Seattle City Council 1/4/2022

Thank you.

The January 4th, 2022 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.01 p.m.

I am Kshama Sawant.

As the senior most council member, I am council president pro tem of the council until a council president is elected.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

For hold.

Here.

Thank you.

Juarez.

Here.

Lewis.

Present.

Morales.

Here.

Mosqueda.

Present.

Nelson.

Present.

Peterson.

Present.

Strauss.

Present.

Council President Pro Tem Sawant.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you.

We will now proceed to the election of the Council President for 2022 and 2023. Nominations for Council President are now in order.

Are there any nominations from the floor?

Council President Pro Tem.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Council President Pro Tem.

On behalf of Council Member Herbold and myself, I move to nominate Council Member Juarez to serve as Seattle City Council President for 2022 and 2023.

Thank you.

So Council Member Juarez has been nominated.

Are there any other nominations?

I'll wait for a second.

Hearing no further nominations, nominations are closed and we will proceed with a vote.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the nomination of Council Member Juarez as Council President.

Madam President Pro Tem, I believe I made a motion and it needs to be seconded and then to speak to it if that's appropriate, Council President Pro Tem.

Yes, that's fine.

Do we have a second?

Lisa's trying to second.

I'm sorry, Council Member Herbold.

Councilmember Herbold has her hand up, Council President Pro Tem.

Thank you.

The motion has been moved and seconded.

Councilmember Mesquite, if you want to speak, that's fine.

Thank you very much, Council President Pro Tem.

Happy New Year, colleagues.

It's wonderful to see your faces and one new face as well.

Councilmember Juarez, it is my honor to be able to nominate you along with Councilmember Herbold here today to serve as Council President for our Seattle City Council for the years of 2022 and 2023. You have been a friend, Councilmember Juarez, and you've been a mentor in my term on council.

I appreciate your dedication to our city and your continued commitment to your constituents.

Since getting elected in 2023, you have served with conviction and passion.

I appreciate the joint interest that you and I share for creating a denser city, a city that allows for more families to live here, for elders to live here, and for workers to be in our city.

A city that strives to strengthen and broaden workplace standards and protections for our most vulnerable, and to support small, diverse businesses.

You have done that not only in District 5, but you've done that for our entire city, and it's been an honor of mine to be able to work with you.

While we haven't always voted the same way on every single policy, we share the same fierce commitment to making Seattle a thriving place and it's for that shared interest that I look forward to working with you on this council and I know that you will continue to strive to serve our entire city and work with every single member of this Seattle City Council and our new executive along with our state and federal delegation to make Seattle a stronger, more vibrant place.

Council President Pro Tem to be, excuse me, Council President Pro Tem, I will conclude my comments because I know that Council Member Herbold and others probably have additional comments to make.

But I wouldn't be done if I didn't say thank you.

As I know Council Member Juarez loves to hear thank yous.

I'll say one last thank you.

Thank you for your service and being interested and willing to serve as Council President and for my colleagues as well for your service on Seattle City Council.

In an interview yesterday on NPR, there was a discussion about the divided nature of politics and the division across our country.

Congressman Crowe said, the bottom line is this, this is now time for good women and good men to step up and come together.

He continued by saying, it's a dangerous time to be in office.

It's a dangerous time to be a public servant, but you don't get to choose in leadership when it's your time to be called upon to serve.

That time chooses you.

Your choice is whether, just whether, not if, but whether you're going to accept that challenge.

And that is the challenge you are accepting today by accepting this nomination.

I look forward to working with you, Council President, in the future.

And Madam Council President Pro Tem, I will turn it back over to you.

Thank you.

I see Council Member Herbold's Zoom hand up, so I will call on Council Member Herbold, and after that, Council Member Peterson.

Thank you so much, and thank you, Council Member Mosqueda, for helping me with the second.

Consistent with the expressed preference of our hopefully incoming Council President for us to be brief in our remarks, and her frequent reminder that we honor our elders, I'll speak to my support for this motion by sharing a brief excerpt from the words of Reverend Harriet Walden, who wrote, our beloved city of Seattle needs healing, community, And Deborah Juarez is the leader we need to help Seattle heal and unite.

As an indigenous woman with strong ties to local tribal indigenous communities, it is time for a leader like Deborah to restore our relationships with each other and with the earth.

It is time for others to step aside and to let indigenous peoples of this land be represented in City Hall and steer Seattle in a new direction.

On the stepping aside part, I'm pretty sure Reverend Waldron was referring to me, but that's okay.

I really agree with her.

In closing, when discussing council presidency with Councilmember Juarez, she told me about the Blackfoot Confederacy model of kinship, an acknowledgement of our humanity and the source of our power to thrive together.

Please join me in supporting Councilmember Juarez's leadership under this model in 2022. Thank you.

We have Councilmember Peterson who has raised his hand.

I don't see anyone yet, but if you want to speak, please raise your Zoom hand and I'll call on you.

Go ahead, Councilmember Peterson.

Thank you, President Pro Tem Salant.

And thank you, Councilmembers Mosqueda and Herbold for nominating and seconding the motion to have Councilmember Juarez as our next council president.

And welcome, Councilmember Sarah Nelson.

I'm pleased to vote for Deborah Juarez as our next City Council President.

I believe Councilmember Juarez will bring out the best in all of us.

I believe she will create a positive and productive environment on the City Council that enables each of us to deliver the most to our constituents throughout Seattle, as she has so successfully done for her own district.

I want to thank Council Member Juarez and her team for their willingness to take on this burden of leadership.

I believe Seattle wants us simply to foster a safe, clean, and affordable city for all.

Today is an opportunity for Reset to work constructively with our new mayor out of the gate as he works to fulfill the promises for progress that he made during his long campaign and the compassionate message of unity he delivered just a few hours ago.

