Seattle City Council 6/1/2020

Yeah.

First 2020 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is two o'clock p.m.

I'm Lorena Gonzalez, president of the Seattle City Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Mezqueda.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Here.

Council Member Swans.

Here.

Council member Strauss.

Present.

Council member Juarez.

Here.

Council member Herbold.

Council member Lewis.

Present.

Council president Gonzalez.

Here.

Eight present.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

Just so colleagues in the public is aware, I did receive a message from Council Member Herbold that she will be in attendance today.

She's just running a few minutes late, so I appreciate your all's patience as she works on some important issues before hopping on the line with us today.

Again, she does plan to be here with us.

She's just running a few minutes late.

I will try to keep an eye out for her and note for the record when she arrives.

Okay, so next up is a suspension of rules.

So the city of Seattle issued a civil emergency proclamation due to the coronavirus on March 3rd.

2020. Since then, the governor has extended the stay home and healthy order through June 17th to comply with the recommendations and in the interest of the safety and welfare of the public remotely and participating electronically.

The city council anticipates continuing this practice for city council and potential community meetings through June 17th, 2020. Actually, just to clarify, he did not extend the stay home and stay healthy order.

However, we do have proclamation 20 dash 28.4 which permits the city council to continue meeting remotely through June 17 and so in order to comply.

with those recommendations will continue to do so.

So council members, the council rules are silent on electronic participation at regular city council meetings and committee meetings.

So in order to allow the council to conduct business remotely, the council rules will still need to be suspended.

So I will move to suspend the council rules to allow the council to conduct meetings remotely through June 17th.

Hearing and seeing no, is there any objection to that?

hearing and seeing no objection, that the council rules will be suspended to allow council members to participate electronically at city council and any future committee meetings through June 17th, 2020. And there is no objection to that, so we're gonna go ahead and move along and the council rules are suspended accordingly.

Presentations, I am not aware of any presentations.

I know that Council Member Morales has a proclamation that she'd like for us to We will go ahead and take that up in the category of other business, so we'll go ahead and move to our approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the City Council meeting of May 26, 2020 have been reviewed.

If there is no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed, and I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes.

If there is no objection, the proposed introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is now adopted.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is now adopted.

So colleagues, we're gonna go ahead and move into public comment.

As you know, on our agenda, we will have two periods of public comment today.

The first one is our general public comment, and the second will be a public hearing on agenda item one, which is Council Bill 119797, related to the land use action around the Halcyon Mobile Home Park.

That bill is co-sponsored by council members Salant and Juarez.

And so the first, again, a remote public comment period will be on items related to this, on items on the city council agenda, introduction referral calendar, or items related to the council's 2020 work program.

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

And of course, we continue to fine tune this process.

And as we continue to implement and solidify our remote public meeting, public comment processes, we'll continue to provide the public the opportunity to comment.

We do continue to reserve the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that the system is being abused or is not suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and in a manner in which we are able to conduct our necessary business.

That has thus far not been the case, and I'm really glad that the public has taken full opportunity and access to use our remote public comment processes to participate.

in our committee meetings.

So as usual, I will moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

The public comment period is ordinarily 20 minutes.

We have about 37 folks signed up for public comment.

So I'm gonna go ahead and just at the top of the hour here, for sake of efficiency, say that we're gonna do public comment.

up to an hour, so I'm going to allot 60 minutes for public comment.

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

If you are watching or listening and 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.

at www.seattle.gov forward slash council.

That's C-O-U-N-C-I-L.

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

Once I call the speaker's name, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and an automatic prompt of you are unmuted.

will be heard by the public speaker, and that is the speaker's cue that it is their turn to speak.

I ask that each speaker begin by stating their name and the item that they are addressing.

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

public hearing on Council Bill 119797. Again, that's the Halcyon Mobile Home Park Bill will begin shortly after this public comment, general public comment period is open.

So speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left in their allotted two minute time to speak.

And once the speaker hears that chime, we'd ask that they begin to wrap up their public comment.

If the speakers don't end their comments at the end of the two minutes provided, then the speaker's microphone will be automatically muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

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

And if you plan to continue following this meeting, we ask that you do so via Seattle Channel, either on channel 21 on your TV or at seattlechannel.org, O-R-G, or you can call into any of the listening options listed on the agenda.

So we're going to go ahead and now open up the public comment period, and we'll begin with the first speaker on the list again.

I've committed to doing 60 minutes, so that'll take us to 3.08 PM.

And the first speaker who is with us this afternoon is Gage Clark.

Hi there.

How are you?

Good.

Okay, good.

My name is Gage Clark.

I'm a 27-year-old white male.

I'm a sales representative that works in medical devices, a small business owner, a full-time MBA student, and I live with my wife, who just graduated law school here in Seattle.

I've been an upstanding citizen, and I've been in good standing with the law for my entire life.

I'm giving a statement today to hopefully give the council a better understanding of what happened at Saturday's protests.

The day started out just like any other protest that I've taken place in, which the only one I've done is the Women's March.

There were a lot of people, many signs, people passing out water, hardly a police officer in sight.

The group I was with ended up in front of police headquarters and admittedly things were tense and people were holding signs, chanting a variety of things like Black Lives Matter, don't shoot, I can't breathe.

It was pretty clear that the police were tense, their postures were getting more deliberate as the chants continued.

Eventually you started to see things like the police pulling out their batons partway out of their belt and pointing out to select individuals in the crowd.

At this point, some members and I saw a SWAT vehicle park at the top of Cherry Street, and a few of us, probably less than 25, began walking up the incline to create a protest line in front of that car.

We had our hands up and we were chanting, don't shoot.

And this was the first time that I saw tear gas and flash grenades, and they were being thrown directly at me.

When I turned to run back to the safety of numbers, the main group was having tear gas and flash grenades thrown at them too.

I felt trapped.

It was pure pandemonium.

For the next two and a half hours, they were the most chaotic and scary of my life.

There's an innate conflict of interest here.

Police can have a vested interest in suppressing free speech, especially free speech that they're the subject of.

This is one of such rare cases.

I blatantly saw police instigate the chaos.

I saw them use hyper-aggressive, hyper-militarized tactics on the citizens of your fair city who were trying to protest peacefully.

The protests became violent after the police started using chemical weapons.

I'm extremely disappointed that Mayor Durkheim's solution to a toxic situation was to add more toxicity.

Having tear gas and flash grenades thrown at me and rubber bullets pointed at me

Thank you, Gage, for calling in this afternoon.

I also want to note for the record that Council Member Herbold is now on the line with us and has joined the meeting.

Next speaker is Shannon Mayo.

Hi, thank you.

Hi.

Hi there.

My name is Shannon Mayo.

I am a Moms Demand Action volunteer here in Seattle.

I first want to voice my outrage and sadness for the brutal murder of George Floyd.

And I'm also outraged for Sean Lee Fuhrer, Charlena Lyles, Shea Taylor, Jack Soon, Kiewit Nguyen, Alonzo Pricehold, John T. Williams, and others who have been shot and killed by Seattle police officers.

When black and brown citizens pay tax dollars for police protection and instead are killed by the police at an alarming and disproportionate rate, we must take action.

We've got to change the system.

This is not public safety.

Victoria Beach who is chair for the African-American Advisory Council was at the march yesterday or over the weekend and she raised some good questions on KUOW this morning.

She said she does not feel like Seattle's African-American community is being heard.

She asked why can't Seattle step up and speak out.

Get out there on the front lines.

March with us.

Pray with us.

Kneel with us.

Be like other cities.

And I agree wholeheartedly.

Seattle police could have marched with the people as we saw some police do around the country.

I'm disgusted with how several police officers interacted with our citizens over the weekend.

We saw a man pinned down and punched over and over.

We saw a young girl sprayed in the face with pepper spray.

We saw peaceful protesters flash banged and all by SPD.

And we saw officers covering their name badges to avoid accountability.

Mom's Demand Action is deeply concerned that while we've continued to give a large budget to SPD, many community-based violence intervention prevention groups, such as Choose 180, Community Passageways, Rainier Beach Action Coalition, Creative Justice, remain underfunded.

It's never been more important to ensure these groups get the dollars already promised for 2020, even as budgets are compromised due to the pandemic.

Not only do they need the money you already allocated to them, they need to expand their work.

We want to see them at the forefront of 2021 budget planning.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Next up is Sujatha Romney.

Hello, good afternoon.

My name is Sujata Ramney and I am also commenting about the police violence in Seattle over the weekend on largely peaceful protesters.

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations defines terrorism as the unlawful use of force and violence against persons to intimidate or coerce a civilian population to further political or social objectives.

By this very definition, what the cops did over the weekend was an act of terrorism.

City Council to work with the King County Prosecutor's Office to press terrorism charges against Mayor Durkin, Police Chief Best, and the Seattle Police Department.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Zachariah Girato.

Thank you, council members.

I'm calling about the sick pay for gig workers and why I believe it's essential for gig workers to receive the sick pay.

I'm a sole provider of a family of five.

I've been sick for a week and been home and I've been using my credit cards to pay out my bills.

And it's essential for the council members to actually take a hard look at gig workers for not getting paid a sick with this pandemic.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Tina Sigurdsson.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Tina Sigurdsson.

I'm addressing CB 119793. On behalf of the 45,000 members of SEIU 775, I would like to thank Council Member Mosqueda for sponsoring the ordinance to extend paid sick and safe time protection to Seattle's gig workers.

