Select Committee on Seattle Transportation Benefit District, Session II 7/13/2026

All right.

Good evening.

The July 13th, 2026 Select Committee on the Seattle Transportation Benefit District will come back to order.

It is 5.03.

I am Rob Socket, Chair of the Committee.

Will the Committee Clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Foster.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Juarez.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

Council Member Lynn.

Here.

Wait, was that Lynn?

Apologies.

Let's read the last Council Member.

Council Member Lynn.

Council Member Rink.

Present.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Here.

Chair Sacca.

Here.

Chair, there are six members present.

All right, thank you.

The rest of the council members are excused until they arrive.

Good evening, colleagues, members of the public.

Welcome and thank you for joining us today.

Really important conversation.

We're gonna get the chance to hear from you all directly.

As we consider this proposed Seattle transit measure and the various amendments that each committee member has offered, it is important to remember that public input isn't just about checking the box, but rather it's a foundation for effective, accountable policymaking.

When residents have a voice in shaping projects, programs, and services, we build public trust and we also help create solutions that are more equitable, more durable and more broadly supported.

I want to thank all members of the public who are taking advantage of this opportunity to share your perspectives directly with us today.

Your insights strengthen our decisions and your engagement helps us build a transportation future that truly works for everyone.

As a friendly reminder and administrative note, friendly reminder to all my council member colleagues that my office has been setting up quick one-on-one conversations with each of you to discuss the proposed Seattle transit measure renewal and your respective priorities.

Please prioritize these quick huddle conversations over the next few, really by tomorrow, so we can make efficient and effective use of our very limited and fleeting time together during committee.

So if you do not already have a meeting with me on the calendar, please have your staff work with my staff to make sure we get this critical conversation scheduled as soon as possible.

Before we open up the in-person public hearing component, we had an earlier AM remote testimony opportunity.

I want to just kind of level set, remind folks about the process.

We will open with session two, which is why we're here today of this hearing, where we will accept in-person comments.

We have scheduled this evening session in order to provide an option for members of the public who are unable to attend this morning's virtual session.

Registration for in-person comments began promptly at 4.30 p.m.

tonight, rather, and will continue until we have heard all registered speakers.

If we have more speakers than time allotted, we'll continue the conversation from there.

But everyone, I think today will likely get two minutes At Thursday's select committee meeting, that will be at 9.30 in the morning, we will be accepting written public comments only.

This is to allow for plenty of time to deliberate, discuss, and vote.

the amendments and the final package, uh, and allow us to approve a final package to submit to the full council for consideration, which the anticipated final vote for that at full council is next Tuesday, next Tuesday, a week from tomorrow.

So the goal of Thursday's meeting, um, well, my goal is share that meeting is to ideally take get folks out of here no later than noon.

And I know that a few of my colleagues have other regional committees that start earlier in the afternoon.

But members of the public are encouraged and welcome to submit their comments to the Seattle Transit measure via email.

If you wanna send them all to everyone at council, council at seattle.gov, of course, ensures everyone gets it.

good old fashioned snail mail, postal mail, dropping them off here on the second floor verbally here tonight and verbally to our respective offices between now and Thursday by calling or contacting our respective offices.

So with that, those administrative notes aside, let us continue to the reason why we're here.

It's your turn to speak.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Agenda item one, briefing and discussion on Council Bill 121226, an ordinance relating to a sales and use tax providing for the submission to qualified electors of the city at an election to be held on November 3rd, 2026, a proposition to collect a sales and use tax to fund transit and related transportation programs in Seattle and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to the public hearing on Council Bill 121226. Public comment should relate solely to Council Bill 121226. Relating to the Seattle Transit measure, clerk how many speakers are signed up this evening?

Chair, we currently have 47 in-person speakers signed up.

Awesome.

Each speaker will have approximately two minutes.

And clerk, can you please read the public comment instructions before we get there and note that council members Foster and who else?

The council member, I think Rivera was virtual, has joined us in person.

and before we read the public comment instructions, one of my colleagues wants to make a quick note.

Councilmember Strauss, you're recognized.

Thank you, Chair.

Just like I said this morning, I will be pulling Amendment 8 regarding contracted transit shuttles as I've been reassured that our existing Hopelink contract will continue to be able to provide great service such as the Golden Gardens Direct.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Now, Clerk, can you please read the public comment instructions?

The public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

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

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

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

Comments are only being accepted on Council Bill 121226. We will begin with the first speaker on the list, Cecilia Black.

After Cecilia, we'll hear from Dennis Sills.

Is this better?

All right, for at ease for just a moment, we're actually gonna, so we heard a great, some great feedback from the audience having trouble hearing our clerk speaking.

So what we're gonna do is hopefully adjust the volume of the clerk's microphone and then clerk, I'm gonna ask you to reread the public comment instructions.

And again, everyone is gonna have two minutes.

Is this better?

This is better.

Thank you.

Okay, the public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

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

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

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

Comments are only being accepted on Council Bill 121226. We'll begin with the first speaker on the list, Cecilia Black.

After Cecilia, we'll hear from Dennis Sills.

Hi, my name is Cecilia Black.

I am a wheelchair user and advocate with Non-Drivers Alliance.

And we work with non-drivers across the state to build a transportation system that works for us.

And that means frequent and reliable transit in all neighborhoods, not just downtown, but the areas where people can afford to live.

I just want to say this loud and clear.

People with disabilities depend on transit.

It is our lifeline.

And it is one of the biggest barriers we face is transportation.

And so I am so excited because this is, we are looking at a transit measure that can seriously expand frequent transit for everybody in Seattle, almost everyone in Seattle, and really make a huge impact on the accessibility of our city.

So unlike capital projects, STM is our one funding tool for expanded transit hours.

So please support Amendment 24 and keep this measure focused on transit.

Also, I know, Council Member Kettle, that it is really challenging to fund all the services we have with very little funding tools and sales tax is not ideal, but cars is the most expensive, one of the most expensive expenses that people have.

and this measure would go such a long way to making sure that people do not have to own a car, do not have to pay for gas.

And so I'm asking you to please reject amendment 13, three and four.

And also just wanna say that when it comes to funding the services that we need, we really think critically about regressive taxes but everyday non-drivers and people that don't rely on our car system, we help fund a very regressive system that's focused on cars.

And so please really think about what this is funding, not just the tax and pass this transit measure to its fullest.

Thanks.

Thank you, Ms. Black.

Our next speaker will be Dennis Sills.

After Dennis, we'll hear from Fletcher Crone.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Dennis Sills.

I work at the Downtown Seattle Association.

At the Downtown Seattle Association, we've long believed that investing in transit is investing downtown.

Downtown is the region's largest employment center and home to thousands of businesses, major employers, arts and cultural institutions, sports venues, hotels, restaurants, and retailers.

When people can get downtown safely, reliably, Conveniently, businesses thrive, employers can attract talent, and visitors experience the best of Seattle.

We saw that firsthand during the FIFA World Cup.

Transit enabled hundreds of thousands of people come downtown, supporting businesses, cultural institutions, and hotels and restaurants.

Metro and Sound Transit carried more than 1.1 million riders during the first two FIFA World Cup matches, while Link set new daily ridership records.

That simply wasn't a transportation success.

It was an economic success.

We appreciate the Council's work to strengthen this proposal, especially the leadership of Chair Saka.

Several amendments represent meaningful progress and advance many of DSA's priorities.

We especially appreciate the stronger focus on accountability, performance reporting, its safety, stronger connections downtown, a greater emphasis on transit service, and a shorter authorization period.

These changes make the measure stronger and provide greater confidence that investments will deliver results.

As much progress has been made, there is still an important opportunity for you.

Over the next decade, downtown will experience significant change as Sound Transit builds the next generation of our regional transit system.

This measure should help us navigate that transition by ensuring that downtown remains accessible through construction, not simply after it is complete.

We encourage the city council to pair these investments with the downtown mobility strategy.

Thank you for working on this, and we sent our full comments in a letter earlier.

Appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Sills.

Our next speaker will be Fletcher Crone.

After Fletcher, we'll hear from Katie Ricciuto.

Hi there.

My name is Fletcher.

I'm 23 years old, and like many people my age, I care a great deal about the climate.

So I wanted to remind us all about what these amendments would mean for the climate, not just for the future, but also for right now.

