City Council 7/5/2

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Welcome to the Seattle City Council meeting.

It is 2-0-1.

My name is Deborah Juarez.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Sawant.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Present.

And Council President Juarez.

Here.

Seven, present.

Thank you.

Moving on to our agenda presentations.

I'm aware of no presentations today.

Moving on to public comments.

My understanding, Madam Clerk, please correct me if I'm wrong.

We have 34 remote callers and 10 individuals in chambers, correct?

I believe the in-person has increased to 12. I will confirm when we get to that point, Council President.

Thank you.

That being said, each speaker will have one minute and we will allocate 45 minutes to public comment.

Colleagues, we will open the hybrid public comment period.

For the hybrid public comment period, the remote speakers will be heard first, and then we'll be followed by in-person speakers attending in council chambers.

And with that, Madam Clerk, I'm going to hand it over to you for the recording and instructions.

The city of flowers and the city of goodwill, built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

The Seattle City Council welcomes remote public comment and is eager to hear from residents of our city.

If you would like to be a speaker and provide a verbal public comment, you may register two hours prior to the meeting via the Seattle City Council website.

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

Speakers are called upon in the order in which they registered on the Council's website.

Each speaker must call in from the phone number provided when they registered online and used the meeting ID and passcode that was emailed upon confirmation.

If you did not receive an email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders.

A reminder, the speaker meeting ID is different from the general listen line meeting ID provided on the agenda.

Once a speaker's name is called, the speaker's microphone will be unmuted and an automatic prompt will say, the host would like you to unmute your microphone.

That is your cue that it's your turn to speak.

At that time, you must press star six.

You will then hear a prompt of, you are unmuted.

Be sure your phone is unmuted on your end so that you will be heard.

As a speaker, you should begin by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

A chime will sound when 10 seconds are left in your allotted time as a gentle reminder to wrap up your public comments.

At the end of the allotted time, your microphone will be muted and the next speaker registered will be called.

Once speakers have completed providing public comment, Please disconnect from the public comment line and join us by following the meeting via Seattle Channel broadcast or through the listening line option listed on the agenda.

The council reserves the right to eliminate public comment if the system is being abused or if the process impedes the council's ability to conduct its business on behalf of residents of the city.

Any offensive language that is disruptive to these proceedings or that is not focused on an appropriate topic as specified in council rules may lead to the speaker being muted by the presiding officer.

Our hope is to provide an opportunity for productive discussions that will assist our orderly consideration of issues before the council.

The public comment period is now open, and we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

Please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt of, you have been unmuted.

Thank you, Seattle.

Sign up before the public comment period has concluded by registering for public comment online for remote public comment or for in-person public comment.

Please sign up on the public signup sheet located near the podium and council chambers.

The first public commenter from the remote public comment line is Howard Gale.

Good afternoon, Howard Gale commenting on police accountability.

Today is the eighth day of the King County inquest into the SPD murder of Charlena Lyles.

During this morning's testimony, we heard from one of the two officers who shot Charlena that a firearm is the only tool to stop the deadly threat posed by the five foot, three inch, 100 pound Charlena holding a four inch knife.

And that a police baton would not be appropriate because that is only to be used for paying compliance and hitting her in the head with it might prove fatal.

This is SPD policy and training.

This is part of a horrifying circular argument that SPD uses for every killing.

You can't use force that might be deadly until you need to use force, which then must be deadly, to immediately terminate the threat.

This policy and training has left at least six more people killed and families shattered in circumstances similar to Charlena's, all with your approval and with our tax money.

MLK said, quote, in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

This council has been loudly silenced.

Our next speaker is Jessica Scalzo.

This is the woman about parks.

Hi, my name is Jessica.

I am a renter in district three, and I'm calling in strong support of Thomas LaWant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city where there are free abortions and where Seattle police refuse to arrest people without standing warrants for abortion related offenses.

This is really important because we need to protect the lives of pregnant people who are more than 14 times more likely to die in childbirth than from an abortion.

And recently on Democracy Now, there was a doctor who was talking about the safety of the abortion pill, which is used in one half of all abortion cases.

that is safer than Viagra and we do not have a problem selling and distributing Viagra.

And lastly, because our community and all communities benefit when women and pregnant people have agency and choice over their bodies.

Please support this legislation and thank you.

Our next speaker is Margo Stewart.

Margo Stewart.

You wanna, if we're not, you wanna call the name again and then if not, we'll just go to the next speaker, Madam Clerk.

Sure, it's Margo Stewart.

Margo, are you there?

Why don't we go forward and we'll come back to Margo.

The next speaker is Preston.

Can you hear me?

Oh, now we can.

Sorry, is that you Margo?

Oh, sorry, sorry.

Yeah, my name is Margo.

I rent and work on First Hill and I'm also calling to demand that the city council pass council member's silence legislation To make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city, no delays, no watering down, as well as to expand the Amazon tax to make abortion access free and available for anybody seeking it.

These measures are incredibly popular.

I think in just over the week, a little bit over a week since Roe was overturned, over 4,500 people in Seattle have signed in favor of both of them.

And we really can't wait for the Democrats who've had 50 years to defend Roe, but who have shamefully not mobilized women, queer people, union members and workers in light of all these horrific attacks to take action.

Working people need to start fighting back now.

And I think this legislation can really serve as a key example of what is possible for cities with a movement building approach.

I'm sure there will be Democrats on the council that make protests that these measures are somehow redundant.

I think this couldn't be further from the truth.

The directives by Governor Inslee and Mayor Harrell, which were put forward through grassroots pressure are positive, but they can be quickly overturned and we need to codify this into law and we'll need a movement to do it.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Preston Sahuba.

Yes, hi, my name is Preston.

I'm a resident of District 4 and a rank and file member of the Alphabet Workers Union, which is a new local in the Martin Luther King County Labor Council.

And I'm calling in strong support of Councilmember Sean Sawant's bill to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

I work at Google.

And, you know, they just decided to, you know, they sent all these very flowery emails about how, oh, you know, you're right to an abortion protective.

We'll make sure you can fly to a state where you can get one.

And then on, you know, behind their back, the executives are donating to Republicans to make sure that they're, you know, to protect their own business interests.

And I think that kind of corporate hypocrisy really needs to be called out wherever it is. including here in Seattle, where, you know, the Democratic Party council members are trying to stand in the way of, you know, protecting the right to abortion, both at an access level to prevent enforcement and by expanding the Amazon tax.

I would strongly encourage the council to stand with workers and not with two-faced corporations.

Our next speaker is Jacob Scheer.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Jacob Shear.

I'm speaking on behalf of Real Change, Seattle's street newspaper.

Real Change fully supports council members to launch legislation to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortions and bodily autonomy, and to fund abortion and abortion care for all who need it.