Governing a dynamic city effectively is a daunting challenge, and to succeed, I believe we can and must focus on our common ground, our points of unity.

Instead of labeling, let's listen.

Instead of driving wedges, let's build bridges.

And I believe Council President Juarez will enable us all together to deliver a better Seattle.

Thank you.

We have Council Member Strauss.

Go ahead.

Thank you Council President Pro Tem and incoming Council President Juarez.

I will be brief as per your request and I will simply send my message of thank you.

Thanks for your leadership and also to the other leaders on the city council Councilmember Herbold, Councilmember Mosqueda, the way that This team works together over the last two weeks, demonstrates that we are able to put aside our differences and focus on what makes us to get what the cohesion between us.

And I just want to also thank you, Council Member Juarez, but also Council Member Mosqueda and Herbold.

I'm looking forward to this great year and thriving in our city.

Thank you.

I don't see any other Zoom hands up.

Is anybody wanting to speak that hasn't spoken?

I don't see anyone.

So I will go ahead for us to proceed with a vote.

We have not heard any other nominations.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the nomination of Council Member Juarez as Council President.

Those in favor vote yes.

Those opposed vote no.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nielsen.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Sawant.

Yes.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The yeses have it, and Council Member Juarez is elected as Council President for 2022 and 2023 and will now assume the chair.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant for that.

I'm trying not to be emotional, but I really want the public to know that I worked, I'm really touched by all of your words.

And in particular, Council Member Herboldt, you shared a text that I shared with a few of you.

And you have no idea, I never thought in my life I'd be sitting here hearing someone as gracious and kind as you is repeating the whole understanding of the Blackfeet way of knowing in the Blackfoot Confederacy and how we come together for the greater good.

and having that come from you really means a lot to me.

And I want the public to know that Council Member Herbold and I work collaboratively together.

We went through our resolutions and we may not always agree, but we've always had mutual respect.

And she's always been very straightforward and honest with me.

She certainly has, as we would say, a lot of fire and good medicine in her.

So thank you, Council Member Herbold.

With that, I will just move on.

I want to thank all of you.

And it's an honor.

And with that, I'll move on.

So today is exciting and historic.

And this is the good part of the day.

We are doing the remote swearing in of my friends and colleagues, Council Member Teresa Mosqueda and our new Council Member, Council Member Sarah Nelson.

Where's Sarah?

There she is.

I think this is exciting.

We've never done this in a remote way.

And so it's going to be interesting how we do this.

We're going to ask the public to be patient with us as we move through this.

I know I'm trying to still figure this out.

So we'll go from there.

So at this time, we will proceed to the oath of office ceremonies for the newly elected council members in the order of district numbers.

not everyone's newly, some of us just are back again, as listed on the agenda, followed by brief remarks from each council member.

We will commence with council member Teresa Mosqueda's oath of office first, representing district eight.

The oath of office will be administered by the city clerk, the amazing Monica Martinez Simpson.

Madam clerk.

Thank you, Council President Juarez.

Council Member Mosqueda, it is my distinct honor to administer your oath of office.

Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I, Teresa Mosqueda, I, Teresa Mosqueda, swear or affirm, swear or affirm, that I possess all the qualifications, that I possess all of 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.

Of the City of Seattle.

Of the City of Seattle.

And that I will support the Constitution of the United States.

And that I will support the Constitution of the United States.

And the Constitution of the State of Washington.

And the Constitution of the State of Washington.

And the Charter and Ordinances.

And the Charter and Ordinances.

Of the City of Seattle.

Of the City of Seattle.

And that I will faithfully conduct myself.

And that I will faithfully conduct myself.

As Seattle City Councilmember.

As Seattle City Councilmember.

Congratulations Councilmember Muscadel.

I'll turn the time over to you.

Thank you very much, Chief Clerk Simmons, and thank you, Council President.

Thank you, council colleagues.

Thank you to our Seattle residents as well.

Thank you for the faith that you have shown to allow for me to serve citywide in position eight for a second term.

I'm incredibly honored to be able to represent the city of Seattle.

Four years ago, I got elected at a time where we were in the cities across our country worried about what would come from the federal delegation.

Having just had an election of Donald Trump at the time, I talked a lot about how cities would be the first line of offense and the last line of defense in this time that was tremendously ingrained in turmoil and in a divided country at that time.

Since then, we've seen some of those divisions continue to be spread apart.

We've seen people lose their homes now in the wake of COVID.

We've seen small businesses lose their shops, and we've seen people lose their livelihoods.

But we, I think in Seattle, have shown what it looks like to be on that front line of offense and that last line of defense.

In the last four years, we stood up more housing than we've seen in the previous years by passing Jumpstart Progressive Revenue to invest in affordable housing, in Green New Deal investments, in equitable development.

And we did that in the first few months of COVID because we knew that hard times were coming.

In my first term, we stood up protections for workers that had been long left out of state and federal labor standards by expanding rights for domestic workers that gain national attention and hotel workers who have higher rates of back injury than those who are working in coal mines.

We've done these and been on the national stage for good, progressive policy.

And I'm proud of those policies that we have done as a council, that we've passed together and then stood by.

I think now is exactly what we need to do as well, is to recognize that the division that continues to widen in our country can only come together in these moments where we choose to reach out and work with each other, to find the importance of investing public dollar in public good, to make sure that we ward off austerity and that we focus on rebuilding an economy that's more equitable and just for everyone.

I really look forward to working with all of you in this time to bring our city together because I know what we do in Seattle replicates across this country and I look forward to those positive waves of policy and action that we've shown in Seattle, not just in my time but before I got here as well, to have that type of progressive policy replicated in this moment when we are talking about recovering from COVID.