Gig workers travel to businesses homes and health care centers around the city providing essential food and transportation services to the public including many quarantining high risk residents.

Yet when a worker thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19 they currently face an impossible choice between putting food on the table and staying home to prevent the spread of the virus.

Paid sick and safe days for gig workers will allow them to stop working and seek medical treatment when they need it.

They can take time off to care for sick family members or their children who are home because schools are closed.

In addition, with more people staying home to stay healthy, business for delivery apps has been booming.

However, although gig workers are the ones shouldering the risk of contracting COVID-19, pay rates actually appear to be decreasing rather than compensating them for that risk.

Gig workers need to be able to afford medical care if they get sick, but a job can pay as little as $2.

When the crisis has passed, gig workers will still need permanent pay standards and protections, but these essential frontline workers deserve hazard pay now.

We respectfully request prop action on premium pay for gig workers as well.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Anna Zavartz.

Hi, my name is Ana Z. Bartz and I'm the program director of rooted in rights and advocacy program of disability rights, Washington.

And I'm here to testify in support of council bill one one nine seven nine three, uh, to provide sick days for gig workers.

Uh, I was a gig worker for eight years after I was laid off from my full-time job job during the last recession.

Um, and my current job is the first full-time job I've had since then.

Many disabled people do gig work because it offers the flexibility we need to be able to work with our disabilities.

Sometimes it allows us to avoid the discrimination we face when applying for other jobs.

That was my case.

I wasn't out about my low vision, and so for potential employees, they couldn't figure out what my deal was.

With gig work, I was able to prove that I could do the work first without them realizing I was disabled.

As a gig worker, the pressure to take on work is constant.

My role was never to turn down jobs because you never knew when the next job was going to come.

I worked when I was sick.

I worked right after my C-section.

For many workers, the gig economy is the only job market we've had access to.

It's critical we start to think big picture about the kinds of policies we need so that gig work can be stable and secure.

Just like generations of workers before us fought with their unions for shorter workdays, for paid sick and vacation time, for employer-provided healthcare, we need to push for these same policies for the gig economy today.

Thanks.

Thank you, Ana, for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Allison McDonough.

Hi, my name is Allison McDonough.

I'm a student at the Master's of Social Work program at the University of Washington.

And I was at the protest on Saturday.

So I'm hoping to talk about police violence today.

And I'm advocating for you to defund the police by 50%.

I witnessed my friends peacefully protesting.

And they were maced directly in the face by the police.

push back and two were arrested and pushed to the ground with a knee to their back, similar to what happened to George Floyd, the death who we were protesting.

I did not witness the police making me personally feel safe.

They made me feel very unsafe.

Shortly after I arrived, I could hear the flashbangs going off, even though I had left with my friends to attend to their wounds from the mace.

I also work in social services and have had to call the police for mental health crises for my clients.

I never feel safe calling the police in those cases.

I feel like I have to watch over them to make sure that my client, my black clients are not the next victim of this violence because they experience mental health challenges.

So I'm asking for you to defund the police by 50% and redistribute that money into programs that are black led and that are going to serve the community serve the people of color in Seattle and make sure that mental health services are available for everyone who needs them.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Jessica Scalzo.

Hi, thank you for the opportunity.

My name is Jessica Scalzo.

I live in District 3. I was, I am also commenting on police accountability and just listening to the colors that have already called in.

I'm grateful for their input.

I pretty much agree with what everyone has said.

I was at the protest on Saturday on the 30th.

Um, I was in the back though, trying to social distance.

So I didn't experience the direct.

Um, police misconduct, but I do have firsthand accounts from acquaintances who were there, who were further up.

On one woman had a flash bomb go off next to her and her eardrum was ruptured.

Um, and also when she tried to leave her and a friend had driven from a ways away and they were trying to get to their car, but there was no way that the police would let them through to get to their car.

And they asked what they were supposed to do.

And there was really no answer.

Um, and also just, I'm deeply concerned with all the tear gas and flash bombs being thrown.

Um, I'm concerned about badge numbers being covered up and protesters feeling trapped and just approachability of police officers.

I feel that that is escalation instead of de-escalation.

Um, I think police officers need to be approachable and they just do not come off that way.

Um, so please take this into account.

Um, if we care about.

the murder of George Floyd, then we also need to start with our local police officers and hold them accountable for every misconduct.

Thank you for the time.

Thank you for calling in this afternoon.

Our next speaker is Jamel Jara.

Dear Seattle City Council, thank you for taking your time and listening our concert.

My name is Jamal Jarrah.

I've been working for Uber and Lyft since May 2014. During the first period of Uber and Lyft payments per ride was good.

Gradually, as the number of drivers, riders increased exponentially, those two companies became greedy and making more money for themselves on the cost of drivers.

That paid much less and fired many of them.

They went without accountability.

It is easy for them to pay thousands, millions for lobby, to silence the truth, to be heard by people who have elected by us.

Time goes and comes.

Here we are.

In this very challenging time, all drivers, including me, are very disappointed with the way they treat us.

We need change to come and get paid sick pay we deserve.

In this challenging time, as many of our flow drivers stayed home for their family, and safety but some drive some brave driver oblige to work as first responder by taking sick patient to hospital and healthcare provider to and from hospital to their home.

How the drivers who are working essential job do not deserve sick leave.

I know you guys are ready to vote soon yes or no.

We put you in this position by voting for you yes.

All of your responsibility to use your moral responsibility and understanding the fact Drivers deserve sick pay.

You all expressed your support for us by voting yes, yes, yes.

We will count on you.

We will count on you today.

Thank you again.

Do not forget to vote yes.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Aaron Ikeluchi.

Yeah, hello.

My name's Aaron Ikeluchi.

I come to you today to answer a question that many rideshare providers have to ask.

Why is sick pay important to me?

Sick pay is important because it makes us as rideshare providers feel valued and appreciated.

It helps answer the questions, what if I get sick?

How will I pay my monthly dues and responsibilities?

It helps with overall morale.

In closing, we all want to feel like we matter.

And doing so, passing this sick pay legislation would do so.

So I challenge you to ask yourself, is equality fair?

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and have a good day.

Thank you for calling in.

Erin, our next speaker is Rachel Lauder.

My name's Rachel Lauder.

Hi, my name's Rachel Lauder.

I'm the executive director of Working Washington, the Fair Work Center.

We organized thousands of gig delivery workers in Seattle and Washington through our Pay Up campaign.

I want to first start by saying we stand in solidarity with the protesters organizing against anti-Black racism and police violence, including many members of our campaign who are directly impacted by police brutality on and off work.

Regarding the paid sick leave bill, the gig delivery business is booming.

But while the companies are making more money than ever, it's not being passed down to the people doing the work.

They're still getting paid some minimum wages.

They do not have basic protections.

And often they have to buy their own PPE.

and safety supplies.

And if anything, pay rates have gone down during the crisis, as so many new workers have been brought onto the apps.

And while many customers are tipping generously, the companies are paying less.

So the apps are seeing more business while workers are seeing more risk and lower pay.

Today, that starts to change.

I want to thank Council Member Mosqueda for your leadership in taking this big step to ensure gig workers get paid sick days during this public health crisis.

It's another first for Seattle workers and a critical way to help essential workers stay healthy and protect public health We're very excited to ensure that gig workers, like many other workers in Seattle, have the simple right to take a sick day when they're sick.

We hope the idea spreads.

This is a big step forward, but there's still work to do.

We need hazard pay during this crisis to reflect the risk workers are taking on and the extra expenses they're carrying.

And we need to make sure we don't lose sight of the very real financial crisis workers face every day, even before this public health emergency started.

We need to pass long-term protections, including pay standards that guarantee minimum wage and expenses.

Just as the council stepped in more than a month ago on behalf of the restaurant business with a commission cap that reset the balance between restaurants and gig delivery platforms, workers need the city to step in, too.

Thank you for your support of sick days for gig workers and for continuing to move forward to raise pay in this fast-growing industry.

Thank you for calling in today, Rachel.

Really appreciate it.

Next up is Jennifer Hall.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm Jennifer Hall and I'm a teacher at West Seattle High School and I am a resident of District 1 as well.

So Lisa Herbold is our councilwoman here.

And I am calling to talk about the tax Amazon initiative.

A number of us here in District 1 are concerned that It has not been discussed as much as we would like, which means that it's that much further from being passed.

And just going to my own experience as a teacher and as a special education teacher, and as somebody who's lived here for about 30 years, I feel myself becoming kind of a de facto social worker because when I make the contact to my students' families.

I am running into people who are in straits.

They do not have enough money to buy things that people need.

Cleaners for their homes, laundry detergent, dish soap.

Getting food to them is a little bit easier.

And a lot of our families, too, have been pushed south because of rental increases.

I've seen my own neighbors pushed out of the neighborhood.

We need to have some sort of social housing.

And we have the most regressive tax structure that we could have.

It's ridiculous to not have big businesses pay tax.

Amazon Showboat by making the contributions it makes to Mary's Place.

That's good that they're doing that.

But we need to tax Amazon and we need to be able to take care of our people, especially now that the COVID-19 crisis is showing this to all of us.

We have...

Thank you for calling in today.

Next up is Barbara Finney followed by Laura Dennis.

Barbara.

Hi, my name is Barbara Finney, a resident of Bitter Lake in D5, and I'm commenting about Seattle police violence.

There's a multiracial rebellion of young people for justice for George Floyd and against police violence here and across the country.