Repealing Roe is a direct assault on working and poor pregnant people, and we urgently and desperately need codified legislation here in Seattle that goes beyond words and gestures and enshrines the right to abortion for all who want and need it, and protects those who both seek and provide abortion care.

The persecution and punishment of those seeking abortion care has already been happening.

1,300 people have been arrested or charged in the US from 2006 to 2020 for their actions during pregnancy, according to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

And with over a dozen states set to outlaw abortion and strip away reproductive rights of millions, an ascendant reactionary right-wing Supreme Court, and the very real possibility of a nationwide abortion ban, the stakes cannot be higher.

We urgently need codified abortion sanctuary city legislation, and we hope that you will do so.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kevin Botswong.

Hi, my name is Kevin.

I'm an educator and renter in District 3, and I'm calling in support of Council Member Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

We need to protect pregnant people and doctors from arrest warrants that might be processed by the police, you know, in relation to anti-abortion laws around the country.

And we also need to expand the extremely popular Anzal tax to make abortions here free and on demand.

Um, you know, Democrats have provided very, very, very, uh, weak stance in this fight.

And so working people need to organize and, you know, put pressure on Democrats and legislators to make this law in Seattle and statewide.

Um, and so please pass Council Member Selma's legislation without delays or watering down.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarah James.

Hi, my name is Sarah and I support Council Member Sawant.

Hello?

Hi, my name is Sarah and I support Council Member Sawant's legislation.

I was happy to hear that Harold and Inslee support making Seattle and Washington an abortion sanctuary, but we need the full protection that this legislation offers.

In the wake of the failure of the Democratic Party to COVID-5 Roe, we need to take the legislative steps necessary to make sure these rights cannot be rolled back and to withstand right-wing attacks.

The public petition for this legislation has over 4,000 signatures.

There's immense public support for making sure that Seattle becomes and stays an abortion sanctuary.

There's also so much public anger, fear, and disappointment that the Democrats refuse to mount a fighting approach and build the movement we need to gain back our rights.

People want a fighting movement against the far-right Supreme Court, not just vote blue.

Traveling Seattle and finding somewhere to stay is expensive enough.

We need to expand the city abortion fund to include non-residents by increasing the Amazon tax.

Abortion shouldn't be only accessible to those who afford it.

I also urge...

Next speaker is Barbara Turney.

Hi, my name is Barbara Turney.

I'm a delegate to the MLK Labor Council for AFGE Local 3197 representing the bargaining unit, including the positions of the Seattle VA Medical Center.

Both local and county labor federation have passed resolutions to defend abortion and LGBTQ rights and support efforts to get it codified because these are workers' issues.

So I urge all council members to publicly support council members who want upcoming legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

This legislation would prevent Seattle police from processing arrest warrants related to anti-abortion laws around the country, providing sanctuary for patients, their MDs, and other care providers.

Executive directors by the governor and mayor are good, but workers have been waiting 50 years for Democrats to codify the right to abortion care and bodily autonomy, and now it's lost.

Sam Swan's legislation would ensure abortion Next speaker is Sasha Somer.

Hi, my name is Sarah Lloyd.

I rent in district three and I'm calling in to support council members.

Sarah, if you wouldn't mind.

Just a second, Sarah.

Sasha Somer was next.

Oh.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Sasha Summer.

I don't.

Is she on the number up on the screen.

She's present, but I'm currently muted.

Sasha star six.

Okay, so let's loop back to Sasha since we have the other individual here who started to speak.

Can we do that?

Thank you.

Next person is Chelsea Dipasquale-Hunton.

Chelsea?

Hello, good afternoon.

Can you hear me?

Go ahead.

Can you hear me?

Hello?

Yep.

Hi my name is Chelsea and for the past six years I have been a public school educator an active member of the Seattle Education Association and the National Education Association.

I'm here today to express my support to lend my voice in support of Council Member Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

I would like to urge all of you especially all the Democrats to support Council Member Sawant's legislation publicly and loudly.

It's time to earn our reputation that we have in Seattle of being a progressive city.

I realize that both the governor and the mayor have announced executive actions, but as we saw with Roe versus Wade, executive actions and a lot of talking don't keep us safe and don't keep women's bodies safe.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Sarah Lloyd.

Hello.

Oh, Sasha, is that you?

Yeah, yeah, I tried to unmute before, but it wasn't working.

Sorry.

We can hear you now.

Sasha.

Okay, I'll go now then.

Okay.

Hi, my name is Sasha.

I'm a student at Seattle Central College, and I'm a member of Socialist Alternatives.

I urge all Democrats on the City Council to publicly support Councilmember Shama Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

While Governor Inslee and Mayor Harrell have announced executive actions along similar lines as this legislation, these executive actions are not enough.

The repeal of Roe v. Wade shows that we must be vigilant and protect the rights that we have won through mass struggle, and we need every extra security to keep them in place.

The Democrats on the national level have had 50 years and three different veto-proof majorities to codify Roe v. Wade into law, and yet they didn't do anything, and look at where we are now.

We need more than words from Democrats, we need action.

70% of Americans support abortion rights, tens of thousands have protested across the country at its repeal, and thousands have signed a local petition in support of this legislation.

I urge all Democrats to publicly support Council Member Shama Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion-rights sanctuary city.

Our next speaker is Sarah Lloyd.

Sarah?

Hi, yes.

Go ahead.

Thanks.

My name is Sarah Lloyd.

I'm here to provide public support for council members to launch the initiative to make Seattle an abortion haven and to provide free abortion care.

We know that abortion is health care, but it's also social, economic, gender and racial justice.

It's important.

We need it.

We need to help to pay the cost for working people everywhere and provide a safe place for people to get the care they need.

It's also a tangible way for the council members to show that women and birthing people who live and work in Seattle are supported by their city and that bodily autonomy is something that they respect.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Ellen Anderson.

Can you say the name again, Madam Clerk?

Ellen Anderson.

Ellen?

She is unmuted, but may be muted on her phone.

Ellen, you need to push star six.

Can folks hear me?

Yep, we can hear you now.

Cool.

Hi, I'm Ellen.

I live in Beacon Hill, and I'm a student at Seattle Central.

And I urge all the Democrats on the City Council to loudly and proudly publicly support Council Member Swantz's upcoming legislation to make Seattle an abortion-free sanctuary city.

Thousands of people have protested against this attack.

It's clear that the public interest massively supports defending reproductive rights.

It's under the pressure of these mass protests from Council Member Swantz's bill that Governor Inslee and Mayor Harrell have announced executive actions along the lines of the bill from Council Member Swantz, Progressive Labor Unions and Socialist Alternatives.

But the executive orders don't carry the weight of the law, and it can be undone on a whim, just like Roe was struck down due to the failures of the Democrats who had 50 years to codify legal abortion and failed to do so.

So I want to be fully clear that these executive orders do not give an excuse to the City Council Democrats to not support Swantz's bill.

Next speaker is Nyree Kerkorian.

