damage to the U.S.

Supreme Court is only days away.

Here in Seattle, let's lead by example by doing a much better job working together, getting things done for the over 700,000 people of our city.

Collaboration between the executive and legislative branches on these public safety efforts can show the people of Seattle we have common ground.

We're committed to moving ahead on our shared policy goals and community investments to make Seattle better during this historic civil rights moment.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Peterson.

Next up, I have Council Member Morales.

And again, as others would like to make comments, please do let me know.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you for your remarks, Council Member Peterson.

I'm gonna begin by reading the names of the people who have been killed by SPD in the last 10 years.

So sit back, it might take a minute.

John T. Williams.

Ariel Rosenfeld, Eric Evans, Henry Lee, James Anderson, Jackson Kwatinen, Russell Smith, Leonard Thomas, Joel Royder, Martin Duckworth, Leonard Kaczynski, Andrew Law, Jody Spafford, Jonathan Whitehead, Oscar Hidon, Austin Derby, Larry Flynn, Stephen Johnston, Samuel Smith, Raymond Acevedo, Shun Ma, Jay Taylor, Michael Taylor, Marius Butz, Charlene Liles, Al Gray, Jason Seavers, Joseph Faletogo, Kenny Rodriguez, Ryan Smith, Sean Fuer, and Terry Kaber.

To the people whose lives were taken in the last decade by police in Seattle.

Today is important, colleagues, not just because it's not just about breaking the cycle of police violence.

It's not just about fixing the budget.

It's about creating a new system of community safety that centers mental wellness, prosperity, and safety for all of our community members.

The budget that we're discussing today should be a living moral document that allows the most vulnerable communities not merely to live in Seattle, but to thrive.

I'm reminded how we got here, this moment, which was that COVID-19 came to our community, and so far has taken over 700 lives in King County.

It has ended thousands of jobs and small businesses, as we've heard earlier today, has created uncertainty in our present and in our future.

COVID has widened the already large gap between white communities and our black indigenous and communities of color.

between the rich and wealthy in our neighborhoods and the working class and poor folks in our community, between the housed and the houseless, between those with well-funded educations and those families who are dealing with an underfunded education system, and between those capitalizing on disaster gentrification and those who are being displaced in droves.

COVID-19 has exposed our upside-down economic system, our punishment system, and the deep racism embedded in those systems and many others.

So we're at a crossroads here today in the final months of 2020. Do we invest in the communities long left behind for the past 400 years?

Do we fight white supremacy and undo the racism woven into all of our documents and all of our systems?

Or do we walk back the months of work that we and our staff have done in collaboration with our community members?

We're trying to carry forward what was built on years of work by BIPOC organizers in our city.

In my mind, the choice is clear.

We owe our Black, Brown, and Indigenous community members about 400 years' worth of investments.

We have to put dollars behind our words today.

It's time to lift up the solutions that those closest to the problem have long known.

We're writing the mayor's veto, this moral document.

It's not enough.

It is a beginning.

And it's an important step in the right to the wrongs and injustices that our communities have long endured.

Our community is demanding that the city council listen to their cries and their calls for transformative change.

It's not an unreasonable demand.

And listening to them does not make us amateurs, makes us accountable.

I do intend to vote to override this bill.

I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Morales for those remarks.

Next in the queue is Council Member Lewis.

Council Member Lewis, please.

Thank you so much, Madam President.

Good to be here.

I can't believe it's only Tuesday of this week, but I appreciate everything that my colleagues have said so far.

appreciate the discussions we've had over the last couple of weeks with the mayor to try to reach an accord on some of these really difficult issues.

And government needs to work together.

And the council and the mayor need to work together to structurally change public safety and our most important charter service, public safety, to center the experience and leadership of our BIPOC neighbors.

Working together requires compromise.

And there are things in the bill we passed over the summer I disagreed with.

And I still disagree with them now.

And some of those concerns are dealt with in the compromise bill.

And on the whole, I support a lot of what is in that replacement bill.

But this moment in public safety where we are pivoting, we're turning a big ship around, and pivoting towards public health investments and low acuity first response and deep partnership with BIPOC-led organizations will only work if we invest in those BIPOC-led organizations.

And we need to pay our black and brown neighbors for the work that they do in community.

And I was proud this summer to vote for the funding in our original bill because our community partners can only do this work when we invest in them.

I've seen the work of some of those organizations up close, and I've sat in community passageways, youth circles, and listened to Seattle's young people share wisdom, and through vulnerability, build strength.

I've attended Choose 180 workshops, where through community empowerment and networks of mutual care and support, the leaders of the next generation in Seattle are being forged.

I've seen this community power, and it's that power and that vision that is gonna define the future of public safety in this city.

And our partners can't do that work alone.

And we need to safeguard those investments.

And so because of that today, I am voting to override on all three of the bills to preserve the entire 2020 appropriation we made in the summer.

When we disagree as a mayor and a council, I remain committed to working out our differences and I'll consider legislative changes to work through our differences.

But I also just wanna make a statement today about a pattern that's potentially emerging of negotiating via veto.

This process of veto, negotiate, and insist on sustaining is wearing and has been unproductive.

It's contributed to frayed relations between the council and the mayor, and there have to be better ways for us to resolve our differences.

With that, and in that spirit, while I'm voting to override today, I acknowledge that some of these bills may need some revisions, and I'm committed to pursuing those changes legislatively, and committed to working with my colleagues here at the council, folks in the executive departments, and folks in the mayor's office to accomplish those revisions.

But to safeguard the community investments we made in the summer, and to reject negotiation by veto, I'm voting to override today on all three bills.

Thank you so much Councilmember Lewis for those comments and I just want to say publicly like I have for Councilmember Peterson and Councilmember Juarez in the past that I have seen you and your partner being subjected to what I think is unacceptable behavior online and in person and I just want to say that I do not support that language is being used towards you and your partner and appreciate your remarks here today, but really feel that it's important for us as council members to make sure that we back each other up in terms of of the respect that is due to our families and our partners and our loved ones.

And I wanna say that I'm sorry that that is happening.

And if there's anything you need from us, you make sure to let us know.

And Madam President, I really appreciate those comments and such comments have been expressed by a number of my colleagues here and I do appreciate that support and thank you for mentioning that.