Well-funded and well-functioning public transit has been clearly, clearly demonstrated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Especially here in Seattle, we have a big opportunity to do that because transportation emissions are one of our biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

So when we think about keeping the status quo of spotty transit service that is not reliable through late hours of the night, and think about the amendments, such as Amendment 13, which would continue that status quo.

What does that actually look like in the future?

It looks like continued climate change.

It looks like irregular weather.

It looks like wildfires, floods, and all of the costs that the city would have to bear because of those weather events.

So I encourage you all to vote no on amendments 13, 4, 3, and 5, which would continue that dangerous status quo and fund this measure to its fullest extent.

Thank you.

Thank you, pleasure.

Our next speaker will be Katie Ricciuto.

Following Katie, we'll have Kathleen Barry Johnson.

Good afternoon, Chair Saka and members of the committee.

My name is Katie Rakuto, and I'm here on behalf of Transportation Choices Coalition.

I'm a proud District 2 resident and a daily transit rider.

Thank you for your work so far on the Seattle transit measure.

For those of you who know our local and beloved Seattle to Portland bike ride, I've done it a few times.

I feel like we're at the point in the ride where we're like crossing the Longview Bridge into Oregon.

You know you're going to make it, but you're not sure how much it's going to hurt to get to the finish line.

So my comments are pretty straightforward.

We ask you to reject, as they are, amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13, and keep strong investments in service for riders without any extra steps.

Frankly put, asking Seattle voters to raise their sales tax for the same bus service they have today is not a winning message.

If we're asking voters to pay more, we should be delivering more.

There are plenty of good amendments, and I want to call out specific support for amendments 10, 11, 17, 26, 27, and 29, which expand transit access passes, connect regional centers, guarantee a 75% minimum spend on bus service, and look toward progressive funding sources.

Again, I know you're all working really hard on this, so let's get over the finish line feeling good.

Send us a strong measure and let the voters decide.

Thank you again.

Thank you, Katie.

Next we'll hear from Kathleen Barry Johnson, then Greg Woodfill.

Good afternoon.

My name is Kathleen Barry Johnson.

I come from Historic South Sound Town, which is a state-created organization that exists to elevate the voices of Pioneer Square and Chinatown International District in the context of all the development that goes down there and land use decisions.

And it is a highly transit-dependent community with the elders and young children and people wanting to have more and more reliable transit.

I'm here to say that the Seattle transit measure is not broken.

It does need more funding and we do need to be attentive to it, but it has made Seattle, and this is what I saw on my feed today, America's next top transit city.

Don't pull our punch right now, okay?

It is, and the transit measure has proven that Seattleites and those visiting here will ride and love transit.

And the Seattle transit measure is affordability.

These are the people who are here telling you that it is an affordability issue because we know it because we ride it every day.

Please do not cut services.

Please do not make funding more uncertain.

And please adopt the mayor's plan.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

We appreciate it.

I want to thank every members of the audience for, you know, to the extent you're moved by particular comments, just snapping along.

That shows us you're rocking with it, and you agree, and then you can share your feedback directly with us when it's your turn.

Really appreciate it, though.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Greg Woodfill, followed by Veronica Arbasuita.

Good evening, Chair Saka and distinguished council members.

I'm Greg Woodfield, president of ATU 587, representing around 5,000 transit workers with living family wage jobs who literally move this city.

Council members count and depend on the City Council to help support the public transit that your residents use value and clamor for as you always have in the past.

Seattle voters will support extending the STM.

We know that because the current measure got an 80% yes vote and the public is clamoring for even more safe, reliable transit.

The question is, will the Council put forward a bold enough measure that truly protects and expands public transit service and their constituents' access to it, or just push the protection and expansion of transit service well down the road?

Every tax dollar invested into public transit is by definition progressive, not regressive funding.

We recognize and respect the City Council's authority, responsibility, and good intent on all of your proposed amendments, some of which we support.

Our union implores you to ultimately advance this proposal with a full .3 tax for the full 10 years without annual approval requirements or without an annual redirecting of unused service dollars.

On the last two items, we acknowledged Metro's difficulty in the past to deliver service, but my first-hand knowledge and experience is that Metro has gone a long way to fix that problem, and you have this union's assurances that we are working with Metro in current negotiations to eliminate this problem.

This STM directly affects our members' livelihood.

How you vote could affect their endorsement decisions going forward.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Local 587, President Woodfield.

We'll now hear from, I believe it's pronounced, Veronica Arbisuita.

Please correct me if...

Please correct me if I have it wrong.

Next will be Victoria Kellogg.

Veronica Arstieta, thank you.

Thank you.

My name is Veronica Aristieta.

I'm a member of District 5 in Greenwood, and I want to see stronger bus service everywhere.

I have lived in the city for the past approximately 10 years, and the buses have been how I've gotten around everywhere.

They have been my life and my livelihood.

They have helped me get to high school and finish high school when I was doing that before COVID.

They have helped me get around and see friends and family during After I graduated high school, when I was coming back from college in another state, they have helped me go to college here.

The buses support everyone in the city's livelihood.

And without them, we would not be able to have a livable, affordable city, which is what everyone wants.

Additionally, I just want to say that I do not support amendments 13, 5, 3, and 4, which would cut and reduce and pit neighborhoods against each other, weaken the measures in significant ways.

Do not support those.

I want to see amendments 11, 17, 10, 29 supported.

Finally, paying for transit out of tax dollars is literally pennies in comparison to owning a car.

Owning a car is $12,000 a year.

Thank you.

Thank you, Veronica.

And friendly reminder, when you hear that chime, that means you have 10 seconds left, so thank you.

Next, we'll hear from Victoria Kellogg, followed by Kelly Reefer.

Hi there.

My name is Victoria.

I'm a resident of Little Saigon in District 2. I'm mainly a bicyclist, but I do take transit frequently.

Transit is how I get home safely after a night out on the town and how I go to the grocery store and how I access medical care.

Many people like me rely on the bus to get around.

King County Metro is an obvious public good.

Failing to deliver the full Seattle transit measure or tying up funds in the red tape of the Seattle process would be a betrayal of your many constituents who use transit as their primary mode of travel, as well as the general public who would see worse traffic as transit services reduced.

In addition, I just kind of want to add, let's not let perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to delivering things like this, when it comes to improving our city, because worrying about the immediate paths you can take rather than stressing about hypothetical options in the future is the best thing we can do.

We can only kind of put one foot in front of the other.

I specifically would like to ask that the Council reject amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13, and support amendments 10, 11, 17, and 29. Transit is the future of our city and the only realistic path to Vision Zero.

Thank you.

Thank you, Victoria.

We'll now hear from Kelly Reefer, followed by Nick Sattell.

Hello Chair Saka and members of the Council.

My name is Kelly Reefer.

I'm a District 4 resident and one of the 20% of Seattle households that is car-free.

For my family, transit is a lifeline.

It's how we get where we need to go, where we want to go.

And I encourage you to pass the boldest measure that we can possibly push forward.

I want to also talk about public safety.

So I rode public transit throughout the deep dark depths of the pandemic, and I have been on some moments where public transit hasn't felt that safe.

And let me tell you what makes public transit safe.

Frequent, reliable public transit.

when the bus is coming in five minutes, seven minutes, then I'm not sitting here in the dark, rainy November night wondering when my bus is gonna come.

I know that it's gonna arrive and I can hop on the bus where I have a wonderful bus driver to make sure that I feel safe and secure.

When we're looking at what makes our transit more accessible, it's getting more riders on the bus every day.

When we invest in transit service, that is the investment in transit safety.

That is where we want to see Seattle Transit Measure dollars going.

And I'm really excited to say that this is, for $29 a year, that's a really good and affordable use of our tax dollars.

That's just like nine and a half taps on the bus.

For regular transit riders, that's tapping to work, to and from work every day.

This is a worthwhile investment for our city, and frequent transit is safe transit.

Thank you.

Thank you, Kelly.

We will now hear from Nick Sattell, followed by Jason Lee.

Hello, council members.

My name is Nick.

I help co-lead fix the late.

And while we've been focusing on getting bus lanes on Dennyway, a really big problem for transit for the whole city is getting more transit service and making sure that people aren't waiting as long at bus stops, make sure we have a frequent transit network.

And there are so many reasons for this.

One that we've heard is on affordability, this measurable cost.

the average Seattleite $29 a year or $2.50 a month.

That is about two quarts of gasoline.

And the alternative is driving a car, which is $1,000 a month.