On Saturday, Seattle's mayor said that police told her to lay down a curfew, so she did.

Seattle does not need a curfew, pepper spray, and tear gas.

We need an end to racist police violence.

We need to keep in place the consent decree on SPD.

And we want a 50% cut of the SPD budget and real police accountability.

The people of Seattle do need economic and housing security, including immediate COVID relief, COVID relief, housing, and jobs through the Amazon tax.

We need an end to inhumane homeless sweeps.

We need the cancellation of rents, mortgages, and utility payments for those who have lost income.

Please continue the moratorium extension for my neighbors at Healthy on Mobile Home Park and Emma Jean Williams Presente.

Thank you for being with us today.

Our next speaker is Laura Dennis, followed by Jason Reeves.

City Council members, thank you for your time.

My name is Laura Dennis.

I'm a crisis and outpatient mental health therapist here today to address the agenda item in regards to Saturday's protests.

I'm here not just to share my experience, which is one of thousands that have had in the last four days preceding the outrage of George Floyd's death.

but to demand reform in how your Seattle Police Department shows up for these protests.

In the last several years, I've been an advocate on women's issues by supporting marches such as the Women's March, and have been met by support and peace from the police department.

What I witnessed and experienced on Saturday was everything but that.

Filled with aggression, unnecessary force, and for the first time as a privileged white female, and fear of the authority that is meant to keep us safe.

I showed up like many on Saturday with the intention to advocate and stand for the injustice that continues to resurface again and again in our society.

Police brutality on people of color has to stop.

I stood with fellow Seattleites and watched as they began to push people without cause or agitation or aggression from the protesters.

I saw them pepper spray a man of color in his 60s with a cane within a two-foot range.

I watched in horror as they threw tear gas and flash bangs into the crowd without provocation.

I am beyond outraged by the Seattle police department's response to show up and allow us to rightfully protest in peace.

The police department is unwilling to engage with us peacefully and with support to our cause.

I want to know how the city council members, Mayor Durkin and Chief Best will address and acknowledge accountability of police officers that turn to aggression without or with unlawful use of pepper spray, tear gas, and physical force onto those that are protesting peacefully.

Thank you for this time.

Thank you for calling in, Laura.

And we had a long conversation this morning about council's role in accountability issues.

I invite you to listen to the council briefing that we have this morning.

But of course, there will be a lot more coming, including a public hearing on Wednesday that will be chaired by our public safety chair, council member Lisa Herbold, who is going to lead us through a conversation.

as we sort of think through those after incidents that occurred and sort of hear a report out from our chiefs about the response.

So just for those of you on the line listening concerned about what we can do as a city council, I hope you will tune in on Wednesday.

We are getting ready to release.

I think that hopefully we'll have a time for the general public that we can announce at the end of public comment here.

if not later today, but certainly want to make sure that folks who are calling in with interest on this issue today have the details around future conversations that are coming up later this week on this issue.

Next up is Jason Reeves, followed by James Thomas.

Hello, my name is Jason Reeves.

I'm a Seattle, I'm a Seattle DoorDash driver and career.

I'm a black man.

All I'm asking for, don't call me essential.

Pay me like I'm essential.

Don't call me a hero.

Treat me like I'm a human.

I don't ask for anything that is reaching for the moon.

All I ask is for Seattle City Council to stand with gig workers.

Treat us like true, uh, actual humans.

Give us sick leave if we're truly essential.

So we're not spreading infection.

Give us, um, give us, give us hazard pay so we can buy the PPE that we can stop the spread of infection so that we can keep the R or knocks down.

Uh, it's simple stuff.

I'm, i can't even talk about the hazard pay i really have to talk about being a black man because i i should not be a product i should not be gamble on wet am i going to be alive in ten minutes every time i feel police officer you know if he having a bad day and i didn't end up dead either thing to go through my mind I should not have to do this.

If they call it the greatest country on earth, then the greatest country on earth should really respect the right that they put down on paper.

Do what you said on paper.

Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is to protest for more rights.

The cycle needs to end.

Get these people off our forces.

Put them on terrorist lists.

Get them in Gitmo.

Get them out of my country.

Let's get back to the work we need to do.

Thank you for your time.

I'm sorry to get loud.

I am just scared.

I'm going to die because I am my color.

You hear anger in my voice.

That is fear.

That is desperation.

That is 33 years of being scared, being told that I am a target for my skin color.

Get it through your people's heads.

Thank you, Jason, for calling in today.

Our next speaker is James Thomas, followed by Nancy Callahan.

My name is James Thomas.

I'm a senior citizen, black male.

I feel for you, the brother who just spoke.

I'm a delivery driver and right here driver since October 2016 here speaking to advocate for the emergency sick leave ordinance, the gig workers, and to say we need hazard pay and long term pay standards as well.

We are advocating for a lot of people who are underprivileged people.

people of all races and national origins who do this work.

A lot of people in this industry have dark skin, and one of the biggest issues we face is that we're in need of making a better living.

But right now, we're doing essential work without any of the protections other workers are afforded.

We are taking a risk to go out and work, and we don't want to deliver something to the privileged and not be properly paid for it.

We don't want to be your servant.

We don't want to go to the restaurant, pick up your food, make sure you have a smile on your face when you open your package, and then you don't care about us to even give us a nickel tip.

The way the apps are designed now, the pay is so low that we have to rely on tips.

We have to rely on people's generosity because they're relying on my generosity to bring them a food order for $2.

But not everyone can rely on tips equally.

I make less than tips because of my race.

And I'm a male.

And I have had customers who I've actually seen put their wallet back in their pocket as soon as they see that I'm a black male pulling up in their driveway.

I've seen this with my own eyes.

I'm 66 years old, and I know what I've seen.

Having no legal standards in an industry that is made up of so many workers of color reinforces racial discrimination and disparity in pay, especially since we know that people tip us less based on our race.

We need to make sure our city is looking out for the people doing this work.

That's why we need these emergency protections of sick leave and hazard pay now.

And in the long run, we need pay standards because we cannot tolerate racial disparities in how workers are treated.

We are advocating for change because we want more from the billionaires who sit on top of the throne in the gig economy.

Thank you for hearing us and standing with workers to move this sick leave policy forward.

Thank you, Mr. Thomas, for calling in.

Next up is Nancy Callahan, followed by Stuart Duckworth.

Hi, I'm Nancy Callahan, and this is for the issue of CB 119793. And I've lived in Washington state since 2005. I have been doing gig work since 2016 during which all of those four years I was trying to finish up a bachelor's degree and I'm calling in today to help advocate for sick pay because I got into a serious accident the week after I finished my bachelor's degree in 2018 and I was heading towards a different job than gig work, but I still was very thankful that I had been able to do gig working and the accident totaled my car.

And I got injured.

And so not only was the dream of all that hard work shot, at least temporarily, but I didn't have a car to work in or drive to any of the medical appointments I now needed to go to.

I didn't have money because there was any sick leave to pay for Uber and Lyft rides to get to medical appointments.

I didn't have proper representation, proper ambulance ordered at the scene of the accident by Seattle police.

So the whole thing put me in a very helpless situation.

And my youngest son ended up getting a full-time job and dropping out of his online high school to take care of me.

The whole thing completely turned our life upside down.

Had there been sick pay, it could have been very, very different.

And so seeing this situation now really gives me an appreciation that I get to speak up on something that I never thought I'd have a voice on, because now it's super important for so many people, not just me.

Thank you for calling in, Nancy.

Our next speaker is Stuart Duckworth, followed by Charles Howe.

Hello.

This is Stuart Duckworth, and I'm here to request a yes vote for the Halcyon Mobile Home Park and also move that this extension be a permanent extension, meaning that we've been living in this mobile home park for a long, long time, and we've had to extend this moratorium several times.

And really, this is basically a waste of your time because the land that this mobile home park on was initially Let's see here.

Zoned as mobile park home only because the ground underneath it is unstable.

It's on a landfill and under the landfill is a water table from Howler Lake.

And so it should just remain a mobile home park and that's that.

Thank you very much.

Please vote yes and have a great day.

Thank you so much for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Charles Howe, followed by Samantha Foote.

Hello, council members.

I'm a District 1 resident who's requesting this council address the current crisis in Seattle by defunding the police and moving forward on the tax Amazon proposal to support the needed increase in civil and social services and to account for the lost revenue due to the coronavirus crisis.

The city is well able to reprioritize away from the police and corporate power to providing for the citizens of the city.

And one of those ways will be to provide protection and increased pay for gig workers.

Thank you for your time today.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Samantha Foote followed by Francesca Favarini Sorba.

Hi my name is Samantha Foote.

I am also calling today to address your attention to the violent actions of the Seattle Police Department this weekend and will happily do so on the public hearing on Wednesday.

Minutes to getting to Westlake I watched my friends be thrown to the ground.

Knees on their backs.

Hands in cuffs.

Simply for asking to get to the protest.

Myself and others were maced directly in our faces.

Inches from the police.

As we poured milk on ourselves to get the sting off of our bodies I watched Seattle Police Department smirk and laugh in our pain.

We were mocked by the police when asked to find our friends who had been arrested.

I am demanding the council work to defund the Seattle Police Department who gets $400 million to be equipped with militarized equipment to terrorize citizens.

I want that money reinvested.

back into our communities and do community-based health and safety.

The police do not protect us here.

They do not serve us and they are not welcome here.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Simon Taylor followed by Karen Taylor.

Oh, I'm sorry.