My name is Nyree, and I'm a member.

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can hear you.

I see her.

Nyree, go ahead.

She might have muted herself by pressing star six.

Nyree, you want to press star six and start over?

Can you hear me now?

Yes.

I hope you start my clock over.

My name is Nayiri.

I'm a member.

Thank you.

I'm a member of SEIU 775. I support Council Member Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary.

We've had 50 years as a nation to codify Roe.

We've had three Democratic presidents with veto-proof majorities.

Inaction by the Democrats brought us to where we are today.

Our mostly democratic city council should not follow that tradition.

In October of 1999, I made a heartbreaking choice to terminate a very much wanted pregnancy due to fetal defect.

The only doctor at my local clinic who could provide the service refused to do so because of his religious beliefs.

I had to travel 90 minutes each way to Seattle for three days.

Luckily, I could go home each day.

It wasn't convenient, but it was doable.

I can imagine what women coming from out of state will have to go through as they have an added burden of finding and paying for a place to stay.

I hope that we can be a place where people can find safe legal abortions, whether it's for unwanted or wanted pregnancies without having to- Our next speaker is Sonja Panak.

Sonja?

Sonja?

Hi, it's me.

Hi, actually, it's Sonia Pona.

Yes, I'm a working mom, and I urge all the Democrats on the city council to publicly support this upcoming legislation put forward by Council Member Sawant.

We've seen thousands protest against this attack, and it's because of the pressure of this kind of movement that makes Governor Inslee and Harrell put forward those executive actions and the pressure of this bill.

We've seen the Dems and NGOs do basically nothing to build a fight back.

And I'm seeing a lot of complacent thinking that executive orders will just solve this.

They won't, as people have said, they don't carry the weight of law.

You know, we could get more Republicans in state legislature who they will overturn it as soon as they can, absolutely.

And it's really important to note that thousands of people already have signed the petition in support of this legislation.

Okay, that's my time.

And I'm supporting it, asking you to publicly support it and also vote yes to make landlords disclose the rent they charge if they are not gouging.

Our next speaker is Eve Metz.

Hi, my name is Eva Metz.

I'm a caregiver and member of SEIU 775. And I'm also calling to urge city council members to publicly support council members who want upcoming legislation to make Seattle an abortion right sanctuary city.

out at protests following the Roe v. Wade repeal here in Seattle and at Pride.

And there was just so much overwhelming support for Councilmember Swann's legislation.

It was so easy to collect petition signatures.

And I think the 4,600 signatures in just over a week really speaks to this support.

Even if the lion's share of the blame for overturning Roe lies with the far right and the Republican Party, the Democratic Party has been complicit and has really failed to fight over decades.

They haven't even rallied women.

LGBTQ people, union members, workers, and for it was overturned and really much less prepared them for an actual fight to regain the lost ground and defend against more far-reaching losses in the future.

There's clearly a hunger amongst tens of thousands of people for a concrete response to the Supreme Court's decision.

And all council members who've spoken in support of abortion and healthcare have an obligation.

Our next speaker is Matthew Gliboff.

Hey, I'm Matthew Gliboff, a professor at University of Washington, and I want to urge city council to publicly support council members who want upcoming legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

People have noted like thousands in our area have protested the Supreme Court's attack, an attack that's completely in contradiction to the 70% of Americans who support legal abortion.

This legislation will use the same approach used by Seattle voters in a 2003 initiative to reduce the number of marijuana-related prosecutions and will prevent Seattle police from processing arrest warrants related to anti-abortion laws.

We're on the country for both patients and providers.

Furthermore, we need to support and rally LGBTQ people in this fight as well, pushing back against the growing criminalization of trans people and remove obstacles to gender affirming care.

Thanks.

Our next speaker is Anita Shoemaker.

Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

My name is Anita.

Yes.

Hello.

My name is Anita Schumacher and I'm a concerned citizen and mom of West Seattle.

I'm here today to urge support of council members to launch abortion sanctuary city legislation.

I'm concerned that since Roe has been overturned, oppressive legislations have surfaced far and wide.

Some go so far as to threaten persecution for events outside of their jurisdiction.

We, as a community, can stand against the oppression and overarching reach by protecting those that seek abortion care in our city, whether they live here or not.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sally Soriano.

Hi, I'm Sally Soriano, an educator and PCO in the 32nd Legislative District.

I stand in solidarity with Council Member Sawant who is proposing legislation to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion care and for those victimized and intimidated by outstanding warrants for abortion-related offenses.

Sawant's legislation would mean that Seattle police would refuse to assist out-of-state police searching for women who traveled here seeking abortion services or refuge.

This legislation is absolutely necessary.

and has the power to change the political landscape just as the fight for $15 an hour did.

I will advocate for other cities and states also to also pass similar legislation that would outlaw police cooperation and provide this legal refuge for women.

Please support this legislation.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Skip Knox.

He's not present.

I'm moving forward with Madeline, Madeline, excuse me, Madeline Olson.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Hi there.

My name is Madeline.

I'm a renter in Green Lake and a member of UFCW 3000. Today I'm calling on the Democrats on the council to sign council members who wants legislation to make Seattle an abortion sanctuary city.

It's not enough to wait for a direct attack on reproductive rights here.

We need these protections now to be in place.

I've heard folks talking about this executive order from the governor.

You know, we have to be strategic about this.

This is preventing the state patrol from enforcing and prosecuting abortion seekers and providers that are fleeing from other states.

It's not applying to the Seattle police, right?

This is why we need the bill here in Seattle as well.

And as others have said, with Harold's executive order, there's also no guarantee of the protections that we actually need.

On top of passing this legislation to provide the protections, we need to pass the funding to have these abortions in the budget so those fleeing in need of the abortions, they can get them, right?

This is what standing up for reproductive rights looks like, not just saying you're devastated and not supporting us materially.

You need to have the material support for your words.

Our next speaker is Shirley Henderson.

Hi, I'm Shirley Henderson.

Yeah, I'm here and I'm a queer small business owner in the Central District and I urge all Democrats on the City Council to publicly support Councilmember Sawant's upcoming legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city without delays and without watering down and also to expand the Amazon tax to fund abortions on demand.

This historic loss of Roe has exposed, once again, the complete and utter failure of the Democratic Party to show any political will when it comes to defending rights on working people, attacks on working people.

The far-right minority that exploited the Democrats and NGOs' failed strategy and their lack of a movement-building approach to defend Roe is determined to pass national abortion bans and erode hard-won LGBTQ rights as well.

Given the Democrats' track record, working people can have no faith at all that the Democrats will fight effectively.

If this body fails to support Council Member Sawant's legislation and points to the weak executive orders of Harold and Inslee, which can easily be overturned.

Our next speaker is Kathleen Lang.

This is Kathleen.

I live work in the 5th District.