It's needed now more than ever.

We've done it in the past, Seattle.

We continue to get national recognition for the incredible ways in which we've supported our most vulnerable, and I know that we can do it here.

I look forward to working with you to create a denser, more livable, affordable, healthy, welcoming Seattle for everyone.

And that means investments in worker protections, small business support, and making sure everyone has a place to call home and that it's affordable in our city.

It's been it's been an honor to work with all of you And I really look forward to continuing to serve the residents of Seattle and look forward to working with you Colleagues and my new colleague as well.

Welcome councilmember Nelson.

I'll turn it over to the clerks

So with that, I will go ahead and go to the next agenda item.

Next, representing District 9, the oath of office will be administered to Council Member Sarah Nelson.

The oath of office will be administered by the former Seattle Council Member, Mr. Richard Conlin.

And with that, I will hand it over.

Madam Clerk?

No?

Hey.

Thank you so much for the honor of administering this oath of office to you, Council Member Nelson.

It's a privilege to be able to do so.

So please raise your right hand.

I, Sarah Nelson.

I, Sarah Nelson.

Swear or affirm.

Swear or affirm.

That I possess all the qualifications.

That I possess all of the qualifications.

Prescribed in the Seattle City Charter and the Seattle Municipal Code.

prescribed in the Seattle City Charter and the Seattle Municipal Code.

For the position of City Council Member.

For the position of City Council Member.

Of the City of Seattle.

Of the City of Seattle.

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 Seattle City Council member.

As Seattle City Council member.

Congratulations and thank you.

Thank you very much.

Yay.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

Council Member Nelson.

Go ahead, Council Member Nelson.

I'm just getting putting my toes up to the line here.

Thank you very much, Richard.

I am profoundly grateful for the honor of serving as your new citywide council member.

And I am, I'll just say it straight.

I ran on a platform of change, but with a vision of hope that with a different kind of leadership and a commitment to working together, we could make progress on our major challenges and also have a real positive impact on daily quality of life for all Seattleites.

And now we have a fresh start.

We've got a new mayor and a new council president.

Congratulations, Council Member Juarez.

And I am excited to get to work for you.

So in case you didn't hear it on the campaign trail, I want to tell you a little bit about myself and my approach to public policy because it'll give you a sense of where I'm coming from.

I am a small business owner and a policy nerd who watches the Seattle Channel for fun.

And shout out to all the people in Seattle Channel that make this possible.

At my core, I am a pragmatic, progressive, and I love the city very, very much.

I came here in 1990 to get my PhD in cultural anthropology at UW.

And I taught courses in anthro and women's studies for a few years.

But I decided to leave academia to, well, stay in Seattle and also to have a more direct impact on my community in public service.

And I got my start in 2002, taking a job in Richard Conlon's office as a legislative assistant.

And I asked him to administer my oath today because over the course of 10 years of working with him, I learned so much.

He showed me and became my mentor.

He showed me the importance of being transparent about the problem you're trying to fix and the benefits you're trying to achieve.

Of really taking your time to consider all the options that you've gotten by listening, truly listening to the public and all stakeholders, not just the loudest voices.

And paying attention to detail, because that's where the devil really lives.

And then finally, to set clear performance metrics.

And then, if you fall short, to correct course.

And I admit I do have some experience with that.

And so, you know, fun fact.

I met my husband, Matt, at WTO.

And he was a home brewer.

And later, when he decided to leave his law career in hospitality law and start a microbrewery, and that's what we called him back then, I jumped right in and we launched Fremont Brewing in 2009. I have to admit that it took some convincing because being fairly risk averse, I never saw myself as a small business owner, but it turned out to be a vehicle for me to put my progressive values to work.

by supporting environmental and social justice nonprofits, and promoting sustainability, and providing extensive benefits to our employees.

And then, being on the receiving end of policy, I learned how difficult it is to start and grow a small business in Seattle.

And so this, the fundamentals of good governance from Richard Conlon's office and In my experience starting this business, these are the things that I bring in and that shape my approach and also my priorities.

Top of which is achieving an equitable economic recovery.

You know, small businesses are struggling.

And I asked to be Chair of Economic Development because these are the – they form the fabric of our neighborhoods, and they're the job creators.

And the small businesses provide the opportunity to develop and build generational wealth.

And they're hurting.

They're struggling to survive.

And families are really struggling at the same time.

And I know there's much more that we can do to support small businesses and retain those jobs.

So on my committee work plan will be, first of all, a downtown and neighborhood district revitalization plan, and also plan to reduce the displacement of minority-owned businesses by improving access to capital and increasing technical support for entrepreneurs.

Now, of course, we can't – excuse me while I whet my whistle here.

We can't talk about recovery without talking about public safety because I heard loud and clear from business owners that crime was one of their biggest concerns and of residents as well.

So I will work to ensure that our fire and police departments are adequately staffed and resourced to bring down 911 response times and to reverse the trend on gun violence and also to advance the critical work of police reform.

No, improving accountability goes hand in hand.

It's not mutually exclusive with keeping everyone safe.

So that's a top priority of mine.

The other big concern, of course, is our worsening homelessness crisis.

So I will support the Regional Homelessness Authority's implementation plan, and starting with the proposal of moving downtown encampment residents into housing.

And we need, definitely, to increase funding or to begin funding mental health and substance abuse.

This is a big, huge missing piece of our response to homelessness.

And, you know, we can't wait for state and federal dollars.

We have got to really prioritize resources and begin funding these services.

So these are some of the big, urgent issues we've got on our plate in addition to the pandemic, of course.

And, but we can't forget that that's only part of my job because solving constituent problems and ensuring the delivery of essential charter services, police, fire, parks, libraries, and transportation, that is local government's first job.