Of course, sending you all our best.

Okay, colleagues, I don't have anybody else in the queue, but I imagine that that's because you haven't sent me a message or shown me your hand.

Is there anyone else who would like to make a comment on Council Bill 119825 or any of the or about the legislation as a package?

Council Member Herbold and then Council Member Slott.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

Just getting to my notes here.

Appreciate it.

Really appreciate hearing my colleagues comments about our effort over the last few weeks.

And before that, our efforts working in collaboration.

with BIPOC community leaders on the passage of our 2020 rebalance budget.

I don't take this vote lightly.

I participated in conversations about an alternative bill in the hopes of coming to agreement with the executive.

However, I feel like the alternative bill offered by the executive falls short of the important investments and targeted strategic changes to the 2020 budget that the council made through Council Bill 1198-25, including but not limited to the Seattle Police Department budget.

I'm concerned that the deal that the council was offered backtracks on the council's decided expressed policy objective of beginning conversations about making reductions to the Seattle Police Department.

Again, the reductions in the 2020 rebalancing the process around bargaining.

The reductions in layoffs to officers do not in themselves result in layoffs to officers.

continue to fund several of the specialty units while making some reductions of those specialty units.

But the proposal offered by the mayor Neither spoke to the council's request to make reductions to those specialty units, did not offer any response to the policy questions, why these functions should be continued to be funded.

at the level that they are without the council's preferred reductions or eliminations.

And just as reminding folks of what those reductions were, those were 38 reductions.

suggested from specific units including mounted patrol, school resource officers that are no longer working in the schools, the navigation team, a reduction, not elimination of harbor patrol, a reduction from the public affairs unit, and a reduction in the SWAT unit.

Of the 38 proposed reductions, there were only 11 vacancies.

So again, that minimizes the number of We also had 30 FTEs from expected attritions, which, of course, given the hiring freeze, we may see some of that.

We also had 30 FTEs from expected attritions, which, of course, given the hiring freeze, we may see some of that.

those attritions realized.

Um, and I don't expect to see those positions, um, re rehired for again, given the mayor's hiring freeze.

And then, as it relates specifically to the reductions of suggested 32 reductions from general sworn officers again, the goal set in this bill is for 32 General patrol reductions and my question for why?

there wasn't more compromise in this particular area is given that we understand that there are 24 officers on the Brady list kept by the King County prosecutor in the city attorney's office.

I would hope that the executive would support letting go these officers who clearly cannot fulfill their obligations as police officers.

They cannot fulfill their obligations as police officers because they have sustained findings of dishonesty, evidence of racial bias, or criminal charges or convictions.

This limits their ability to testify in court as a witness.

It limits their ability to carry out their work.

And defense attorneys can impeach these officers testimony and this limits the willingness of prosecutors to file charges when the only witnesses available are these officers.

The vast majority of these officers are in patrol positions.

And again, this is part of the reason why the council chose to request the chief of Seattle Police Department to petition the Public Safety Civil Service Commission to authorize out of order layoffs.

And I do hope that the commitment will hold that is contained in agenda item four for the compromise bill for the chief to work with the city's labor relations director and the labor relations policy committee to develop a proposal for out of order layoffs in the interest of maintaining, as the rule requires, efficient operation of the department in order to work toward our shared interest in layoffs not being the newest and most diverse recruits.

The mayor's veto also removes modest salary reductions for the remainder of 2020 for command staff officers.

I would have definitely entertained a compromise on this item in the compromise bill, but I do not feel that the study of executive salaries as proposed allows this council to take what I feel is an important position in this moment on leadership that has not adequately controlled overtime and off-duty controls costs since the release of the city auditor's recommendations in 2016. and also the command staff whose leadership has not put an end to the sustained military response to what has been primarily peaceful protests.

The compromise bill provides just $2 million instead of $14 million for investments in community-led organizations that will play a role in building community safety.

This is wholly inadequate to the need given the increase in gun violence that Seattle is experiencing.

And I appreciate seeing that should this piece of legislation be sustained, should the veto be sustained, that we do have an amendment to correct this, I think, again, inadequate part of the compromise.

Finally, the actually have two other points not finally quite yet.

The bill, the compromise bill provides just 1 million of the 3 million that is required for community research that will help our city build a community safety response that will not rely on armed armed officers, instead of the 3 million that is quite required to fully fund this work.

I understand that the deal strove to broker a place at the table in decisions around the distribution of the $100 million the mayor has promised to invest in BIPOC communities next year.

What community has been asking for is a true participatory budget process.

And as I understand it, the mayor's proposal would have reduced participatory budgeting to an advisory group without real community voice in the decisions.

And inserted another set of stakeholders in between the results of the community budgeting process and the decision making around those investments.

True participatory budgeting offers a place at the table for everyone who has a stake in the outcome.

It doesn't exclude voices.

Participatory budgeting is specifically designed for everyone to participate.

The community members have been driving the work on community safety, kids, undocumented individuals in our cities, folks experiencing homelessness, and the business community.

It expands the table of voices with decision-making authority.

It doesn't make them advisory to do the work of others.

Regarding the navigation team discussions, I was involved in conversations with the executive about changes to the operations of the navigation team with a goal of delivering an agreement in the alternative legislation that would memorialize a commitment to doing work differently.

This is a goal I've sought for many years.

most recently in a letter to the executive in April that attempted to make this change collaboratively and non-legislatively, and also signed by council members Lewis and Mosqueda.

This letter was entirely ignored.

The conversations we've had over the past week points towards significant and welcome changes in the operations for the navigation team that would likely result in fewer involuntary relocations, more partnership with encampments to mitigate hazards and obstacles, and more robust services for people living in encampments while still attending to public safety needs.

In fact, the executive has indicated that the mayor's proposed 2021 budget, which is expected in just a week, will include some of these changes to the navigation team.

And they verbally agreed to memorialize this intent in the alternative bill.

Yet when we proposed language to do that, we were told it was a non-starter and there would be no deal without that language included.

Well, I'd like to say that our conversation and verbal agreement suffices.

The reality is that I really needed to see this commitment in writing.

I hope next week that we will see these proposed changes in the navigation team when the mayor introduces her proposed budget for next year.