I have no fears and hardships women face as they contemplate ending the life of their child and so I call on the Seattle City Council to expand social supports to cover prenatal care maternity leave and daycare so that people may be given the real choice that has been denied which is to grow a family.

I am disappointed to see Council Member Sawant align herself with corporate interest.

that women are fearful of losing jobs due to pregnancy as a symptom of corporate culture that depends on cheap labor, not on workers earning enough to support a family.

Instead of taxing Amazon to pay for abortions, council members want to be calling on tax collections to provide free, safe, effective and reversible contraception.

And for those employees wanting a family, prenatal care and maternity leave and living wages.

If we want to maintain an expanded labor force, employers should offer subsidies to pay for daycare.

I ask the council do not make Seattle a sanctuary city where our citizens pay for the decisions of other states.

Discuss and put.

My next speaker is Kristen Monahan.

Hello, I'm Kristen Monahan speaking against the abortion legislation.

I'm a leftist feminist and atheist.

I'm the executive coordinator of progressive anti-abortion uprising.

Since we know from science that embryos and fetuses are indeed distinct living human beings and no amount of denial will ever take away this basic scientific fact.

Abortion is by far the biggest human genocide that has ever existed before bigger than all other wars and genocides combined because 42 million preborn humans are killed through abortion each year worldwide.

Even if all humans on the face of the earth denied this basic scientific fact that they are distinctly human beings, just like us, it would not change this fact.

Abortion destroys and kills the bodies and lives of preborn humans on mass.

Their bodies often get torn apart in the process.

And it's on the most innocent and vulnerable and defenseless humans at that.

It also deals with the systemic exploitation of their mothers.

Pregnant people get told on a constant basis that their children are not children.

Abortion doesn't kill anyone.

And they can't be parents in whatever situations they're in because the abortion industry wants to use them to make money by killing their children for a profit.

It's inherently capitalist in nature.

My next speaker is Olivia Browdy.

Hello, my name is Olivia and I live and work in Lake City.

And I'm calling to plead and urge the Democrats and the City Council to publicly and proudly support Kshama Sawant's legislation to make Seattle an abortion rights sanctuary city.

This vital enactment will protect people and their reproductive rights who are in and out of state residence and prevent Seattle police from processing anti-abortion law arrest warrants.

Protecting patients doctors and other care providers.

Millions of Americans are furious and stunned at the dismantling of Roe v. Wade by the right wing.

We know the Supreme Court's decision is in complete contradiction to the majority of working American people who support legal abortion.

Thousands of us have protested against this attack.

Although the governor and the mayor have announced executive action along the lines of the bill, executive orders are not lost and can be undone.

It's very clear that there is no excuse to the city council Democrats to not support Solange's bill.

The public petition in support of legislation has obtained 4,600 signatures from Seattle's working people and I expect that the Democratic Party council members understand how much support there is for someone's legislation.

Next speaker is Madeline Dinks.

Madeline Dinks.

I don't see her tile up here.

Okay.

she's present.

There we go.

It's getting that.

Thank you, Madeline.

Thanks.

Hi.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

Hi, I'm Maddie.

I'm a renter in District three.

I'm calling to urge the Democrats of the council to support council members to want legislation to make Seattle an abortion sanctuary city and to urge members of the City Council to support the proposal as it stands when it comes to the vote.

The public petition has garnered overwhelming public support with the information that includes the Amazon tax to fund abortion in Seattle.

The people of Seattle, our friends, families, and peers in other states need to know concretely that our rights are protected here and that there's a law in place that provides health care we rely on, especially when an influx of patients will put a strain on an already under-resourced service.

I also urge the council members to vote yes to make landlords disclose the rent they charge.

If they aren't gouging renters, then what do they have to hide?

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Hannah Lindell-Smith.

Hello council members.

My name is Hannah Lindell-Smith.

I'm a constituent of District 1 a community organizer and a rising junior at Summit Atlas High School here commenting on council member Sawant's legislation.

A few days after the Supreme Court's draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked students at my school walked out.

We left class and went down the street chanting and holding our signs green bandanas tied around our wrists.

Later that day I took the bus downtown to another march and rally organized by friends from other high schools mostly queer BIPOC youth.

I left energized a nice break from the fear and fury I'd been feeling for the last few days.

I didn't think I'd ever have to stand at a city council hearing asking leaders to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion rights because many cities won't and our national leaders will not protect us.

We need to do more.

fund abortion care for all Seattle residents and anyone fleeing abortion related charges by increasing the Amazon tax.

This is an individual choice to make and needs to be protected to do whatever we can.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Karen Taylor.

Hi there.

Can you hear me?

I'm just calling to support Shama's legislation to make this a sanctuary city so folks can get abortions here.

People have made good points before me.

The main thing I just wanted to emphasize is, yeah, we can't lean into stuff like executive orders.

We all know they're sort of this flippant tool.

And so I think we need a law to make sure that this stays a sanctuary city.

Things shift so quickly.

It's super important.

We just have to be careful when codifying things.

Thank you.

My last present remote speaker is John Montgomery.

Hello.

Hi there.

My name is John Montgomery.

I work in the service sector.

And I'm calling to object to Council Member Siwan.

resolution, her legislation, I'm asking the council to reject it.

I especially object to, council members still want to appeal to the impact on minority populations.

Abortion has historically been used as a tool of eugenics to decrease the minority population, of which I am one.

Margaret Sanger was explicit in this idea.

On December 10th, 1939, a letter to Dr. CJ Gamble.

She said that we don't, we do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.

So if someone is truly interested in minority voices, she ought to advocate for the lives of the millions of unborn who will never be given a chance to be heard.

We call on the city council to avoid dehumanizing language that would imply that the lives of minority or poor children are not worth living.

Rather, we call on the council to foster an environment in which such lives may flourish.

That concluded a remote public comment.

We now have in-person public commenters.

Once I call your name, please step up.

Council President, did you have a comment?

When you're done, I want to say something when you're done, Madam Clerk.

Once your name is called, please step to one of the other microphones before you.

If you have not signed up, you can still sign up by sending in a public comment sign-up sheet.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Please be reminded, everybody, that it is exactly one minute for public comment.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Our first sign-up speaker is Nancy Steele-Klein.

Yes, it's Nancy.

My apologies if I'm not reading your handwriting correctly.

Okay, there we go.

Last name's Klein.

I consider Seattle now proposing a baby book involved.

This is a termination city.

It is not a sanctuary.

The only sanctuary is, in this case, a sacrificial stone, which is Seattle, to sacrifice babies.

Now, Inslee and company, all the others, all the way down to so on, should be recalled.

They should be aware that they're going to have to pay, in this case, personal liability costs, and in this case, criminal costs, for bringing, encouraging, and abetting funding, transport of minors and other...

to this state, it's a violation of the Ban Act, as clear as can be, and they should be recalled immediately.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Allison Veronica Taterson.