And I think we've heard today and we see around the city that being able to have an affordable transportation option is what makes Seattle an amazing place to live.

having a way to get around without having to pay for insurance, pay for gas, pay for a car payment, all money that leaves the region and goes to automakers in Detroit or insurance companies in New York or oil producing countries in the Middle East.

Paying for the bus and paying for our sales tax is money that stays in Seattle and helps our local economy.

But more importantly, having a better transit system is what makes the city more livable.

The joke that I heard a public comment this morning is that in Capitol Hill, we say, when your friends move to Ballard, you might as well say goodbye, because they're so far away.

And not having a frequent, fast transit option to get from Capitol Hill, from downtown, from Northgate to Ballard, means that we all kind of live in our own little neighborhoods and our little cities within the greater picture.

And having better transit that's faster, frequent, and more reliable means that we're going to have a way to get around to each other and see each other.

And having that unity and connection across the different neighborhoods means that we can have a more unified Seattle.

And also, having more transit is good for business.

We have this crisis downtown of office vacancy.

And we're not going to have more workers downtown with less transit.

We're not going to have more workers anywhere with less transit.

And it's going to be a lot harder to run a business if it's harder to get around.

And it's harder for people to come to your business and frequent it.

So for all those reasons, I'm asking you to vote no on amendments 3, 4, 5, and 15. Prioritize transit riders.

Please pass the Seattle transit measure to its fullest.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nick.

It's time to hear from Jason Lee, who will be followed by David Hill.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Jason Lee.

I co-lead Fixed Late with Nick, who just spoke, and I live in Capitol Hill.

I spoke to you countless times now about how many drivers we're adding to our roads every single year, 13,000.

I really want to drill that into your mind.

By the end of these 10 years, we would have filled Lumen Field to capacity twice.

And the traffic that we experienced during the World Cup, we'll be begging for that again, because it'll be so much worse in 10 years unless we do something about our traffic and get people onto transit.

And it's not just hypothetical for me anymore.

It's actually become personal, because my mom is visiting me from Dallas.

She's actually in the crowd right now.

And yesterday, we tried to go to Ballard, which, like Nick said, is an ordeal.

We got off the train at U District, and the next 44 was not coming for 36 minutes.

the 44 was not even on the departure board.

We went from U District to Ballard through Fremont.

We did not get to spend time at the Ballard Market.

We did not get to buy food at the Seafood Fest because of this.

If you're talking about affordability, sure, I saved money, but that's because I didn't get to support the local businesses that I want to support.

I also looked at how long it would take to get an Uber there.

It would have been more than $30.

That's more than the cost increase of the transit measure.

After we visited the locks, then we got a little lucky.

There was a 33 right on time to bring us down to the downtown area and Seattle Center.

But then after that, we wanted to go to Carey Park.

There was not another bus for, again, 20 minutes.

We did end up taking Uber that time because my mom hiked already on Saturday.

She told me she did not want to hike on Sunday, so I was not going to send her up Queen Anne to get to Cary Park.

That cost me $10.

That, again, is a third of the annual cost of this price increase for a two-person household.

Please reject amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lee.

And welcome to Seattle to your mom.

It's time to hear from David Hill.

After David will be Dave Schulte.

Hey, y'all.

It's me, David Hill, for like the fourth time in these STM hearings.

I think you know B-My-Dow, 15-year car-free resident of Roosevelt, member of the Transit Riders Union.

I love to fund public transit to the max.

I'm back to remind you that we can't afford to play it safe with the Seattle transit measure.

We don't want a watered-down package that just maintains the status quo or keeps us running in place.

What we actually need is a real investment that expands service hours, frees up our streets, and connects people to the amenities and economic opportunities Seattle has to offer.

When we fully fund our buses, it ripples out to help everyone, even people who only drive, by reducing gridlock and keeping the whole city moving.

you have the chance to pass a visionary measure that meets the actual scale of Seattle's growth.

Let's pass something that we can honestly be proud of and that we know Seattle voters will approve in droves as they did in 2020. Thank you.

Thank you, David.

Next up, we have Dave Schultz, followed by JJ Bishop Boros.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Dave Schultz, and thank you for holding hearing at a more reasonable hour for those of us that work during the day.

I cannot drive, and when I'm not cycling, I'm completely dependent on the buses.

They get me to where I'm going, when I need to be there, hopefully.

And I do not want to be late for any dates that I go on, because I don't go on very many, so I want them to count.

Thank you.

And to really solve the problem, tax the rich.

Thank you, Mr. Schulte.

Our next speaker will be JJ Bishop Boros, followed by Patrick White.

Hi, everyone.

My name is JJ, and I'm a resident of D3.

I'm here today to support the mayor's plan to increase funding specifically for more service hours.

I work from home in Madison Valley, so don't commute to work and instead rely on public transit nights and weekends.

The opening of the RapidRide G was life-changing for me.

Its frequency and reliability outside of rush hour allows me to get to my gym and grocery stores and to get home safely from the clubs.

The same is not true of other supposedly frequent buses like the 8 and 48. Getting to my sister's house in Ravenna by bus is a nightmare, since neither bus along that route is frequent or reliable on nights or weekends, making transfers long and unpredictable.

Please vote for Amendment 29 to increase the guaranteed share of funding for service to 75% and against amendments that would shift funding away from service.

Thank you.

Thank you, JJ.

We'll now hear from Patrick White, followed by Jason Weil.

Good afternoon.

My name is Patrick White.

I live on First Hill in District 2, and I'm a regular transit rider.

I do not own a car.

The point of the STM is to increase transit service, so that's what it should focus on, sending as much funding as possible towards service.

We have other funding pools for other priorities, such as bus lanes and stop upgrades.

And yes, we do need an increase.

There are still lots of gaps in our network, particularly on nights and weekends.

We still have routes that run once an hour on weekends and some that don't run at all.

Even on weekdays, some neighborhoods are served hourly or peak only or no bus at all.

And on Sundays, the First Hill Streetcar, one of our flagship routes, does not have any definition of frequent service and ends way too early.

In fact, that's a very common problem throughout our network plus it's ending too early or starting too late.

This is particularly bad for people who work odd hours, and those jobs tend to be paid less than average.

So that is a regressive tax forcing them to own a car.

That is unacceptable, and we need as much as possible to go to service in order to fix these gaps.

And we absolutely do not need a third of the measure completely removed.

There are several amendments that ask for a report on this, a study on that, just a load of red tape that bogs down Metro's staff.

We don't need any of that.

And requiring Council to approve every little detail of service every year?

I'm more confused than anything else.

I get the amendment numbers jumbled up, so I'll keep it simple.

Say no to micromanagement and say no to service cuts.

Give voters a strong measure that runs the most service possible.

Thank you.

Thank you, Patrick.

Next up, we have Jason Weil, followed by Superev Morgan.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Jason Weil.

I am a District 6 resident.

For 17 of the 20 years that I've lived in Seattle, I didn't own a car.

So like one-fifth of Seattle residents, I relied primarily on transit to get around.

Transit is a vital public service for all of our residents, commuters, and visitors, and needs as much funding and attention as we can give it.

With our city's growth, we need to plan for a future with more people riding more buses and trains to get around.

The city demands and needs more transit, not the same level and not less.

So I'm urging you to support amendments 8, 10, 11, 17, and 29, and to oppose amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. The city needs fair and progressive taxation to benefit everyone.

Owning a car is very expensive, but this measure only costs the average two-person household about $29 per person per year.

That's a very reasonable cost for a vital service that's going to serve our city well into the future.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jason.

Our next speaker will be Superiv Morgan, followed by Pauline Van Senes.

It's Super Liv Morgan.

Good afternoon, country member.

It's good to see a lot of you.

I am a Seattle Housing Authority tenant, renter, living in the Seattle Housing Authority building on Capitol Hill, District 3. I rely on the transit, metro, the trains, and I use the free worker cards through the program.

that allows us Seattle Housing Authority tenants to use those free Oracle cards and that is literally what is saving me and some of you want to cut and limit that program.

I would not be able to afford if you do that.

So reject that amendment and any of that amendments like that and fully support full measure of the Seattle Transit measure.

Support the full version of it.

Thank you so much.

We'll hear from Pauline Van Senes followed by Jane Rose O'Neill.

Hi, my name is Pauline Vancellis, and I'm your famous transit ferry, as well as a member of the Transit Riders Union.

A long ago, a metro operator described his bus this way.