I'm uncertain as to why, given the expressed intent, there was an unwillingness to put it in writing.

But it is important to state that overriding this veto will not end outreach and engagement to people living unsheltered.

In fact, it will increase the amount of funds available to our external partners to do this work by putting more funds in contracts with organizations that are currently doing outreach.

My expectation is that those providers will work with the city and focus on encampments that the city identifies as high hazard locations or obstructions in the public right of way to work towards voluntary relocations in those instances.

And I will continue to push for improvements in the way that the city responds to encampments.

In closing, as I said, I don't take this vote lightly.

I did participate in negotiations for the alternate bill in good faith, and in the hope that similar to the jumpstart legislation, the council and mayor could find a compromise that would ensure that resources that the council appropriates would actually be spent in 2020. For the viewing public, it's really important to note that the council can provide the funds, but we cannot force the mayor to spend them.

By stepping away from the alternate bill, it's possible that the mayor will decide not to spend funds on our important priorities in 2020. But it's also important to stand behind the vision that the council working with community laid out in its original rebalancing package.

As I said, when the council passed resolution 31962, which outlined the vision for changes to community safety and work seamlessly with this budget bill.

With this resolution, the council is starting to define our ideas informed by our constituents, by community advocates and activists.

It gives community members a way to hold us accountable for continued progress and invites the executive into a conversation with council on the best path forward to realize this vision.

I still believe that we can reach this promise and really I maintain my optimism that we will turn the page on this vote and begin a new collaboration.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Are there any other comments from colleagues?

Okay, no additional comments.

Okay, Council Member Strauss, and then Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, colleagues, for your time today.

I will be voting to override this unnecessary veto today.

Because this work is too important to stop and play political games, I came to my initial decision to support the budget before us based upon policy choices.

While I would change my vote on executive pay, and there are aspects of the compromise bill put forward that I really appreciate and I really think are important.

Overall, the compromise bill falls short of what was and is widely known to be the shared objectives of this council.

I know we can make the much needed changes in eight days as we take up the 2021 budget.

And what led us to the 2020 rebalance was eight years of police reform that resulted in excessive and indiscriminate use of force against Seattleites exercising their First Amendment rights.

This summer was worse than the 1999 WTO demonstrations where 30,000 people descended and occupied downtown Seattle.

It was as if eight years of reform didn't occur, and the 45% budget increase in those last eight years went unchecked.

The changes proposed in the 2020 rebalanced budget are not radical or earth-shattering.

They are reasonable, responsible first steps in a long process to re-envisioning the way we handle public safety.

We arrived at this package after two months of discussion and careful policy analysis, analyzing SPD's current expenditures to determine where we could begin shifting resources.

I liked the majority of this compromise bill, as I stated, but it did fall short by eliminating nearly all of the SPD adjustments.

It was as if the compromise was put forward without attending to the priorities discussed in the rebalance process.

was widely available to anyone in city government to view.

These adjustments were mostly provisos as well, which means that the final determination on how funds are used or not used would be or distributed would be made at a later date once the information requested was then provided to us so that we could, as a council, make a completely informed decision.

This was a multi-step process.

And I view this conversation around public safety really in a three-step process that will continue into next year.

The 2020 rebalance was just the first step of this three-step process by, number one, investing in important programs that needed to be scaled up before receiving responsibility of public safety, by answering important questions about how changes are made within the police department, And delaying this first step, even just by the past month, has already put us behind in addressing the crisis before us, and we cannot delay this any longer.

The second step in this three-step process is this interim period between the 2020 rebalance and the 2021 budget to receive additional information from the police department, how we adjust changes in their structure to some of these provisos to receive some of that information.

and to have the conversations that many of us have had with the police department during this last month.

The third step being the 2021 budget.

This third step is going to begin in eight days and this veto has occupied the time that we could have been working together towards a better future rather than continuing to grandstand via press releases.

And colleagues, my apologies.

These last statements about our three-step process was intended for the viewing public as all of you are more than aware of all of the work that we have done.

I recognize that the package before us to override or sustain is not perfect.

I voted to keep the navigation team in place without SPD involvement.

I believe and I would vote to reverse the pay cuts made to SPD's command staff.

But those policy imperfections outweigh the benefits of the overall package.

It outweighs the need to get money out to community now and to make those investments so that we can scale up programs so that by the end of the 2021 budget cycle, we actually know which programs we can rely on to be successful.

And I hope that this moment today, we are in a moment of shifting of posture, and at a starting point to move forward in a collaborative manner.

I spoke to the mayor's office today, probably the first time in about two months they called me.

And despite the press releases sent out over the last few months, I spoke to Chief Best during the 2020 rebalance process.

I offered her additional opportunities to have discussion.

We worked with her command staff to understand the intricacies of the SPD's budget.

I've already met with Chief Diaz and I'm truly excited to work with him.

And despite the press release sent, Standing behind our past decisions does not mean we are not looking forward to working together.

Put differently, standing behind our past decisions does still mean we are looking to work together in the future.

I'm a person who works with people I disagree with to find common ground, to share a vision and see that vision into reality.

There are more discussions to be had, more votes to be taken, and we have the benefit that if every branch of the city is talking to one another and working together, we have more information to make the right choices on behalf of all Seattleites.

We have larger choices to make with larger stakes at hand and longer-lasting outcomes that will begin in eight short days.

Compromise, consensus, and working together does not mean communicating via press releases or sending moments at the last minute before council votes.

It does mean meeting each other where we are, walking that path together, and finding solutions that work for all Seattleites.

I'm committed to seeing us make important changes to how we deliver public safety to our community.

and I look forward to working with anyone in the executive's office who wants to work with me, to anyone in any department that wants to work with me, and to all of our colleagues who I know share a vision of working together.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss for those comments.

Council Member Mosqueda, please.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

Council colleagues, thank you all for all of your comments today as well.

I want to reiterate my appreciation for all of the work that you all have done over the last few months as we've been engaged in a really tough conversation in the midst of multiple crises, both COVID, the housing crisis, economic crisis, and the civil rights uprising that we are continuing to attempt to solve together.

Seattle is really at the heart of a national conversation and a national movement to reimagine policing, to reduce incidences where black and brown lives are taken on camera, on the job, and in the name of what has been traditionally known as policing in our country.

