Seattle City Council 12/3/2024

Welcome, everyone.

Thank you very much for coming today.

The December 3rd, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 p.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, council president.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

Council Member Moore.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Rink.

Here.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you very much.

So we've got two presentations today, starting with Councilmember Rink's public oath of office.

Just for some information, per RCW 29A, she was officially sworn in on the day that King County elections filed the results of the election.

So that is why we're able to call her council member right now and also have taken our group photo.

So the second presentation for the day is a proclamation from council member Saka.

So first things first.

The oath of office, Councilmember Rink's oath of office will be administered by Sharon Maeda.

And then Councilmember Rink, after, you're all the way down there.

After the oath of office, you're welcome to provide any comments that you would like, and I will save my comments for the welcome reception.

So, I will move over.

It is my honor to administer the oath of office.

Ready?

I, Alexis Mercedes Rink, I, Alexis Mercedes Rank.

Affirm that I possess all the qualifications.

Affirm that I possess all the qualifications.

Prescribed in the Seattle City Charter.

Prescribed in the Seattle City Charter.

And the Seattle Municipal Code.

And the Seattle Municipal Code.

For the position of city council member.

For the position of city council member.

That I will support the constitution of the United States.

That I will support the constitution of the United States.

The constitution of the state of Washington.

The constitution of the state of Washington.

And the charter and ordinances of the city of Seattle.

And the charter and ordinances of the city of Seattle.

And that I will faithfully conduct myself.

And that I will faithfully conduct myself.

As city council member.

As city council member.

to you.

Oh, my gosh.

Thank you so much for being here today.

And first, of course, I have to thank Sharon Maeda, a leader and a legend, for swearing me in today.

So thank you.

Shout out to Sharon for those who know her.

If you know, you know.

see so many friends, colleagues, leaders from the Democratic Party, housing, transportation, climate action, arts and culture, labor, our coalition that worked tirelessly on the campaign but also works every day to fight for a Seattle that works for all of us.

Thank you for the work you do and thank you for being here today to celebrate this moment with me.

You know, there's something remarkable that happens when a city comes together, not just a dream, but to turn those dreams into a reality.

And that's exactly what we did.

I stand before you today as the youngest person ever elected to Seattle City Council.

The first 20-something to ever serve on this dais representing a generation of leaders who wonder if Seattle is a place where they can make roots, raise a family, and grow old here.

And with over 250,000 votes, our progressive vision and our vision and our goal for a affordable, safe, and welcoming city is one that actually unites our city.

And every conversation we've had from Green Lake to Columbia City, Ballard to Queen Anne, Rainier Beach to West Seattle, Lake City to Georgetown, every story you've shared has reminded me that we have something powerful here, a shared faith in what this city can become.

And we showed that when we unite and stand shoulder to shoulder, carpenters, childcare workers, bus operators, healthcare professionals, shelter staff, and electricians, there is no challenge we cannot meet, no bridge we cannot divide.

And make no mistake that there are challenges ahead of us.

Since Election Day, I have been reflecting on what this incoming presidential administration may mean for our city, our plans, our neighbors, the loss of federal funding, for our programs, services, and projects, attacks on our freedoms.

It has had me reflecting on my family's story.

My family fled El Salvador during the Civil War, carrying nothing but hope and determination across borders.

On my other side of my family tree, my ancestors left Poland, escaping religious persecution, driven by that same yearning for freedom that has called so many to these shores.

And when I think of their journeys, midnight crossings, the whispered prayers, the dreams they carried, I'm reminded that for millions of Americans, the promise of this nation isn't just an idea, it's a lifeline.

It's what gave my elders strength to build a life here in a community where your beginnings don't define your destiny.

But let me be clear that that promise is under threat.

And we stand at a crossroads where the very values that made my family's journey possible hang in the balance.

The specter of a second Trump presidency isn't just a political challenge, it's a direct threat to families like mine and so many in this city.

And that's why what we do here in Seattle matters now more than ever.

In a time where some would build walls, we can build bridges.

When some can sow division, we can foster unity.

And when some would tell you that you don't belong, we can say loud and clear, you are home.

Seattle belongs to you, too.

Because that's who we are.

We're a city that doesn't just talk about progress.

We build it day by day, block by block, community by community.

We're a city that doesn't just dream of a better future.

We roll up our sleeves and create it.

And we're a city that knows diversity isn't a weakness.

It is our greatest strength.

So today, I am not just swearing in to serve a city, but I'm swearing in to serve a movement, a movement built on the belief that everyone deserves dignity and respect, a movement that says our city belongs to everyone, a movement that declares in Seattle, we don't just resist hate, we build something better.

And to each of my colleagues, I'm ready to build with you.

Councilmember Hollingsworth, as chair of Parks, Public Utilities and Technology, I look forward to working with you to make sure we protect and grow our green spaces.

Our venues like Seattle Center and Climate Pledge Arena and the waterfront are accessible for everyone to enjoy and make sure our essential utility services remain affordable and keep us healthy.

And Councilmember Kettle, as chair of the Public Safety Committee, I look forward to working with you on making sure that we're improving our community safety measures, for making sure we have not just quick responses, but the right response for public safety scenarios, and scaling alternative responses, improving accountability, while also ensuring that emergency management response is ready to meet whatever weather event may come before us in our ever-changing climate environment.

And Councilmember Saka, as chair of the Transportation Committee, I look forward to working with you together to create a safe, multimodal transportation system that truly serves everyone, building an integrated network that prioritizes walking, biking, rolling, and public transit, making it easier for people to get around the city.

And Councilmember Rivera, as chair of the Library's Education and Neighborhoods Committee, and serving as your vice chair in the coming year, I I look forward to working with you on the renewal of the families education preschool and promise levy, making sure that we are meeting the needs of families and young with ours open to the public.

Council President Nelson, as Chair of Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee, I look forward to working with you on supporting our small businesses and their creative economy growth, enhancing oversight and accountability and transparency for the city of Seattle government, and making sure the Office of Labor Standards is equipped to support workers across our city.

Council Member Moore, as Chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee, where are you?

Hi.

As chair of the Human Services Committee, I look forward to working with you to develop more affordable housing in our city, improve our services for aging and disability, while also working to support renters like me. while making sure that we support renters like me, which make up half of Seattleites.

And Councilmember Morales, I look forward to your leadership on the comprehensive plan and land use work to address our housing crisis.

Seattle will need 112 total new homes over the next 20 years, and we need a comprehensive plan that allows for more housing across our entire city, connections to public transit, and a meaningful anti-displacement strategy to ensure that we're not continuing the pattern of displacement of communities of color in Seattle.

And Councilmember Strauss, as chair of the Finance, Native, and Tribal Governments, I look forward to working with you on strengthening our relationships with tribal governments and urban indigenous communities, while also seeking to address our budget challenges with progressive revenue solutions that allow us to fully fund our city services that our residents know, love, and depend on.

We need strong collaboration on this council, but also strong local partnerships across our entire community to weather what is ahead.

So let us leave here today knowing that this is not the end of our journey, but rather our beginning.

And if anyone tells you that change isn't possible in Seattle, you tell them that on a night in November 2024, a coalition of working people, immigrants and native-born, union members and activists, young and old, proved them wrong.

and tell them that in Seattle, we still believe in an America that welcomed my family from El Salvador and Poland.

We still believe in an America that gives the daughter of gang-involved youth teenagers the chance to serve her community.

And we still believe that our best days are ahead.

Our office of position eight citywide will be the people's office.

So to every young person, every working parent, every community leader, every neighbor who questions if Seattle still has a place for them, I see you, I hear you, I am here for you, and this office belongs to you.

Thank you, everyone, for being here today.

Now let's get to work.

All right, thank you very much for those remarkable words.

Now we'll go on to our second presentation.

Council Member Saka has a proclamation that will honor the work and the life of Patrick Sand and declare December 3rd, 2024 to be Patrick Sand Day.

The proclamation will be presented by Councilmember Saka and signed today.

So, Councilmember Saka, you are welcome to...

to explain to your colleagues and the viewing public what the proclamation is about and then invite any feedback there might be.

Go ahead, please.

Absolutely.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

And congratulations again to Council Member Rink.

It is wonderful to see you literally accept your flowers that you've earned over the last almost year now.

So an honor to call you my colleague.

And I know that's...

What we're about to talk about, colleagues, and discuss, I know that's why the room's nearly packed right now.

But in all seriousness, this is really important work because today, colleagues, I want to honor the life and legacy of Patrick Sand and issue a proclamation in his behalf.

And I'm very honored to do this and present this as a memorial proclamation signed by the mayor and hopefully all of us to honor Patrick Sand, who was the co-founder of the much respected and venerable West Seattle blog.

Colleagues, if you've been featured in the West Seattle blog at all, you've seen tens and tens of thousands of my constituents in West Seattle are keenly aware of your work if you've been featured because it is a very high visibility, high impact, much respected micro news blogging site, as you know.

Unfortunately, Patrick's co-founder and widow, Tracy Record and son, Torin Record-Sand, could not be here with us today.