The next speaker is Francesca Favarini Sorba followed by Simon Taylor.

My apologies.

Thank you.

My name is Francesca Fabbrini-Chorba.

I'm speaking today to ask you to make defunding the police an immediate priority.

There's video from the weekend of a Seattle officer kneeling on the neck of a protester.

Police Chief Carmen Best recently said that because of Seattle's initiatives and police reform, something like what happened to George Floyd wouldn't happen here.

We can clearly see that that is flat out wrong.

We can't risk any more lives.

Defunding police is the answer.

We need to immediately begin strategically reallocating funding, resources, and responsibility away from the police and towards community-based models of safety, support, and prevention.

We must invest in housing, employment, and healthcare in ways that directly target the problems of public safety.

Instead of criminalizing homelessness, we need publicly financed supportive housing.

Instead of gang units, we need community-based anti-violence programs.

trauma services, and jobs for young people.

Instead of school police, we need more counselors, after-school programs, and restorative justice programs.

As your constituent, I ask you to do what's right for our community.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Simon Taylor, followed by Karen Taylor.

Good afternoon.

I'm calling first to say that I stand in solidarity with the gig workers asking for safety.

My role in this pandemic is as a nurse.

I'm a primary care nurse practitioner and I care of people every day who are experiencing the fear of living under a pandemic.

But I've been taking care of people living under fear for a long time.

Living under the experience of the violence of Seattle Police and the racism of it.

Seattle City Council needs to defund the Seattle Police.

I call on Mayor Jenny Dirksen to resign for her handling of this situation.

When the city of Seattle imposes a curfew and immediately begins dating and arresting its own residents that aligns us with a history we don't want to be part of.

It aligned us with the agenda of the Trump regime.

President Trump wants us to stay in line to lack power and to avoid participation in the public discourse.

He wants Seattle to be quiet and obedient so that he can forward his agenda.

The police today participated in keeping Seattle quiet and obedient and they have for the past several days and years before that.

Their conduct is unacceptable.

The city council needs to defund them and I'm asking you as a nurse to do that.

If we matter so much to the community right now, then listen to us.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Karen Taylor followed by Alana Killeen.

Hi there.

My name is Karen Taylor.

I'm calling about the police brutality that we've been witnessing.

Um, a lot of people, y'all are going to investigate the facts, but a lot of people have also been talking about the tone of things.

Um, so.

When I go and look at, uh, online at, uh, law enforcement publications, there's a lot of glee.

There's in violence.

There's a lot of photos of people, their faces smashed in the ground.

They take, they take photos to keep of that.

They pass it around.

So when we see them smirking, it's not in our imagination.

There's also the casual thing, just sort of casually macing people in the face, casually punching them.

So there's glee, there's the casual, and then the casual extends to Jenny Durkin, too, who I request resign.

She casually brushed off the question of the cops covering their badge numbers as if it had never occurred to her and was something she didn't know about.

These tonal things are part of what can lead us to the deeper truth, which is cops are inherently a terrible idea.

We need to defund the police and invest this money in something else, and this couldn't have made it clearer.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Alana Killian, followed by Dr. Howard Gale.

Hi, my name is Alana Killian.

I live in District 6. I've been a software engineer working in Seattle for the last decade.

I'm calling today about the Amazon tax.

Thank you guys for the opportunity to speak with you.

Right now we know we need to support people who are impacted by COVID.

We need to address the housing crisis.

We need to prepare for the coming recession as well as the climate crisis.

And we can address and support all of these with just a small tax on big business.

I know that you guys weren't able to make progress on this tax because you were restricted from doing so during the health emergency.

But now that these restrictions are lifted I just wanted to urge you guys to pass this tax as quickly as possible.

I've lived in the Seattle area my entire life and I've seen how this city works really well for some people like me.

But it isn't working for other people who have just as much right to their health and to stability.

This is Washington state.

It's a progressive state.

But we have one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation.

So it's not like these business leaders are facing particular tax burdens at this moment.

So passing this tax should be an immediate priority.

It's the move to support working people.

I work for tech companies.

I get that Amazon has a lot of power.

But I don't see any reason that this city should work better for big business than it does for the people who live here.

Thank you guys for your time.

Thank you, Alana, for calling in today.

Our next speaker is Dr. Howard Gale followed by Eric Salinger.

Howard Gale?

Hi, this is Dr. Howard Gale from Queen Anne.

and uh...

i do want to speak not just about the protest people very spoke that but about the role that the city council has abdicated police chief best was on the news yesterday claiming that we have the most extensive oversight and accountability for police in the entire nation she mentioned the inspector general the opa and uh...

community police commission uh...

the inspector general is a is missing in action the community police commission is missing in action they spent tens of thousands of dollars in the last few months, doing webinars on COVID.

And the OPA has now certified over 10 police killings.

There have been 29 police murders since John T. Williams.

There's been eight since Charlena Lyles.

Since a lot of you folks on the city council promised there would be change, eight killings since Charlena Lyles were coming up on the third anniversary.

Just less than two weeks ago, on May 19th, a black man was killed on Elliott Way, just a few blocks from my house.

There's been no discussion of that.

He was running away from the police.

Yes, he did have a knife, but he was shot five times in the back.

So what I'm asking is, we can't pretend our way out of this crisis.

Seattle is just as guilty as every other city that has these problems.

And I'm begging and pleading The city council has to take a stronger role in oversight.

We have a police negotiation, a contract negotiation.

No one's been speaking of that.

I'd like that to be addressed.

And I'd like there to be actual community involvement because currently the community police commission, as I said, is completely missing in action on these issues.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Eric Salinger followed by Jennifer Gosar.

Hi, my name is Eric Salinger.

Um, it's hard to distill all my thoughts and feelings about what happened this weekend into a set of comments.

Uh, so instead I want to start with the forward joke and that's, uh, the Seattle police department.

I lived downtown and I liked it here.

Uh, and we have our share of issues, unfortunately, and for better or for worse, the people we can call to address these issues are the police.

uh...

this weekend because i've lived downtown i was able to watch is the police gasped peaceful crowds a seattle police officer pepper-sprayed nine-year-old girl for sport my partner and i watched and listened to people standing with their hands up were subject to a variety of explosive devices and when called out on the police escalation of peaceful protest the mayor asked the public who we would believe her or our lying eyes so after the police turned peaceful protest into violent ones they managed to lose control of multiple weapons which were recovered by a reporter's security guard you know there's been an epidemic of crime downtown in the shops that were looted saturday have been complaining for months about theft assault and property damage i'm heartbroken by what's going on in the city and i feel like we really do need the police to play a role downtown uh...

but not like this not when they're gonna antagonize peaceful protesters not when they're going to turn peaceful events into you know a spectacle of brutality and not when they're going to stand by while businesses are being looted what did they do for us during the mass shooting in february the two shooters who weren't hospitalized escaped to the local seattle suburb of nevada which is only eleven hundred miles away so great job on the police department for actually protecting the community there i don't even know what to say but i am very frustrated i think that there's a number of different things that we can do uh...

to help i think that a number of them are police union oversight and looking at data-driven methods of police reform and seeing what works i would love to send y'all some emails with some proposals and some other concrete things but right now i'm just frustrated and angry so thanks for your time

Thank you, Eric, for calling in this afternoon.

Our next speaker is Jennifer, followed by Polly G. Thank you, city council members for hearing my call and allowing my comments to be on the record.

I believe I'm speaking with regard to police violence and also, uh, mayor Durkin and city attorney Pete Holmes, specifically mayor Durkin and city attorney Pete Holmes have moved publicly to end the consent decree.

It's clear if only from the events of this weekend that mayor Durkin and city attorney Holmes are I'm convinced willingly deaf to the depths of local and innocent African-Americans, as well as other people of color as the law, other local.

full government body with the power to check the mayor and city attorney's destructive attempts to end the one hard earned oversight of community members.

You each have more stroke and as a individually and as a council to call attention to this incompetence as well.

I would remind, uh, um, representative.

Council member, sorry, Pedersen, that I am of your district and a very active, um, uh, voting constituent as well as organizer.

Please be aware that you are being watched for what kind of stance you take with regard to this issue.

This is specifically about whether you are in support of community members who are the most vulnerable or whether you stand up for the establishment.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jennifer, for calling in this afternoon.

Our next speaker is Polly G.

Hi, my name is Pauly G. I am a member of Next Steps Washington, which was founded by Annalisa and Fred Thomas, parents of the late Leonard Thomas.

I also work with Terry Rogers Kemp of the NAACP, King County, who is the police accountability chair.

We have to challenge this myth of police accountability in Seattle, which is, repeated not just by the alt-right police unions who recently elected an alt-right SWAT team leader president, but also by our supposed leaders like Seattle Mayor Manny Durkin and Chief of Police Carmen Best.

You know, just within the past few days, police have maced a child in Seattle.

There was police close fist punching protesters There was also a police officer kneeling on the neck of protesters.

These are just some of the examples of the rampant, uncontrolled, and unhinged behavior of the Seattle Police Department.

And it must be stopped.

And this criticism is not just for Mayor Durkin's administration, but also the city council.

Eight of the members voted for the last police union contract, which is one of the primary hindrances to a police accountability in Seattle.

Thank you to Council Member Shama Sawant for being the sole council member to vote against that outrageous police union contract.

Right now, the new police union contract is in the black box phase, black box phase, and I have no faith in the mayor to incorporate the accountability that she says she will.