He referred it.

to it as the people's limousine, people's limo.

I do a lot of cleanup and have been working for years to encourage transit by cleaning bus stops and making people more comfortable and wanting to get out of their cars and try transit.

But I have come to think more holistically, entire neighborhoods, entire corridors, and hopefully supporting the businesses, because if the businesses are comfortable and get more business, there will be more tax revenue, which will support measures like this.

and also it supports everything else that I care about, including, and it's good for people, it's good for the Sockeye Salmon that finally decided to come in at Ballard Locks just recently.

So I don't see any downside.

And I encourage Seattle to think world class in all ways, world class transit, world class everything.

So please support this measure.

Thank you.

Thank you, Pauline.

We'll hear from Jane Rose O'Neill, followed by Ellen Green.

And the last name is 1L for Jane O'Neill.

Thank you.

I live in District 3, Capitol Hill.

I am also transient.

I use the transit a lot.

Cutting or rejecting 13, 5, 3, and 4. And supporting 11, 17, 10, and 29 would help myself get around easier, meaning buses are more frequent and more reliable and more safer.

Right now, I've been attacked in alleys and or on the streets trying to wait for buses or trying to get away from a person and this is also how our bus drivers are also becoming unsafe because we do not have the resources to support even the drivers.

By cutting, it actually makes people that rely on the buses and also for those that drive the buses, it makes it so much harder.

Please respect what we're asking and come up with a bill that will support everybody and help make the streets a lot less crowded by the cars and make it safer.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Next up is Alan Green, followed by Bill Roach.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.

My name is Ellen Green, and I'm the executive director of the First Hill Improvement Association.

We support Mayor Wilson's proposed Seattle transit measure and strongly urge you to reject amendments 13, 5, 4, and 3. First Hill is a clear example of why full investment in service is essential.

We're a dense urban neighborhood with health care workers, patients, students, and residents who depend on transit as a daily lifeline.

We don't have a light rail station and rely heavily on buses and the First Hill streetcar.

And our neighborhood continues to experience burgeoning growth.

This includes residential high-rises, in addition to Harborview's anticipated new tower, as well as Swedish's new medical tower.

With these, we expect an influx of critical hospital care workers and patients seeking needed care in the near future.

especially for our medical workforce and visiting patients.

Reliable, frequent, all-day and overnight service is not a convenience.

It is a critical piece of our infrastructure.

This is for our neighborhood, those it serves, and the city.

Thank you for your leadership and for protecting a transit system that truly serves Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ellen.

Bill Roach will now speak, followed by Roslyn Burroughs.

I'm Bill Roach and I live on First Hill in Horizon House and I'm here to speak in District 3 and I'm here to speak on behalf of all seniors who are transit dependent, which is many of us.

We need the increase in transit to assure our mobility as we age, and it allows us to thrive.

I support the Mayor's proposal.

Please do not adopt the amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. Help us thrive.

Give the voters a chance to adopt the full measure.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Rush.

We'll now hear from Roslyn Burroughs followed by Brittany Brost.

Hi, thank you for having us today.

I'm Roslyn Burrows, and I'm in District 3, and I love to ride transit.

I do have a car for the times when transit is not operating as well as I would need.

I'm a new resident to Horizon House, and I would love to give up my car and ride transit.

It really is our mobility in Horizon House and for many people.

It's our lifeline to get around.

I also support transit because I was born and raised in Detroit.

I really hated being car dependent.

I don't like the traffic.

I want to help with climate and all the other resources that are so important.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Burroughs.

Our next speaker is Brittany Brost followed by Andrew Lindstrom.

Good evening, counsel.

My name is Brittany Brost.

I'm a resident of District 7. I have never been able to drive.

Recently, the UL did accidentally send me a driver's license instead of a state ID.

I found that absolutely hilarious, so apparently I can now drive.

Just kidding.

They have not perfected Beam Me Up Scotty yet.

If you're young, ask the old person or the nerd in the room.

Transit is not optional for many reasons for many people.

I'm not going to list them here.

You've heard many of them tonight.

Transit is personal for me.

I've been riding transit before I was born with my mother, who also had the same genetic condition I have and could also not drive.

I have directives that when I die, my ashes are to ride the bus to where I'm to be dumped, because that is how committed I am to transit.

This measure should be the full time, 10 years, for the full amount.

Transit helps me get around.

It makes sure that I have a job and can be a productive member of society.

It gets me to my doctor's appointments.

It gets me to the grocery store.

It means I can live alone.

It means I don't have to take expensive Ubers and Lyfts everywhere, because my bank account says, no, ma'am.

You may want to take that $60 Uber, but the bus is $3.

You're taking the bus.

and quite frankly it makes sure that I can have friends.

Now sometimes I gotta go, it's really late at night, can one of you give me a ride home because the bus doesn't run that late or I'm gonna have to take three buses and that's 90 minutes and if one bus doesn't show up then I can't get the next bus because the bus stops running and then I'm gonna be walking home for like ever in a day.

So late night bus service would be expansion is an excellent idea because I may be old but I like to party still so you know.

It would be great if I could get my party on a little later at night because ending at like 11 is, you know, like maybe when I'm 60. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Brittany.

Our next speaker is Andrew Lindstrom followed by Nora Sandler.

Hello, council members.

My name is Andrew, and I'm a Beacon Hill resident and Transit Riders Union member here to testify in favor of more bus service.

I recently had the privilege to help write a report on transit commute usage for the Transit Riders Union, and the number one barrier preventing transit usage is lack of bus service.

This measure needs to reflect this clear need and not the parochial interests of individual council members.

To this end, I support amendments to the measure that increase bus service, particularly numbers 16 and 29. And to this end, I am testifying in opposition to all the ticky-tacky amendments micromanaged metro.

These all add costs and will reduce the number of buses that this measure can provide.

We don't need reports on smaller buses.

We need more buses.

I don't have time to reply to each amendment in turn, but I urge you all to vote for amendments that reflect transit riders' actual need for more bus service, not the needs that you project onto us.

I'm fortunate enough to live on the number 36, which gets service every 10 minutes most of the day and 24-hour service.

It's incredible, and all Seattleites deserve the freedom that this has afforded me.

This measure can get us closer to that, but only with the full 0.3% amount and only if we direct the funds towards what riders need most, more buses.

Thank you.

Thank you, Andrew.

Our next speaker is Nora Sandler followed by Michael Pham.

Hi, my name is Nora Sandler.

I live on Capitol Hill, and I rely on transit to get around.

I support the proposed Seattle transit measure and urge the city council not to cut the level of funding or divert funding away from service hours.

I'm lucky to live in a neighborhood where transit usually works very well.

But it depends.

Oh, you got to start the timer, guys.

Sorry.

OK.

I have a lot to say, so this is great.

Sorry.

in a neighborhood where transit usually works very well, but it depends on where I'm going and what time of day it is.

Increased bus service, frequent reliable bus service would mean that when I have a doctor's appointment in South Lake Union, getting there and back doesn't take longer than the appointment itself.

It would mean that I don't have to race out of a party at 10 PM to catch the bus because the next one isn't coming for half an hour.

It would mean that I could go to Discovery Park or Ballard without devoting an entire Saturday to getting there and back.

Seattleites who own cars also need better bus service.

More bus service means the option to visit any neighborhood without paying an arm and a leg for parking.

It means the option to commute by transit instead of by car, even if you don't work a nine to five schedule.

And it means the option to maybe only have one family car instead of two.

More bus service makes all of that possible.

It helps all Seattleites keep more money in their pockets, get more time back, and experience everything that the city has to offer.

And it's worth every penny that we invest in it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nora.

Next, we'll hear from Michael Pham, followed by Eric Hammerland.

Hello, council members.

My name is Michael, and I'm here to encourage you all to vote against Amendment 13 and any amendments that would shorten the time frame of the STM or just in general take away from transit service.

As someone who relies on the H line for almost all aspects of my life, from going to work, visiting friends and family, and going out to events around town, more transit service would improve my life and well-being as well as many others out in Seattle.

When I first came to Seattle in 2019 without a car, I had tremendous independence when it came to traveling around Seattle after work, because I knew that most routes would come at least every 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, with COVID and increased operational expenses, Seattle Transit service is not to the levels that it was in 2019. With the mayor's proposal for the STM, we can get back to that point.

We've seen and heard from the World Cup that people want to take transit to experience the fun that Seattle has to offer.