They are doing double, triple duty covering the entire peninsula, essentially 24-7.

And so—but we're still going to honor the life and legacy through this proclamation of Patrick Sand.

I'll read it in just a moment, but I do want to share a quick anecdote about Patrick.

I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick almost two years ago now, when—right after I launched my own campaign for this office.

And— You know, he covered it.

And we got to striking up a side conversation, amongst other things, about the concept of SISU, S-I-S-U.

And, colleagues, you may know that I am a proud Nigerian and Finnish American.

And that is one, as our esteemed colleague here from, distinguished gentleman from Ballard likes to frequently remind us that I am Nigerian and Finnish and 100% American.

But Patrick and I share that in common.

We shared our Finnish ancestry and heritage in common.

And when I originally met him a couple years back now, We did something that really only two Finns can do.

Two Finns can do.

People can talk about what does sisu mean, but only two Finns can debate about exactly what it means.

What does it mean?

Well, I'm speaking to you today in English.

So unfortunately, my Fin is very poor, and it's a very difficult language to learn, one of the most difficult in the world, I'm told.

But by virtue of the fact that I'm speaking in English, there's gonna be no direct translation of what sisu means.

But in short, it's a source of pride and heritage of the proud Finnish people It muster, it means intestinal fortitude.

It means courage in the face of adversity.

It means the ability to overcome significant odds and barriers.

It's the reason why the Russian government don't want no smoke with the Finnish government because they fought multiple bloody wars In the early 1900s, in the interwar period, with a country, much smaller population, much less resourced, despite being outmanned and outgunned, outflanked, those wars resulted in either a truce or a Finnish victory.

No history major, but because the Finnish are brave, strong people, and sisu, is the fabric that connects people of Finnish descent.

And Patrick and I shared that, sisu.

We could all talk about, what does it mean?

You can't debate about it unless you're a Finn.

And me and Patrick had a great debate.

And true spirit to both of our, each of our Finnish ancestry, no one won.

It was a stalemate, because we're both stubborn and strong-willed.

The essence of Sisu.

But Patrick was behind during the campaign.

He was literally behind every moment of the campaign, behind every community event.

When I wasn't campaigning, he was the person behind the camera.

Highly respected journalist, highly respected member of the West Seattle community in his loss.

is devastating for the West Seattle Peninsula and our entire city.

He was a bold trailblazer in so much.

But I am comforted in knowing that the legacy that Patrick was able to build over many decades in West Seattle and beyond will live on long past his untimely passing.

Proud to have been able to know him and share and be able to banter around what sisu means and have a good old-fashioned fin debate around some cultural connectivity pieces.

Colleagues, I'm going to read this proclamation because it's important.

So was the legacy that Patrick leaves behind.

City of Seattle Proclamation, whereas Patrick Sand passed away on October 17th, 2024, the unassuming man behind the camera and co-founder of the influential West Seattle blog with his wife, Tracy Record.

And whereas Patrick and Tracy met 40 years ago in 1984, and he followed Tracy's television career to various cities, and they eventually moved to West Seattle in 1991. And Whereas Patrick, of proud Finnish American heritage, trailblazed an atypical role as a stay-at-home father to their son Torin, born in 1996, and he would say it was his favorite job ever.

And whereas...

As trailblazers again, Patrick and Tracy started the hyperlocal news blog in 2005 as a side project and later launched the West Seattle blog full-time in 2007. And whereas Patrick and Tracy are arguably the most recognized couple in West Seattle, providing up-to-the-minute traffic and emergency reporting and covering all local happenings in the entire West Seattle or West Peninsula and neighboring communities, and whereas, as Tracy states, We try to make sure people feel seen, end quote.

And they have undoubtedly saved lives through their timely 24-7-365 reporting over the years.

And whereas Patrick was the consummate professional, always counted upon to show up.

And the fierce love and respect for him is on full display in the nearly 700 messages of condolences and tributes on the blog since his passing.

And whereas today the West Seattle blog is one of the most well-read hyper-local news sites in the city and possibly in the country, with 1.5 to 2 million page views per month, and whereas even on the day of Patrick's passing, Tracy continued to report on the news And she has continued to cover the news on a daily basis, carrying on his legacy just as he would have wanted.

And whereas Patrick was a quiet but powerful force of nature, a pillar of the West Seattle community and beyond, which will be his enduring legacy, and whereas Patrick and Tracy represent Seattle's finest and personify the One Seattle value of bringing together community and showing how dedication to serve can directly impact countless lives.

Now therefore, the Mayor of Seattle and the Seattle City Council proclaim December 3rd, 2024 to be Patrick Sand Day.

Colleagues, I ask for your support and signature being affixed to this documentation.

Small little gesture we can do to honor his life and legacy of a great, highly respected journalist, member of the West Seattle community and beyond.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Saka, for those moving words.

memories and also really gives us a sense of what they were doing before the West Seattle blog hit the city.

So council members, are there any people that, is there anyone who would like to make remarks, ask any questions before we call the roll on signatures?

Okay, well I have something to say.

I remember the West Seattle blog as being one of the first really serious news outlets.

It seems like that was when blogs were beginning.

And I recognize that I was probably missing a lot before then.

So my point is simply that they are everywhere, not just in West Seattle, but at major events everywhere, and also events where you might not think they would be.

where they would show up.

And so one thing I'll say is, last summer, I was with staff visiting the businesses of the West Seattle Junction BIA.

And Christine was walking us through the streets and introducing me to everybody.

And Patrick was following us.

And it was really clear, because when we would walk in, it was all, oh my god, Patrick.

hey, good to see you.

I mean, he was the main draws as we were going door to door.

And so that really is a testament to his knowledge of the community, but also how much he was loved and respected.

So thank you very much for bringing this forward to honor him.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, seeing no other hands raised, will the clerk please read the roll call of the folks that will add their signatures to the proclamation.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Aye.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Slaka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine signatures will be affixed to the proclamation.

Thank you very much, I appreciate that.

All right, moving right along, we will now open our public comment period, a hybrid public comment period.

How many people are signed up today?

We have 11 in person and two remote.

Okay, let's give folks two minutes and let's start with the in-person commenters.

The public comment period will be called to order.

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

We will begin with in-person speakers and finish up with remote speakers.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time, and speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time.

So allow us to call on the next speaker.

Our first speaker is Diamatrias.

Thank you.

Yes.

You're first, please.

Go ahead.

And then following her will be Carolyn.

Thank you, Jesus.

as I am recovering from the poison of all our souls here in District 7. Dear Native Americans, you were the first one I heard about smoking as a little girl and how they found you by hiding.

Follow the smoke.

So I have begun to smoke American spirit cigarettes and now I'm parsing your tobacco as I have with every cigarette I've ever smoked.

My first cigarette was in Oak Cliff, Texas, sold to me by a Chinese man at Gold Star Marlboro Gold Light at age 15 for 75 cents a pack.

And 30 years later, as I began to shop in District 7, I fought for the 7-Eleven down on 3rd and Madison during the pandemic to keep it open for the community.

And the whole time, they too were parsing me.

Every Starbucks I went in to get water is now closed.

The ice I craved so much at A&M PM store on 4th as well as the Zip Wee spot we all shopped at began to give me things from the back.

And I too, they parsed me as well.

Every, I have spoken up against the cruel and evil things they are doing to our American native blood in this city.

And Chinatown has pardoned me to kill the American dream.

They're keeping us sick on drugs, adding a sugar additive to it, and parsing us through food and cigarettes, liquor, as well as beer.

I drank socially Medela and Corona, even Red Stripes, so now you two are parsing, drinking the same parsing you've given me.

Chinatown has four stores that buy our food stamps through the state to fund local restaurants on federal dollars, which leave the homeless begging and stealing and taking things to fuel their need for drugs.

After selling their monthly allotment, the state gives us to Chinatown.

Chinatown has only one store that sells cigarettes that let the Pacific Islanders, they hire trade food stamps.

They trust them, but not us.

But we take our food stamps.

Thank you.

Please, your time is finished.

Please have your seat.

Please have your seat.

After recently finding out the city owns us through the state, stole our rights from birth, our native rights.

You are welcome to, please, this is.

If I have to die, we all have to die.

And for the city council to sit here shuffling papers, ignoring the real issue.

You are finished, please have your seat or you will be escorted to leave.

And as I find new neighborhoods to shop in here in Seattle, Stewart Park and Queen Anne and each of you sitting here, your local stores got next because if I got to die, we all got to die.

And if no one told you that they love you today, I love you.

Carolyn is next.

Following Carolyn is going to be Shannon Whitman and then Ashley Barber.

I'm going to turn around and face the audience because see how...

refused to get involved.

This eviction notice was put on my door by this criminal cop in my building.

And because I protest his presence at Fifth and Cherry, he's decided to have me evicted.

On April 18, 2014, cops had me evicted from Ernestine Anderson.

Five and a half years I was on the streets.

In 2019, I secured housing at Chancery Place Apartments.

Before I could move in, Seattle cops set up illegal surveillance on me, and I've been fighting ever since.