And that's what this conversation is really about.

And let's look at what's happened across the nation.

Across the nation, cities after city has recognized that it's an imperative conversation to have about the right size and the right scope of police departments.

According to Forbes magazine just last month, there were 13 cities so far that are not just in conversations about reducing the size and scope but have already acted and voted.

They voted to reimagine public safety, not because it's personal, not because it's punitive, but because it's being called for in city after city, after death, after death, year after year.

City of Austin divested $150 million.

New York City divested $1 billion.

Los Angeles divested $150 million.

San Francisco divested $120 million.

What the council did through our legislative branch of government is we legislated.

We legislated in a moment of crisis to continue to respond to the fact that there is an ongoing call for action across this nation.

We legislated in a moment of crisis and during a movement that demands this type of action.

We legislated knowing that we are building a path for a longer-term systemic change that is absolutely needed, and we're taking small steps.

By taking small steps this summer, we sent a symbolic message of future bargaining that would happen.

We sent a message that we were beginning a down payment on the investments needed to build community capacity, to better respond to public safety concerns, and to create more resilient communities from the beginning.

And we responded to the fact that this is a department in the city of Seattle that has grown by almost half over the last eight years.

We worked collaboratively to legislate.

We worked with stakeholders and various folks in the community impacted by public health crisis of COVID and over-policing to make informed policy decisions so that we could legislate on these multiple crises in this moment of time that demands action.

And yes, I agree.

There's things that we are going to continue to legislate and improve upon.

That's the legislative process.

And I, for one, will be the first to say we will do a better job of making sure that those voices and concerns, either from departments and various community members, people continue to have a place at the table and that the table is broadened.

There is broad agreement, though, in the community.

that there is an urgent need to address the systems that have systemically divested from black and brown communities and to act urgently to invest in those communities.

And this isn't something that the city of Seattle has done alone.

Historically, we are not the only jurisdiction that has divested from black and brown communities.

and invested in policing.

This is an issue that is not only at the nation wide, but at the state level as well.

We collectively have to work with jurisdictions who are like-minded to really reinvest in black and brown communities.

Invest, listen, and respond.

This work is not easy, as you heard from our council colleagues today.

People have put tremendous amount of time into working on the details of this process, have brought together community partners, and really engaged in a process throughout the last few months to ensure that we were holding ourselves accountable, that we were collaboratively working on policymaking, that we were informed by the hours of public testimony, and that we were truly providing an opportunity for people's voices to be heard.

We do want to continue to move forward on structural changes.

The summer budgeting process and the special summer budget is not the end all be all.

And this was not the place that we were going to be able to make the large systemic changes.

But the places where we made changes were an important first step.

Many of those amendments voted unanimously by council to move forward to make this down payment at this critical time.

Again, the council uses legislative authority to put forward these minor changes.

And I mentioned yesterday, these changes totaled less than 1% of the police budget because that's what we could do in the middle of the year.

We did this first step in the middle of an uprising, in the call of defense for black lives, and in the midst of an economic shortfall created by a deadly pandemic, we did act with urgency.

And the changes we put forward, I believe, were thoughtful, measured, legally defensible, and intended to lead to that transformational change.

But as a council and as a broader body, we know that there's more that we can do to make sure that the process continues to be more inclusive throughout the fall.

I want to uplift all of the comments that were made by our council colleagues about the importance of the participatory budgeting process and also pulling in diverse voices to continue to be informed by those who have lived experience and have those folks at the table.

This is an opportunity for us to move forward on making critical changes to invest in the community through the votes that we have taken.

We listened, we acted, we knew it was an important first step in a longer term and more inclusive process to come this fall.

I wanna be very clear.

When we talk about our plan, our plan is being informed by the investments that we are making into community through this process.

By having a participatory budgeting process, by working collectively with community, by including folks from the mayor's office and diverse voices, our plan is informed, will be informed by the process that we outlined very clearly in the budget documents in front of us.

We are setting the stage for a more inclusive conversation to respond to this uprising across the country.

And we are going to continue with our efforts to make sure that we are lessening the harm done by our current police-driven approach to moving those who are in shelter from corner to corner.

We are moving forward with directing our bargaining efforts to promote more public safety-oriented policing model.

And we are collaboratively developing a plan to center those with lived experience with the expertise of diverse community voices at the table.

I'm really looking forward to having a conversation about the next step.

What we do now informs what we will do in 2021. The process that we are investing in is so critical for this longer term strategy to make sure that we are truly pulling people to the table who have the lived experience and are going to be able to tell us how to continue to invest.

I want to make sure that folks know that this was truly informed by broad, diverse conversations with folks in the public.

There were four hours of public testimony specific to the SPD inquest.

There were four hours devoted to public testimony specific to the budget on other items.

There were eight hours of public testimony devoted to both topics.

And overall, that's a total of 16 hours of public comment that we included in a very short window to try to provide as much opportunity as we could for folks' voices to be heard.

We did what we asked elected leaders to do, those who are either sitting in positions of power or in the halls of power, to bring in those with lived experience and make sure that they have a voice at the table.

When we say Black Lives Matter, we aim to direct policy and legislative actions at major institutions that we know have either divested or caused harm over the decades and centuries.

And we are working where we can with urgency, not on issues that are just politically convenient, but are issues that are truly uncomfortable.

that sometimes shake us to our core, because it's the right thing to do to push for change.

And we need to make sure that we continue in this effort, bringing in diverse voices, including folks who don't agree with us, to really reimagine what a reimagined public safety institution looks like.

I will continue to look to community voices, conversations with the mayor's office, direction from all of you to continue to get feedback from folks on the frontline, whether they're workers or they are ongoing Black Lives Matter protests to make sure that our process is improved upon.

And that includes making sure that we have the opportunity to hear from the mayor, her departments on concerns and how issues will be implemented.

We're committed to do that, but we are also committed to moving forward.

The 1% cut was an effort to ensure that we moved forward and that we acted with urgency in this time.

And we spent our nights and we spent our weekends and we spent our evenings and days dedicated to making sure that we were able to move forward a budget process in a very short period of time.

And I know like many of you, I missed opportunities to tuck my kiddo in, I missed opportunities to have meals with my family and my friends.