Hi, I'm here to support the creating, making Seattle an abortion safe haven.

I'm from district three.

My name is Veronica Tatterson.

I've been a part of activist causes since I was about 16 years old.

It's one of the first times I've really come up and spoken.

So being in the background.

here today because I feel like I have to be, because Will B. Wade was not the first attack on our civil liberties and sitting judges have made it clear that it will not be the last.

I'm here to encourage the city council to earn their title as representative.

Hear the voices of everyone here today, hear the voices of the ones who could not be here and have signed the position and keep us safe, keep your constituents safe from a gross overstepping of an unelected body or someone else will.

Thank you.

My next speaker is Linnea Laparte.

Hi, I'm Linnea, I'm a resident living in Balltown.

When I got an abortion in Texas in 2016, I was married.

We were both working full time and we could still barely afford the $500 for the procedure, much less the thousands of dollars we would have needed to travel had abortion been banned back then.

I'm proud that I made the right decision for my life and that I'm now where I am today because I was able to pay that $500 and get an abortion.

And that's why I believe that it's imperative to not only make Seattle a sanctuary city, but to also provide public funding for patients who will not be able to avoid their own abortion healthcare in the states that they're currently living.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sarah Scott.

Hi, my name is Sarah Scott, and I'm a member of Radical Women to testify in support of Council Member Suant's resolution to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion rights.

Furthermore, I call for all abortion services in Seattle and Washington to be provided for free as a state service, because many of those at risk are poor, women of color, and LGBTQ people.

And as a lesbian, I know that queer people have suffered discrimination at the same hands of the people who are passing these deconian laws against abortion.

And abortion is only real if it's accessible to all.

So let's send a message to the Supreme Court that their decision has only emboldened us to fight back.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Gina Petri.

Thank you.

My name is Gina Petrie.

I'm with the Puget Sound Mobilization for Reproductive Justice and organizer for Seattle Chapter of Radical Women.

And I am also here in support of Council Member Sawant's resolution to make Seattle a sanctuary city for abortion.

This is an important first step.

in taking immediate action to secure abortion rights for women and all pregnant people.

I also support the call for funding as it is critical to expand abortion access in Seattle.

We only have 19 clinics statewide and that's down from 33 in 2014. So this is especially critical for Central and Eastern Washington as well.

and will become even more strained with those seeking abortion coming in from other states.

So I also urge the council to use your power to call on Governor Inslee and the state legislature to provide more funding.

The Governor Inslee has pledged a million dollars, but much more is needed.

And so I urge you to look to help also statewide and also to help those who are trying

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Megan Murphy.

Hi, my name is Megan Murphy.

I'm a member of Radical Women, and I am in support of making Seattle a sanctuary city.

I literally fled Sioux City, Iowa, where abortion rights are greatly restricted and it has a very far-right climate.

I went to the police thinking I was being stalked, and I was labeled as a schizophrenic.

And 90 days later, my parental rights were terminated completely.

So women need to be in places where their health care and their concerns are taken seriously.

If they complain of any kind of assault or of wanting to be rid of a pregnancy that they don't want, it needs to be taken seriously, that are no means no.

And I miss my son horribly.

I haven't seen him for 11 years.

And it's because the state interfered in a way that was so punitive and the state needs to be supportive of women's feelings and women's rights and all rights for people that are LGBTQ, all of them.

So that's why we also need 24 seven childcare.

And in addition, we need to end kids in cages.

Thanks.

Our next speaker is Marguerite Richard.

Yes, my name is Marjorie Rashard.

Oh, I remembered.

But my concern is that I still have issues that just go beyond the scope of whatever's being set up in here, okay?

And I don't get it.

How are you gonna say?

Oh, a sanctuary city, and I think of a sanctuary as a church sanctuary and thank God we can go up in there and pray at any time, because I'm really concerned about that.

Okay, you want to make provisions for everything I think you made it a sanctuary city for immigrants.

but you ain't dealing with that Jim Crow sign down there that says Black Lives Matter, let there be no questions.

How is it so simplified to sit up there and put something on the agenda for other people, but our lives are not sacred?

Hey, you know, yeah, like that song said, back that up, back that thing up.

You better back it up.

Our next speaker is Alec Zimmerman.

My name is Alec Zimmerman.

Abortion is not on the agenda today, but police is on the agenda today.

It's exactly what everyone speaks.

Police commissioner, what I know for many years, is never working.

Zero reaction.

We cannot speak of this.

This is pure fascism with Nazi-Gestapo principle.

But you are psychopath, no question.

But we need to establish a public volunteer committee who will cover branch number three.

Nobody touches branch number three.

You know what this mean?

Prosecutor, judges, public defender, policemen, sheriff in jail.

We cannot spoke about this.

I can tell you you are psychopath, you are a psychopath, but I cannot tell you this is branch number three, so they are psychopath.

Why we have exception?

Is this America?

The people supposed to be control every asshole.

Our next speaker is Logan Bowers.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Logan Bowers.

I'm a resident of D3.

I'll try to keep this short for y'all.

I'm here as a volunteer co-chair of Seattle approves the volunteer group behind initiative 134, a nonpartisan ideologically neutral voting reform that will make Seattle's elections the most representative in the nation.

This is a voting reform that is on your calendar again this week and is a reform supported by seven out of 10 Seattle, fellow Seattleites.

And I'm honored to be a stewarding through this initiative.

We believe that voters should be the ones to determine how our elections are conducted and that the high turnout election in November is the most appropriate venue for this initiative.

So please go ahead and place that on the ballot.

Thank you all so much.

Our next speaker is David Haynes.

Thank you, David Ains.

Never trust foreign born scorn telling you you got to kill off your unborn child's futures.

And, uh, maybe we need a class action lawsuit against city council and the city Seattle channel conflict of interest of hiding the fact council might not be paying attention because they do most of the business offline while denying free speech, protest signs to be seen during public comment, censoring and taking our democracy backwards.

Do you want that anyway?

It's not right.

The parks department wants double when parks department wants to turn over a monopolization of all beverage and food sales to a conglomerate from the United Kingdom.

billion dollar subsidiary back east.

All because they had a contract at the US Open to sell cheap quality beer for 25 bucks and $10 for unhealthy diabetes causing soda water.

While park rangers are purposely not dealing with the criminal crack meth and heroin.

You guys, it's $20,000 to put a criminal in jail.

You put criminals in a motel for $120,000 and refuse to help all these innocent homeless people that are still.

Our next speaker is Mary Fox.

This is geared primarily towards Council Member Herbold since I'm in constituency.

This is my second meeting that I've attended.

My house has been burglarized repeatedly for a year.

Now they've accessed my safety deposit box, my finances to the tune of over $200,000.

I have contacted the police multiple times, 30 times probably.

They have done nothing.

They've come into my home for like one time for five minutes.

There's a direct correlation to the continuing draining of my accounts and the lack of response from the police department.