These are bedbugs I collect at night.

Two to three times, four times per night, I'm awakened by bedbugs.

Cops keep engaging in all sorts of criminal activity to make me uncomfortable and move out.

I'm pepper sprayed, tased, other tenants revile me, harass me, and I continue to maintain my housing.

This is my recertification notice.

I was given a sign by Robert Hader, who's no longer there.

We have no manager or assistant manager.

These are all the money orders returned to me by this criminal thug.

He's an expert cyber criminal.

He is in charge of my senior housing, 910 Marion Street, directly across from St. James Cathedral.

This notice put on my door today as I was leaving.

I have between, I have six days to move on.

I'm 79 years old, proudly, and I'm going to keep fighting like my ancestors to keep my house.

Thank you very much.

Please have a seat.

Your time is up.

To evict me from my legitimate senior housing.

Next.

We have Shannon Woodman and Ashley Barber and Bethany Burton.

Good afternoon.

I am Shannon.

Good afternoon.

I am Shannon Woodman, third generation owner of Washington Alarm.

Washington Alarm is a Seattle-based company providing security systems to the business community and residents for over 80 years.

It is December 3rd, two months since the verified police response policy began.

While the mayor's new budget includes positive developments for Seattle police, such as the real-time crime center, the hiring bonuses, and the new police academies that have opened across the state to address the officer shortage, The current policy has left businesses, schools and homes vulnerable.

As the owner of an alarm company with decades of experience.

I'm deeply concerned that this policy, though well intentioned, undermines public safety.

The lack of sufficient notice has created a dangerous gap for those who rely on alarm systems for protection.

We need to start collaborating now.

Our expertise can help bring back effective alarm police response.

incorporating best practices that are put in place across the country to reduce false alarms and ensure timely action.

It is time for the city council, the public safety committee and the incoming chief of police to work with the security industry to plan for the future and reinstate police alarm response once officer shortages are resolved.

As our newest city council member stated in her acceptance speech this afternoon, she looks forward to working with Councilman Kettle on police response.

Collaboration and transparency is essential.

Let's act now to protect Seattle's residences and businesses while managing resources effectively.

Thank you for your time today.

Thank you.

Ashley Barber and Bethany Burton.

Good afternoon, Council Members, and welcome, Council Member Rink.

My name is Ashley Barber.

I have served as a security industry professional for 14 years.

I'm here to address the Seattle Police Department's alarm response policy.

This policy was implemented without input from citizens, city officials, or security professionals.

and relies on flawed data that demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of security system operations.

The University of Washington conducts an annual Seattle Public Safety Survey, and I look forward to seeing how this non-response policy to unverified alarms has impacted safety perceptions across Seattle's micro communities.

At the recent SOTO BIA annual meeting, I learned that many burglaries, even when verified, continue to receive no police response while in progress.

Victims are often left alone for days afterward to deal with the devastating aftermath of these violations to their homes or businesses.

Furthermore, this policy disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.

It requires citizens to purchase costly technology upgrades to prove that they are in danger before police will consider responding.

While I advocate for security system upgrades, forcing these expensive improvements during times of economic hardship when they struggle to meet basic needs is unjust.

This policy puts public safety at risk, and as industry professionals, we are seeking to collaborate with the police department to develop a solution that effectively utilizes limited police resources while ensuring public safety.

Thank you.

We have Bethany, and then following Bethany, Lee Bennett-Hasselton, and then Howard Gale.

Hi, my name is Bethany, and I'm representing the Security Integration and Life Safety Association of the Pacific Northwest.

Since a verified response policy took effect two months ago, Seattle businesses and homeowners are increasingly feeling unsafe.

Many cannot afford the thousands of dollars needed for new equipment to comply, leaving alarm events unanswered and critical safety measures compromised.

This policy shifts responsibility for alarm responses onto residents, potentially putting them into dangerous situations.

Is it truly the intent of the Seattle Police Department to require taxpayers to respond to alarm events that could involve violence?

We understand the need to manage police resources and are ready to partner with the city council and police department to improve this policy.

With decades of industry experience, we can help reduce false alarms and prioritize accurate responses while maintaining our public safety.

We urge you to work with us to find a solution that protects Seattle residents and reflects the city's commitment to safety and collaboration.

Thank you.

We have Bennett, and then Howard Gale.

Good afternoon, counsel, and congratulations again to newly elected Councilmember Rank.

So, as I mentioned in a previous public comment, the Seattle City Attorney's Office put out a press release in February disqualifying Judge Pooja Vedati from hearing all criminal cases in municipal court, saying that she was incompetent.

And part of the press release I hadn't mentioned before, she said, in one recent case, Judge Vedati ruled the defendant was in substantial compliance with treatment and dismissed the case, even though it was clear the defendant never got on the transport van to ABHS, that's a treatment facility, to fulfill his residential treatment requirement as part of dispositional continuance.

Not requiring offenders to follow through with their treatment obligations does not mitigate the likelihood of future criminal behavior.

So as I did before, I filed a public disclosure request to find out what case they were referring to, because Judge Vedati said, I don't know what case you're talking about.

I don't know what this is.

This information has not been revealed before.

It's case 673014, defendant Georgia Phillips.

So I went to the courthouse and got the audio.

In the audio of the trial, the defendant's lawyer clearly says to Judge Vedati, a defendant had been shot in the leg And she had upcoming surgery scheduled and she had a rod in her leg and was temporarily confined to a wheelchair.

She actually made arrangements to get on the transport van to treatment, but they said that because she couldn't board the van without assistance and the staff was not allowed to touch her, she wouldn't be able to get on the van.

And they also said that if you have upcoming surgery scheduled, there's their policy that they can't admit you to the treatment facility.

if you have upcoming medical appointments.

And in fact, Judge Vedante actually delayed making a decision, so that part of the press release wasn't true either.

A different judge a couple months after this press release actually did hear the case and said, of course, yes, these are valid reasons.

You know, the defendant was not in violation of the compliance agreement.

And by the way, the defendant was a woman, not a man.

So if you notice, the press release said never got on the van to fulfill his treatment requirements.

Attention to detail, not their strong suit.

So this is the city attorney making false statements about a sitting judge trying to ruin the judge's career.

And by the way, the person who wrote the press release making the false accusations, Natalie Walton Anderson, who, as you all know, is Mayor Harrell's current public safety director.

Thank you very much.

We have Howard Gale and then Alex Herman.

Good afternoon.

Today's on today's agenda, you'll be voting on the 2025 state legislative priorities.

The very first line of that of those priorities says champion legislation that fosters a safer environment for everyone.

Except we know you don't really mean that because you just.

voted for a budget that actually prioritizes punishment over protection.

So we know that that's not true.

But worse than that, we also know that in seven short weeks, Trump will come to power and start deporting people.

20% of the city of Seattle's residents are foreign born.

Over one half of those, these are old statistics, they're a lot greater now, over one half of those people, we're talking about tens of thousands of people, are actually, are non-citizens.

under threat of deportation.

Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, all these and other cities have, right after the election in November, taken steps to protect immigrants.

What has this council done?

Absolutely nothing.

There is nothing in this legislative priority that says anything whatsoever about immigrants.

Nothing in any of the amendments you propose says anything about immigrants.

Seattle really does stand alone as being one of the very few, quote, progressive cities that is actually not doing anything and leaving these people vulnerable.

Tens of thousands of citizens.

So again, it's like a bad joke.

Champion legislation that fosters a safer environment for everyone.

Please at least be honest and put in there, except for those people that are immigrants.

Thank you.

You're welcome to make the jazz hands that you were so good at during the budget period.

After Alex Zimmerman, it'll be Kathleen Brose.

Before you speak, I'm sorry.

Interrupting Council Member Rink was a form of disruptive behavior, so please don't do that again.

No, no.

I'm a good boy.

I'm a good boy.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Beaver.

Donald Trump, viva new revolution, viva hundred million American who stand up for this revolution.

My name Alex Zimmerman, I'm president of Stand Up America and a MAGA member.

I want to speak about something that has totally confused me.

Local media make from Mayor Harrell like a big hero.

So something come to my mind a little bit, you know what it means?

Because I'm old man, I live here for 40 years, yeah.

Few year ago they talk about Donald Trump, so he have a penis like two inches.

Eh, what else you can do?

A Russian man's penis looks like six inches.

My opinion, for Seattle, emerald princess need a man who have a minimum 12 inches.

Why?

I explain to you.

Because it's cockroaches, 700,000 cockroaches from Puerto Rico garbage, always elect crooks, what is, don't doing nothing for city.

And I come to this place about 20 year and talking about this, and nothing change, nothing.

How is this possible?

Intellectual city like Seattle can elect only freaking idiot like you, a crook who never make city better for 20 year.

I don't talking about 40 years.

For last few years, it's a nightmare with everything.

So right now I speak to everybody, stand up America, stand up Seattle freaking cockroaches, and elect people who make something for us, for living better.

Can you doing this?

700 freaking cockroaches for doing better something, elect people who care about us, about ordinary American, who always lose.