And we did this knowing that people like Charlene Liles will never tuck her child in again, will never have the opportunity to be with her family again.

because she was met with a person with a gun versus somebody who could have shown up potentially as a mental health counselor.

We do this in the name of the people who have died over the years because this is what it's about.

Black Lives Matter is asking us to make sure that we act with urgency so that fewer folks end up being seen on camera dying when people are working on behalf of our city.

We can do better.

We know we must do better, and we will continue to endeavor to make sure that everyone is able to tuck their loved ones in at night.

Whether it's individuals who have met law enforcement and traffic incidents in their homes, in the streets, we want to do a better job of making sure everyone is safe, no matter where they are, no matter the color of their skin.

As this national conversation continues, I think it's imperative that we center our next steps on the voices of those who we have brought in and continue to bring in more folks.

And that includes working with the mayor's office, and I'm committed to doing that.

There's a few things that I want to make sure are very clear as councilmembers have already noted.

I agree with what other councilmembers have said about our budget process or our budget not necessarily being a perfect document, but there's some key pieces that I want to provide clarification on.

First, this budget was never asking the office of the mayor or the police department to eliminate 100 of the most diverse or the newest recruits.

We made sure to include language to make sure that this is out of order hiring or firings were able to be considered that out of order layoffs were part of what we could bargain.

But now there's over 90 positions that have already become vacant.

And this is an area for us to look to see if there's the ability to codify this, these vacancies and move forward.

Second, The budget never eliminated the ability to address crime or hazards in the street.

Period.

Full stop.

Like Councilmember Herbold said, I'm eager to continue the conversation and to get feedback that is promised to us about how efforts are being done better or could be done better.

Ideally, we'll see something in the next week here.

But I want to make sure that it's clear for me that I had conversations with folks who are providing services on the front line, and they have said unequivocally that eliminating the navigation team as it currently was structured did not eliminate the functions of the ability for existing contracts and communities and partners in the community to continue to help move people into appropriate housing and shelters.

What it did was change our police-led model of interacting with those who are currently outside.

And third, on the issue of executive pay reductions, this is an area, again, where I am hopeful that we will find potential compromise or strategies to move forward for our 2021 budget and look forward to working with all the council members.

I know various council members have indicated interest in continuing to talk about this for 2021 and an overall assessment as Council Member Lewis originally put forward of all the executive pay bans and making sure that this is a conversation that's holistic, that it's well-informed and data-driven.

This is a commitment that we have to engage in a process for the 2021 budget and I look forward to working with all of you and the mayor's office and departments as we consider any of those possibilities.

I want to end by echoing the Council President and her words yesterday and her message today.

I'm really hopeful that we will be able to continue to override I want to thank the council president and her team for taking the lead in working with the mayor's office to try to negotiate a possible compromise strategy.

I think very important progress was made.

Coming very close.

But I'm very appreciative of the council members' comments, all of you, and all of your comments today.

and appreciative of the efforts that many of you have outlined to move forward, put this budget into statute, amend small pieces as we consider 2021 if needed, but the effort in front of us is responding to the calls for action that we've received.

The calls for action are asking us to remember that people continue to ask us to act, ask us to act with urgency, ask us to make sure that we are stepping up, protecting those who are expressing their long standing call for systemic change to our existing public safety model and asking us to not just think about the divestment side, but truly think about the long term investment side in public services and housing, education and true sustainability, especially for our black and brown voices.

who we have included at the table will continue to do so, will broaden out and will truly lift up because those are the folks with lived experience that are leading our efforts and leading our votes.

So let's dissent today.

Let's immediately then get to work, working together with the executive and the community at large to shift the way we invest, to make sure that we're listening and that we act with urgency.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda.

Are there any other comments on the bill?

Council Member Sawant, please.

Thank you, President Gonzalez.

Until about 45 minutes ago, or maybe at this point an hour ago, I did not know which way this vote was going to go because I was not part of any behind-the-scenes discussions or so-called negotiations with a mayor who has already shown, as nakedly as is possible for a Democrat maybe, that she serves big business, not working people, and the marginalized.

Our movement should recognize that the Democratic establishment very nearly sustained Mayor Durkan's vote.

But it is clearly credit to the absolutely ferocious fight back from ordinary people since yesterday and a few days before from our Black Lives Matter movement that democratic politicians have been forced to say that they are going to override the mayor's veto.

I believe there are now seven votes to override if I'm counting correctly.

If our movement defeats Durkin's veto, it should be a lesson of the power of movements.

because it was the power of the movement.

It was the power of the public voice by ordinary people, by working people, by the Black Lives Matter movement that would have defeated the veto.

And rather than get back into a trap of thinking that it was the largest of democratic politicians, we should remember that it was the serious fire from the movement that will have won the day today.

Because let's not forget, a so-called alternative budget, a budget that guts virtually all the modest progress voted on by the council in August under pressure from the movement, had already been put forward.

Why?

That work was not done just for anything.

It was done in anticipation of the veto being sustained.

So I hope that my fellow activists, my fellow working people, My fellow members of communities of color will remember the lesson of today.

If we are able to override the veto, it was because of the power of the movement.

As I had said publicly in council briefing yesterday and also on September 8th, I was going to overwrite today to overturn the mayor's veto, and I, of course, intend to do that.

My vote today will not be an endorsement of the August budget vote, but rather a vote to fully reject Mayor Durkan's veto and that revised budget that was put forward, which represents a vicious attack on Black Lives Matter and working people as a whole, including our homeless neighbors.

The veto by the mayor, in fact, is a second shameful capitulation to big business.

On top of that, which did take place in August on the city council.

Despite promises by seven of the nine council members to defund the police by 50% as demanded by the Black Lives Matter movement, the budget passed by the Democrats in August only reduced police spending by $3 million, less than 1%, and then accepted $3 million in new police funding from the Department of Homeland Security, effectively defunding nothing.

As admitted by Democratic Council Member Mosqueda yesterday, the reductions to the police budget, ultimately approved by the majority of the council in August, were, quote, symbolic in nature, end quote.

The people's budget movement in my socialist council office did bring amendments at the time to defund the police by 50%, giving council members every opportunity to follow through on their promises, but no other council member supported it.

Instead of defunding the police, the budget slashed millions from parks, libraries, and roads.

