missing title

Awesome.

The March 31st, 2026 meeting of Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 p.m.

I'm Joy Hollingsworth, your council president.

March comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb, as my mother always says.

And we see that with the weather.

So that is good.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Rink.

Present.

Council Member Rivera.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Here.

Council Member Foster?

Here.

Council Member Juarez?

Here.

Council Member Kettle?

Here.

Council Member Lin?

Here.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Here.

If there's no objection, Councilmember Rivera will be excused from today's meeting.

Hearing no objection, Councilmember Rivera is excused.

Councilmember Rink, you are recognized.

You're going to present the proclamation recognizing March 31st, 20, 20, excuse me, March 31st, 2026 as International Transgender Day of Visibility in Seattle.

Councilmember Rink, you are recognized.

Thank you, Council President, so colleagues.

Annually, March 31st marks International Transgender Day of Visibility, where we celebrate transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people by recognizing their societal accomplishments and contributions and to raise awareness of the discrimination faced by the transgender community worldwide.

This year, it feels especially important to recognize trans visibility as transgender people in the United States are facing increased attacks on their rights, dignity, and ability to live free of hate and discrimination.

In fact, just a few weeks ago, Some scholars from the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security released a third red flag alert for the United States, warning that the nation is in the early to middle stages of a genocidal process against transgender Americans.

This red flag alert is directly related to hostile federal and state legislation aimed at denying trans identity by restricting or eliminating gender-affirming healthcare, legal identification documents, public bathroom access, and participation in sports and athletics.

In 2026 this year, we have 747 bills that are under consideration across the country that would negatively impact trans and gender nonconforming people.

23 anti-trans bills have passed so far this year alone.

And just to color this a little bit, just last month, Kansas passed Senate Bill 244, which changes the rules regarding government IDs for transgender people.

It prohibits transgender people from updating their driver's license or state IDs to reflect their gender, and also invalidates transgender people's existing driver's licenses, state IDs, and birth certificates if those documents were issued in Kansas and reflect a gender different from a person's sex at birth.

These IDs were invalidated as of February 26th of this year.

And last week, Idaho state legislature passed what might be the nation's most strict bathroom ban, with violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense.

It is discriminatory and dangerous legislation like this, which is why we are seeing such an influx of trans folks coming here to Seattle, seeking asylum from hostile jurisdictions.

So, here.

This proclamation serves as a reminder to our local community that we see what is happening, we will stand by our trans neighbors and welcome our new ones, and we will celebrate trans joy.

I'll also note it's the last day of Women's History Month, and I'll say that a women's movement that does not fight for trans women is not one that I'm willing to lead.

And with that, I would now like to read the proclamation into the record, and then we will hear from our phenomenal leaders who are joining us here today.

Whereas International Transgender Day of Visibility was established March 31, 2009 to celebrate transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people, recognize their societal accomplishments and contributions, and to raise awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people in communities worldwide.

and whereas transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people have always been vital to every community, with an estimated 3.3 million transgender adults living in the United States, and according to the Human Rights Campaign, pardon me, is estimated that 3.3 million transgender adults are living within the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

And whereas visibility and affirmation are powerful, and International Transgender Day of Visibility marks a symbolic way to both honor transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit elders and support youth at the beginning of their life's journey.

And whereas while progress has been made, transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people's rights, dignity, and ability to thrive free of hate and discrimination is under attack within the United States and across the globe with black trans women and trans people of color facing acts of violence at disproportionate rates.

And this has been most recently documented in the March 2026 with scholars from the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security releasing a third red flag alert for the United States, warning that the nation is within the early to middle stages of a genocidal process against transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people, including but not limited to hostile federal and state legislation aimed at denying trans identity by restricting or eliminating gender affirming care, legal identification documents or public bathroom access and participation in sports activities.

And whereas the city of Seattle is a welcoming city to the two-spirit LGBTQIA plus community and along with the state of Washington has a dedicated history of supporting the rights of transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people on issues including but not limited to gender affirming care.

and as a result has become a refuge for thousands of transgender people fleeing discrimination from other regions.