Kathleen Brose, and then following Kathleen will be Gabriel Jones, and then Bailey

MS. Good afternoon.

My name is Kathleen Brose and I live in District 6. My husband and I are retired small business owners of 40 years.

Seattle is not currently working for small businesses.

You still have time to save many small restaurants from closing their doors in January.

Please do not raise the minimum wage for businesses with less than 500 employees.

We do not need more boarded up businesses throughout the city, especially downtown.

Ballard is full of empty businesses.

Please support small businesses and the jobs and tax revenue that they provide.

We need a healthy, vibrant downtown Seattle and in our business and our wonderful little business communities throughout the city.

Thank you.

Hello, folks.

My name is Gabriel Jones.

First off, I want to congratulate Councilmember Rink on her election.

It's incredible.

I'm very excited to see some change.

I'm very excited to hold her accountable, the same way I hold you all accountable.

Secondly, today I came here to talk about CB 120916, the idea that we give police officers the ability to use the less lethal, quote, less lethal options when dispersing protests.

Did you know that when we settled for police brutality lawsuits during Black Lives Matter, we settled for $10 million?

And that's not counting legal fee, expert's fees.

We spent so much money that we could have used for so many things because we continue to use things.

That's why we banned it in the first place.

Now, a little bit of background information about me.

I am what they call a protest medic.

I show up to protests.

I make sure people stay safe.

My job is to make sure people express their rights and get home safe at the end of the night.

The options like these, options like the rubber bullets or tear gassing, I've seen people in comas.

I've seen broken bones, heart attacks, burst eardrums, permanent hearing loss over and over and over again from these, quote, less lethal options.

These do not work, and they're not necessary.

As some of you guys might have noticed, I always have the hearing things I come with.

Because I was at a protest where I was keeping someone safe, and there was an older woman who was not able to walk back fast enough.

When she was not able to walk back fast enough, they used one of the devices that radiated a loud noise to where my hearing is still messed up.

Years later, we need options that actually work.

And this is not that we're there is no need for these that we have not seen protests that these even close necessary, but we're going to give money.

To these future lawsuits, just so we can make the idea of the air of safety, not what actually helps not what actually makes physical change.

It's always what makes people feel the most safe, not actually make me say what makes me feel safe.

It's security theater over and over again.

And I'm excited to see this council actually start to make change that works, not just what makes you feel better, what we can say next year when it's time to say, oh, well, we did this.

It sounds good, right?

But over and over again, we need actual solutions that work.

That is good governance.

Thank you.

We have Bailey.

Hi, can you hear me?

Awesome.

My name is Bailey Medillo.

I am here representing the Washington bus.

We are a statewide movement building organization by youth for youth for all people in Washington state.

I want to give our collective congratulations to Alexis Mercedes Rink.

We were proud to be part of the coalition that elected the youngest council member.

We come to this dais in collaboration.

Young people of our state are watching this moment as fascism, as Councilmember Rank has said, has taken center stage with the re-election of our newly elected President Donald Trump.

Newly elected is a strong word, but what is damning and what is clear is that a lot of the protections and rights for young people and a lot of the future pathways for young people in our state and across this nation are going to vanish, along with the Department of Education.

FAFSA is going to vanish.

This is not a probability, it is a certainty.

And we as a city need to build a collective infrastructure to make up for the loss.

I understand that this council declined to pass comprehensive mental health funding for young people in Seattle schools.

I believe this is a mistake.

Right now, the Seattle Public Schools is facing extreme budget deficits and needs support now more than ever.

And I ask that this city in the legislative agenda, push for genuine progressive revenue, both at the state level and in the city level.

As we know, recently, in the same election that elected Councilmember Rink, the capital gains tax at the state level passed with soaring colors.

Actually, the defense of it passed with soaring colors.

That is a damning mandate from the voters, and we need to take progressive revenue seriously because our future generations depend on it.

Thank you.

That was the last registered in-person speaker.

We'll now move to remote speakers.

And as a reminder to our remote speakers, please remember to press star six after you've heard the message that you have been unmuted.

Our first remote speaker is Alberto Alvarez, and he'll be followed by Oliver Misca.

Go ahead, Alberto.

Welcome to Council Member Rank.

As the city becomes more unaffordable, People who work for a living demand affordable housing, living wages, and a council who will take action on progressive revenue.

Working people bear the burden of the sales tax.

It is long past due the wealthy pay their multi-million dollar share.

Seattle is not a small town.

We are in the top five economic powerhouse cities in the world.

The deficit is a product of the vast majority of people having to move out of the city due to high rents.

The average worker having just enough to live and very little to spend locally.

Build a city for the average working class and local revenues will rise.

It really is that simple.

Side note, new year, new leadership.

The chair of the budget process, Council Member Strauss, proved that government can provide adequate time for public comment.

I disagree with the final budget passed, but the manner in which the months-long process was handled is the type of leadership we need on this council.

It is time for a new council president.

Thank you and have a good day.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker will be Oliver Misca.

Go ahead, Oliver.

You're ready.

Go ahead.

Hi, y'all.

Hi, this is Oliver Misca.

I'm a Seattle Public Schools substitute teacher and a LGBTQ small business owner.

And I have the privilege of working with youth advocates and educators across the state, including Bailey, who pretty much just summed up everything that I needed to say and that people are saying across the state, which is we really need to address the crisis in our school funding.

We know that Seattle's facing a deficit, and the school board decided to postpone any closures for this year.

And what we're seeing is that the legislature's really pinned the school district and the school board Uh, pushing wealthy parents that are saying we need to, we really need to compete with private schools against communities who've been underserved historically by our education system.

And it's absolutely just a travesty to watch that play out in the school closure conversation.

And it's a conversation that we could be avoiding if we were pursuing progressive revenue at the state.

So I really hope that you amend the legislative priorities for the 2025 legislative session, uh, to include progressive revenue.

like a wealth tax, payroll tax, expanding the capital gains tax, and what is legal, which is a 1% progressive income tax that would exempt the first $200,000, which no legislator is saying that they would do right now, but it's something that we need to put on the table and we need to be demanding locally because it's to find a statewide solution to fund our schools, not just a solution that will serve the wealthiest districts like Seattle and Mercer Island and Bellevue and Issaquah.

but legislation that will support all our schools statewide.

Let's be a beacon of education for our state right now in this absolutely horrific moment where we'll be facing cuts for our education system federally.

Now's the time to invest.

Let's get ahead of it.

You have the responsibility.

Thank you for including mental health in your legislative priorities and welcome Council Member Rank.

Thank you.

That was our last remote speaker.

Thank you very much.

We've reached the end of our list of registered speakers and the public comment period is now closed.

All right, moving on.

We are now at the point of approving our introduction and referral calendar.

Are there any objections to the items on the introduction and referral calendar?

Seeing none, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

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

Hearing none, the agenda is adopted.

And now for our consent calendar, the items on the consent calendar include the minutes of November 12th and 21st of 2024 and council bills 120914 and 120915, which are payment of claims and bills.

Are there any items that council members would like to remove from the consent agenda?

All right, seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the items of the consent calendar?

Council Member Allingford?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Aye.

Council Member Rivera?

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Now hold on there, Jody, because I did scroll past the move.

So we're going to have to go back to that vote, and perhaps Council Member Rivera will be with us.

I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Thank you very much.

Will you call the roll again, please?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Aye.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Spock?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

Moving on.

There are no committee reports for consideration today.

Will the clerk please read the, and there were no items removed from the consent calendar.

So we will move right into item one, which is the adoption of other resolutions.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Agenda item one, resolution 32155, setting forth the City of Seattle's 2025 state legislative agenda.

Thank you very much.

I move to adopt resolution 32155. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

And as sponsor of the resolution, I will address it first and then open the door to comments from council members.

Thank you.

So I want to address the history of the product that is here before us.

It is the culmination of many, many months of work that was conducted by the Office of Intergovernmental Relations.

So just to give you a picture of that process, our office started talking with the director's staff about it in April, but our first meeting with OIR was on June 27th, and I believe that's when other council members began taking meetings as well.

In late July, we confirmed with OIR that they would present about the development process to council at a briefing on September 16th, which they did.

On October 18th, community of central staff circulated a draft document and requested feedback by October 25th.

And that was done by council members before the office circulated a draft, a final draft to be attached to the resolution.

And they presented their draft to council members during the briefing on November 25th.

Meanwhile, on November 22nd, Karina circulated a copy of the final, final draft with a deadline for amendments listed as Tuesday, 11.26 at 2 p.m.

Actually, I think it was noon.

But in any case, those were the months that we were working on this in an iterative process with the Office of Intergovernmental Relations.

And one of their tasks, which I'd been pushing for for a long time, was to reduce the length of our 16-page legislative agenda.

And just this is a page, and it's a list of things that the city supports, and it had grown, it had just kept growing over the years.

And the request, which they also shared, was to whittle it down to two pages, to two pages so that it was more accessible, not just easier to read, but it was more to the point of what our priorities really were.