That is what we mean by an austerity budget.

And we should remember, as a sober reminder, if the override works, then what we will have succeeded in maintaining is itself an austerity budget, which fundamentally is a way to make working people pay for the crisis of the capitalist system instead of big business and the rich.

Faced with the pandemic and the economic recession, Faced with a climate emergency filling our skies with smoke, faced with unprecedented homelessness and inequality, the Seattle City Council should have instead passed a massive budget expansion paid for by taxes on big business additional to the Amazon tax that we already won as our movement proposed to fund housing, jobs programs, expanded social services, and a bold green new deal.

But what big business mayor Durkin proposed and the majority of the council helped her to do was ram through budget cuts in the midst of the profound crisis facing working people.

For those reasons, I voted against the budget as a whole in August while fighting to win every possible progressive amendment alongside our movements.

It seemed, after that, that that capitulation to big business and the Chamber of Commerce was not enough for the mayor or the democratic establishment that is so aligned to big business.

And the mayor vetoed the summer budget, not because she opposes austerity, but because she would like to carry out even more brutal austerity without defunding the police at all, without funding the Green New Deal at this moment when the West Coast is on fire, and without any public oversight.

She did so at a moment of profound crisis for working people, from police killings to COVID-19 to climate-triggered wildfires and bad air.

We can't breathe in every sense of those words.

Durkin's veto did not prevent the budget cuts because barring a fighting movement demanding accountability, the mayor always has the power to not spend budgeted funds as intended by the city council.

And this mayor has a long track record of doing that.

Her veto was a brazen and public attack of any progressive measure, however minor, in the August budget vote by the council.

So in effect her veto would have been to maintain all austerity while eliminating all the progressive amendments our movement won.

In the summer budget our movements won an end to the navigation team that carries out the cruel and ineffective sweeps on our homeless neighbors.

The mayor's vote veto eliminated that progressive change.

It eliminated the small, symbolic in nature reduction to the bloated police budget.

The police spent $6.3 million in three in in 12 days, gassing the people of Seattle, repressing peaceful protests, but somehow cannot afford $3 million in cuts to their department of 409 and $9 million.

The mayor's veto eliminates both funding for the Green New Deal and for community organizations who develop community safety alternatives to repressive policing.

For all those reasons, as I said, I will vote to overturn the veto.

Socialist Alternative and I continue to believe that the August budget that was passed is totally inadequate and unacceptable, but we stand firm against any vicious attack by Mayor Durkin or any other politician on the limited progressive gains in that budget.

Council just spent over an hour yesterday discussing the details of the so-called alternative bill which was to be item number four on today's agenda without one council member at that time publicly stating that they will vote against the override.

It felt like we were having that discussion in the future after the veto override had already failed.

Until the start of council member speeches today, As far as my office is aware, not one council member had publicly admitted that they would vote to sustain Durkin's veto.

So where did those discussions take place?

Where were those votes revealed?

By law, these deliberations need to happen in public.

It's illegal for five or more council members to engage in backroom conversations and policy decision making.

But what I would say is that even if no law was technically broken, planning a so-called alternative bill, especially one that guts what the movement had won before any council member has publicly said that they would actually vote to sustain the veto from the mayor, definitely violates the spirit of the law and would have been another slap in the face of ordinary people had ordinary people not fought back in the way that they have done.

And my tremendous congratulations go to all my fellow activists who have spoken up in a way that we should always be speaking up.

As I've said, it was the strength of the movement that has, if we do sustain, if we do override the veto, then it will have been the strength of the movement that forced the hand of the serious, of the democratic establishment.

And as I said, I hope many activists learn a lesson from this.

The serious resistance from ordinary people in just a few days and maybe just in 24 hours, averted what the Democrats had decided to do.

Let's understand that that's where the bargaining power lies, by organizing and mobilizing independently of the establishment, not by relying on Democrats doing the right thing.

by talking behind the scenes.

Let's keep this in mind because right after today, we go into the budget discussions for the budget of next two years.

And so if we want to win serious victories, not a 1% reduction in the police budget, but an actual defunding of the police department by at least 50%, if we want to make sure that our homeless neighbors are not harassed and that we keep the stop of the sweeps and that we don't allow any more sweeps and that we have We also need to fight for an elected community oversight board with full powers over the police because we have just seen many, many examples that the existing so-called accountability structure does not work.

The Office of Professional Accountability just delivered its conclusions that the police officer who pepper sprayed the seven-year-old child was not, you know, was within their lawful duties.

So we need to make sure that we learn from what we have just accomplished today and also, you know, read between the lines.

Already you are hearing council members, including the council members, who are going to overwrite the veto, which is a good thing and it's credit to the movement, but already they are saying, They are talking about compromise.

We just heard council members saying, today we dissent, tomorrow we compromise.

Absolutely not.

We do not compromise.

We take our movements on the streets to city hall and we learn from the fight back that we have succeeded today and make sure that we continue organizing and mobilizing and lean on our own strength as an independent movement and also learn that the Democratic Party is not our friend.

that working people, marginalized communities, communities of color, black and brown working class people, homeless neighbors, we need a party of our own that's accountable to us and does not play games behind our backs.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss, please.

Thank you, Council President and Council Member Sawant.

Thank you for your comments.

I do feel like it was projected upon me that I made decisions based upon the actions of the last 24 hours or longer.

And I just want to clarify for the viewing public, I wasn't involved in any backroom conversations, nor did I make my decisions based on anything other than policy choices that were before us, because these choices were the right thing to do.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss.

Are there any other comments on the bill before us, which is Council Bill 119825?

Okay, I am just going to hopefully make some quick remarks here, and then we'll go ahead and begin the process of calling the roll on the various bills before us.

I do recognize that most of the council members who have spoken have spoken to all three bills.

I still am required by the rules to ask if there are any comments on the other two bills, but I would ask you to be judicious about making additional comments.

It is now six o'clock p.m.

and many of us have to get back to other things and to our families.

And so I would appreciate it if folks have any additional comments, that those comments be made now at the top of the agenda so that we can swiftly move through the roll call on the various votes.

So again, colleagues, if you have anything else to say now, it's my hope and request that you use this time at the top of the agenda to make those comments so that we can go through the paces of the roll call so that we can conclude this evening's already three-hour long committee hearing.