And they recently just filed a motion with the Department of Justice to be released from the consent decree and end the consent decree oversight.

Thank you for calling in today.

Our next speaker is William Doe.

Hi, I'm William Doe.

And I've driven a ride share in Seattle for about three years.

That's in regards to sick pay.

The companies that put together a sick pay proposal or something in effect that pays us less than $6 an hour.

I don't want to be the one that drives around Seattle while I'm sick because I can't make ends meet.

Unemployment hasn't paid me for two and a half months.

It's still some issue.

I'm under a lot of pressure.

I have two high risk adults at home.

My last trip I picked up, or one of the trips I picked up the other night, I had three younger people.

One of them was coughing, and they wanted to sit in front with me.

My PPE costs are very high, and this is a problem that's going to continue, not just until the end of the Seattle emergency, but maybe to the beginning of next year.

It's something that needs to be extended.

It needs to be made practical, and I need your support if I get sick.

I'm really in deep trouble, not just my family, but it could create a bigger problem if other drivers drive while sick because they can't make ends meet waiting for help.

So please do something that will be lasting and fair to the drivers.

A lot more younger people are coming out and a lot more people are going three or four people in a car and they are not wearing their mask.

Recent research shows that people under 40 are becoming more and more infected.

So give us a hand, help us out.

Thank you.

Thank you, William, for calling in today.

That was the last speaker on the general public comment period.

So we will go ahead and close out this public comment period and move to items of business on the agenda.

Again, we will have a public hearing on the moratorium bill related to Halcyon Mobile Park as agenda item one requires.

So the first item is payment of the bills.

Will the clerk please read the title into the record?

Council Bill 119-800.

Appropriating money to pay Sarah McClint the week of May 18th, 2020 through May 22nd, 2020 and ordering the payment thereof.

Thank you.

I will move to pass Council Bill 119-800.

Is there a second?

Second.

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

Are there any comments?

Seeing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

DeWant?

Aye.

Strauss.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

And I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

All right, let's move into committee reports of the city council.

Will the clerk please read agenda item one into the record?

Agenda item one, Council Bill 119797, relating to land use and zoning.

Extending for six months, a moratorium established by Ordinance 125764 and extended by Ordinance 126006. on the filing, acceptance, processing, and or approval for any application to accept a new principal or accessory use or change a principal or accessory use for any site currently used as a mobile home park, as defined in Section 23.84A.032 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Thank you.

Before I open the public hearing on this item, I'm going to turn it over to Council Member Sawant, who, as lead sponsor of the bill, may want to provide us with some introductory remarks.

And then if Council Member Juarez would also like to provide some introductory remarks, she will have an opportunity to do so as well.

Council Member Sawant, the floor is yours.

Thank you, President Gonzalez.

This council bill extends the temporary zoning restrictions that protect the residents of Seattle's remaining mobile home parks from displacement.

One and a half years ago, the residents of the Halcyon mobile home park in North Seattle contacted city council because their park owner at the time, there's a new owner now, was attempting to sell it to a developer.

And when mobile home parks are eliminated, it can be absolutely devastating for the residents.

The residents own their manufactured homes, but despite the name, they are often unable to be moved.

So when the land is redeveloped, everyone often loses everything.

People are left with mortgages to manufactured homes that they can no longer keep and have nowhere to go.

This was particularly dangerous as an outcome, potential outcome for the residents of the Halcyon Mobile Home Park, who are seniors, who have paid their dues to the community, worked for decades, and many of whom have been former union members.

My office worked with the residents to develop and pass temporary zoning protections to prevent mobile home parks in Seattle from being redeveloped into anything different.

And through their excellent community organizing, we were able to pass that legislation.

And council members who were there the last few years will remember that they are moving public testimony.

Council has passed temporary zoning restrictions and requested that the city departments do the work required to make those or other zoning protections permanent.

Unfortunately, Mayor Durkan's departments have not prioritized so far the protecting the homes.

of the residents of Seattle's mobile home parks and really no progress has been made on that zoning work.

So we will need a council bill for the temporary extension, which the residents have correctly requested.

I thank council member Warris for co-sponsoring this.

I hope the council will pass this six month extension day.

And I again request mayor Durkin to agree to have the Seattle department of construction inspections or the department of planning and community development to do the SEPA work necessary to make these protections permanent.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant for bringing this bill forward together with Council Member Juarez and for those opening remarks.

I understand that Council Member Juarez and you coordinated in advance and you were taking the lead on making remarks, so we will go ahead and Move on now to the public hearing portion of today's agenda.

So, as presiding officer, I am now opening the public hearing on Council Bill 119797, extending the moratorium established by Ordinance 125764 on the filing, acceptance, processing, and or approval of any application to establish a new principle or accessory use or change a principle or accessory use for any site currently used as a mobile home park.

There are currently at least two mobile home parks located in the City of Seattle.

The first is the Halcyon Mobile Home Park, and the second is the Bella Bee Mobile Home Park.

The online registration to sign up to speak at this hearing opened at 12 noon today, and I will call on speakers in the order of pre-registration.

The online registration will remain open until the conclusion of this public hearing.

The rules applied to the public comment period also apply to this public hearing.

So each speaker will be provided two minutes and will receive a 10-second warning to wrap up their comments.

Speakers' microphones will be automatically muted at the end of the allotted two-minute public comment period.

Public comment relating to Council Bill 119797 is only being accepted at this public hearing.

Speakers are asked to begin their comments by stating their name.

And without further ado, we'll go ahead and begin the process of accepting public comment on this particular council bill.

We only have three people signed up at this point for public comment.

The first is Linda McCoy, and then we will hear from Dominique Chandler.

Linda.

Hi, I'm Linda McCoy, and I'm the current president of the Homeowners Association here at Health Yon.

And I just want to say that we learned very, very late, like just yesterday evening, how this worked.

So several people have sent emails to you about this.

So if you have a chance to read them, please do.

Patty Zaitlin is one.

And, um, Sharon Brown is another, she wanted me to mention that.

So thank you.

Um, uh, Congress council member, whereas, and council member, so on for putting this forward and for helping us, um, get through, um, two things happened that made it difficult for us to move forward on, um, getting the things done for the, um, Um, rezone them or permanent work.

And the one was we changed, um, the board of directors here.

So we had to kind of start over with the new group.

And then of course, COVID-19 happened.

So because of that, we really weren't able to, to move forward with you.

So our intention is to request that you pass this extra extension And then in the next six months that we work with you and the mayor's office and the city department to get the reports done that need to be done in order to move this into a more permanent zoning for mobile home only.

Okay, I guess that's it.

You got about four seconds.

You got about four seconds.

Oh, OK.

Well, vote yes.

I don't know what else to say.

Thank you, Linda.

We've worked on this for a year and a half, so yeah.

Thank you, Linda, for calling in and for your continued work and advocacy on this.

Our next speaker is Dominique Chandler.

Dominique?

Is Dominique Chandler on the line?

Hello?

Hello.

Now we can hear you.

There you go.

Oh, thank you.

Dominique Chandler.

And yes, I live at Halcyon Park.

And let me tell you, the last hour has been so tragic to hear everyone's sadness.

That's not the reason for this phone call, but my God, everyone is suffering now.

And all I want to say is Halcyon Park is a senior park.

And, you know, the choice we've got is we bought our homes.

It's the only one really left here that we're homeowners of our, you know, mobile unit.

And if they kick us out or just, you know, level it, We have no place to go.

There are a lot of people that will add to the homeless population because we're seniors.

And come on, you guys.

Don't you have senior parents?

Don't you have people that love you?

And that, you know, there's a time that, yeah, taking care of your elders should be a good thing, not a bad thing.

And I, my heart's being broken with everything going on, as all of yours are.

And that's about what I need to say about, let's hope tomorrow's better than the weekend.

All right, I'm done.

Thank you, Dominique, for calling in.

We appreciate you taking the time to do it.

We have Stuart Duckworth listed on this public hearing list.

I know we heard from him during the general comment period, but if Stuart is still on the line, we'd be happy to hear from him.

Well, hello again.

Yes, I'm still on the line and I agree with Dominique about all the other people that have talked.

This is an amazing situation that we have out there.

However, I'm here just to support the extension of the mobile home park.

And actually we should make it permanent because this has always been a mobile home park.

And they try to develop, put development in here because it's a fairly large piece of property, but it is built on a garbage dump from the late 50s or middle 50s.

Underneath the garbage dump is the water runoff from Haller Lake.

So this is really unstable ground.

And a mobile home park is basically all that it's really good for, or manufactured home parks.

We have homes.

We have a couple of those in here, too.

So we just need to get a vote to make this a permanent seniors mobile home park.

Thank you very much.

Have a great rest of your day.

Thank you, Stuart, for calling in today.

That concludes the public commenters that I have formally signed up for today here.

So we will go ahead and close out the public hearing on Council Bill 119797. And we will now proceed with a vote on the bill.

So I will move to pass Council Bill 119797. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you so much.

Council Member Sawant, I saw your lips move, but I didn't hear anything, so I wanted to have a little pause there.

Thank you.

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

Council Member Sawant, again, as lead sponsor of the bill, I'd like to go ahead and recognize you in order for you to address this item in further detail.

Thank you, President Gonzalez.

I don't plan to have any more points.

I think the points have been made also by the residents themselves about why it's so important that we maintain their housing.

And as they highlighted, they are our senior members of our society, and we should absolutely be prioritizing protecting their housing.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Are there any other comments on the bill?