And just for example, I pulled up some of the legislative agendas.

Here is Shoreline's legislative agenda, our neighbor to the north.

Here is the city of Snohomish legislative agenda, two pages.

Kirkland.

One page.

City of Spokane, legislative priorities.

And then on and on and on.

Everett.

Mercer Island.

And so it might seem frivolous to really care about the length of legislative agenda, but it really is important because we want legislators and their staff to know what Seattle's priorities are on an ongoing basis that they can refer to easily and read through a bunch of bullet points so that they understand where our position is.

And meanwhile, of course, there is lobbying that goes door to door during the whole session.

I'm not saying that the legislative agenda is the be all and end all, but it is an important tool.

So thank you very much for whittling that down.

That took a lot of work because you had to really think about what the executive priorities were and also how to maintain some of the legacy priorities that have existed year to year at the council, and then what would be appropriate to cut.

So I'm just saying that the legislative agenda is a tool that is going to be important this coming legislative session, which is a long legislative session.

It's a new legislature, and also there are some very pressing issues on the table.

So I say all this but I do want to acknowledge that really it is the day-to-day work of our advocates in Olympia that really protects and advances the interests of the city of Seattle.

So that's what we've got before us right now and we can continue because we do have some amendments.

Are there any other comments before we get to the amendments?

Go ahead.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you for that background.

I also think it's important to note that the legislative agenda, and we have our great team and director, OIR director, Mina Hashemi.

Thank you for being in chambers today, and Samir, and I think I saw Anna earlier.

I really appreciate all the work that you've done, and I know that you developed this agenda with input from the city departments, from elected officials, from the state legislative delegation that so greatly represents us in Olympia as a city, from regional government agencies, statewide interest groups, and advocates.

So I know that the agenda that you did put forth together um it is made up of with feedback from all of these entities and appreciate you reaching out to the entities to do that work so that when by the time it comes to us you've done that leg work and then you've also really prioritized because we know we're not going to be able to get everything and so i think the goal here is to make sure that we're having a legislative agenda that is in a form where when Samir and Anna are representing us in Olympia are things that we hopefully can get.

Because the exhaustive list, we know we're not going to be able to achieve as much as we want to, all of those things.

And we really need to be focused, and that's how you do strategy.

So I think that's important to note, Council President, because You know, it's less about this, like you said earlier, laundry list and it's more about making sure that we're working with the stakeholders and focusing our efforts on a priority that we really can hope to achieve within that legislative agenda, excuse me, session, which I know is always short, no matter how long or short it actually physically is or time-wise is, it always seems a lot shorter because once that train leaves the station, it does not stop.

So Wanted to add that as well.

Thank you for the opportunity to do so.

And again, thank you to our team at OIR for all the work that you do.

Thank you for those comments.

Does anybody have any others?

Okay.

We do have Amendment A before us, so I invite the sponsor to go ahead.

And speak.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

So should I make the motion first?

Yes.

Okay.

So I move to amend Resolution 32155 with Amendment A, Version 1. Second.

Thank you very much.

It's been moved and seconded to amend resolution as presented on Amendment A, and now Councilmember Saka, you're recognized to address it and walk us through its content.

Yeah, thank you, Madam Council President.

So, colleagues, I ask for your support on this, this amendment.

What does it do?

Well, it's a very specific, narrow, technical exception to the Youth Right to Counsel statute at the state level that, as we know, is based substantially off of the Seattle Ordinance and the King County Ordinance.

was enshrined into a superseding state law.

And application of that has been uneven throughout the state, we've seen.

And we've seen here in the city of Seattle some unfortunate uneven application of this statute.

the mayor's office and the police chiefs.

Despite best efforts to comply and I can' t speak for other agencies across the city but current and immediate past I I think we do want to comply here in Seattle with this just with this statute It's just there's some confusion around when it applies and when it doesn't apply and colleagues you see me This is you see me talk about this over and over and over and over and I'm gonna continue talking about it over and over and over Till we take some action Enough is enough I agree with the intent and purpose and values underlying this underlying ordinance or statute here.

But we've seen some miscarriages of justice.

I mentioned earlier I'm a proud son of immigrants, 50% Nigerian, 50% Finnish, 100% American, and I'm proud of it.

And I'm proud of my Nigerian American background as well.

And black and brown communities and immigrant communities, we're the—we bear the brunt of the gun violence challenges across our city, and we're going to continue to bear the brunt of unequal justice and lack of access to justice as a result of laws that lack clarity.

around when they apply.

So I think this is a very minor hyper-technical amendment to the state statute.

Some are calling for the repeal.

I'm calling for let's clarify when it applies and when it doesn't.

That's the essence of the growth mindset you hear me talking about over and over.

And so Seattle's first homicide victim in this city this year, as you all know, college, 15-year-old Mubarak Adham was killed directly across the street.

oddly at the Southwest Teen Life Center across the street from Chief Sealth International High School.

Young man, 15 years old, son of immigrants, tragically lost his life through gun violence.

Police still don't know what happened.

This statute was not intended to apply to victims of crimes or potential witnesses we need to clarify when it's intended to apply and when it doesn't because having if we have more clarity from a statutory perspective colleagues to be honest it wouldn't bring back it wouldn't bring back mubarak it wouldn't bring back the other young primarily black and brown primarily immigrant And refugees, youth across this city that we've lost to gun violence, sadly, I wish it would.

And I've sat in the home of Mubarak Odom and his family right after he passed away with the mayor and had to explain the status of the investigation.

A little minor technical tweak isn't going to bring isn't going to bring these young primarily men back.

But it will ensure that future families, future aggrieved families of gun violence and other victims of crime have access to justice and have answers that they so desperately need.

On behalf of the family of Mubarak Adam and who I've been working with throughout this year, colleagues, I ask and urge your support of this much needed amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for those moving words.

Are there any comments from colleagues?

Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Council Member Saka, for your comments.

You've been talking about this since the tragedy, and so I really, this is something that's come up now, but you've been talking about it since, and I think it makes sense that when we pass laws and we need to clarify something within the law, That makes sense.

This isn't anything new.

This is a clarification of something that's existing so that police departments are able to do their jobs as they're trying to find justice for these families.

And so thank you for bringing this forward.

Thank you.

Council Member Morales, go ahead.

Yeah, thank you.

I really appreciate the attention that my colleague has brought to this issue.

I've certainly had my share of conversations with parents whose children have died at the hands of gun violence, so I understand how hard that is.

And I don't believe that this is the right time action to address this issue.

The Youth Access to Counsel program that was launched in 2022 is intended to make interactions with law enforcement more fair for Washington youth by providing them with connection to a lawyer to understand their constitutional rights before custodial interrogation and before they're searched.

It allows young people to understand their rights before they waive them.

And they still have the opportunity to waive their rights.

So I do want to be clear about that.

Last year, attorneys provided consultation with over 2,000 youth across the state, an average of about six per day.

And the Washington State Office of Public Defense reports that over 70 percent of calls that were answered by an attorney were answered in under one minute.

So I know I have also heard some officers saying that it takes too long, that this law is getting in the way of them being able to conduct investigations because it takes too long.

for attorneys to be contacted, but there is a statewide hotline.

And about 96% of calls were answered by an attorney in less than two minutes in 2023. Once in touch with an attorney, about 66% of consultations are completed within 20 minutes.

So...

I certainly don't want to impede the ability of investigations to take place, but I think our young people are the most vulnerable population that we have when it comes to these kinds of interactions with officers.

And you can imagine how stressful it might be to be engaged with an officer.

So I think that they need to have, particularly if they're minors, need to have the protection that comes with having the opportunity to talk to an attorney before they are interrogated or before they're searched, even if they're a witness to a crime and not an actual suspect in something that's taken place.

So I will be voting no on this amendment.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay.

I'm not seeing, let me see.

Go.

Council Member Rivera.

Thank you.

I have a question actually because my understanding is that this doesn't change what is currently the law.

The exception applies, or the exception is law, and this is just to clarify when it can be applied.

That is how I'm reading this.

And so I want to make sure this is not scaling back any protections that teens have to access to an attorney, but it's more the exception is there and it's to clarify its applicability.

Is that correct?

Go ahead.

May I, Council President?

Yes.

So that is the intent.

And that is consistent with my understanding as well.

And that is the intent.

And because what we've seen is too many instances of lack of clarity.

around its applicability or non-applicability, and is there exception or not?

Is there a carve-out or not?

And we've seen the unfortunate results in how that manifests itself over and over throughout the city and throughout the state, as I understand it as well.

And so, yeah, this is a very narrow thing to clarify when it applies and when it does not apply.

And I couldn't agree more.

I'll just say, responding to a few comments, I couldn't agree more that youth need to have access to legal representation.

As a lawyer, I'll say I couldn't agree more that youth need to have access to legal representation in criminal matters especially.

And that's why I'm not advocating for a repeal.

I want to preserve those values and the essence of this and clarify some very narrow, limited exceptions.

And because I...

And by the way, it's not a timing or response issue.

The program's working great by all measures.