Council Member Herbold, please.

Sorry, I'm just trying to get some clarity.

I heard conflicting direction from you, Madam Chair, Madam President.

If our comments are brief on the other bills, can we hold them?

We're going to be here until midnight, but yes, you can make comments.

So this was on Council Bill 119825. I'm going to go ahead and make my remarks, and then we'll go ahead and begin the process of calling the roll on this and then asking for more comments on other issues.

So I just want to say, colleagues, as I mentioned yesterday in Council briefing, I do intend to vote to override Mayor Durkin's veto of the three bills that were passed by the City Council during our summer budgeting process.

Divestment from a broken policing model is not only the right thing to do, but it is, in my belief, understanding of the facts.

As previous public safety chair of Seattle City Council and having spent over 10 years of my career as a civil rights attorney and advocating for police reform, I believe that it is the needed course of action and that it is important for us to make sure that we continue to grow public safety by including BIPOC communities and individuals.

We need public safety that is centered and invests in harm reduction, not the ongoing status quo of the policing model as we know it in America.

City Council's budget actions over the summer was a starting place to get to public safety that truly includes and serves everyone, but especially BIPOC community members.

The modest actions that the council took over the summer were necessary and we're necessary to begin the process of divesting from law enforcement and carceral systems in order to begin investing in real community safety for all Seattleites, especially BIPOC community members.

Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe in their community, but the countless videos and names of black and brown lives lost here in Seattle and across the country have shown us that not everyone feels safe in their communities.

And that in fact, not everyone in our community is safe.

We cannot look away from this and we can no longer accept the status quo if we truly believe that Black Lives Matter.

When I look back in this moment in time, I want to be able to tell my daughter, who I'm currently holding in my arms, that I did the right thing and that I voted on the right side of history, not for political expediency, not because there was a disagreement about where to put a decimal point, not because of political pressure, but because it is the right thing to do.

So my votes today to override the mayor's veto is one action to move our city towards a more just society.

And as a policymaker, for me, when I looked at the budget this summer, it was imperative to do a few things.

First, to make meaningful community investments to build wealth and security in BIPOC communities.

Second, fund a robust community-led participatory budget process that will help to inform and influence larger investments in BIPOC communities.

And third, to take meaningful steps towards beginning the process of reducing the size of the police force and that would allow us to shift some of those resources and other resources to community-supported public safety programs centered on harm reduction and more civilianized E91 response systems.

So as a policymaker, part of my job is to have challenging conversations, to work to find solutions and collaborate with other parts of city government And yes, that includes the mayor, and it includes other council members, because at the end of the day, City Hall must work for the people of Seattle.

Facing the prospects of a sustained veto on these budget actions that would result in zero changes to the police department budget or operations and zero investments in community-based alternatives, I felt it was my responsibility as council president to ensure that City Hall could still deliver on some investments for BIPOC communities, that we could fund some form of participatory budget process starting now, and that we could work to right-size our police department.

This meant working with some of my colleagues and the mayor and her administration to see what a potential compromise could look like.

And there have been claims specifically by Council Member Swann that somehow speaking to the mayor is a violation of the Open Public Meetings Act.

It is not.

It is part of our job to speak to people that we agree to, that we disagree to with, and that people that we want to learn from.

It is okay for us to have conversations with each other in an attempt to identify where the gaps are and how we can bridge those gaps.

Council is the legislative branch of city government can pass legislation and budgets, but we cannot force the mayor to spend or not spend as we have directed.

So make no mistake, the council, including myself and the mayor, do have stark differences of opinion in approach, policy, and what we believe are the investment levels into our city and the programs that we believe are necessary to lift our communities up.

But City Hall cannot be gridlocked while communities are hurting and begging for our help.

This is why I got to work with the mayor and with others to develop a potential backup plan.

I did this in good faith and believe that Mayor Durkan also was at the negotiation table in good faith.

It is in this good faith that I believe we found some common ground to bring together our divergent visions for how to implement and effectuate the transformative changes to policing and budgeting that changes our status quo for the better.

Is it perfect?

No, but neither are the three bills that we voted on this summer.

Council Bill 119900, was the culmination of a month of intensive conversations and negotiations between my office and the mayor's senior level staff to find a way forward, to allow us to put the summer budget to rest and to begin to shift our attention to the bigger, more important conversation that is the fall budget process.

That process begins in seven days.

The policies advanced in the alternative bill, I agree, are a far cry from what the council passed in August.

To me, what this exercise has done is illuminate and quantify how far apart we are on our vision and approach from that of the mayor.

That is why today I continue to support the budget passed by the council, that was passed in August and why I will continue to support the process or the outcome of the votes that the council considered in the summer.

But I cannot sit idly by and run the risk of nothing being achieved after this policy fight with the mayor.

I do think, colleagues, it is important for us to turn the page, to try our best to identify consensus where we can, to make sure that we clarify when we are going to disagree.

And this isn't about capitulation.

This is not about giving in to some dark, seedy, backroom, smoke-filled power.

This is about trying to make sure that we use this positional power for however long it is we are privileged to have it to make some change for the better.

And that's what this exercise is about.

The focus on the vetoes and who has power and who doesn't have power is distracting us.

It is time for us to move past this back and forth and get to work.

That is what we have to do.

That is what we were elected to do.

And we can have differences along the way, But the harder work is to try to see how we can get along for the sake of rising to the challenge and the occasion of this civil rights movement.

That's the challenge before us.

And I think it's unfair for our supporters and our detractors to draw lines in the sand to proclaim that if we speak to anybody who doesn't agree with us, that somehow we have lost our way.

That is not the case.

I speak to people I agree with all the time.

I speak to people that I disagree with all the time.

I do that because it's part of my work to listen to people.

and to shift through that information and to make really hard choices.

And this fall is going to be hard.

We are going to be faced as leaders in this city with some of the hardest choices we will ever make facing a multi hundred million dollar deficit in our budget.

And we will be asked to make difficult decisions.

What are our principles?

What is our North Star?

How are we going to work together?

These are things that we have to answer and quickly in order to make sure that three months from now, we are not sitting here considering and reconsidering a vetoed budget for the entire city.

That is an untenable place for us to be and an untenable place for us to head.