And so I will be committing our office to being responsive and to getting the basics done right.

So I have to say that whatever the policy issue, I will be taking a pragmatic approach to fulfilling my duties of city council member with accountability and humility.

And when I say pragmatic approach, here's what I mean.

I mean aligning our regulatory structure with our policy goals.

So for example, what are the barriers in the municipal code that we can remove and what is the authority that the state gives us and the incentives that we have available to us to meet those policy goals.

And then the ultimate goal, of course, is to make an immediate difference in the lives of people right now.

That's what I mean by pragmatic approach.

And I know that my ability to deliver on all of this depends 100% on collaborating with my colleagues and our new mayor.

Because, look, in the end, the voters just want us to get things done.

And our ability to deliver on the mandate for change that they expressed in this last election depends on us all working together, putting aside divisive politics, and getting together and working collaboratively for the good of the people of Seattle.

And that's what I pledge to do.

And thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

for your confidence in me.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson.

So with that, congratulations to Council Member Mosqueda.

Council Member Nelson, this is gonna be an exciting two years, at least for me, two years.

So let's move on on today's agenda.

So we'll start with the approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the Seattle City Council meeting of December 13, 2021, have been reviewed.

There's no objection.

The minutes will be signed.

Seeing no objection.

Hearing no objection.

The minutes are being signed.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes?

Now we're going to go to approval of the IRC.

That's the Introduction and Referral Calendar.

I move to adopt the Introduction and Referral Calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Right.

It's been moved and it's been seconded to adopt the introduction and referral calendar.

So right now, I'm going to move to amend the introduction and referral calendar by introducing resolution 32037 entitled a resolution relating to committee structure, membership, meeting times, and duties of standing committees of the Seattle City Council for 2022 and 2023, and superseding resolution 31947 for consideration at today's city council meeting.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the introduction referral calendar by introducing resolution 32037, and by referring it to the city council for consideration on today's calendar.

Are there any comments?

I'm not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amendment?

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Ores?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The motion carries, and the amendment introduction referral calendar is before the council.

Are there any further comments?

Seeing or hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amended introduction referral calendar?

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and the introduction referral calendar is adopted as amended.

Next let's move to approval of the agenda.

There's no objection the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing or seeing no objection the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the Seattle City Council agenda, the introduction referral calendar, and the council's work program.

It remains the strong intent of the city council to have remote public comment regularly included on meeting agendas.

However, as a reminder, the city council reserves the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that the system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and effectively.

Our city clerk will moderate this general public comment period, so I'll now hand it off to our city clerk.

And that is Jody, Jody Schwinn.

You want to take it away, Jody?

Thank you.

The public comment period for this meeting is up to 20 minutes, and each speaker will be given two minutes to speak.

Speakers are called upon in the order in which they're registered to provide public comment on the council's website.

Each speaker must call in from the phone number used for this registration and using the meeting phone number, ID, and passcode that was emailed to them upon confirmation.

This is a different meeting and passcode than the general meeting listen line call-in information.

Again, each speaker will be called upon by name and in the order in which they registered on the website.

If you have not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can sign up before the end of the public comment period by going to the council's website.

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

Once the speaker's name is called, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and you'll hear an automatic prompt of you have been unmuted.

That's your cue then to press star six before you begin speaking.

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

And as a reminder public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda introduction and referral calendar or the council's work program.

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

Once you hear the chime we ask that you begin to wrap up your public comment.

If speakers do not end their comments at the end of the allotted time provided the speaker's microphone will be muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Once you've completed your public comment we ask that you please disconnect from the line and if you plan to continue following this meeting please do so via Seattle Channel or the listening options listed on the agenda.

The public comment period is now open.

We'll begin with the first speaker on the list.

And please remember the speaker must also touch star 6 on their phone to unmute themselves after their name is called and you hear the prompt if you have been unmuted.

Okay we have four speakers today.

The first speaker is going to be Howard Gale and Howard Gale will be followed by Barbara Finney.

Howard.

Good afternoon.

Howard Gale District 7 speaking on our failed police accountability system.

It is now over six months since journalist Carolyn Bick at the South Seattle Emerald first uncovered evidence of corruption and collusion between Seattle's supposedly independent police accountability bodies, the OPA and the OIG.

Since then, Dick has written nine additional articles revealing the inner workings of a self-serving system, with the last article just a few weeks ago revealing that no city agency, including the City Council and the Community Police Commission, has taken any steps to launch an independent investigation of the shocking corruption and failures.

In this new year, the council will face major challenges concerning hiring a new police chief, negotiating a new police union contract, and developing new policing policies.

But none of that will matter.

For without accountability, why would an officer follow commands or respect policy when there is no consequence to bad behavior?

How could any of it matter when all 31 SBD killings over the last 11 years have all been deemed, quote, lawful and proper, unquote, by accountability bodies now known to be corrupt.

And so many SPD officers have escaped accountability for the abuse and violence unleashed on Seattleites in 2020. We cannot fix a system which has not only so badly failed us, but perhaps more worrisome, has managed to prove itself completely resistant to change or to any form of accountability.

My hope is that in 2022, we finally embrace the critical need for police accountability system that provides full civilian community control over police policy, police misconduct investigations, and police discipline, as so many cities have done post-George Floyd.

Go to seattlestop.org to find out how.

That's seattlestop.org.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Barbara Finney, and she will be followed by Damius Duranzen.

Go ahead.

My name is Barbara Finney.