A lot of news agencies and articles even put Seattle near the top in the rankings for just being a great place in the World Cup in general.

I ask that the council vote for more transit service and continue that fun in Seattle, especially when we look towards possibly hosting the Women's World Cup in 2031 and hopefully getting that fifth star.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michael.

And let the record reflect, Council Member Lynn has joined us remotely earlier, I think right before public comment officially started, so thank you.

Our next speaker is Eric Hammerland followed by Greg Cannon.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Eric Hammerlund, and I am a lifelong resident of District 5. And this is my first time ever speaking in front of city council.

After three decades, I decided to finally come out because this measure is so important.

We have to support this measure as robustly as we possibly can.

So I'm a non-driver.

I cannot drive for medical reasons as of a few years ago.

and maybe naively, once I stopped driving, I immediately realized, oh my goodness, this city is impossible to navigate by bus and walking exclusively.

especially if you live out in the city limits in District 5. There are so many neighborhoods.

We keep name dropping Ballard.

But there are so many neighborhoods across the city that I just have no real access to.

And errands that would take me in a car 10 minutes to run now take at least an hour, if not longer.

It's just a really ridiculous way to live.

And it's not a way to live that a city that is pretending like we are this amazing destination on the world stage.

We thrived during the World Cup.

Everybody loves us.

Everybody's hearing about us.

We can't have this kind of public transit infrastructure.

It just does not hold up.

And people visiting and people moving here, that's the first thing that they're going to notice.

So as a lifelong resident of the city and somebody who loves it dearly, I want to see us invest in this public transit infrastructure that I know that visitors and residents alike are going to really, really love.

So let's reject amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. Let's please support amendments 10, 11, 17, and 29. Let's make this thing as powerful as we can possibly make it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And welcome.

It's your first time here.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Greg Cannon, who will be followed by Sola Plumacher.

Hello, City Council.

My name is Greg Cannon, and I live in District 7. I want to make the case for why a fully funded STM is needed for everyone and not just transit riders.

First of all, I'll point out that my home district includes large chunks of downtown Slough and Belltown, which has a dense core and many car-free residents.

And as you've heard today, we have so many people in our city who are passionate about transit and rely on transit.

but I also want to address the fact that there may also be voices in your ear from people who don't think about transit and don't ride transit.

People who have a large single family home in Magnolia and Queen Anne who drive their kids everywhere and hear the word sales tax entries and their brain just shuts down.

But even for them, I truly believe that a fully funded STM is in their benefit.

Every person that takes the bus is someone that's not honking at them in traffic.

And if we can move tens of thousands of people out of cars and onto transit, it'll reduce traffic for everyone, save lives and clean up the air we breathe.

I'm really personally passionate about this.

There's more and more research coming out every year that living near arterials and highways is killing us.

It's causing cardiovascular disease, lung problems, many other issues.

Car-dependent cities literally kill us and transit is the only answer.

but back to what I was talking about.

More frequent and safer bus routes additionally mean that parents can let their teens take the bus instead of having to drive them everywhere.

My mom hated having to drive me everywhere in my car-dependent hometown in Massachusetts, and she would love if I could have taken the bus for all of my random needs.

And the annual cost of this measure is so small for these families that may not think about transit, and the benefits will outweigh the costs even for them, even if they never take one bus, even if they never step on the light rail, and even if this is not a big issue for them.

So I believe we should reject Amendment 13 and the other amendments people have called out that got this measure, propose a full STM.

Thank you.

Thank you, Greg.

Our next speaker is Sola Plumacher, who will be followed by Leslie Daniels.

Hi, Chair Saka and members of the committee.

I am Sola Plumacher.

I'm the Director of External Affairs for Plymouth Housing, which is a permanent supportive housing provider here in the city of Seattle.

And I am here to talk about the transit measure and the added benefit of the transportation, or sorry, the transit access program, which is a huge benefit to our low-income residents, and particularly our residents who have experienced homelessness in the past.

We would support a report, if that's necessary, but believe that a report would demonstrate that this program is critical for our low-income neighbors, and particularly those who've experienced homelessness.

We do support increased access to ORCA passes and would hope that we can further enable residents' ability to travel to necessary appointments and other activities throughout the city.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sola.

Sola, good to see you again, and belated congrats on your, I think, newer role

It's time to hear from Leslie Daniels, followed by Matthew Crane.

Is Leslie Daniels still with us?

We'll move on to Matthew Crane, followed by Lam Hope.

Hello, my name is Matthew Crane, and I live in the Uptown neighborhood, District 7. One of the main reasons I chose to live in Uptown is because there are multiple frequent bus routes, such as the 8 and the D-Line, that get me where I need to go when I want to, whether that's going to my job, meeting friends for dinner in Ballard or Capitol Hill, going home from a fun night in Capitol Hill, or simply exploring other parts of my city.

The frequent, all-day bus service that is funded through the Seattle Transit Measure has made these kind of trips easy for me, and so that I don't need to have the financial burden of owning and maintaining my own car.

It helps me afford to be able to live and fully enjoy what my city has to offer.

As the Council considers with the renewal of the STM for this year's ballot, I ask that the measure put to the voters maximize the investment made towards more and better bus service for Seattle.

The people of Seattle have clearly and consistently shown that we want our city to make this investment boldly, so please listen to those voices and do not scale back this renewal, impose unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, or use this measure to micromanage transit service.

Thank you.

Thank you, Matthew.

Our next speaker is Lam Ho, followed by Simon Thornton.

Thank you, council members.

My name is Lam Ho, and I'm the general manager for the Transit Riders Union.

I'm a resident of District 7. I'm also a lifelong transit rider, so not my proudest moment.

But I passed the bar exam, but I can't pass the driving test.

So as a community organizer, as a community lawyer, I literally take the bus or the train from Seattle, also out throughout King County on all the work that we're doing there.

So being able to take transit, especially late nights, is really critical for me.

But today, I'm actually here speaking, not on behalf of the desperate need that I have, because I can't drive, but instead on behalf of the Mass Coalition, which is the Move All Seattle Sustainably Coalition, It's an alliance of 14 diverse organizations working in various sectors, but are committed to working together to connect our diverse neighborhoods, reduce dependence on private vehicles, achieve vision zero, and make Seattle carbon neutral, and also ensure equitable access for transportation for all people.

That mission is exactly why I'm here on behalf of the Coalition to strongly support the Seattle Transit measure at a fully funded level of 0.3% and for a 10-year term.

For masks, transit is not just about moving people.

It's about protecting our climate, strengthening our communities, and ensuring that every resident, regardless of income or ability, can navigate the city with dignity.

Our coalition works at the intersection of mobility, accessibility, livability, and climate, and we see firsthand how frequent reliable transit unlocks safer streets, cleaner air, and more connected neighborhoods.

As a result, we ask you to support the Seattle Transit measure at 3% in 10 years, and please reject amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. Thank you.

Thank you, Lam, and congratulations on passing the bar exam.

That was a long, long time ago.

Oh, okay, okay, all good, all good.

You know what, I hear- I hear the State Bar Association is like waiving the bar-taking requirement or something, can you imagine?

Malpractice waiting to happen, but anyways, thank you, Lam.

Thank you, thank you.

Our next speaker is going to be Simon Thornton, followed by Michael Thornton.

Hello, council members.

My name is Simon Thornton, co-founder of ArtStation Mount Baker.

And I'm here today to express support for the Seattle Transit Measure and to share my experience as a resident of the Mount Baker neighborhood.

In partnership with the Seattle Department of Transportation's Community Mobility Hubs program, we have been able to create a noticeable impact in our community through paid public art opportunities and targeted public space activation surrounding the transit hub.

In one year through this program, we have offered 21 paid public art opportunities including transit shelter murals, signal box, and litter bin vinyl upgrades, and interactive temporary installations.

This program has created low barrier and high impact opportunities for hyperlocal and emerging artists, including nearby students at Franklin High School, while creating a welcome sense of city investment in the Rainier Corridor.

It has flexed the muscles of interdepartmental cross-agency collaboration, and perhaps most importantly, it has made the Mount Baker Transit Hub safer, more welcoming, and more comfortable to travel to, from, and through.

All of this is to say, as you consider this measure, I encourage you to consider the impact that public transit has beyond the boundaries of the railways and streets to maximize the positive impact of our transit hubs and to continue supporting the kind of broad-based community investment that programs like community and mobility hubs provides to neighborhoods like ours.

Thank you.