So I am happy to stand with this city council and I'm also I'm hopeful that we will have an opportunity to truly meaningfully move forward to get the work done and to do it as quickly and as responsive as we can to the demands that we are hearing from the thousands of people who are contacting our offices every single day.

So that being said, I'm going to go ahead and close out debate on Council Bill 119825. President Gonzalez, you misrepresented my point, so I need to respond very quickly.

Council Member Sawant, no.

You misrepresented me completely.

No, you misrepresented me completely.

You said that- Council Member Sawant, I have closed out debate.

I'm going to call for a point of order.

I specifically called for comments by all council members prior to my making comments, and I am closing out debate on this matter.

Yes, but you completely misrepresented me, so I have to respond.

I am not misrepresenting anything.

I'm not going to debate with you.

I'm not going to argue with you.

This is beneath all of us.

Let's move on.

You know, I am calling up the reconsideration of passive.

You said that just talking to the mayor is a violation to five.

The City Council will now vote to reconsider passage of Council Bill 119825 and to either override or sustain the mayoral veto.

During roll call, council members will either vote I to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

If the vote on the motion is tied or less than a two thirds, that's six votes, the bill fails and the veto is sustained.

If the vote on the motion receives exactly six votes in favor, the bill passes.

The veto is overridden, but the provisions within the bill do not go into effect.

If the vote receives seven or more votes in favor, the bill passes, the veto is overridden, and all provisions within the bill go into effect.

Are there any questions on the procedures related to this vote?

Just to confirm, Madam President, then it's yes to override, no to sustain, correct?

Correct.

Yes, a vote to pass the bill and override is a yes.

A no is a vote to sustain the veto.

Okay.

Hearing no further questions on the procedures related to the vote, as a reminder, council members will either vote aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto, or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of council bill 119825 and consideration of the mayoral veto.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

No.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

No.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Seven in favor, two opposed.

The motion carries.

The mayor's veto is overridden and the chair will sign the bill certifying passage of council bill 119825. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the bill?

The chair recognizes that all provisions within this bill are in effect and the council will not be considering item four on the agenda, which is council bill 119900. Item two, reconsideration of council bill 119862. Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Council Bill 119862, amending ordinance 12600, which adopted the 2020 budget, changing appropriations to the legislative department, appropriating funds from the Revenue Stabilization Fund, and ratifying and confirming Church and Prior Acts, all by three-fourth vote of the City Council.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I'm calling up the reconsideration of passage of Council Bill 119862 to consider passage of the bill and the mayor's veto.

The reconsideration of Council Bill 119862 is now pending before the council.

Are there any comments on Council Bill 119862?

Hearing no comments on Council Bill 119862, the City Council will now vote to reconsider passage of Council Bill 119862 and to either override or sustain the mayoral veto.

During roll call, Council members will either vote aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

If the vote on the motion is tied or less than a two thirds, that's six votes, the bill fails and the veto is sustained.

If the vote on the motion is exactly six votes in favor, the bill passes, the veto is overridden, but the provisions within the bill do not go into effect.

If the vote receives seven or more votes in favor, the bill passes, the veto is overridden, and all provisions within the bill go into effect.

Are there any questions on the procedural matters related to this vote?

Hearing none, as a reminder, council members will either vote aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto, or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of Council Bill 119862 and consideration of the mayoral veto.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Swant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Yes.

I'm sorry, that was a yes?

Yes.

Thank you.

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

The motion carries.

The mayor's veto is overridden and the chair will sign the bill certifying passage of Council Bill 119862. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the bill?

The chair recognizes that all provisions within this bill are in effect.

Item three, reconsideration of council bill 119863. Will the clerk please read item three into the record?

Agenda item three, council bill 119863, authorizing the loan of funds from the construction and inspection fund to the general fund.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I'm calling up the reconsideration of passage of Council Bill 119863 to consider passage of the bill and the Mayor's veto.

The reconsideration of Council Bill 119863 is now pending before the Council.

Are there any comments?

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

I really appreciate Madam President's indulgence.

I want to speak to the importance of this investment.

This legislation would authorize $4 million to the Human Services Department for investments and efforts such as the Seattle Community Safety Initiative in responding to the immediate need for scaling up gun violence intervention and prevention, and to set up community safety hubs in target communities to facilitate culturally relevant and holistic community safety efforts.

This is a partnership between four people of color-led organizations and programs, including Community Passageways, Urban Family, the Southeast Safety Network, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Alive and Free program of the YMCA.

The additional $10 million would go to the Human Services Department for scaling up community-led organizations, including technical support and capacity building to increase public safety so that HSD will contract with a nonprofit organization to serve as a central hub that will in turn award grant dollars to other nonprofit organizations.

These investments would include growing the capacity of organizations that respond to 911 crisis calls, provide long-term support beyond crisis intervention to criminalize populations and interrupt and prevent violence and harm.

I ask your indulgence to speak to the importance of these investments and the use of these investments in recognition of the point that you, Council President Gonzalez, made earlier that with the overriding of this veto, that we cannot compel the executive to spend these dollars, but I highlight the importance of these dollars and their use in a plea with the executive to do so.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Are there any other comments?

Okay, hearing none, the City Council will now vote to reconsider passage of Council Bill 119863 and to either override or sustain the mayoral veto.

During roll call, council members will either vote aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

If the vote on the motion is tied or less than a two thirds, that's six votes, the bill fails and the veto is sustained.

If the vote on the motion is six or more votes in favor, the bill passes, the veto is overridden, and all provisions within the bill go into effect.

Are there any questions on the procedural aspects of the vote?

Hearing none, as a reminder, council members will vote either aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto, or vote no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of council bill 119863 and consideration of the mayoral veto.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Warres?

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

The motion carries.

The mayor's veto is overridden and the chair will sign the bill certifying passage of Council Bill 119863. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the bill?

The chair recognizes that all provisions within the bill are in effect.

Okay, colleagues, we do not need to consider agenda item four as it was only going to be necessary if the mayoral vetoes were sustained.

So colleagues, this does conclude items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regular city council meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, September 29th at 2 o'clock PM in observance of Yom Kippur, which is on Monday, September 28th.

I do hope that all of you have a wonderful evening.

I appreciate all of your attention and we are adjourned.

Good night.