And whereas the city of Seattle recognizes the cultural, political, and historical significance while simultaneously celebrating the joy and resilience of transgender community by elevating their experiences, their voices, including but not limited to trans-led and focused organizations and activists operating within Seattle, such as Gender Justice League, Ingersoll Gender Center, Kawaguchi O'Connor Initiative, Lavender Rights Project, Mutual Aid Network for Trans and Intersex Individuals in Seattle, Mantis, Traction Trans Community Action, Trans Pride Seattle, and Utopia Washington.

And whereas celebrating queer joy, visibility, and resilience is a form of liberation under systemic oppression that says transgender, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people and their contributions will not be so easily erased.

Now, therefore, the mayor and the City of Seattle Council proclaim March 31st, 2026 to be International Transgender Day of Visibility in Seattle.

Thank you.

Are there any comments regarding the proclamation today?

I know that just for the record, yesterday we did a lot of our comments about the proclamation.

So if there are no further comments, then we are going, if there's no objection, the rules are gonna be suspended to allow Councilmember Rink to present the proclamation to the guests who are in the audience.

And so there's no objection.

The rules are suspended to allow Councilmember Rink to present the proclamation.

And at this time, while Councilmember Rink is presenting the proclamation, I'm going to invite the following people up to give comments.

And I'm gonna read everyone's name at this time.

We have our Seattle LGBTQ Commissioner, Jessa Davis, who is the co-chair.

Thank you for being here.

You'll speak first.

Following by Lavender's Rights Project Executive Director, Ms. Jaylen Scott.

Thank you for being here.

We also have Rose, who is a trans advocate.

Thank you for being here as well.

Looking forward to seeing you.

We also have Gender Justice League Executive Director, Danny Aschini.

Did I say that right, Aschini?

Okay, awesome.

Welcome, Danny.

We also have Utopia, Utopia, the Community Services Director, Taffy, and then we have Manay Johnson.

Did I say, did I say that right?

Yeah, okay.

If you're being nice to me, if I didn't say it right, just tell me.

Okay, Taffy, looking forward to seeing you.

And then we have Violet Kawajuka.

Kawaguchi, thank you, Violet.

Welcome, we have Kawaguchi from Kawaguchi O'Connor Initiative, the executive director.

Good to see you.

And then we have Morgan May, who is a mutual aid network for trans and intersect individuals in Seattle.

Mantis, welcome.

You will speak after Violet.

And then last but not least, we have C.

Michael Wood, who's from Traction, which is trans community action as well.

Where's, oh, there, got you.

See Michael, right?

Woodward.

Woodward.

Got you.

My bad.

I said Wood.

Woodward.

I got you.

Cut it off there.

So guests, we have the middle mic or the one on the end here.

And so first up, we have Jessa Davis, followed by Jalen Scott, Rose, Danny, Taffy, Violet, Morgan, Michael.

Lovely.

Can everyone hear me OK?

Council President Marsh might go out like a lamb, but my sinuses do not agree today.

So bear with me here.

My name's Jessa Davis.

My pronouns are she, her.

I'm a co-chair of the LGBTQ Commission here.

And I'm honored to be here on behalf of the LGBTQ Commission to accept this proclamation.

We live in a moment where visibility requires increasing levels of bravery.

Across the country, our very existence is being politicized and targeted in ways that attempt to push us out of public life.

In the past, these same strategies of coerced silence and enforced absence were weapons of invalidation and erasure.

But of course, we've always been here.

Growing up in Scranton, PA in the 80s and 90s, I simply didn't have the language then to understand who I truly was.

The only representations of transgender people I remembered relied on negative stereotypes that often rendered our very existence a joke.

However, more often than not, there was only collective silence and a perceived absence.

So when I finally decided to say yes to myself, I was living in Odessa, Texas.

And there aren't many cities in West Texas that issue proclamations like this one for Transgender Day of Visibility.

And across the country, the fear of rejection, harassment, and violence that manages to prevent countless people like myself from living as their true selves perseveres and continues, and that's why today matters.

Seattle's commitment to being a welcoming city is not an abstraction for many of us here today.

For me, this proclamation is something more than mere words or pageantry.

Yet at a time when we are seeing more people arrive here in search of safety and dignity, our work is not only to affirm their identity, but to build durable systems that allow people to belong and to thrive.