District 5 member of Seattle Democratic Socialists of America and delegate to the MLK Labor Council per AFGE Local 3197. I rise to salute the electoral victory of the Shama Solidarity Campaign against a racist, right-wing, big business-backed recall attempt.

in the eight years of Council Member Shama Sawant's tenure, her Socialist Council office has led and leads fights for real solutions for the working class, like rent control, increased wages, taxing the rich, and the Socialist Green New Deal jobs program, funded by expanding the Amazon tax for urgently needed affordable housing.

Council Member Sawant, congratulations, solidarity, and let's win rent control.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Damius Duranzan.

He will be followed by Al Jones although Al Jones is not present so Al please call in if you're planning on speaking.

Damius please go ahead.

Hello my name is Damius Duranzan.

I'm here today to let you know about an issue that's been ongoing for over three years.

I was an employee of a city contractor Cher who provided homeless services for the city.

I lived in the bunkhouse which is owned by Washington Housing Equity Alliance paid for and funded by Seattle levies.

I suffered discrimination and retaliation and termination of said employment after witnessing misuse of public funds and property.

I've reached out to multiple members of this council and the relevant agencies since 2018 trying to bring these issues to their attention.

Ms. Mosqueda Ms. Herbold and Ms. Savant have not heard back to me on these issues since 2019. The funds being misused and potentially embezzled are in the hundreds of thousands now.

The Seattle Levy Agreement requires Washington Housing Equity Alliance to use their property for low-income housing.

That has not been the case.

I recently took this issue to the Washington State Supreme Court.

These issues went unresolved because SHARE is not the responsible party.

Washington Housing Equity Alliance and the city are.

My co-workers and I were terminated for reporting these issues and standing up against discrimination.

Labor and industries found that SHARE failed to pay wages we were entitled to.

We are a handful of employees who had funds withheld.

There are dozens more who have not been paid and are suffering the same fear and issues we went through.

Sadly, the statute of limitations requires my fellow co-workers and I to file court claims for the damage we have suffered or to be deprived of justice in our day in court.

Mr. Launch, you sent one of your staff to condemn our actions and ask us not to seek justice or reform.

He said that this doesn't help anybody.

Do you really feel that fighting discrimination, self-help evictions, and efforts to circumvent just cause laws helps nobody?

I hope in the following 60 days, the new council members and the ones that I've spoken to previously can work with me to resolve this oversight negligence and make sure the police have the options and ability to handle discrimination effectively and that funds are used appropriately.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our last speaker Al Jones sorry second to our last speaker Al Jones is currently listed as not present.

And our last speaker Joe Kunstler is also not present.

That will conclude our public comment period.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

We've reached the end of our allotted time for public comment today.

The public comment period is now closed.

And thank you, those of you that called in to provide public comment to the CLC Council starting this new year.

So we will move on to payment of the bills.

Payment of the bills, will the clerk please read the titles of all three bills?

payment of bills, Council Bill 120250, an ordinance appropriating money to pay certain audited claims for the week of December 6, 2021 through December 10, 2021, and ordering the payment thereof.

Council Bill 120251, an ordinance appropriating money to pay certain audited claims for the week of December 13, 2021 through December 17, 2021, and ordering the payment thereof.

And Council Bill 120252, and ordinance appropriating money to pay certain audited claims for the week of December 20th, 2021, through December 24th, 2021, and ordering the payment thereof.

Thank you.

So I moved to pass council bill, which was the first bill, 120250. Do I have a second?

Second.

Thank you.

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

Are there any comments?

Not seeing or hearing any comments.

Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll on the passage of this bill?

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Aye.

Council Member Swann?

Yes.

Thank you.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

So in regards to payment of the bills, number one, the bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

Bill number two, I move to pass council bill 120251. Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you.

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

Are there any comments?

Seeing or hearing no comments or any raised hands.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll on the passage of payment of the bills number two.

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and let's move on to the last one.

Payment of the bill is number three.

I move to pass council bill 120252. Is there a second?

Second.

Second.

Thank you, Council Member Herboldt.

It's been moved and seconded.

And are there any comments?

Seeing or hearing none, Madam Clerk, can you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Herboldt?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Salant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Orres.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it.

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

Folks, we're gonna move into committee reports and we have the first six items are Council Member Herbold coming from the Public Safety and Human Services Committee.

Will the clerk please read the short title of item number one into the record?

The report of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, agenda item one, council bill 120245, an ordinance relating to the Seattle Fire Department's fire prevention services, amending sections of the Seattle MISP code and repealing sections of the Seattle MISP code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Herbold, you are the chair of this committee.

Go ahead.

So am I?

Madam President, on December 14th, the Public Safety and Human Services Committee heard Council Bill 120245 and unanimously voted it out of committee.

The bill amends the Seattle Municipal Code to align with the current version of the Seattle Fire Code and with Seattle Fire Department practices.

The legislation includes an effective date of March 1st, 2022, allowing time for Seattle IT to make the requisite changes in the city's permitting system.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Humboldt.

Are there any comments?

Seeing or hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Herbold?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nelson.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

We're gonna move to items two and three.

So will the clerk please read items two and three into the record.

Agenda items two and three appointments 02087 and 02088. The reappointments of Catherine Siebel and Lajaya A. Washington as members Community Police Commission for terms to December 31st, 2024. The committee recommends the appointments be confirmed.

Thank you.

Council Member Herbold, it's you again.

Thank you so much, Madam President.

Appointment 02087 relates to the reappointment of Catherine Zeibel to the Community Police Commission.

She works in policy and advocacy and her career has included efforts to promote mental health, child sexual abuse and bullying prevention.

And she's worked both at the state and federal levels in multiple states.

Her professional experience includes work at the Committee for Children and the National Alliance for Mental Health Washington, otherwise known as NAMI Washington.

She's currently serving as co-chair.

Lajaya Washington, appointment 02088, serves as an operations specialist for King County Equity Now.