Thank you, Simon.

Now we'll hear from Michael Thornton, followed by Melanie Guteman.

Hello, good evening.

My name is Michael Thornton.

I live at the Mount Baker Transit Station and I lead Art Station Mount Baker.

I want to thank SDOT for recognizing that transit stations can be more than places people pass through.

Through the community and mobility hubs program, they can become places where communities come together.

At Mt. Baker, we've seen what happens when the city treats a station as part of a neighborhood.

One community hub activation brought together SDOT, SPD, Sound Transit, KC Metro, local students, artists, and neighbors for a day of art, chess, and community gathering.

That partnership has since grown to 21 paid public art stations across the Mount Baker Arts Corridor.

This is not decoration.

Art is a safety tool.

It creates stewardship, brings positive activity into public spaces, and helps people feel that they belong there.

That's what community and mobility hubs invest in, not just infrastructure, but the partnerships and community presence that makes infrastructure succeed.

Please continue investing in the community and mobility hubs program through the Seattle Transit measure.

Mount Baker is proof that when we invest in community, transit becomes safer and more welcoming for everyone.

Thank you.

Thank you, Michael.

Our next speaker will be Melanie Guteman followed by Harper Nally.

Good evening, council.

My name is Melanie.

I live in District 3, and this is my first time ever giving public comment.

I strongly support a transit measure that increases bus service.

My household doesn't have a car for so many reasons.

The cost, the climate, not having to deal with the hassle of car ownership.

But most of all, I fundamentally believe that public transit is the best way to move lots of people efficiently through our dense city.

I want the choice to take transit to be easy for all Seattle residents, which means fast, frequent, reliable service.

With that in mind, I ask that you reject the amendments that reduce or redirect funding away from these goals, specifically 3 and 13. And additionally, King County Metro deserves a stable funding source, so ditto for amendments 4 and 5. I think our region has a lot of appetite and enthusiasm for public transit.

Our light rail is now the nation's most ridden.

And I think that if more bus routes were like RapidRideG, my beloved, the bus would become a no-brainer for so many more people.

Thank you.

Thank you, Melanie.

And again, to you, welcome as well for your first time here.

We'll now hear from Harper Nally followed by Ashwin Bumbla.

Hi, I'm Harper Nally, I'm from District 3, and I'm a student.

Transit is a silver bullet for climate change, affordability, noise pollution, light pollution, traffic congestion, and traffic fatalities.

It boosts our economy, makes our city more livable, and makes our cities more healthy.

This is not merely an opinion.

This is not a debate.

These are well-documented facts supported by mountains of scientific evidence.

Given these facts, it is a no-brainer to fund this measure at a 0.3%.

I am a student at Seattle Central on a very tight budget.

Even with this regressive tail tax, the first time I don't have to spend $7 for a Lime or an Uber, thanks to the expanded night service this increase will pay for, I will already be saving money.

Money that doesn't have to go into the pockets of the CEOs of Uber or Lyft is money that can recirculate in our economy.

Money that doesn't have to go to oil and gas companies or car companies is money that can recirculate in our economy.

And money that doesn't have to go to treating the increased rates of health problems caused by cars is money that can go into our pockets.

If you use transit to get to downtown, or only use transit to get downtown during the day, you may think that our transit is good enough.

But I want you to think about all the strips you use your car for because transit isn't good enough.

Put yourselves in the shoes of the Seattleites, the 20% of Seattleites, who don't have a car to fall back on.

Reject amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13 because a world-class city is one where transit riders are treated with respect.

I am not just like night service is so incredibly important I am the emotional support animal and photographer for my best friend who's a DJ out at 2 a.m.

a lot and I'm lucky enough to live in Capitol Hill near the 49 but most Seattleites are not because our night service just is not good enough fund this more thank you Harper

We'll now hear from Ashwin Bumbla, followed by Aidan Clegg.

Hello, council.

My name is Ashwin Bumbla.

I am one of the co-chairs of the Transit Advisory Board.

I was here before you, along with my co-chair, Zach, a few weeks ago, where we expressed the TAB, which is an oversight board for the use of STM funds.

We expressed the TAB's position on the mayor's proposal.

And people before me today have spoken more eloquently and interestingly into why we wanted to fund transit, Tab feels the same way.

This morning we sent out a letter to all of your offices expressing our position on various amendments that have been proposed.

So I'll take this time to kind of relay Tab's thoughts here in this forum as well.

Like many here, we urge you to vote no on Amendment 13. Regardless of if it stays 0.2% or 0.223%, you cannot ask people to pay more for either less service or the same amount of service.

That is explicitly against what Seattle voters have demonstrated through their votes and through their time again and again.

On Amendment 4, which would require an annual sign-off by Council for Transit Service, we also urge you to vote no.

The tab actually had a part in developing the equity priority framework that SDOT uses to determine where transit investments are made.

We see every year how these transit investments are made.

They are not made arbitrarily.

They are made through a rigorous methodology that works, and we don't want to replace that with further process that would gum up the works and slow the delivery of transit to other folks.

I see that I'm running out of time, so I'll just say we also oppose Amendments 5 and Amendments 3, and we support Amendments 11 and 17, which both state intend to advocate for new sources of progressive revenue, Amendments 16, which would ensure eligibility funding a night service, and Amendment 24, which would increase minimum spending on transit and ensure that projects such as Graham Street could potentially go through.

Thank you for your work on this, and please say yes to transit.

Thank you.

Thank you Ashwin.

Next we'll hear from Aidan Clegg followed by Brandon Derblatter.

Good evening, council members.

My name is Aidan Clegg.

I'm an undergraduate civil engineering student at the University of Washington, and this is also my first time giving public comment.

Providing frequent and reliable public transportation is critical to ensuring that Seattle is a city that continues to grow and thrive in the coming decades, reducing car dependency and meeting our climate change goals.

As a UW student, I know firsthand how expensive it has become to live in Seattle.

However, this proposed increase to the tax rate is minimal, only about $30 per year for the average resident, and it is by far a worthwhile investment for our city.

Previous Seattle transit measures passed with over 60% support in 2014 and over 80% support in 2020. I would ask that you please reject amendments three, four, five, and 13, which would limit the effectiveness of this measure and approve amendments 10, 11, 17, and 29. Thank you.

Thank you, Aidan.

And again, welcome.

There's a handful of first timers today.

Welcome.

Really excited to have you, so.

We'll now hear from Brandon Derblatter followed by Joseph Bolden.

Welcome, Brandon.

Hello, my name is Brandon Derblatter.

Motor vehicles are the largest single source of pollution in Seattle.

They rank next to murderers in terms of how many Seattleites they kill.

We need to fix this.

One of the most powerful tools we have is expanding transit and making it better.

So I have a voting guide for the city council on amendments to the Seattle transit measure.

Reject Amendment 3. This is a transit measure.

The funds should be used for transit.

Reject Amendment 4. This just adds unnecessary bureaucracy and Seattle process to funding transit.

Reject Amendment 5. Transit measure renewal under a special election means more expense to the county and lower turnout, especially lower turnout of less well-off voters who find it harder to come to the polls, harder to take off work to vote, all that sort of thing.

Support Amendments 10 and 29. The dense regional centers deserve more transit dollars.

Support Amendments 11 and 17. Remember how everyone's talking about how regressive sales tax is?

This is the opportunity to fix it.

and most importantly, reject Amendment 13. This measure is meant to fund transit.

We cannot expand transit on nights and weekends if we don't have the funds.

The cost to any individual of a year of sales tax is comparable to a single Uber or Lyft ride if the bus doesn't come at late in the night when you need it or as frequently as you need it if you need to get somewhere urgently.

There is just no excuse to be made about affordability here.

If you really are strong supporters and believers in public transit, you will fund it as much as possible.

You will probably also ride it instead of driving, but that's beside the point.

I'll end by saying, if anyone wishes they had my shirt, you don't have to keep telling me you wish you had one.

You can just buy it.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Brendan.

And size XL, if you want to drop one off the next time you're here.

Our next speaker will be Joseph Bolden followed by Rachel Brown.

Good evening.

I'm Joey Bolden, Assistant Secretary of the Seattle Building and Construction Trades Council.

On behalf of over 20,000 construction workers and their families across the region and 19 affiliate unions in the Seattle King County Building Trades, we want to express our appreciation and support for moving forward with the renew of the Seattle Transit Measure.