I see Councilmember Peterson followed by Councilmember Mosqueda and then Councilmember Strauss.

Councilmember Peterson, you're recognized, please.

Thank you.

I wanted to thank the residents who called in today and also to thank Councilmember Sawant and Councilmember Juarez for their leadership on this.

This is a great example of preserving affordable housing that we already have, preventing homelessness.

So I just want to thank them for their leadership on this.

Thank you, Councilmember Peterson.

We will now hear from Councilmember Esqueda and then Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Madam President.

Just a quick question for the sponsors, if I might.

I know there's a delay in the initial plan to have a more concrete strategy.

Can you talk a little bit more, if it's appropriate, Madam President, if it's appropriate for the sponsors to do so, can you talk a little bit more about what your hope is at the end of the six months?

I know we want folks to work with STCI, but are there concrete plans that we think will come to fruition at the end of these six months?

Who wants to take that?

Does Council Member Sawant or Juarez want to take that up?

I can respond, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda.

As you know, we've been working on this for, Council Member Solant and I, when Council Member Johnson was here as well.

And the short answer is yes, what we would like to see, what success looks like is a legislative fix.

That is that we join with SCCI and we actually carve out a particular zoned area for these manufactured mobile home parks.

I think a lot of people think these are just mobile homes, but these are actually manufactured homes with a concrete foundation where people have lived there for many, many, many years.

And as council member Sawant shared, we have a lot of elders, retirees.

We have a lot of, we just have a lot of older generation living there.

We've been there at least three times and have met with the different leadership at both areas.

And so the end game is that we carve out some legislation, that we make it permanent, and we looked at other zoning and how other cities did it up in Stohomish County, Thurston County, and I believe the city of Fife, if I'm correct.

So that's what success should look like, hopefully.

So thank you for that question.

Okay.

Council Member, Council Member Salant, did you want to respond to that as well?

Okay, we'll do that and then we'll hear from Council Member Strauss.

Council Member Salant.

Thank you.

As Council Member Juarez mentioned, yeah, there are other cities that have created that permanent mobile home park zoning designation.

And so there's nothing new or strange or difficult about this, but Seattle does not happen to have that zoning type so far.

So in order to make that happen and to make that zoning type permanent, the departments would need to carry out a SEPA analysis, which is a State Environmental Protection Act analysis.

Again, this should be fairly routine work, but for whatever reason that, you know, the mayor's office should be answerable to, they have not carried that out.

But if they did carry that out, which they should be doing, because we cannot indefinitely be extending the temporary designation, they should carry that out.

And once they do that, the council can pass a similar bill, but that designation would be permanent and not just for six months only.

And so, I mean, in terms of Council Member Mosqueda's question, concretely, it comes down to the city council members, you know, joining me and putting pressure on the mayor to not postpone this any longer and just do this because as far as I understand from a technical standpoint, there are no obstacles to carry this analysis out so that we can make the zoning designation permanent.

Thank you.

I thought that clarification would be helpful.

as we think about what happens at the end of six months.

So thank you both to the prime sponsors and happy to support today.

Council Member Strauss.

Yeah, thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Members for sponsoring this bill.

It is something that I would like to engage with you on for a permanent fix before six months is up because we know that a permanent piece of legislation will stop us from having to renew every six months.

My grandmother lived in a manufactured home park for seniors.

And I understand that the ground that you keep your home on is not necessarily the ground that you own.

And it's important for us to be able to provide this affordable housing and ensure that it remains stable.

So I'd love to work with you on making this a permanent fix.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss.

Any other comments or questions from my colleagues?

Okay, I'm not seeing any.

I think I share the same interest as many of you.

I think it might be the third or fourth time I'm being asked to vote, third time that we're being asked to vote on this issue.

It would be really nice to be able to just have the substance and the actual legwork done and completed by the executive so that we can move on from this issue.

It is really frustrating that that has not happened.

So hopefully we will be able to encourage the mayor's office and the SDCI to actually just do the SEPA and allow for us to have some level of certainty as it relates to this particular issue.

looking forward to ongoing leadership from Council Member Juarez and so on in that space.

And of course, from our land use chair, Council Member Strauss, to be able to figure out what the path forward is to facilitate the execution of the work that needs to happen.

So I definitely plan to support this bill.

Okay, looks like folks don't have any more questions or comments.

I do want to offer the sponsors an opportunity to close out the conversation if they have anything else that they'd like to add.

All right, looks like nothing else to add here.

So I would ask that the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Morales.

Aye.

Mesqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

DeWant.

Aye.

Strauss.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Herbold.

Aye.

Lewis.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Excellent.

The bill passes, and the chair will sign it.

I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation.

All right, colleagues, we're going to go ahead and move to our next agenda item.

That's item two.

Will the clerk please read agenda item two into the record?

Agenda item two, Council Bill 119793, related to gig workers in Seattle.

Establishing labor standards requirements for paid sick and paid safe time for gig workers working in Seattle, and amending section 3.02.125 and 6.208.020 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

I will move to pass Council Bill 119793. Is there a second?

Second.

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

Council Member Mosqueda, you are the sponsor of the bill, so you are recognized in order to address this item.

Thank you, Madam President.

I'd like to move to amend Council Bill 119793 by substituting version 5A for version 3B.

It's been moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to substitute the bill.

Councilor Mosqueda, I will hand it back over to you so that you can address the substitute.

Thank you so much, Madam President, and thanks to my council colleagues for all of your engagement on this issue.

As you know, paid sick and safe leave is something that the City of Seattle has been proud to have implemented in 2012. And paid sick and safe leave, as we know and as you talked about during the initial passage, is not just about the workers it protects, though that's critical.

It's also about protecting the community at large.

When workers go to work sick, They interact with other people.

They take longer to recover.

They have the potential to infect their co-workers and members of the public.

And when workers don't have the ability to take time off for safe leave due to domestic violence, they are unable to get the support and resources they need to be safe.

It's in light of the importance of paid sick and safe leave for both the workers and the community at large, that we wanted to make sure this vital labor standards protection was extended to gig workers, especially in light of the critical work they're doing right now to serve our community.

These are our friends, these are our neighbors, these are our family members, and they deserve the same protections that every other worker needs under paid sick and safe leave.

In recognition of the broad and long-lasting health and safety and economic stability benefits that paid sick and safe leave have, we wanted to make sure that we built on the good work that you all passed in 2012 for the council members who were here then, and also to make sure that we extended the protections that we all passed as a state when we voted to implement initiative 1433 that I had the pleasure of partially leading in 2016. We're proud of these protections.

We're proud that they have been a leading example for other states and cities across the country.

But we also recognize that these protections largely only apply to traditional W-2 employees.

And that's why it's problematic.

to leave gig workers out, especially at a time when we've seen gig work dramatically increase in the past decade, where roughly around one sixth of workers across the country are doing gig work.

As our council has said a number of times, this is not just about the gig economy, quote unquote, this is just about the economy at this point.

Workers are being left out who are essential components of our economy, and they don't have paid sick and safe leave.

especially now during the coronavirus, given the amount of work that is happening right now from workers who are delivering food, who are delivering groceries, who are driving people to essential appointments across our city, we need to make sure that their needs are met and keeping them safe, allowing them to be protected from getting sick, and also making sure that if they get sick or they need a safe day, they have the protections they need for their day-to-day protections so they can get paid.

This is about interacting with members of our public.

Many of these workers have countless contacts with individuals throughout our community.

As you heard from the folks who testified today, they go right up to the doors of our neighbors, right up to the doors of our house to deliver groceries, to deliver food, and to provide folks with the essential services that they need.

It is critical that they have protections if they are sick or need to take a day off to take care of their family members.

Many platforms that we have worked with over the last two months, two plus months, at this point we're on to 10 weeks of engagement with stakeholders, many platforms have stated that they are providing sick leave for their workers.

But we've heard from many workers that they don't have access to adequate leave, or it's hard to access the policies that have been offered.

We've been working to make sure that this legislation is in the right form to protect the workers and make sure that it's implementable, to make sure that the actions are receivable from the workers, so that when we pass the law, the workers can actually get to take advantage of sick and safe leave when they need it.

We've been in coordination with a number of partners to get this right, and many of those partners include you on city council for all of your feedback over the last two weeks.

Thanks so much to a few folks, and then I'll stop and save a few thank yous for the end, Council President.

But I want to say thank you to the labor unions and worker advocates, including Working Washington, Teamsters 117, MLK Labor, UFCW 21, for helping us develop this legislation.

Thank you to the platforms.

We have briefed and sometimes heard feedback and incorporated that feedback from entities like Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Uber Lift, Instacart, and the Seattle Rideshare Association and Drive Forward.

Thank you to our friends at the National Employment Law Project, the Center for Popular Democracy, and the Center for Law and Social Policy at the national level for helping us learn from policies across the country.

And here locally, you saw an email from Jasmine Maraja, Karim, sorry, Jasmine Maraja at the Office of Labor Standards, who provided us with some feedback earlier today and over the last few weeks.

They have been very engaged with us.

Also, folks like Karim Levitas and Janae Jan from the Office of Labor Standards, Kylie Rolfe and Anthony Ariama from the Mayor's Office.

They have been tremendous to work with, and we're happy that this legislation is passing, hopefully, with your support.

Madam Chair, I'll save my thank yous for Karina Bull from Central Staff and Sejal Parikh after comments because I think they deserve a few more minutes.

But with that, I just want to say thanks again to all of you for your feedback.