Her professional experience includes working at Seattle CARES Mentoring, cultivating the genius of black children, and Black Community Impact Alliance.

She served as an assistant to the deputy coroner in the city of Pasco's coroner's office and she interned in the office of King County Council Member Larry Gossett.

Her volunteer experience includes working with the Urban League, the Central Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Tyree Scott Freedom School.

I urge adoption and passage of both of these reappointments.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Are there any comments on the appointments of Ms. Catherine Siebel and the reappointment of Lajaya Washington?

Okay, not seeing or hearing any raised hands.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of both appointments?

Mr. Gold?

Yes.

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Oh.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

I didn't mean to vote for you, Council Member Herbold.

I thought she said for both, so I apologize for that.

Okay, so the motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Congratulations to the appointment and the reappointment.

Let's go to items four and six.

Those again are Council Member Herbold and will the clerk please read four, five and six into the record.

agenda items four through six appointments 02089 through 02091. The appointment of Ayanai A. Abai and the reappointment of Nancy Kathleen Sugg as members Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority Governing Council for terms to December 31st, 2022. And the appointment of Virgil L. Wade for a term to December 31st, 2023. The committee recommends the appointments be confirmed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you so much.

Ainae Abe has led community organizing efforts for the past 17 years and is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Harriet Tubman Center for Health and Freedom.

In their previous work as Deputy Director for Seattle University Center for Community Engagement, INAE led external partnerships and strategy, including the Seattle University Youth Initiative.

Prior to that, INAE was the national field director for the Praxis Project, where they worked to advance communities creating healthy environments, which is a national initiative to support diverse community-based organizations and indigenous groups in developing effective, cutting-edge, and culturally competent policy initiatives in more than 22 U.S. cities.

Nancy Sugg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harborview and is the Medical Director of the Homeless Downtown Nursing Team, 2nd Avenue Clinic, 3rd Avenue Health Center, and Pioneers Clinic at Harborview.

She is the former Medical Director at the Urban Rest Stop Health Center, and she served as physician in Khmer and Ban Tan Vietnamese refugee camps.

She currently serves as a board member on the Ethics Committee and the Ambulatory Care Advisory Committee at Harborview, and on the board for the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program Office of Multicultural Affairs.

She's received numerous awards, including the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar Award, the Foster McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service, and the U-Dub Medicine Service Excellence Award.

The reappointment is for Dr. Doug's third term.

And then Virgil Wade is the Operations Director at the Cape Seattle Club.

Before that, Virgil Wade served as the General Manager for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe.

Mr. Wade has served over 20 years in various leadership positions for tribal governments and served on the Casino Arizona Talking Stick Resort Board of Directors.

Currently, Mr. Wade serves on the Pawnee Nation Tribal Development Corporation Board of Directors.

And throughout his career, Mr. Wade has been a strong advocate for Indigenous people's rights.

And I encourage my colleagues' support for all three of these appointments.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Are there any comments on the three appointments to the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority Governing Council?

I'm not seeing or hearing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the three appointments?

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

So next we have item number seven, and this will be Council Member Peterson coming out of the Transportation Utilities Committee.

Will the clerk please read the short title of item number seven to the record?

report of the Transportation and Utilities Committee, agenda item seven, Council Bill 120230, an ordinance relating to the City Light Department in, excuse me, the City Light Department, the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Seattle Department of Transportation.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Councilor Peterson, it's all you.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, this bill passed unanimously out of our Transportation Utilities Committee last month.

This is the very last in a series of council actions to clean up access and ownership of parcels of land needed to facilitate the Georgetown to South Park pedestrian bike trail.

This ambitious trail project, which will benefit both District 1 and District 2, is already funded by prior council budget actions.

It's been gratifying to see Seattle City Lights, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Parks and Rec, and the Seattle Department of Transportation work together collaboratively and seamlessly to shepherd this complex project through the council.

The project includes vacating a dead-end street nearby at City Lights South Service Center.

That will pave the way literally and figuratively for significant public benefits along the trails right of way, including a new future dog park.

Again, the Transportation Utilities Committee voted unanimously for this council bill, and I'm hoping for full support of the council today to move this project forward.

I'm getting all choked up about it.

Thank you.

That's all I have to say.

Thank you, Councilor Peterson.

Are there any comments from our colleagues?

Yes, Councilor Mosqueda, of course.

Go right ahead.

Thank you very much, Council President.

Councilmember Peterson, thanks for your work on this.

I want to thank you, Seattle City Light and Department of Transportation for their joint efforts.

As you all know, we worked really hard a few years ago to pass a resolution to make sure that every parcel of public land was being used for the public good and that we prioritize housing.

I understand that this property is a public benefit as identified in its origination and the use of the street vacation requested by City Light clearly identifies that there's going to be a public benefit.

But the property did not go through the process outlined in Resolution 31829. or Resolution 31424, which is the surplus lands legislation that passed in 2018. Again, my hope is that all pieces of property will explicitly go through the process so that we can continue to show to members of the community how parcels, including those owned by City Light, will be reviewed for potential affordable housing development, even as the first priority remains affordable housing.

We know that efforts like the one that Councilmember Peterson just outlined are incredibly important as well to connect community.

So I'm very supportive of this legislation.

I just want to continue to call out for all of our departments, and this applies to City Light and also the departments, the importance of us going through this process to show that every parcel is being scrutinized for that level of analysis of whether or not housing is able to be built on the site, and that when we have a parcel that's not suitable for affordable housing, that we make it available for efforts like this to connect communities, to create more thriving, and vibrant neighborhoods and that we want to make sure in doing so we're leaving no stone unturned in our work to create affordable housing and appreciate that this legislation will go forward today.