This proposal invests in important transit services, access to transit and transit infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, and curb ramps for riders, as well as bus lane upgrades.

These improvements to move more people in and around Seattle are crucial.

Of course, the building trades want to build, so we're particularly interested in construction elements in the package.

and we strongly support amendments such as Amendment 3 that prioritize infrastructure such as the repair and expansion of sidewalks.

We also oppose amendments such as 24 that reduce capital spending.

Capital investments in this package will improve transit efficiency, reliability, accessibility, and safety.

And of course, they will create jobs during a critical economic moment when we need good jobs.

We all know that the list of transportation needs in this city is long.

The investments in this levy measure improve transit and transportation in Seattle.

Your capital investments create good family wage union construction jobs for skilled craft people.

It will bring new entrants to the construction field through apprenticeship programs and training.

and they will create pathways out of property into construction with those wages for women, people of color, veterans, and those who are disadvantaged in and around King County.

Thank you for your leadership, Chair Saka, and so many of you who are working hard to get this done.

Thank you again.

Thank you so much, Joseph.

We're down to our final 10 registered speakers.

We'll now hear from Rachel Brown, followed by Scott Nelson.

Hi, council members.

Sounds like I'm in a great group of first-time folks giving public comment.

I live in District 3, and I'm a renter.

And as an adult, I lost my ability to drive.

So I am, again, in a great group of transit-dependent folks here in this room sharing about our experiences.

I was already a transit rider when this happened, but I was very grateful that we had a system that could catch me and meet all of my needs.

happen to live in an area with good transit service, and I happen to be able to afford to live in an area with some of the most frequent transit service in our city, and I know that that's not the case for everybody.

So I'm coming here today to ask you to reject Amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13 and express my specific support for Amendments 11, 17, 10, and 29. I specifically wanted to speak to Amendment 5, talking about the term of the transit measure from, I would like you all to vote to maintain it at 10 years so that we can give Metro and this measure the stability it needs to actually demonstrate success.

As you all know, planning and government decisions take a long time and I wanna make sure that these decisions about how to allocate service have enough time without having to operate in an environment of uncertainty.

And speaking specifically to Amendment 13, as others have said, I would really like a transit measure for transit service to fund transit service.

Thank you for holding this hearing and appreciate your time.

Rachel, thank you.

Our next speaker will be Scott Nelson, followed by Rich Voget.

Hey, everyone.

This may reflect some parochial or ticky tacky sentiments, but disability support, I hope, transcends the tension between the obvious benefits of universality and the reactionary cup and ball game that can be played with hyper-specificity.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

My name is Scott Nelson, and I am a carless, licenseless renter from Chinatown International District, District 2, as well as co-chair of the Seattle Disability Commission.

I'm here to comment today on amendments 20 and 4. I pretty much fully agree with my colleagues from SDOT, MAS, and TAB, but I'm a fool for nuance.

Amendment 20 gives language in the Seattle transit measure that prioritizes and protects the rights of people with disabilities to access transit services and infrastructure.

The world, historically, is built to accommodate the able-bodied, the neurotypical, and the healthy.

Folks who have physical or developmental disabilities, or those who are infirmed, will then experience an incredible amount of friction, compounding natural difficulty with additional barriers imposed by built environments.

Amendment 20 names that and does two crucial things.

It affirms the use of funds towards the support of people with disabilities, which raises the floor so that every person in society can live a dignified life.

It also reframes what money is spent on capital expenditure.

It's no longer just roads, sidewalks, and curb cuts, which are all necessary, important, and valued accessibility features, but as my colleagues in disability advocacy have noted here today, there are extant funding mechanisms for sidewalks and roads.

many of them far more progressive than relying on sales tax that disproportionately impacts lower income residents.

Amendment 20 is a bulwark against cynical attempts to pit neighborhoods and districts against each other by diverting capital funds from projects that prioritize specific districts towards projects that serve the city as a whole, such as wayfinding, projects that improve access to transit for folks with cognitive or developmental disabilities, and transit speed and reliability improvements as such.

amendment four can be used to bolster or support the...

I'm out of time.

Sorry about that.

Finish your train of thought if you want.

Okay.

Yeah.

Your sentence.

Yeah.

I think I lost it now.

All good.

Take a breath.

Thank you.

Feel free to, if you have written comments, feel free to send those in as well.

Yep.

Yep.

Awesome.

Will do.

But Scott, thank you so much.

Our next speaker is Rich Voget, followed by Kalu Davis.

I want to make a case for a climate change overview for supporting transit expansion because it takes cars off the road.

Climate change is driven by physics.

It's not driven by the Seattle budget.

and to think that you can cut the transit funding to save some money in the short run is really going to be more expensive in the long run because climate change doesn't sit still saying, oh, OK, I'll wait for you to get around to working on me at a later date.

It'll just get worse.

And I'm so old, I can remember the old Bartle oil filter black and white TV ad that said, pay me now or pay me later.

And it makes no sense to postpone.

Jiminy Cricket.

said, let your conscience be your guide.

I'd like you to rewrite that so that climate change will be your guide.

Put it on a post-it that whatever you're about to work on, ask, is it going to increase climate change, yes or no?

If it's a yes, you got to oppose it.

So with the transit, it's pretty cut and dry that it's going to reduce the number of cars on the road.

So, oppose amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. Thank you, Rich.

It's time to hear from Kalu Davis, followed by Daniel Heppner.

Good evening, City Council.

Good evening.

Good evening, City Council.

My name is Kalu Davis.

I'm going to provide a personal testimony as to the reason why STM needs to be fully funded.

First and foremost, I am a retired King County Metro operator.

Second, as an operator, I personally witnessed citizens throughout the Puget Sound be stranded by bus service that could not be provided At 1230 in the morning, my boss called me off the road during snow and ice, and I had reached a 16-hour workday.

and I begged to keep going because there was 35 people outside my door and I couldn't open it up because my boss told me I will call the state police because I violated the law if I go beyond the 16 hours.

I was at 15 hours and 32 minutes with enough time to get back to the base.

Having said that, a fully funded STM would provide the service needed round-the-clock hours as well as during snow and ice, which is important.

And furthermore, if you take it a step further, look at all the DUIs that are issued throughout the state and throughout the nation, a better funded transit bill would allow bartenders and bar owners to reach out to those transit agencies to be able to guide and instruct their patrons onto buses that are easily available throughout the night and cut down on DUIs and traffic accidents.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Davis.

Next up is Daniel Hepner, followed by Clinton Attaway.

Hello, I live in Capitol Hill in District 3. I'm Daniel Hepner.

In 2019, when I moved to Seattle, I made the decision with my girlfriend.

We both sold our cars.

And every day, that decision saves me more money than the sales tax would cost me in a year, cost us in a year.

That said, 2019 was one of the best years for Seattle's bus network, at least in the time that I've lived here.

Because right after that, COVID hit and the bus network was slashed.

Back then, a frequent route was one that came every 10 minutes, not every 15 minutes like today.

And yeah, our bus network has a long way to go to fully recover to where it was.

Now, six years later, we need to be taking the path of boosting transit service at every opportunity to get to the city's frequent transit network goal.

Another personal example here from just a month ago when I needed to get to the airport at 5 a.m., thanks to Sound Transit's new night bus service from downtown, I was able to save $60 on an Uber to the airport but I still had to get a $15 Uber just to get downtown from Capitol Hill because the city's local night bus service is underfunded and would have forced me to wait downtown for 30 minutes.

Amendments 13, 5, 3, and 4 would all move us further from that frequent transit network goal Reducing the sales tax rate with Amendment 13 saves each member of the public a tiny amount of money each year, but results in huge and noticeable reductions in service that will leave more people having to take Ubers to get downtown.

I also want to call out Amendment 4 in particular because I'm just tired of the government making things that should be managed by professionals like transit service choices into questions.

Let the metro service planners do their job.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We'll hear next from Clinton Attaway, followed by Tanisha Sepulveda.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Clinton Attaway.

I live in District 2. Shout out to Council Member Lynn.

And Chair Saka, thank you for hosting this.

We began this meeting with the understanding that we're hosting for public input, because that's going to build public trust.

and I've been keeping a tally of the public input and it is short of universal against 3, 4, 5, and 13. There are no advocates here for 13 or 4 or 5 and we are one for 3. So if that public input is then immediately rejected, if that can't move the dial in any way, I don't believe that's going to lead us to an increase in public trust.

I think that's only going to further us from that objective.