Data aside, I'm told, having conversation with legislators and others in the community, the program is like, it's not an issue of, oh, we can't connect enough youth to lawyers quick enough.

That's not the issue.

The issue is what happens when you do connect someone.

that is an eyewitness to something that may be a crime.

It may not be a crime.

Who knows?

What happened to Mubarak might not be a crime.

I don't know.

I don't think our police even know.

The family certainly doesn't know.

But darn it, they deserve to know.

And that's what this is about.

Aggrieved families deserve answers.

Aggrieved families deserve answers.

Thank you.

I'll just say very briefly, thank you very much for that.

You've been talking about this for a long time, as you noted, one of our first city council meetings.

The fact that it wasn't in the legislative agenda does not indicate that OIR does not agree with the spirit of it.

And my understanding is that there was a commitment to lobby in favor if there was a bill that came forward.

And so that was indication to me that it was something that the executive and council were on the same page on.

And it was important to you to have it included in our legislative agenda, so I'll be supporting this.

If there are no other comments, will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

No.

Council Member Rink.

No.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Aye.

Seven in favor, two opposed.

The motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

Are there further comments on the resolution as amended?

Now would be the time for the sponsor of Amendment B to raise your hand.

Council President.

Council Member Kettle.

Council President, thank you.

I move to amend Resolution 32155 with Amendment B, Version 1. Second.

Second.

Thank you very much.

The Amendment B is moved and seconded to amend the resolution by Amendment B, as it shows on the agenda, and you are now welcome to address it.

Thank you, Council President.

First, I wanted to thank Director Hashemi, who's here, as you mentioned, and her team for the efforts, and also FOR THE EXECUTIVE, THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE EXECUTIVE THAT I AND MY TEAM HAVE BEEN ENGAGED ON WITH A NUMBER OF ISSUES RELATED TO THE WHOLE TWO-PAGER.

OBVIOUSLY, THE PUBLIC SAFETY PIECES, BUT ELEMENTS OF THE OTHER SECTIONS AS WELL.

AND THIS AMENDMENT IS JUST AN ADD-ON.

Obviously, I didn't know the entire process before we got the final draft.

But this amendment is just to highlight an important piece.

And so I also want to say thank you to the central staff.

I see Ms. Bull out in the audience who helped me with this amendment.

It is important to note education and mental health are so key for our students, for our young people today.

And it's an importance that is reflected in the budget.

And I recognize there's some disagreements about that, but that's a little bit in terms of how this came about in our budget from the previous year and how that came about.

in the last second way.

It does not reflect anything in terms of how the executive or the legislator branch and everybody in between feels regarding mental health and education.

It's also important to note that education and mental health are state functions and state responsibilities.

I can argue that these efforts have not delivered, at least fully, that we have not achieved what we need to achieve in this area in terms of mental health and our students, our young people.

And so I believe that we must, in a one Seattle way, make sure that the state carries out its duties in this area to help our students thrive in the educational environment.

And I would argue that we should have been having this in years before, definitely years before the action taken last year in terms of adding the money into the budget.

It should have been predicated by going to the state and saying, hey, this is important.

The state, this is your responsibility.

Please carry it out.

And in the face of the state not doing so, then we say, hey, this is important to us as a city, and it's going to be reflected in our budget by taking this action as it was done last year with the payroll expense tax.

And so I think it's important today to add essentially comma mental health comma in there just to highlight that point and to show and to make the point to Olympia that, hey, this falls under your responsibilities.

This is the need that we have.

And it's not just a Seattle need, of course, it's throughout the state and for them to do it.

And for the piece, that related piece under behavioral health, I think on the suggestion and recommendation OF OUR COLLEAGUES AND CENTRAL STAFF, I THINK IT DOES ALLOW FOR A BETTER READING OF THAT POINT AS IT FALLS UNDER THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SECTION.

SO, COLLEAGUES, I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS AMENDMENT.

ARE THERE ANY COMMENTS?

COUNCILMEMBER RIVERA.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL PRESIDENT.

THIS ONE, TOO, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A LONG TIME.

I MEAN, SINCE WE We all support mental health, and it's something that is critical.

It is, and we've been talking about the fact that the support of mental health, funding for it, is really a state responsibility.

And while we support it at the local level, it is important for Olympia to also support mental health, especially for our kids.

And so because we've been talking about this for so long, it seems appropriate to me to include it in the legislative agenda as a friendly amendment.

And I think that I don't think that the executive, I think the executive would not have I can't speak for the executive, obviously, but I think that they would be, given our conversations over the course of the year, that they would be okay with this friendly amendment.

Are there any other comments?

That is my understanding as well.

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment B?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

No.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Succa.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Motion carries and Amendment B is adopted.

Are there further comments on the resolution as amended?

C.

Council Member Rivera.

Go ahead.

I can't.

Sorry.

Go ahead.

I move to amend resolution 32155 with amendment C version 1.

Second.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

You are recognized to address it.

Great.

Thank you, Council President.

This one, we've been talking again about education all year, the importance of education.

We've been talking, thank you, Amelia, talking about education all year and particularly the importance as well of early education, early childhood education and preschool.

So as part of what we are already, it's already on our legislative agenda to support education, K-12 education is seen prudent to include early childhood and preschool as part of that K-12 education.

ASK FOR SUPPORT FROM OLYMPIA.

I HAVE TALKED TO THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE ABOUT THIS, AND THEY ARE SUPPORTIVE OF THIS AS WELL.

SO I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

THANK YOU.

COMMENTS?

I DID CHECK WITH OIR AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAD COMMUNICATED WITH YOU, AND IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IN YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF QUITE FREQUENTLY.

Thank you, Council President.

And we also raised this when OIR was here in chambers on the 25th of November about the importance of including this.

And they were in support of it, as was the executive, because I did reach out.

So thank you.

All right.

It's been moved and seconded, and I'm not seeing any other comments.

So will the clerk please call the roll on Amendment C?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and Amendment C is adopted.

Are there any further comments on the resolution as amended?

Council President.

Go ahead, please.

Council President, I move Amendment D, Version 1 to Resolution 32155. Second.

welcome to speak to it.

Thank you, Council President.

I also appreciate having a legislative agenda that is two pages rather than 16. It makes it digestible.

It makes it more effective.

And colleagues, I bring to you an amendment that has four additions, four changes.

One of them reduces a line.

And I will say if we had not been attempting to I would have spent more time with Karina wordsmithing them and I was not about to go back and forth with her over a holiday weekend.

We have some amendments before us.

One thing I would say is I know with the cumulative additions that we've all made.

If for some reason this isn't gonna fit onto two pages, I would ask that you OIR alert us and we come back together to wordsmith this a little bit more.

it's important that we keep this to two pages.

So the amendment that I have just brought before us does four things.

The first, it adds within the public safety realm, support continued efforts to address the high rate of disappearances and murders of indigenous women and people.

The next change it adds under public and behavioral health, support safe access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare services for all.

Within economic development and small business, this is where we took two lines and turned it into one just to say support special events and World Cup activations regarding food and drink.

And lastly, but not least, within climate and environment, support policies and investments to fight climate change, support climate adaption, and assist local government removal of fish passage barriers.

Colleagues, these are all incredibly important things that I believe we as the city already agree on, and it would be incredibly meaningful to have this included on our legislative agenda.

I ask for your support.

Thank you.

I will call on folks who would like to make comment.

Council Member Moore.

Thank you, Council President.

So thank you, Council Member Strauss, for bringing these amendments.

And I appreciate the amendment for continued efforts to address the high rate of disappearances and murders of Indigenous women and people.

I did not bring amendments, and in retrospect, I regret not doing so.

I would have liked to have brought an amendment to also support the passage of the ebony alert, which I know is also being discussed.

So I can just...

put that out there that we would like certainly and I'm sure there are others amongst us who would support passage of the ebony alert and then the other thing that I would like also like to talk about is support safe access to abortion other reproductive health care services for all to me that means we need to pass a constitutional amendment and our state legislature to date has been unwilling to do so and it's controlled by democrats so it's about time that they put their money where their mouth is and they pass a constitutional amendment to support reproductive care.

That's my two cents on that.

Thank you for that.

Thank you.

Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Council Member Strauss, for bringing these items to our attention.

I have some questions.

I want to first start by saying that I wholeheartedly support full reproductive rights for all women, especially as a mom of two daughters.

And I completely agree that as a state and a nation, we need to focus efforts to address the crisis of missing and indigenous women.

And I feel really fortunate that Washington State is a place where women have reproductive rights.

And I know we'll continue to do so with the election of our new governor.

So I guess I'm not sure why we need to add this to the legislative agenda because it is something that the state already has.

And then in terms of the missing and murdered indigenous women and people, there is a task force that was created in 2021 by the state.

And I understand that task force was brought together to understand and address the systemic causes of violence against indigenous people and improve the state's ability to meaningfully address the root causes of the crisis.

And I know a final report is due upcoming here in June 2025, which I look forward to reviewing.

So I'm not sure why we need to include an amendment to ask to do things that are already being done.

