Councilmember-elect Andrew J. Lewis takes Oath of Office at UpGarden P-Patch

Thank you for joining us in the City of Seattle District 7 on New Year's Eve at the remarkable Upgarden Pea Patch to show your support and witness the official swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Councilmember Andrew Lewis.

My name is Monica Martinez-Simmons.

I am the City Clerk for the City of Seattle, and I have the distinct honor of administering the official oath of office for Councilmember Lewis.

Before proceeding, I would like to begin by respectfully acknowledging that we are gathered on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish people, past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish tribe, a people that are still here, continuing to honor and bring to light their ancient heritage.

Thank you.

Council Member Lewis and Representative Gail Tarleton, will you please join me at the podium?

I, Andrew J. Lewis, swear or affirm that I possess all the qualifications prescribed in the Seattle City Charter and the Seattle Municipal Code

for the position of City Council Member of the City of Seattle that I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the State of Washington and the Charter and Ordinances of the City of Seattle and that I will faithfully conduct myself

As Seattle City Council member.

As Seattle City Council member.

Thank you.

And Representative Gail Tarleton will pin the council members council pin.

All right.

Very good.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Representative Tarleton.

Gail.

I'm going to call you Gail now, I think.

Gail.

And to all my friends and family who have gathered here today from near and far, thank you so much for coming here and spending this special day with me and recognizing this transition of representation here in District 7. I want to recognize a few more folks in the audience.

My now colleague, Alex Peterson.

Alex, where are you?

Councilmember Alex Peterson, over there.

I want to recognize former King County Councilmember Larry Phillips.

Larry Phillips, who represented District 7 before it was District 7 on the King County Council.

Thank you for being here and thank you for your service.

I want to recognize former City Councilmember Nick Licata.

I was told there, Nick Licata.

Nick, thank you so much for coming here.

I want to recognize one of my former opponents and a good friend of mine who's here today, Michael George.

Michael, where are you?

Michael, who was an honorable candidate who really raised the debate and the conversation in District 7. And I'm honored for him to be my friend and my neighbor.

Thank you for coming here today, Michael.

So many of you are probably wondering why I chose this place to be sworn into the Seattle City Council.

Rest assured, it was not because of the wonderful December weather that we have here in the city of Seattle.

But I've chosen this place to assume the role of Seattle City Councilmember because I ran for this position to be an advocate for the people of District 7, and I wanted to share with my supporters, my family, and my friends the special guard and the struggle to maintain the community that has been painstakingly forged here in the heart of our city.

The 1962 World's Fair rejuvenated Seattle's cultural identity, It gave us the space needle, the monorail, the key arena, and yes, this parking garage.

In the spirit of the creativity of that fair, our neighbors reclaimed a portion of this garage as community open space, establishing the UpGarden.

Callbacks to that era of imagination when we hosted the World's Fair are all around us in this garden.

An Airstream trailer serves as a tool shed, A hollowed out Ford Galaxy serves as a planter for corn and pumpkins and apple trees.

History and functionality fuse to create this oasis of green in an otherwise concrete jungle.

This garden has grown not just produce, but community, literally from the grass roots.

150 gardeners work 93 plots, sending over 1,000 pounds of produce a year to local food banks, and host public celebrations of the Equinox, New Year's Eve, and the Fourth of July.

The Center School, my alma mater, teaches AP Biology in their own dedicated garden here.

In October, children paint pumpkins for Halloween.

But now, as many of you have read in the newspaper, this community faces the prospect of eviction for the sole purpose of creating 100 parking spaces.

The choice of a vibrant community dedicated to environmentalism, philanthropy, education, on the one hand, juxtaposed against 100 parking spaces on the other, is really no choice at all.

And that is not just my opinion, it's the opinion of the gardeners and citizens who have braved the weather to appear today, to turn up in force for their voice to be heard and this garden to be saved.

Thank you, all the UpGarden members for coming here today to be a part of this.

I met with the UpGardeners in November directly after my election.

And I pledge them my support, my advocacy, and all the resources at my disposal as a Seattle City Council member.

Throughout November and December, I constantly raised this issue in transition meetings with Mayor Durkan and Deputy Mayor Mike Fong.

I implored them, together, for us to seek a solution to save this garden and the community that has literally sprouted up around it.

And it's my pleasure today to make the official announcement that the Upgarden is here to stay.

Deputy Mayor Fong and I discussed the final details of the new lease yesterday.

The specifics will be announced in the next few days.

In the meantime, I can share that the Upgarden will remain in its current location as long as the Mercer Street garage remains a structure.

The plans to evict this community will be rescinded and a formal announcement will be made this week.

Our parks, our community centers, and our neighborhood gardens are the core of our urban experiment and the fusion of nature and the built environment to create a livable, sustainable, and beautiful city.

The up garden has been saved, but we must vigilantly seek to protect and expand other pea patches throughout this city, which are increasingly becoming attractive targets for alternative uses.

As long as I am a member of the Seattle City Council, I will fight for our public green spaces.

It has been a great honor and privilege to represent my neighbors as an Assistant City Attorney.

I look forward to humbly continuing to serve as your Seattle City Councilmember for District 7. We'll not win every fight that we suit up for, and I know there will be times when we disagree, but I promise to always assume good intentions from my friends, my neighbors, and the other community activists in this district, and listen to the concerns of my neighbors before making my final judgment.

Together we can build a District 7 all of us can be proud of.

Thank you all for coming out and sharing this moment with me.

And please let me know if there's any way I can be your advocate in local government.

Thank you so much.