I support it.

And I would love to make sure that every department shows the work that they're doing to follow 318. to 9 resolution and resolution 31424. I appreciate you taking the moment to have me opine on the importance of those resolutions as it relates to public properties in general, and we'll be supporting this legislation today.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

Council Member Peterson, is there anything you want to add?

No.

Okay, so not seeing any other comments or concerns.

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

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Enthusiastic, yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nelson.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Ores.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Great, thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

And will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

Okay, so let's moving on.

We have adoption of other resolutions and that would be me.

I think I have items eight and nine.

So will the clerk please read item eight into the record.

Agenda item eight, resolution 32036, a resolution designating the monthly president pro tem of the city Council of the City of Seattle for 2022-2023, superseding resolution 31924, introduced today, January 4th.

Thank you.

I move to adopt resolution 32036. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

As sponsor of this resolution, I will address it first.

Resolution 32036 designates the monthly president pro tem of the city council of the city of Seattle for 2022 and 2023, which supersedes resolution 31924. The general rules and procedures of the Seattle city council provide that a president pro tem shall be designated every two years on a monthly rotation basis based on seniority to act in the absence of the president.

This resolution includes a table outlining assignments per month for the year of 2022 and 2023. My office sent each of you a copy of this proposed resolution yesterday.

That was Monday, January 3rd for your consideration.

Are there any comments on the resolution?

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

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Nelson?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries.

The resolution is adopted.

The chair will sign it.

And will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

Moving on to item number nine, which is also mine.

Will the clerk please read item number nine into the record?

Agenda item nine, resolution 32037, a resolution relating to committee structure, membership, meeting times, and duties of the standing committees of the city, of the Seattle City Council for 2022 and 2023 and superseding Resolution 31947 introduced today, January 4th.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to adopt Resolution 32037. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

As sponsor of this resolution, I will address it first again.

Per section four of article four of the Seattle City Charter outlining the powers and duties of Seattle City Council, the council has the authority to create and use committees of its members to facilitate its legislative functions.

Resolution 32037 before you today would establish nine standing committees, including membership and meeting times for a two-year period covering the years 2022 to 2023. My office again sent you each a copy of this resolution for your consideration yesterday, Monday, January 3rd.

With your support, this resolution will supersede resolution 31947, which established standing committees in the previous biennium.

An affirmative action will make this resolution effective today, January 4th, 2022. Are there any comments on the resolution?

Casper Herbold.

I just really want to appreciate the opportunity I've had to work with you on this resolution and appreciate the feedback that you so graciously received and sought.

That's very kind of you.

I appreciate having gone through a similar exercise, the balancing effort that is necessary to develop a resolution like this.

It's a lot of work to spread around and a lot of interest on behalf of all of our colleagues to do the work.

And I think this resolution is a great expression of how one assigns work to individuals based on their passions, interests, and capabilities.

And thank you, Madam President, for doing so, so well.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

Council Member Sawant, I saw your hand up.

Are you gone?

Thank you.

Go ahead, Council Member Sawant.

Are you able to hear me?

Uh-huh.

Thank you.

I'm voting yes on this resolution establishing the city council committees for the next two years.

Like in the previous two years, this resolution assigns my office to chair the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.

In the past, my office, alongside working people, union members, and community members, have used the mandate of the committee to support grassroots activists fighting for renters' rights and for Green New Deal programs.

We have passed a series of protections against eviction, including the school year eviction ban, which is the nation's only second and nation's strongest school year eviction ban, which protects both schoolchildren and public school workers.

We also passed the winter eviction ban.

We closed the loopholes in the Just Cause eviction protections.

We passed relocation assistance for economic evictions.

which is a very strong law that is going to take into effect on July 1st of this year.

And we passed another important renters rights law, which is the six months notice for rent increases.

I have personally and my staff and other community members who fought for these laws have all had the personal experience of getting feedback from renters that these laws have made a real concrete difference in their lives, just like the $15 an hour minimum wage in the Atlanta tax.

We staffed through the committee and made appointments to the Green New Deal Oversight Board and, as I mentioned, built the tax Amazon movement to tax big business to fund Green New Deal infrastructure, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.

This resolution also states the intentions to establish a select committee to address climate issues, which are currently considered by the Sustainability and Renter's Rights Committee.

I do not have any objection to setting up a given committee But I want to be clear for the record and to share with working people who are looking for a real Green New Deal on behalf of Seattle and for Seattle to be carbon zero in a realistic way, because we know climate catastrophe is knocking at our doors.

I want to be clear that it is not the arrangement of community bureaucracies that is going to have a meaningful impact for Seattle on climate change.

The question, as always, remains one of political will.

The real question is whether the climate justice movement that needs to be led by ordinary people, union members, and community members has the strength to push elected officials into standing up to big business polluters who account for the overwhelming majority, statistically speaking, of greenhouse gas emissions.

We know that these changes cannot be made just by appealing to a section of the middle and upper middle class to make lifestyle transformations.

We know that globally, the climate catastrophe can be averted only if we have mass movements that are strong enough to take the might of the fossil fuel lobby, the big banks that underwrite the fossil fuel pipelines, and take on big business and the wealthy in our local areas like Seattle, in order to push for increased progressive taxation to fund public transportation.

We know transportation issues are one of the main reasons for carbon emissions.

I apologize, we have a new puppy and he's barking.

So the question is, can our movement push the council and the mayor to increase the Amazon tax to fund the green infrastructure that we need?

If a select committee on climate change is formed, I will be happy to chair it as the chair of the Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee.

in the same way that the chair of the finance committee chairs the select committee budget committee each year.

My office is currently finalizing the rent control legislation in addition to our bill to support the demands of the stop the money pipeline movement to divest from insurance companies that back fossil fuel infrastructure.