This legislation is stronger because of your input.

And I think we have a lot to be proud of here, even though we recognize this is the first of many policies that these workers need to be protected.

Thank you, Councilmember Mosqueda for those remarks.

Colleagues, this morning at council briefing, of course, we discussed the We had Karina Bull join us for a substantive conversation and briefing an update on what was included in the substitute bill.

So I think we're all familiar with that.

So at this point, we are voting first on the substitution, and then we're gonna vote, we're gonna have a second motion where we will vote on the bill as substituted.

So I would, If you have substantive comments now on the substituted bill on sort of the underlying policy, I'd ask for you to save those until the second motion so that we can go ahead and get the substitution in front of us to allow for that conversation to move forward.

So are there any comments for the sponsor or questions for the sponsor on what's included in the substitute bill before we vote on putting the substitute before us.

Okay, hearing and seeing none, I will ask the clerk to please call the roll on the adoption of the substitute.

Morales.

Council President Gonzalez.

Yes.

I think I froze up.

Are we voting?

My apologies.

It's okay, totally fine.

This is the nature of technology in these remote settings.

So what we are voting on now is not the substantive bill.

We are voting on putting forward in front of us the substitute version of the bill.

We will then entertain a motion to adopt this substitute version and then hear comments again.

Does that answer your question, Council Member Morales?

You may have lost Council Member Morales.

Okay, Madam Clerk, I'm going to ask you to call the roll on the bill, and we might have to circle back to Council Member Morales.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Councilmember Sawant.

Councilmember Sawant.

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss.

Aye.

Councilmember Juarez.

Aye.

Councilmember Herbold.

Aye.

Councilmember Lewis.

Aye.

Councilmember Morales?

Aye.

Council President Gonzales?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much.

So the motion carries and the substitute is adopted and version 5A of the bill is now before the City Council.

Are there any further comments on the bill as amended?

Colleagues, I'm scanning.

Okay, so Council Member Sawant has raised her hand.

Anyone else have any comments so I can put you in the queue?

Okay, great.

So we will hear from Council Member Sawant, then Council Member Lewis, then Council Member Peterson.

Council Member Sawant, please.

Thank you, President Gonzalez.

I will of course be voting yes on this legislation to extend Seattle's paid safe and sick time protections to gig workers.

Gig workers deliver groceries, drive for Uber and Lyft, and do many, many other jobs essential to our society.

These are jobs like any other except they are marked with the legal fiction that they are one person small businesses instead of employees of a corporation.

The result of this legal fiction is that workers are suddenly no longer protected by labor laws and the bosses do not have to pay the employer's share of social security taxes and the workers are denied their rights to organize into a union to collectively bargain for a fair contract with their boss.

This is totally unjust and it's a clear example of how under capitalism, the working class must continually organize and struggle to avoid falling farther and farther behind.

We should remember that a hundred years ago, over a hundred years ago, no workers could legally form unions in this country, but courageously they did anyway, often having to defend their picket lines against physical attack, and threat to their very lives.

In the 1920s, the US military was even deployed to bomb the picket lines of striking miners.

Through these courageous and historic struggles, workers won the decent contract that formed the so-called middle class that lasted for about two generations, which, of course, is not accessible for most millennials now.

But those protections were won through those labor struggles.

The right to organize was won through a struggle.

Since then, over decades, big business has been attempting to claw back every gain that workers fought for and won.

Wealth inequality has ballooned, as we know, and an estimated one out of every five workers in the U.S. is now classified as an independent contractor.

also known as gig workers.

So in other words, this is a problem that is something that all working people should be fighting against.

Ultimately, gig workers will need to unionize with or without the legal permission to do so because we only have the power in the workplace when we get organized to fight for it.

In the meantime, however, I am happy to support this legislation to extend paid safe and sick time rights to gig workers in Seattle.

This is extremely important.

Finally, I would raise the caution around enforcement that I had spoken to when we had had this discussion in council briefing when we first discussed it.

Seattle's Office of Labor Standards is empowered to impose these workers' rights, but because so many big businesses engage in wage theft, the Office of Labor Standards has a serious backlog.

They do excellent work, but they don't have enough resources.

If your boss steals from you, it takes many months even to get the money you are owed, and we have seen how ruthless giant corporations like Uber can be disregarding workers' rights.

The office of labor standards is currently understaffed.

The mayor has instituted a hiring freeze.

claiming that there is not the budget to adequately staff the department because of the COVID-related budget shortfalls.

These shortfalls are not automatic.

They are not an act of God.

If Mayor Durkan and the City Council were willing to tax big business and raise progressive revenues, we could have the resources to stop the austerity, to fund departments like the Office of Labor Standards to the extent that they needed to be funded in order to fully function in protecting workers' rights and, in addition, creating more public sector jobs, building social housing and the Green New Deal as the tax Amazon movement is demanding and as many people in public comment indicated today.

Dig workers deserve to be protected with paid safe and sick time rights.

That means It's important to support this legislation today, but we also need to push back and refuse to accept austerity that is coming down the pike, and we should adequately staff departments like the Office of Labor Standards and expand progressive revenues.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Next up is Council Member Lewis, and then we will hear from Council Member Peterson.

Thank you, Madam President.

It goes without saying, and I'll say it at the top, that I will be voting for this legislation.

I just wanted to briefly do a shout out to Dan Beacon for his reporting.

Hello, Don.

This is Lisa.

Hi.

Council Member Herbold.

I'm good.

I love them.

I should never underestimate their ability to go on and on.

Council Member Herbold.

OK.

got it we got we got we we now have your phone call conversation councilmember let me uh uh let me let me um regain my composure a little bit here so uh as i was saying i wanted to do a shout back a shout out to um uh dan beakman for his reporting this weekend um which uh made some points that i just wanted to highlight and that i think are really prescient um He interviewed a driver named Daisy Torres, who, before driving for one of these gig-based platforms, had worked in a hotel and had been an employee and, as such, was entitled to paid sick and safe leave.

He interviewed a gentleman named Zach El-Abassi, who was driving for a nap, who prior to COVID worked at a car dealership, and in that position would have been entitled to paid sick and safe leave.

I bring that up because I think it is a horrible harbinger of things to come in our economy post-COVID, that the openings and opportunities that are thriving for people who have fallen off in the economy that existed pre-COVID, who were already in positions where earnings and benefits were not keeping pace with the rising cost of living, are now sustaining themselves economically by working for these apps that do not have these benefits that all of us have taken for granted in the normal economy over the last decade as folks have fought for and successfully won, including many of the folks on this council, higher wage floors, paid sick and safe leave, in some cases, nationally mandated vacation time.

And it's just critical that legislation like this, I'm so grateful for your leadership on this Council Member Mosqueda, is being put forward because this is a massive gap in this economy and every time we have one of these downturns as we did in the 2009-2010-2011 downturn, there has got to be very conscious work on the part of leaders at all level of government to work really hard to try to make sure that inequities that come in during a desperate time in the economy taking a hit don't get entrenched, solidified, and become a new normal that shapes what the economy on the other side of the recovery looks like.

You know, I've heard stories I cannot speak to them personally, that there used to be paid internships, for example, in the workforce, or I've heard about, you know, mandatory overtime or defined benefit pensions that existed during the period of middle class growth that Council Member Sawant alluded to.

We need to really make sure that paid sick and safe leave through this legislation, but also more broadly, is a fundamental part of our economy when we come out on the other side of COVID, and that it is during COVID as well.

So thank you, Council Member Esqueda.

I will be voting for this, and I really appreciate your leadership on this.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Next up, we'll hear from Council Member Peterson, and if any of my other colleagues wish to make comments, please do let me know.

Council Member Peterson, the floor is yours.

Thank you.

I wanted to thank Councilmember Mosqueda for generously giving us more time to review this legislation.

That was very helpful.

I know that your city council staff and our central staff have worked really hard on this.

I also appreciate your working with the executive on just the how to practically implement the legislation and also for reaching out to those in the private sector who would be impacted by the legislation.

Also wanted to shout out to Working Washington for their advocacy for this legislation.

So I will be voting for the legislation.

I just wanted to thank Councilor Mosqueda.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Council Member Peterson.

Colleagues, any other comments on the bill?

Okay, I'm not, oh, you will get the last word.

Any other of my colleagues wanna give any comments on the bill before we hand it over to Council Member Mosqueda to close this out?

Council Member Strauss?

Just saying thanks to everyone for working on great, important legislation, thank you.

Thank you so much.

I also want to thank customer most data for her work on this I know she's been working on it for quite some time.

Obviously, as such, such common sense legislation that during a period of time when there is a high level of Um, you know, high level of risk to exposure to a highly infectious disease that we would provide, uh, this coverage to, uh, this sector of workers is just, um, is just common sense, not just for the health and safety of the workers, but also for the people that they interact with, um, as sort of a connector of services.

I really want to appreciate Council Member Mosqueda's efforts on this absolutely agree that there's a lot more work that we need to do in this space and look forward to an opportunity to finally be able to engage in that body of work in the coming months.

So with that being said, we're gonna go ahead and move forward here and there appear to be no more comments or debate on this.

So I'm gonna go ahead and ask Council Member Mosqueda to close us out and then we'll be able to call the roll on the bill.

Thank you so much, Council President.

And thanks to all of our council colleagues for your comments on the paid sick and safe leave ordinance for gig workers.

As the Council President said, it is common sense.