To quote a dear friend of mine, the transmigration crisis is a housing, employment, and healthcare crisis, and we have a lot of work to do.

So today I want to thank City Council for this important recognition of our existence at a time of increased visibility, increased hostility, excuse me.

And I look forward to continuing to work together with all of you to build lasting, tangible progress that serves the needs of all those who call this city home.

So thank you.

Jalen, followed by Rose, and then Danny.

Thank you so much.

On behalf of Lavender Rights Project, the largest one of the largest black trans organizations in the country and proudly here to say it's right here in Seattle, focused on gender based violence and the only translate permanent supportive housing facility in Washington.

And we need more.

We are really, really happy to accept this resolution.

In 2009, the Trans Day of Visibility was created to celebrate us and to push back on the erasure of trans people.

And we must we must resist the hyper focus on our suffering and resist the impulse to focus on trans suffering more than our resilience.

We are not single issue people and we don't live single issue lives.

That is a form of erasure and tokenization.

The second form of erasure is to not acknowledge that in this moment there are many who are experiencing a loss of access to health care, to housing, and many resources.

This refugee crisis that's happening across the country, 400,000 folks displaced, trans folks displaced, that's on top of the crisis that has existed in black trans community for many, many years.

Maybe now we can get some resolution and care for our community.

In spite of the dismal outcomes, Black community, Black women, Black trans women, trans folks across the country have led the way in journalism, politics, economic development.

And they have led our entire society.

We're leaders not just on trans issues.

So stop coming to us just for trans issues.

We're leaders in our respective states, cities and communities on many issues.

We're builders, mothers, fathers, children, doctors, electeds, software engineers, the unhoused and the undocumented.

This Trans Day of Visibility, I lift up the brilliance of my community.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next we have Rose, followed by Danny, and then Taffy.

And Rose is remote.

Welcome, Rose.

Hello.

Thank you, Councilmember Rink, for working on this proclamation with us.

It is obviously very important to our community and for your continued talking with us in the community.

Eleven years ago, when I was at the University of Puget Sound in a debate in which I learned I was trans, trans day of invisibility meant at that time that we were to be visible in the world and show that trans people, our excellence, our bravery, and everything about us was something to be celebrated.

This Trans Day of Visibility means something very different.

It is our visibility of the impending demise that we will have if things do not change.

I have experienced over the last month a lot of loss from our community.

There was one day where I had one person that showed up in the afternoon, suicidal at my door, and I talked them down.

another person in the evening said that someone else had killed themselves and at 4.30 in the morning I talked another person down.

There is untold suffering happening in our community.

We are having discussions that no one should ever have to have.

Can you imagine what it's like to tell your partner that you don't know if you will see them again.

You don't know what it looks like from a couple months from now or more.

You don't know what it looks like beyond a couple days from now.

Those are the communities' discussions we're having to have.

The very real and raw discussions that no one should ever have to have.

But this is what we are facing.

This is the very real and raw things we are dealing with constantly because we realize there is something important here.

People have escaped to Seattle because Seattle is not just a place for us.

It is our last refuge.

People look all over the nation to what Seattle does and what we all do here or don't do here may determine what actually happens to us.

We know as individuals here that if we fail here, This might be the end for us, and it won't be a pleasant one, but what we know is that we gotta fight anyway because the only chance we have

Thank you, Rose.

We have Dani, followed by Taffy, Violet, Morgan, and then C.

Michael.

Thank you, Councilmember.

My name is Dani Ischini.

I'm the Executive Director of Gender Justice League and one of the co-founders of Trans Pride Seattle.

As you all know, 16 years ago, Rachel Crandall created this day because at the time, the only time the world would pay attention to trans people was when we were murdered.

Trans Day of Remembrance was the first large day that we had.

And here in Seattle, we also created Trans Pride Seattle for the same reason.

Thank you for honoring our community and bringing visibility.

I'm here as one of those people that recently moved back to Washington State from Virginia.

I was working in DC for several years on federal policy.