So I would like to hear from you, Councilmember Strauss.

I also will say these were all together in one amendment and I don't feel comfortable, I don't know about the removal of the fish passage barriers.

I'm just seeing this yesterday, and so I need more information about that.

I just don't feel comfortable voting for things when I haven't done the due diligence.

So those are my comments about this particular amendment.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss, would you like to respond?

Yeah, happy to share some context here.

I kept them all in one amendment to take the burden off of staff during a holiday weekend when these were all coming together and being written.

I also was trying to reduce the burden on colleagues for us all voting yes on almost everything multiple times over.

These are all, except for fish passage, these are all items that have been in our legislative priorities agenda in the past.

And even if we believe that the state will be moving forward under these, with some of these items, I think that it's important for us to state our support of them, especially when we get down into the legislative session where I have a term that I call them weekdays in Olympia, not because it's Monday through Friday, Rather, because a week's worth of work gets done in a day, and when you don't have time to call back to Seattle to find out where are we on a certain issue, this is helpful.

So in summary, I pulled everything, including the climate change and adaption, except for I added the fish passage, which is an important issue to many of our 280 other cities and towns in the state.

So I would urge your support.

If you don't feel comfortable voting on it, that's okay.

Feel free to vote no.

I understand your desire to, Council Member Strauss, to...

express support for things that were in our past.

I also, that is something that I believe we need to reduce because we want to make an effective, well not that it's not effective, but in the spirit of making sure that we are able to emphasize our top priorities as a tool for legislators and their staff.

I think that we're trying to get away from statements of support for things that aren't likely to be live bills or that the state is already doing.

But I understand that impulse and several of the legislative agendas do state support, but I'm trying to go in the other direction from that to a concise tool.

And it's my understanding that these are not issues that were talked about with OIR, so again in the spirit of, so in the spirit of, no, I would like to finish my sentence.

Having asked OIR staff, I was making sure that these issues had been on the table during that process that I outlined, so.

That is informing my, as I said in my opening remarks, the things that I will be, what I'm looking at as we are approving these amendments.

Thank you.

Council President, Mayor?

Go ahead.

Thank you, and I hope that this is the last word, and then we'll move on, which is I did have conversations with OIR, and so if there's a conversation here about honesty, that's troubling for me.

Again, these are all important things.

Whether we believe that there's a bill this year, or we don't believe that there's a bill this year, or maybe there's a bill this year, this is the work that needs to be done to demonstrate not only the values that Seattle brings to Olympia, but also the things that we need to show others that we are supporting, and just because these issues don't have a bill number attached to them a month before session is a bit irrelevant at this time.

And these are important issues that I believe should be contained within our city's legislative agenda for our work in the legislature.

Colleagues, I invite you to come down to City Action Days alongside myself and other colleagues.

There's only one other colleague on this dais that I've seen at City Action Days.

And so time to do some work.

I urge your support of this amendment.

And I was not implying that there has to be a bill.

In fact, I said previously with Council Member Saka's amendment that that is not the case.

I'm talking about the process of collaboration that we undertook going forward to get to this point.

Are there any further comments?

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

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Aye.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member.

Thank you.

Council Member Rink.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Abstain.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Abstain.

Seven in favor none opposed two abstentions.

DIRECTOR HAMPSON- Thank you very much.

The motion carries and Amendment D is adopted.

Are there further comments on the resolution as amended.

Councilmember Rink.

I move to amend Resolution 32155 as presented on the recently distributed Amendment F, not Amendment F. E. Second.

Thank you.

Second.

Amendment E, my apologies.

No problem.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt Amendment E. You are welcome to speak to your amendment.

Thank you, and thank you all for your consideration of this amendment.

As I mentioned during council briefing yesterday, I am walking on this amendment day, which is not how I'd like to do business on this dais, but the amendment deadline was on my first day, so I hope you'll forgive me just this time.

Amendment E... This amendment would add language to our legislative agenda to state the city's commitment to exploring progressive revenue options before considering other options for revenue that will put a higher tax burden on low-income and middle-income households.

Certainly, I think the context for how we're entering the state legislative session is tremendously important.

Our state budget deficit for the next four years is going to be $10 to $12 billion over four years, according to Axios.

We know that Seattle Public Schools is facing close to a hundred million dollar deficit in the coming school year.

We ourselves as a city have had to reckon with our budget deficit as well.

And what's clear is some of our stopgap measures are not working and much of our legislative agenda is calling for a funding of really important things.

We're all agreeing and voting on this agenda.

in support of these critical programs and services that will need funding.

And so when looking at measures for making sure that, as we guide and work with our colleagues in the state legislature, providing that guidance to make sure that the hardest hit with our loss of revenue are not our low-income and middle-income households.

and urging our state government to look into new sources of revenue that shift that burden to others and seeking more progressive revenue options.

And so with that, I ask for your support on this amendment and again, appreciate the opportunity to walk it on today.

Thank you.

It's been seconded to adopt the resolution as presented as Amendment E. Are there other people that would, are there any colleagues that would like to make comments?

Hold on a second.

I got to move this.

I believe Council Member Moore, I believe your hand was up first.

I could be wrong.

Or was yours, Council Member?

No, Council Member Moore.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

I just had a question about how this would work in terms of Initiative 2111, which said that under the terms of that initiative, the state legislature cannot implement a progressive income tax for another two years, I believe.

So I'm just wondering what you're contemplating here with that in light of that initiative.

Absolutely.

Happy to respond to that and understanding that, of course, Washington State's Constitution does prohibit income taxes from being implemented.

As I understand it, both houses, the House and the State Senate, are exploring other forms of progressive revenue options from looking at a statewide payroll tax with some notable exemptions.

They're also exploring other methods and means.

looking a little bit beyond specifically income tax, but some additional options, and I think there's some creativity that we might see come out of the woodwork, but at this time, I'm talking about options other than income tax.

May I ask a follow-up?

Yes.

And so looking at that as opposed to like increasing the B&O or sales tax or something along those?

That is correct.

Okay, thank you for the clarification.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Morales.

Council Member Rivera is next.

Council Member Rivera, go ahead.

Thank you, Council President.

Well, Council Member Rank, I want to thank you for jumping in.

And as far as I'm concerned, I am fine with walk-on amendments because We need to do the work of the people, and sometimes that means that that will require a walk-on amendment to support folks.

And so I am more than welcoming a walk-on amendment.

I will say that I just saw this yesterday late afternoon, and I haven't had time to do my due diligence, talk to OIR.

I am that person that talks to everyone before I feel like I need to make an educated decision when I take a vote.

And so while I appreciate you bringing this forward, I don't feel like I've done my due diligence to be able to take a vote on this.

And so I will be abstaining today on this particular vote, but I do thank you.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Brink, for bringing this.

This is another topic that we've been talking about all year, about or maybe talking around.

But as I've mentioned throughout the entire budget process, I am in progressive...

We know that the city has an enormous deficit that we will be facing in the next couple of years, and we are hearing more as the legislature is about to convene about the statewide budget deficit that we're facing.

So I do believe that as a city, we should be pursuing this, and we should encourage the state to pursue progressive revenue as well.

So I'll be supporting this amendment today.

Thank you.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Thank you.

Welcome, Councilmember Rank.

I'm so happy to have you, and thank you for bringing these walk-on amendments.

Really appreciate it.

I recognize that you literally were just sworn in, so you had literally no other option to bring walk-on amendments, and I appreciate all the quick work that you have.

I'm actually in the same boat as Councilmember Rivera, understanding that during the budget process, I abstained from a lot of the walk-on amendments, not having enough time to check with city departments, OIR, our executive on a lot of stuff.

So for that, I will be abstaining from these amendments, the walk on amendments, but I really appreciate all the work that you've done and looking forward to your continued work and our work together.

So thank you.

Council Member Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

First, welcome Council Member Rink and very important, happy to have you here on the dais with us.

I will be upfront based on the budget experience that we just went through.

I do not like walk-on amendments, but you have a very good exception to that rule in the sense of you just got here.

So I support this amendment in that sense.

But yes, the experience from the budget process that we just went through, walk-on amendments and amendments to the amendments made it very challenging to the points that Council Member Rivera and Council Member Hollingsworth noted.

I also wanted to note that our recent budget process shows that we have more work to do on budget reform, and we need to continue this work to include understanding our spending and our revenues, our revenues and our spending, the impacts of changes, such as the different levies that have come down, the housing levy, our recent transportation levy, on both.

And we need a comprehensive process to include committee work to inform our decisions.

Again, going to some of the points that we made, and this is something, again, that...

IT WAS A KEY FEATURE OF WHAT WE JUST DID THAT, YOU KNOW, COMMITTEE WORK BEING THE BASIS OF BUDGET ACTIONS IS REALLY HELPFUL.

AND SO, AND THIS WORK REALLY SHOULD ALSO PROCEED OUR ELEMENTS ON OUR 2025 STATE LEGISLATURE PRIORITIES DOCUMENT.