I am still having entries into my home.

My home has been vandalized, badly vandalized, and I'm afraid for my life.

I'd really need some support from the council.

I need some support to put pressure on the police and I need legal help, which I've tried every avenue to find but have been

Our last speaker is Michael Fuller.

It's Honorable Michael Fuller with Sioux Eye Jews.

Yes, I'm Honorable Michael Fuller with Sioux Eye Jews.

Deborah Juarez, you and breach of contract.

You don't have the right to Say one minute to we the people, and we paying you.

And Bruce Hurrell, he's a sellout.

He's an increase to homelessness and crime.

I'm devastated.

Bruce Hurrell, now he's the merit, because he said at the time of September 11, 2001, Asians need a chance.

Asians are smart.

They can learn.

That's when Padme Maria can't do so well.

Jim McDermott, Noam Day, Thelma Smith-Jay, Ingrid Day, Rykel Rigg, Lord Dwight F. Had a duty to move, but cease and desist.

I'm looking at organized crime with all nine of y'all.

I hope y'all read what I wrote today.

Cause I'm trying to put you in prison, cause you're putting people in our community we don't even know.

My Bible stated it was a heavy,

Madam Clerk, is that the last of our in chambers?

Correct, Council President.

Thank you.

So we have reached the end of our public comment for both the remote and those individuals that showed up in chambers.

Thank you very much to those of you who called in and those of you who came to chambers to provide public comment.

Moving on our agenda to the adoption of the introduction referral calendar.

If there is no objection, the calendar is adopted.

not hearing or seeing an objection, the calendar is adopted.

We'll move on to the consent calendar, adoption of the consent calendar.

So the consent calendar this week includes, and it's on the official agenda and the one online and the one obviously that my colleagues have received, the minutes, the payroll bill, two city council bills regarding plat approvals and two clerk files, which are related subdivisions, LISH Wisden, I'm sorry, on central staff has advised that these have been reviewed by SDOT and SDCI, which have both approved them as being consistent with the preliminary plans approved by the hearing examiner.

Therefore, they comply with state legal requirements.

Under state law, council's authority is limited to ensuring this compliance.

You all should have received a memo from LISH last week.

In addition, the consent calendar includes nine appointments, including one sent directly to full council one recommended by the Public Safety Committee, that would be Council Member Herbold, and seven recommended by the Sustainability and Renters' Right Committee, which would be Council Member Sawant.

Are there any items that any Council Member would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Okay, not seeing any.

I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, nine opposed.

Final clerk, are you pleased to fix my signature to the minutes and legislation from the consent calendar on my behalf?

Moving on on our agenda to the adoption of the agenda.

There's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection or seeing no objection, the agenda is indeed adopted.

Moving on in our agenda to reconsideration of council bill vetoed by Mayor Harrell.

This is reconsideration of Council Bill 120325. Will the clerk please read item one into the record.

Agenda item one, Council Bill 120325 relating to housing and displacement mitigation, expanding the information required for submission under the rental registration inspection ordinance for rental housing units requiring submission of rental housing related information and amending chapter 22.2.14 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Thank you.

I am calling up the reconsideration of Council Bill 120325 to consider passage of the bill and the mayor's veto.

On May 31st, 2022, the Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 120325. Mayor Harrell subsequently vetoed it on June 10th, 2022. Today, we'll be voting on whether to pass the bill again to override the veto.

It takes six votes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto.

Council members received a memo from central staff, I think you received a couple of them, last Wednesday, outlining the procedure for this vote.

Following the comments, our revision of Council Bill 120325 is now pending before the council.

Are there any comments on the bill?

Council Member Peterson.

Thank you, Council President.

I appreciate the co-sponsorship of this bill with Council Member Morales.

And as you mentioned, a majority of the city council approved Council Bill 120325 to collect basic rental data.

City Hall has been lacking for years.

Data we need urgently now on the eve of considering massive land use and zoning changes through a required comprehensive plan.

As one of the sponsors of the bill, I outlined several reasons to support the bill.

Originally, we need the data to prevent displacement of vulnerable residents.

The data is vital before we make these changes to the comprehensive plan that impacts zoning and housing policies.

The current census track data and rental surveys on vacant units lack the vital details on existing rents at specific locations.

And we already considered alternatives to this bill, but those alternatives are inadequate.

The data can validate affordable benefits of smaller mom and pop landlords.

Also, in deference to active landlords who express concerns about the concept.

The bill already included important accommodations, a research university would receive the raw rental data instead of the city government directly.

The requirement would sunset in three years so it's just a temporary bill needed at a crucial time in our decision making.

Opponents of the bill then raised concerns about timing and cost.

The bill was amended further, which ended up addressing those concerns.

The city's executive departments would be in the driver's seat.

Nothing would happen until the executive executes a contract with the research university after a competitive request for proposals, and the RFP could help manage the costs.

Specifically, the council adopted was amended to state that effective three months from the date excuse me, effective three months from the date the contract described in the subsection is executed, the information that was requested will be submitted later, twice annually.

So the timing issue was solved with that.

I also want to point out that when the bill is vetoed, I offered additional supports for the bill.

And the bottom line is I urged At least one of the four council members have voted against it to join the majority so this bill becomes law.

The additional supports are that rental registries like this are increasingly common in the United States.

Seattle is behind.

We are not progressive on this issue.

Longstanding laws requiring rent rolls with rental data information already exist in other cities such as New York City.

Moreover, many California cities have implemented these programs over the past few years.

A 2019 report examined eight rental housing registry programs, including three that already require the rent amount to be provided.

A more recent February 2022 news article highlighted that 16 different cities in California are moving ahead with this, not waiting for the state legislature to act.

Costs are dramatically lower than what opponents claimed.

Based on the actual experiences of these other cities, the fact that we're simply adding on to an existing housing registry, Seattle's Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance, that already enforces the collection of data, and we would be using a competitive request for proposals, the cost to add the collection of research components of CB120325 could be as low as $125,000 a year.

The two departments that should want this data and want us to have this data, they received budget increases last year.

And the executives required to have this information in doing the comprehensive plan proposals.

So this bill would have enabled them to get the data they need and the university that would be chosen via a competitive RFP.

would be doing the bulk of the work, the data entry, the sorting, and the mapping the existing affordable housing projects so that we make well-informed decisions.

There was a $2 million estimate, but that was over the three-year period, and that was based on asking one real estate center how much money would they want to do this.

And that is not necessarily the best way to get an affordable result.

The competitive RP process would get that result.

There was also a $5 million estimate that was mentioned, but that was if we were to set up the RRIO program from scratch.

So that was not a reliable estimate.

Also, this bill did not charge landlords the cost to run this system.

Landlords do pay for the RRIO already.

There could have been an option to increase that by $4 a unit.

That would have yielded plenty of funds to run this program, but we didn't choose to do it that way, but we could have.