So thank you.

Thank you, Clinton.

We'll now hear from Tanisha Sepulveda, followed by Avery.

Hey, everyone and council members.

My name is Tanisha Sepulveda, and I am here in full support of the STM measure, also joining those in rejecting Amendments 3, 4, 5, and 13. As a person with a disability, I heavily rely on public transit.

As many people with disabilities do, having a private vehicle, and especially one that's wheelchair accessible, is extremely costly.

Not being able to have access to transit does push us out of the city and away from resources that are vital to people's everyday needs.

Also, as a person with a disability, you know that I will be one of the first people to be in full support of sidewalks.

However, this is not the time or money to do that with.

We can do that separately.

We definitely need more public transit service.

I live in District 1 in West Seattle, and it takes It takes about an hour for me in Highland Park to get to Alki Beach, which is also in West Seattle.

It takes the same amount of time for me to get to the University of Washington, which is twice the distance.

And not to mention also that for people with disabilities, there is access paratransit service.

service area is dictated by the metro service area.

So it will only serve customers within three quarter miles of the bus lines.

So expanding the bus lines and expanding service also helps in those ways that you may not be aware of.

So by doing this, you are fully supporting people with disabilities, and those who do not have access cannot afford or choose not to drive.

Thank you.

Thank you, Tanisha.

Now we'll hear from Avery followed by Jasmine Smith.

Hi, council members.

Hello.

I want to talk about last Thursday when the train broke.

I think we all know the train broke from roughly Capitol Hill to Northgate.

And when that happened, I went out, not needing to ride the train, very luckily.

But there was a line for more than 20 minutes to get on the shuttle bus to go north from Capitol Hill.

The line went from the bus stop, the eight bus stop that's normally going eastbound, from there all the way around the entire block.

People were lined up, sitting in the hot sun, unhappy and grumpy because they showed up expecting four-minute service, and they got a 25-minute transfer in the middle of their ride and even slower service.

All of those people are not here, but they are taking transit every day.

And those are the people who need this.

On behalf of all of those people, we want a more frequent, fast, and region-wide transportation network.

On a personal note, I'm spoiled by that same four-minute frequency.

When I take the bus, whether that's the D or the G or even the H, I'm dreading the wait.

It's 5 or 10 or 15 minutes, and especially the complete lack of night frequency.

I know it's not going to be the same as the train in the middle of the night, but I should be able to get home in a reasonable amount of time.

This is the right use for a sales tax to fund local services.

Funding the state's general fund is the cause of our ultra-high sales tax, not increasing Seattle transit measure.

I hope you'll go big and make this create lots of service.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Avery.

Next we'll hear from Jasmine Smith.

After Jasmine, if Leslie Daniels has returned, it will be her opportunity to speak.

Hi, my name's Jasmine Smith and I live in Lower Queen Anne and I was able to fall in love with my neighborhood because it has robust transit access.

Whenever I move, which I have to do in October or change jobs like I did two years ago, the first thing I look at is transit access and if I can keep a frequent and reliable ride.

Frequent reliable service is the lifeblood of our city and how people can afford to live here but also how people can enjoy every corner of our beautiful city and come together or get home without clocking in a lot of miles with 2 a.m.

walks from the hill.

We do have a regressive tax system and we're working on it but what's more aggressive than raising the sales tax is a little bit is cutting our bus services.

When I move, I don't want to have to leave my neighborhood.

But if I do have to leave my neighborhood, every neighborhood should be an option with more transit access, not less.

Fully fund our people's limo.

A safe, vibrant, and affordable, world-class city depends on it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jasmine.

At this point, we would like to check to see if Leslie Daniels, who previously wasn't available when her name was called, has returned to the building.

Chair, it doesn't appear Ms. Daniels is here, therefore we are done with the list.

Thank you.

Just to confirm, is there anyone else who has not yet spoken who wants to see an opportunity?

Looks like there's a gentleman here in the front, red shirt.

Let's get him to sign in and have some time.

Our next speaker will be Keith Habrick.

After Keith, we do have another gentleman signing in.

Welcome Keith.

Hi, it's good to be back.

I don't know why two of you are missing, so I would suggest everybody email these two and tell them about all the numbers, the same numbers that you've been hearing over and over again with the amendments.

My situation is I...

that scares me.

I could get in an accident if I blink, you know, and if my attention is diverted, but most of all...

So I happen to know the guy that worked at the North Broadway QFC maybe 10 years ago.

And also I've been in Seattle long enough to remember the guy that shot the bus driver going over one of the overpasses in Fremont.

And I personally had a coworker who got shot in the back of a bus in Seattle going from his second job to his third job.

and we can do better than this.

We are a rich city, a world-class city, and I'm thinking of other world-class cities like in Europe.

Luxembourg has free buses and clean buses and reliable buses that go straight, two of them go straight from the airport into the middle of the city.

We can do that too if we're ambitious enough.

So you've heard all the numbers, the amendments to reject and to adopt, and I think you should be convinced by now.

So that's that for now.

Thank you for your time.

And by the way, I live in District 3, and tomorrow I'm going to Wild Waves.

It's going to take me an hour and 45 minutes to get from Capitol Hill to Wild Waves.

So there's something else to work on.

Thank you, Keith.

Our next speaker will be Riley Bauer.

Hello, council members.

I was not initially planning to speak on this, so I'll do my best to keep this coherent.

A lot of people have already outlined really good reasons to move forward with this measure, fully funded, reasons more important and critical than my own.

But I wanted to just say, as a car owner, as a homeowner in the Roosevelt neighborhood, I don't have to ride the bus all the time, I don't have to ride the light rail, but I really like to, I prefer to, I want to do that whenever I can, I don't want to drive, and the number one consideration for me personally when it comes to whether or not to drive or to take transit is frequency of service.

So increasing service is just an easy way to get me out of my car, and I think there are a lot of people like me would prefer to do that as much as we can and are happy to pay the small increase in sales tax that this might cost.

But yeah, so please move forward with this.

Thank you, everyone who has spoken already.

And thank you, council members, as well.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your feedback.

We currently do not have any more registered speakers, but would like to extend the opportunity to anyone else in chambers who would like to speak.

We just ask that you please sign up, and we will hear you.

Who hasn't yet spoken?

Any final?

Anyone else?

No one inspired by our last public commenter who didn't come in here intending to speak, but nevertheless chose to, which we appreciate.

All right, well, thank you, thank you.

Then, if there are no more registered public speakers.

Oh, oh, oh, one more, one more, one more, one more, thank you.

Let's get them to sign up and love to have you share your perspectives.

Our next speaker will be William Laird.

Welcome, William.

We moved here to Seattle in 1988 from Washington, D.C. And when we moved in, we live in West Seattle, above Alki.

We used to catch, I can't remember the route number, but came every 30 minutes.

And pretty soon they down towed it now where they have a Route 57 that comes four times in the morning, five times in the evening going back into town.

So we lost that service and now we have to walk up a steep hill to get up onto California Avenue.

What I wanted to bet is I've been seeing the transit from that time to today and they've gone so far and they've done so much.

that I hate to see progress stop at this point.

It's kind of like starting on a house and then stop.

It'll start to decay a little bit.

Then when you decide you wanted to make it better, you're going to have to go back and redo what you already had.

My pro is pay the extra tax for the transit.

You've got a city that you can provide work for drivers, transportation for people that can't drive, and to fill the bill for everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

I think that's it.

There are no more additional registered speakers.

Just want to confirm with our clerk.

No, no more sign-ups.

That was it.

Mr. William there.

Okay, cool.

Well, thank you all again.

Really appreciate the public feedback here, the engagement.

We have reached the end of today's in-person public hearing.

And thank you all again for sharing your perspectives so directly with us and helping to enrich the broader dialogue and conversation.

I appreciate everyone who's contributed to a thoughtful and productive discussion today.

We will reconvene for the final meeting of the Select Committee on Seattle Transportation Benefit District on Thursday, July 16th, 2026 at 9.30 AM.

At this meeting, we will vote on the proposed amendments and the legislation itself, which will allow us to submit a final package to the full council a week from tomorrow, so next Tuesday, for possible approval again at the July 21st, Tuesday, July 21st City Council meeting to get this on the ballot and let voters take it from there.

Colleagues, is there any final business to come before the committee before we adjourn today?

Hearing and seeing no further business, we are adjourned.

It is 6 44 PM.

Thank you.