AND FRANKLY, THE STATE SHOULD ALSO BE DOING THE SAME IN TERMS OF THEIR BUDGET REFORM AND WORKING THROUGH THESE PROCESSES.

SO I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT TODAY.

AND AGAIN, WELCOME TO THE COUNCIL.

Are there any further comments?

No, I will just note that for the record, I am fine with walk-on amendments.

And because I think that is an expression of engagement.

And clearly, there was also the problem of deadline.

And so you came on board the day that the hour, you were sworn in hours after the deadline.

So that is not my issue.

My issue is more making alignment with our partners and the executive.

Section one reads, issues in the legislative, in the city of Seattle's 2025 state legislative agenda reflect an accurate, though non-exhaustive list of city interests and priorities for the 2025 legislative agenda.

And this is city means council and executive.

And so, again, I'm sounding like a broken record, but I am honoring the effort to bring everybody in, collaborate, and make sure that the executive does everything has vetted this a bit.

And you and I spoke earlier, and I did explain that that was an issue for me, because we need to make sure that what our lobbyists are presenting to legislators is something that both sides of the city are, for the most part, agree with.

So I really appreciate you bringing this in and jumping in right away, but I will be abstaining.

If there are no other Will the clerk please call the roll on Amendment E. Council Member Hollingsworth.

Abstain.

Council Member Kettle.

No.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Abstain.

Council Member Succa.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Abstain.

Five in favor one opposed.

Three abstentions.

The motion carries and Amendment E is adopted.

Are there further comments on the resolution as amended.

Go ahead, Councilmember Rink.

Pardon me.

I move to amend Resolution 32155 as presented on the recently distributed Amendment F. Second.

Go ahead.

As the sponsor, you're welcome to address it.

Wonderful.

I will be brief in my comments here and perhaps a bit less substantive than the last one.

This amendment will seek to adjust one of the bullet points within the housing section.

This amendment would add language to state our city's commitment to increasing funding specifically to the housing trust fund and other housing programs to maximize state leverage for local housing priorities.

and wanted to make this language adjustment just to be specific around the impact that the Housing Trust Fund has in our community.

Seattle and King County receive large sums from this fund, and much of this fund goes into new construction of affordable housing.

We should be ready for the possibility of loss of federal funds in the coming years.

We're looking to our state partners to help us close the gap, especially on our affordable housing deficit.

So this is a bit more of a vernacular change more than anything.

Again, a specific reference to the Housing Trust Fund, since it is one of our key critical state fund sources, but also outlines the kinds of affordable housing programs and projects such as permanent supportive housing, homeownership opportunity, workforce housing, and so on.

And I ask for your support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any comments?

SEEING NONE, WILL THE CLERK PLEASE?

OKAY.

SORRY.

COUNCIL MEMBER SACA.

THANK YOU, MADAM COUNCIL PRESIDENT.

YEAH, I'M GOING TO BE SUPPORTING THIS ONE TODAY.

I DON'T LOVE THE WALK-ON AMENDMENTS PERSONALLY.

I'M NOT SAYING PERSONALLY NEVER, NEVER.

THEY DON'T MAKE SENSE.

as applied in very narrow and limited circumstances.

I do agree that it shows strong engagement.

It shows being thoughtful and self of like a sense of being reflective and deliberate and intentional.

Because sometimes the right answer isn't always immediately clear.

And sometimes you need a stakeholder something a little more before finding out the best verbiage and for wording.

But that doesn't apply to you councilmember rank because you just started so how you have all the grace and patience from my perspective And but I do think they should be deployed in a very ideally be deployed in a very limited fashion And not never, but very limited, and that's just my own two cents.

We all clearly have a point of view on this.

So I'm gonna be supporting this.

I do think, this is a global comment, and I'm not pointing fingers at any of you colleagues, and to the extent I am, I'm pointing three fingers back at myself here.

I do think we do need to be a little more disciplined about priorities as a city collectively with the executive now we're going through the legislative process we do need to be a little more disciplined and apply a little more rigor around priorities and ideally influence them on the pre-introduction basis before they're introduced because if everything is, every single thing is a priority, then really at the end of the day, nothing is a priority.

And I intentionally declined, I put one amendment forward and I sat on and declined two others that I would ideally have liked to see them.

Just because, again, the principles that I mentioned a moment ago, but I obviously did support some of your things and because I know they're important to you, and this is a value statement document, and it's also largely a walking document.

Literally walk this down Olympia and hand it to people and talk through it.

But the action is—so walking is a prerequisite.

It's a walking—it's a talking point.

It's a prerequisite.

But the action behind it is the most impactful from my perspective, and so I'm less concerned about— words on paper that said like i said we do need to be a little more i think next year especially a little more disciplined around uh around what we put forward and what we choose not to so thank you thank you very much uh making sure they're council member rivera

Thank you, CP.

I'll try to make it fast because I know CM Moore, you need to get going.

But for the same reason I stated earlier, not having the ability to do my due diligence, I'll abstain on this one as well, though I know that the legislature does add funding every two years.

And the last time they added funding, it increased by 40%.

So I was happy to see that.

And I did want to say that I just found out from our city clerk that I could have requested, I didn't know that, to take out the portion of your amendment, Council Member Strauss, that I didn't feel like I had enough information, and I could have supported the other pieces in regards to the abortion rights, which I do support, and obviously the missing and murdered indigenous women.

So again, I'll say I support those things, and it passed anyway, so My abstention did not impact it, but just wanted to restate my support for those two things, and now I know for next time, Amelia, so thank you.

All right, and it is easier when many things are being done in an amendment to break them up so that you can express support for one, not the other, if that's where you're going.

Okay, council, will the clerk please, council member Strauss.

You can move on, I'll speak once we're done with this amendment.

Would you please call the roll on amendment F?

Council member Hollingsworth.

I'm saying.

Council member Kettle.

Aye.

Council member Moore.

Aye.

Council member Morales.

Yes.

Council member Rink.

Aye.

Council member Rivera.

Abstain.

Council member Saka.

Aye.

Council.

Council Member Strauss.

Council President Nelson.

Abstain.

6 in favor, none opposed, 3 abstentions.

Excellent.

The motion the motion passes and the amendment F is adopted.

All right.

Any further comments on the resolution as amended?

Council President.

Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, I've heard a number of comments somewhat or directly directed at me, reminding colleagues comments should be directed to the Council President as per Robert's rules.

I will share again that the form in which I brought my amendment would have been different had we not been taking up this work over a holiday weekend.

Thank you, colleagues.

I reserve the privilege of invoking Robert's rules in reminding people, but you're welcome to join in.

But I will say that the reason that we didn't vote this out is because there were council members that were not going to be present last Tuesday.

And I wanted to make sure that we had a full dais for the first meeting of our new colleague.

And so that is why this didn't happen.

last there were a couple absences from being able to be here in person.

And so that is in fact why we are doing this today.

Yes, it would have been difficult to work this over the holiday weekend.

It was also difficult to work amendments over the right after the budget when everybody was exhausted and I wanted central staff to have a bit of a break.

Okay, are there any further comments on the amendment?

I mean, on the resolution?

Go ahead, Council Member Saka.

I obviously supported all the things because I think they're all great ideas.

I still stand by, you know, we, myself included, need to be a little more disciplined next year.

But, you know, I just want to reemphasize the importance of action.

We need to be about that action, boss.

You know, I like channeling the great beast mode.

And when we do that, in part by, I will be joining you, Council Member Strauss, through city legislative day or city action days or whatever.

No, no.

Let's go because these words on paper are important because they're an expression of our values, but the action comes with just going down there and being more than just talking about it, being about it.

So thank you, Madam Council President.

Okay, would you please call the roll on the resolution?

Submitted.

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

And just for the record, I'll say the thing, but I just want to note that this is the first legislative agenda that I have supported.

I've abstained for the previous two.

Okay, the motion carries and the resolution is adopted as amended and the chair will sign it.

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

Moving on to item two.

Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Agenda item two, resolution 32157 relating to participation for 2024 and 2025 on King County committees, regional committees, state committees, and city of Seattle committees and superseding resolution 32127. Thank you.

I move to adopt resolution 32157. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

As sponsor, I will address it first and then open the floor for comments from council members.

So colleagues, if you recall, this is the resolution that sets our external and regional committee memberships.

And you'll remember we passed this resolution at the beginning of the year.

And the reason that we're revisiting it today is to simply reflect Council Member Rink as the position eight appointee to various committees in place of the previous position eight council member.

If there are, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Please don't ask me what are all of those committees because I don't have it here in front of me.

But I am happy to entertain comments as well.

Okay.

I see no comments on the resolution.

So will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Aye.

Council Member.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rink.

Aye.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Succa.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor none opposed.

The motion carries and the resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

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

Thank you very much.

All right, we've reached the end of today's agenda and our next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on December 10th.

As a reminder, there's an inauguration ceremony reception right now for Council Member Rink that will commence when we end this meeting.

Don't go rushing to the door.

All right, seeing no other business, this meeting is adjourned and it is 4.03.

Thank you very much, everybody, and congratulations, Council Member Rink, for getting through your first meeting.