In other words, cost was really not an appropriate rationale to vote against the bill, in my opinion.

So bottom line is there are plenty of reasons to support Council Bill 120325, as the majority of our legislative branch already did.

So I urge a yes vote again today.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Peterson.

Before I go to Council Member Morales, who's a co-sponsor, then it'll be Council Member Sawant.

I want to remind the public when we voted on this on May 31st, the vote was five to four.

All right, Council Member Morales.

Can't hear you.

Yeah, we go.

Sorry about that.

Thank you, colleagues, and thank you, Councilmember Peterson I'm proud to have co sponsored this legislation, and I'm disappointed that the mayor decided to veto a bill that would actually allow us to collect real information on rent trends for the first time ever.

As the city continues to become more affordable, we as policymakers need data about our rental market that tell us the rate at which rent is increasing in our city, and we shouldn't be reliant on private for-profit corporations to do that work for us.

We know that Seattle isn't affordable, but we don't really know the rate at which rents are skyrocketing right now.

We don't know which units are seeing the biggest increases.

We don't know if there is a ceiling to the kind of rent increases that we're seeing right now.

My office worked with Council Member Peterson on this legislation because we believe that it has the potential to provide us at the city with data that we're currently lacking.

And it has the potential, excuse me, pardon me, It has the potential to put a tremendous amount of power into the hands of tenants, shifting the scale towards something more balanced between landlords and tenants.

This is an opportunity that tenants in cities with rent rolls like Chicago and New York already have.

This could mean for tenants that they finally have the ability to make an informed decision and to make a choice between units when they're searching for a new home, something that landlords have been able to do with background checks on tenants for decades.

What this means for tenants is that they'll actually know who's hiding behind LLCs that own the LLC, that own their building.

And that means that they can go directly to the person or persons who are responsible for keeping their unit habitable if repair requests are not being fulfilled.

This also means for tenants that they can have data that once and for all definitively shows the need for us to join the rest of the West Coast and pass rent control at the state and the city level.

And finally, this means for tenants that we would finally have concrete data that dispels the illusion that private market trickle down economics is the solution to our affordability crisis data that could give us the extra push to invest in high quality abundant publicly owned social housing.

So for me, this legislation isn't necessarily about land use decisions that may or may not happen in the next two years.

It's about nothing short of giving tenants the opportunity to stay in Seattle, something that we know many of them are losing quickly.

I urge my colleagues to vote yes to override this short-sighted veto and to give tenants the opportunities that they deserve.

Thank you, Council Member Morales.

Council Member Sawant.

Thank you, Council President Borges.

As I said, when this bill first came for a vote to the City Council, this bill simply requires landlords disclose the rent they charge so that policymakers can have accurate, objective data.

To be clear, this bill going into effect will not make rental homes more affordable.

It will simply collect data.

But it is outrageous that the landlord lobby who claim to charge affordable rents have called repeatedly into public comment in the past in opposition the city having objective data.

It would be good to have more data about the rent landlords charge.

And it is ironic that landlords have simultaneously claimed that they charge low rent and objected to actually disclosing the rent they charge.

It is extremely telling that the landlord lobby has turned out in opposition to this bill.

As several speakers before and during public comment today said, If landlords are not gouging their tenants, why are they so afraid to tell the truth about their rents?

And it's frankly scandalous that Mayor Harrell chose to use a rare veto to so brazenly do the bidding of the landlord lobby.

More accurate and more complete data will help further confirm what every renter in Seattle already knows.

Big landlords and the predatory real estate markets are gouging renters with totally unconscionable rent hikes.

The cost of housing is being set by the greed of speculative banks, private equity funds, and rapacious property management corporations, rather than what it actually costs to house people.

While the real estate balance make billions, working people and the poor are increasingly priced out just to have a roof over their heads, or they're being pushed into homelessness.

We need to strengthen all aspects of renters' rights, including strong citywide rent control and a big increase in the Amazon tax to fund an increased expansion of publicly owned social housing.

This bill will only provide more accurate and objective data.

So if council members do not support it, it would not stop renters from fighting for rent control.

However, any council member who claims to be data driven has no excuse to oppose this bill.

I vote yes to make landlords disclose the rent they charge.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

And finally, we have Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

I'm just my.

There we go.

I'm taking the opportunity to address need for this sensible data collection legislation I too am scratching my head over why the powerful tool of a mayoral veto would be for a bill that is really, again, it's merely a data collection tool that is really helpful to us as policy makers, whether or not it's on the council side of the aisle or on the executive side.

I want to just uplift how we've used data in the past, data specifically about displacement to guide our decisions.

Back in 2015, that was the first major comprehensive plan update that actually included, for the first time ever, a displacement risk analysis.

This displacement risk analysis was instrumental to Council's deliberations on the mandatory housing affordability rezones.

And it helped guide us on how to use the upzoning tool to add more housing and collect funds to build affordable housing.

And it was really, again, a tool that used data to help drive our decisions.

You may recall that on April 5th, the City Council received, I think, a really important bit of guidance from the Seattle Planning Commission related specifically to our next major comp plan update.

And in that memo, they wrote that they believe, the Seattle Planning Commission believes, we should make anti-displacement policies focus of the next comprehensive plan to disrupt decades of equitable growth patterns that led to disproportionate displacement of BIPOC and low-income communities.

The comprehensive plan expected in 2024 needs to include anti-displacement policies as a central focus of the plan.

The city should supplement knowledge shared by communities affected by displacement with improved data tracking of high-displacement risk areas and the outcomes of policy actions.

I really hope that we can override the mayor's veto with a majority plus one, six council members voting in favor today.

And I just want to close out my remarks with saying just a little bit of the call to action from Share the Cities this weekend.

They encouraged us by saying, let's catch up.

with other progressive cities and better understand where all affordable housing is located in Seattle so we can finally have the detailed data we need to prevent economic displacement as we update our city's policies for a better future.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Councilmember Herbold.

Before we go to a vote, Councilmember Peters, is there anything you want to say before I make a few comments?

You good?

Yeah?

Okay.

So let me read again the instructions and then we'll go to a vote.

The City Council will now vote to reconsider passage of Council Bill 120325 and to either override or sustain the mayoral veto.

During roll call, Council members will vote aye or yes to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto or vote no not to pass the bill and sustain the veto.

If the vote on the motion does not receive six votes, the bill fails and the veto is sustained.

If the vote on the motion is six or more favors in favor, the bill passes, the veto is overridden, and all provisions within the bill go into effect.

Are there any other questions, any other procedural questions on the vote before we go?

So as a reminder council members will either vote aye to pass the bill and override the mayor's veto or no to not pass the bill and sustain the veto.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of council bill 120325 and consideration of the mayoral veto.

Madam clerk.

Council member Sawant.

Yes.

Council member Strauss.

No.

Council member Hubboldt.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Nelson.

No.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

No.