And even though it makes sense to give workers sick days during a global pandemic, you can imagine there was a lot of complex policy conversations that went into making sure that this policy was going to be actionable and that people would receive these benefits.

And the two people that I want to thank again, our Kareena Bull from Central Staff, and Sejal Parikh, a Chief of Staff in my office.

Those are the folks that I'm going to be passing along this thank you to, and I know they're probably watching with great anticipation as this labor of love over the last 10 weeks looks to be about to make it over the finish line.

A huge thank you to Kareena Bull for the hundreds of hours that she has put into this piece of legislation, her energy, and her knowledge, and her willingness to think of creative solutions, and for doing it all with incredible patience and grace, as you saw this morning as she presented to our council colleagues.

And Sajah Parikh, for her endless hours, hundreds of calls with various stakeholders, multiple meetings throughout both days and nights and weekends to make sure that voices were heard, ideas were incorporated, and that the important nuances were worked out This is a really critical policy, and I think it'll have lasting impacts for both the workers and the protection of all of our health in the upcoming months slash years until we can get both a vaccine for COVID, but also, more importantly, for the broader protections that every gig worker needs to have as they are truly essential workers with or without a pandemic, wanting to look to continue to strengthen the protections for those workers as well.

I do want to thank, as you've heard over the last three or four weeks, folks who've been writing in, calling, the folks who you heard testify today, people in the Beekman article and others.

These are the workers who themselves have had to not only figure out how to sustain themselves in this crisis, but really put in a ton of work to crafting this policy with us.

So thank you to the workers impacted by this legislation who've been at the table to help craft this.

basic set of protections to provide a floor so that every worker can have access to sick leave.

This is an incredible win for those workers and for the city as a whole.

The public comment from today's workers and over the last few weeks have really spoken for themselves.

You all have heard these stories, but I want to lift up just a few comments that we heard from today and then last week.

What you heard from Jason today was a sentence that really resonated that I think we should just spend another second to reflect on.

He said, don't call me essential and then not pay me like I'm essential.

Don't call me a hero.

Treat me like I'm human.

He was followed by Mr. Thomas, who talked about how critical it is for us to make sure that folks actually have the safe leave that they need, the sick leave that they need, to make sure that they haven't been left behind.

And as he goes to the door, he sees people put their wallets away because of inherent or biased racism that continues to perpetuate in our community.

It should go stated explicitly that the vast majority of workers that we're talking about protecting today are black and brown workers.

And the vast number of people that have been left out of state and federal policy in terms of labor protections are black and brown workers.

And that was true when we passed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights last year, thanks again to the council members who supported that legislation and that we made tremendous strides across the nation in passing that.

It's because they were explicitly left out of the federal protections at the national level.

And we took the action to protect them.

And today, yet again, we're standing up, especially for those who've been intentionally left out of labor protections in the past to make sure that our vulnerable workers, workers who are now calling essential, have these explicit protections as critical component of our economy and making sure that they have the safety that they need during the time of a pandemic and in recognizing that these are mostly black and brown workers.

And then lastly, I want to leave you with the comments that I shared from Carmen, who is a Grubhub driver.

She says, now that people are hungry and hiding in their homes from the virus, I am suddenly essential.

I'm risking exposure to highly contagious, possibly deadly viruses to fetch people's dinner.

That's why we need sick leave.

I was sick with extreme flu-like symptoms throughout March.

Although extremely weak, constantly coughing and having trouble talking and taking a full breath, I kept working as a delivery driver because it was my only source of income.

At times, I was too weak to work or finish my shift.

I lost my opportunity to earn income.

Gig work is my only income.

So I am now behind on all my monthly bills.

I work as much as possible, but there are days where I only make enough for the next day to put gas in the car and grab a few groceries.

I do not live paycheck to paycheck.

I live day to day.

I live order to order.

I do not know how I will financially recover.

I'm still experiencing waves of COVID-19 symptoms.

At times, I'm not able to work.

With sick leave, I will now make sure that I will never be in that situation.

With sick leave, I would have not had to work when I was very sick and possibly spread the virus.

With sick leave, I would have stayed home.

With sick leave, I may have recovered faster.

So thank you, council colleagues, for all of your work to support this legislation.

And it's a good day.

Thanks for all the workers and their time and for all of the stakeholders who provided input on this piece of legislation.

Thank you so much, Council Member Mosqueda.

So that closes out our debate on this particular council bill.

So I'm going to ask that the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended.

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

Aye.

Aye.

Purple.

Lewis.

Aye.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it and I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation and congratulations Council Member Mosqueda on the passage of that bill and especially congratulations to all of the workers who will be covered by this new protection.

It really is a good day for them.

Okay, folks, we have other business.

I understand that Council Member Morales does have an item in other business, so I will go ahead and hand it over to her for her remarks and have her walk us through her request.

Council Member Morales.

Great.

Thank you, colleagues.

Last week, we sent around a proclamation acknowledging June as LGBTQ Pride Month.

As I mentioned earlier, the flag raising that we had scheduled for this afternoon has been postponed for the time being.

So before I ask for your consent to add your signature, I would like to read a letter from one of the LGBTQ commissioners who responded and sent us a statement that she asked to have read today since that flag raising is delayed.

So I will go ahead and do that for her.

She says, while these are challenging times for LGBTQ Black people, I wish to acknowledge that June is Gay Pride Month, While there were other gay liberation riots before the 1969 Stonewall riots, our community commemorates Pride annually on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

This month, we celebrate our history, courage, and the resilience of those who came before us and fought back against police brutality and transphobic and homophobic oppression.

It is more important than ever to share our stories of how Pride began.

because we are still fighting for complete civil rights for all LGBTQ people.

When we honor and talk about Pride this month, it's important to take time to reflect not only on the recent killing of George Floyd and other African Americans, but to honor and acknowledge our trans and gender nonconforming community members who were murdered in 2020. Here are some of the names I recall from this year.

Dustin Parker, Nurlisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Mendez-Arocho, Monica Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velazquez-Ramos, Leila Pelay-Sanchez, Penelope Diaz-Ramirez, Nina Popp, Hele J. O'Regan, Tony McDade.

As we look for ways to heal from this trauma, please remember to reach out to your black and brown friends colleagues and business owners right now to make sure that they get the support they need or want.

Please listen more than talk.

I challenge our Seattle allies to ask themselves questions such as, what can you do to lift the LGBTQ community and black and brown people at this time and into the future?

There is always something to learn.

I appreciate all the Asians, Asian Pacific Islanders, indigenous people, Latinx, Middle Easterners, and white allies, and everyone else uniting with their friends and family against racial inequity.

Happy pride in remembrance of the Stonewall riots.

Black lives matter.

In solidarity, Latasha Correal, Seattle LGBTQ Commissioner and People of Color Stakeholder Committee Chair.

So colleagues, I would now like to ask for your consent to add your signature to the proclamation and for your support in honoring the folks who have died fighting for their rights as LGBTQ people and would like to ask for the clerk to call the roll.

Okay, so colleagues, any comments or any additional comments to add before we have the clerk call the roll on the proclamation?

Okay, hearing none, I want to thank Council Member Morales for bringing the proclamation to full city council and for reading the statement from the LGBTQ commission, as she just read it, and really appreciate your stewardship of this issue and this proclamation through the city council as we kick off Pride Month today, June 1st.

So with that being said, I would ask that the city clerk call the roll on having council members add their name to the proclamation.

Morales?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

DeWant?

Aye.

Strauss?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Herbold?

Aye.

Lewis?

Aye.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you so much.

Council Member Morales, you now have the signature of all of the council members.

Colleagues, any other business to come before the council?

Council Member Herbold, please.

Thank you so much.

I just wanted to circle back.

There was a request to endeavor to get Wednesday's hearing solidified before we wrapped up today.

And thanks to my staff, the staff of other council members, our clerk staff, and many of the individuals that we have invited, including the OPA director, the office inspector general, the co-chairs of the CPC, and the police and fire chief, as well as the beginnings of a community panel that we're putting together.

We can now announce that that meeting will be held at noon on Wednesday.

So please do mark your calendars for noon Wednesday.

And again, the format will be starting with a public hearing, then breaking up into, depending on the individual components, the availability of the individuals participating, the individual components of the meeting, what will follow, the public hearing portion, will be a presentation from our accountability partners on what the structure of the accountability system is in the process for investigations, the community panel, and then an opportunity for council members to hear from and ask questions of our police chiefs with a recognition that we might need to depending on the number of people who sign up to testify to take additional public comment at the end of the meeting as well.

So hopefully that will come together and again, I'm happy to incorporate folks input between now and Wednesday at noon and making sure that this is a positive effort that is focused on next steps and healing and our ongoing commitment to continuous reform.

Thank you, Councilmember Herbold for that update.

So looking forward to getting the invitation from the clerk's office and all the Zoom information.

So colleagues, please do save the date for this Wednesday starting at noon for a special meeting of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee.

Really excited about the opportunity to engage in this conversation as described by Councilmember Herbold and hope that you all will be able to find the time to join us.

We understand that it's short notice, but we also understand that this is an emerging and pressing issue for many of us and especially for our constituents.

So thank you so much Councilmember Herbold for that update.

Any other business to come before the council?

Okay, hearing and seeing none, colleagues, this concludes the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 8th, 2020 at 2 p.m.

It will be a remote meeting again.

You will receive additional information from me about remote status of the council for the future, so I just wanted to give you a heads up that you should plan for June 8th being a remote hearing again.

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

We are adjourned.

Thank you.