I hope to discuss those bills at our Outcoming committee meeting on January 21st.

I know that I've mentioned the stop the money pipeline movement and the legislation that we are working on on previous city council briefing.

So council members who were on the council last year will of course be familiar with that.

And the same applies to the rent control legislation.

and I am happy to talk to any council member or their staff about these legislation.

Please ask me your questions.

Please let me know what your queries are.

I intend for the sustainability and renters rights committee to continue to bolster the organizing efforts of climate change activists and tenant organizers.

And as I said, if a select committee on the climate is formed, I'm happy to chair that to assure that it is dedicated to supporting the organizing effort of Green New Deal activists and organizers.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

I have a few comments if there are anyone else.

Okay, Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Council President.

Council President, thanks for all of your work along with Council Member Herbold.

Thanks for your work as well.

You noted some of the conversations you all have been having back and forth.

I appreciate that this must have been a lot of juggling, so thank you for Your team and and your offices that have made this possible along with central staff Council president I did note on the bottom of page four and apologies that I didn't call this to your attention earlier I'm just scouring right now the resolution I believe that when we have the chance to speak the office of labor standards and labor related items were going to be under governance as in a the governance of both the city and the governing for labor standards.

Okay, Council President, if that's the case, I have a verbal amendment that I'd be happy to make to move line 16 through 22 on page 4 to page 5 after line 18. If that's okay with you, Council President, if that's seen as a friendly amendment, I'm happy to make the motion.

Yes, go ahead, Council Member Mosqueda.

Go ahead and make the verbal amendment.

Okay, thanks.

And then maybe I'll speak to my love of labor and the why on this.

We should add that you and I did have a chance to talk about this, so go ahead.

Yeah, thank you very much, Council President.

Colleagues, I'd like to make a verbal amendment to move lines 16 through 22, listed on page four of the first attachment.

In the email that Council President Morris sent to us, to page five and have those items be listed in the same order following line 18.

Councilmember Mosqueda just made a verbal amendment.

Did everyone get that?

And I'm going to be looking for a second.

Second.

Councilmember Herbold has seconded it.

Go ahead.

So we now have that on the table for discussion.

Thank you.

Councilmember, Council President Juarez, thank you very much for the conversations that we've had.

As folks know, I come from the labor movement as someone who worked at the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, for almost eight years before coming to the Seattle City Council, and I'm really proud of the work that we've done on labor standards.

I do believe that you know in fact this last election was a mandate to do more to do more of the strong labor protections that we've done in this city and that we've done not just in my term on council but in the previous uh councils um you know sick leave minimum wage wage theft protections hotel workers domestic workers etc and so i am uh recognizing though that we have uh with the workload between finance budget and housing, a tremendous amount of workload.

I'm proud to be on the committee that's being proposed by Council Member Juarez as the Council President to chair Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments, and I appreciate that I can continue to work on these labor issues as a member of the Labor Committee that will have oversight over OLS and labor standards as it is being proposed here to have those items be placed under Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments with Chair Juarez as Council President overseeing it.

And I will look forward to being on the committee and working on those labor issues with you.

But due to our workload, appreciate the opportunity to work with the Council President to move those items over.

Thank you, Councilor Mosqueda.

We had an amendment.

We had a second on it.

We had discussion.

So right now we're going to vote on the amendment and then we'll move to the underlying resolution.

Is that correct, Madam Clerk?

Yes it is.

Thank you.

Okay.

So you want to call the roll on the amendment.

Herbold.

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nelson.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Council President Ores?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Great.

The amendment passes.

And so now we will move to pass the amended resolution, or as amended.

Correct, Madam Clerk?

Yes, that's correct.

OK.

So let's go ahead and do the roll.

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Nielsen.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

So the motion carries and the amended resolution is adopted.

And that chair will sign it.

And the clerk, will you please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Before we close out, I have a few comments to make about this resolution, the last one.

I want to just thank Council Member Herbold.

And for those of you who have been paying attention to this, there's been two times in my life when I said to myself, how hard can it be?

And that was one time when I decided to go to law school, and another time was I decided to have kids.

and it became down to be careful what you wish for.

And then the third time is how hard can it be to be council president?

And thank you Councilor Herbold for working with me collaboratively to work with nine council members and nine committees and we got it done.

And again, I know you guys keep hearing this, but I really wanna thank Councilor Herbold.

I mean, we sat down and we collaborated and we became effective and she's right.

We talked about our colleagues, we talked about their strengths, their successes, why we want our colleagues to be successful, particularly also for those district representatives, why we want your district to be successful, because we all know at the end of the day that whatever is good for our committee and our district is good for the city.

You know, when you have this kind of collaborative process, it builds confidence.

It gives people room to be more innovative.

It also gives room for people to, you know, to make mistakes, but know that they have colleagues that are team members that are there for them.

One thing I like to share with people, if you've ever watched that documentary, The Last Dance, you can't have five Michael Jordans on the court.

At some point, you got to throw the ball and you got to believe your teammates going to catch it.

And even if they don't, that's okay because you're gonna be there to help them.

And I don't see these as committees as much as I see them as teams, nine teams ready to go out into this great city and do good things.

And that we all understand what our strengths are, what our subject matter expertise is, how we can help each other.

And again, Council Member Herbold has been my unofficial vice president, and I'm guessing she'll continue that role.

So with that, I don't think there's anything else I needed to add.

All right, so let me finish with the agenda.

Other business.

Is there any other business to come before the council?

Not seeing any.

Colleagues, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next scheduled city council meeting is on Tuesday, January 11th at 2 o'clock.

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon.

We are adjourned.

Thank you.

Thanks for watching!