Five in favor, three opposed.

So the motion fails.

Correct.

Okay, so I'm sorry I was waiting for this.

Okay, so the motion fails.

The bill does not pass, and the veto is sustained.

All right, I got that correct.

Let's go to committee reports, item number two.

This matter is mine, will the clerk please read item two into the record.

Agenda item two, clerk file 314495, report of the city clerk on the certificate of sufficiency for initiative number 134 concerning approval voting for mayor, city attorney, and city council member primary elections.

Thank you.

Um, clerk file 314495 is notice that initiative 134 has sufficient signatures to go to the ballot.

According to the city charter, the city clerk has 20 days from receipt of notice from King County elections to file the notice with the city council.

The city clerk filed her report and the certificate of sufficiency with the council via this clerk file on June 28th.

This action started the 45 day clock for council action on the initiative.

In order to provide my colleagues with additional time to consider this initiative, I'm recommending holding this clerk file for another week.

This clerk file will appear on every agenda until the city council determines what action will be taken in response to initiative number 134. As a reminder, the city's election code, Seattle Municipal Code 2.04300, prohibits elected officials and city employees from using their office for the promotion or opposition of any ballot measure.

According to the code, we should refrain from discussing the merits of the initiative until we are actually voting on legislation to support or oppose the ballot proposition.

That will occur at a future meeting and within 45 days of the clerk file of this clerk file being filed with the council.

I recommend that Council Members refrain from discussing this initiative today and until the Council considers legislation supporting or opposing this ballot proposition.

I move to postpone Clerk File 314495 to July 12. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to postpone the clerk file.

Will the clerk please call the roll on postponing of clerk file 314495 until July 12th.

Council member Sawant.

Yes.

Council member Strauss.

Yes.

Council member Herbold.

Yes.

Council member Lewis.

Yes.

Council member Morales.

Yes.

Council member Nelson.

Yes.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries.

The clerk file is postponed until July 12th.

This item will appear on every agenda until the City Council determines what action will be taken in response to initiative 134th.

Madam Clerk, we go on to item number three.

Agenda item three, Council Bill 120357 relating to city employment, authorizing the execution of a memorandum of understanding between the City of Seattle and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union Number 77, to be effective January 1st, 2021 to December 31st, 2022, and ratifying confirming search and prior acts.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 120357. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

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

As sponsor of this bill, I will address it.

As sponsor of Council Bill 120357, I would like to provide some comments.

We have before us a memorandum of understanding, an MOU, between the city and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 77 for the Power Marketers Unit at Seattle City Light.

The MOU would extend an expired collective bargaining agreement through December 31st, 2022. The MOU makes wage adjustments, changes, and changes regarding bereavement leave, and the establishment, it establishes a joint labor management committee to discuss pay equity, job progression, and other personnel issues.

The executive estimates that cost to implement this MOU would be about $127,000 above the baseline contract.

The executive states that there are sufficient funds held in reserve to cover these costs.

Karina Bull on our central staff provided analysis on this contract in a memo which was sent to council members on Wednesday, June 29th.

Are there any comments?

Okay, not seeing any.

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

Council member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council President Ruiz.

Aye.

Eight in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it.

And Madam Clerk, can you please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Thank you.

Moving on to item number four.

This is Council Member Peterson's legislation.

Will the clerk please read item number four to the record?

Agenda item four, Council Bill 120354, relating to Seattle Public Utilities, authorizing General Manager slash CEO of Seattle Public Utilities to enter into an amended water quality combined financial assistant agreement with the State of Washington Department of Ecology to partially finance costs related to the construction of the Ship Canal Water Quality Project and ratifying confirming searching power acts.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 120354. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Council Member Peterson, it's moved and seconded, and the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, as we know, the Ship Canal Water Quality Control Project is a very large capital project under construction.

It will reduce polluted stormwater impacting Lake Washington and Ship Canal.

The project was agreed to in compliance with a Clean Water Act consent decree involving the city, King County, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the U.S.

EPA.

And this results, this bill results in financing costs being reduced so we welcome this bill, it will enable us to take advantage of 59 million, and very low interest funds through a federal program.

The loan will save SPU rate payers approximately 15 million.

Because the legislation will save money and there is time sensitivity to take advantage of it, we sent this straight to the city council.

Our city council central staff has no concerns with it.

And I, along with the executive urge its passage today.

Thank you.

Oh, thank you, Councilor Peterson.

Sorry about that.

Are there any other comments?

And per my script, Councilor Peterson, is there any closing comments you'd like to make?

No.

Thank you.

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

Council Member Salant?

Yes.

Council Member Staus?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council President Ores.

Aye.

Eight in favor, nine opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

Well, that concludes our committee reports.

Moving on to our agenda.

There were no items removed from the consent calendar, so we'll move on from that.

There are no resolutions for introduction and adoption today, so we'll move on from that.

Other business?

Is there any other business before council?

Council Member Strauss.

Council President, can you hear me now?

Yeah.

Thank you.

I move that my excused absence for today's meeting be rescinded.

I've gotten in the habit of trying to take vacation and it's not working.

Thank you.

Go ahead.

Oh, go for it.

Oh, if there's objection, Council Member Strauss' excused absence for today's city council meeting will be rescinded.

Hearing no objection, Council Member Strauss' excused absence for today's city council meeting is rescinded.

Go ahead, Council Member Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

I might take another try at this.

I'm gonna request to be excused from the August 8th meeting.

August 9th council meeting and August 8th council briefing.

All right.

If there's no objection, Council Member Strauss is excused from August 8th and August 9th.

So one is a city council briefing and one is a city council meeting.

Hearing and seeing no objection, Council Member Strauss is indeed excused.

Council Member Nelson.

Thank you very much.

So I'm confused because the majority of the public commenters talked about legislation.

Is there legislation about an abortion rights sanctuary city out there that the public has seen that we have not?

No.

No.

All right, well, Council Member Sawant, do you know when we will see it?

because I'm just going.

President Warris, can I respond?

Yes, you may.

Thank you.

My office will be informing you all, all council offices and the members of the public very soon.

We got a draft from City Council Central staff this afternoon and so expect to hear from us very soon.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Sawant.

All right.

With that, let's move on.

We will now move into executive session.

This requires using a separate Zoom meeting, which will begin after I complete the executive session announcement and the purpose for the session.

As presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle City Council will now convene into executive session.

The purpose of the executive session is to discuss pending potential or actual litigation.

The council's executive session is an opportunity for the council to discuss confidential legal matters with the city attorneys as authorized by law.

A legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to ensure the council reserves questions of policy for open session.

I expect the executive session to last 30 minutes.

If the executive session is to be extended beyond that time, I will announce the extension and the expected duration.

At the conclusion of the executive session, the Seattle City Council will be adjourned.

The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is scheduled for July 12th at two o'clock.

And with that, we will move into executive session.