And there are so many people that are moving to this city right now who were not here a year ago.

families who packed what they had, what they could, and moved here from Texas, from Missouri, from Idaho, from Tennessee, because those states made it impossible for them to raise their children, for them to be themselves at work, and now we're seeing in Idaho for people to go to the bathroom, making it a felony to go to the bathroom.

Many of those parents have reached out to us and have told us that they moved because they couldn't treat their children who were in distress.

Our city provides some of the last refuge, and I know many of us know this.

And at Gender Justice League, we talk to these people every day because we've been providing direct service.

We started as just in Seattle, thanks to a grant from the city with our gender-based violence services.

We grew to the county and then the state, and now we serve people in 27 states who call us for support.

I'm really proud of that.

I'm proud that we've built that, that we are one of the few beacons across the country to serve domestic violence survivors.

who are trans and two-spirit and non-binary.

Seattle has become a refuge and we have a lot to be proud of, but we have a lot to do.

This year, a hedge fund millionaire named Brian Haywood has spent nearly $5 million to put two measures on the ballot in November to ban trans kids from playing sports and to out our young people in schools.

These measures are going to hurt all young people.

It's going to force every girl in our state to have embarrassing, invasive exams of their genitals in order to play sports.

It's going to erode the trust between students, teachers, and guidance counselors that the things that they need to say to get support, to get help, to report abuse, are going to be reported directly to their parents immediately.

I know what that's like.

I was in foster care.

I disclosed the abuse I was experiencing to a guidance counselor.

I can't imagine the fear that young people would have if they didn't have other supportive adults in their life.

We all need to band together, not just to be visible, but to take action.

And I'm urging everybody here to check out our campaign, No Hate in Washington State, to endorse, to support, to volunteer, and to donate.

We are being outspent 10 to 1 by out-of-state millionaires who want to push their hateful agenda.

As folks have said, Seattle is one of the last refuges, and we must defend what we have here.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Danny.

Next, we have Taffy, followed by Violet, Morgan, and C.

Michael.

Good afternoon, Council President, Council Members, and community members.

My name is Tweedie Fatwesi.

I serve as the Community Services Program Director with Utopia Washington, and I'm honored to step in on behalf of Taffy Mina-Johnson, our Executive Director, to accept this amazing recognition.

Transgender Day of Visibility is more than just recognizing this as a date on the calendar.

And to reiterate, it was born out of the need to celebrate our contributions, the contributions of trans and gender diverse siblings within our society today, those of us who exist, those of us who are resilient.

It's a moment to affirm that our collective contributions strengthen every community that we are a part of.

Visibility is not about being seen for the sake of the attention.

It's about being seen with dignity, safety, and respect.

At Utopia Washington, we work alongside queer and trans Pacific Islander people of color, those who are navigating overlapping barriers that relate to race, to gender, immigration, housing, health, and economic stability.

For our communities, visibility can be powerful, but it also needs to be paired with action.

Recognitions like this proclamation tells our community that the city of Seattle sees us not as an afterthought, but as valued neighbors, as valued leaders, as caregivers, as artists, and as advocates.

So we are especially grateful that this proclamation affirms the humanity and the resilience of our transgender and non-binary people, especially at a time when so many of us are facing increased harm, discrimination, and violence.

And so public statements like this, this type of support matter.

because they help to create safe spaces, especially for our youth to feel safe so that they can live authentically.

And for the families who support them to feel more affirmed.

And lastly, for our community members to imagine a future that's embedded in belonging.

So on behalf of Utopia Washington, I want to thank you all again for this opportunity and faftai telelava for the recognition.

Faftai.

Thank you.

Next we have Violet.

Morgan is after Violet.

And then C.

Michael Woodard.

Welcome, Violet.

Hello.

Hello.

I'm Violet with the Kawaguchi O'Connor Initiative.

I go by she, her pronouns.

We help people fleeing legislatively hostile states land here in Seattle.

We provide them up to six months.

We guarantee up to six months of housing.

We help people find employment.

We help them get groceries.

We help them integrate with state services like Medicaid and SNAP.

We provide probably some of the most comprehensive care to our caseload that you will find in the trans relocation ecosystem.

And we do this because our caseload is traumatized.

The people fleeing these states right now are traumatized.

These are people who are being harassed in the streets, in their homes.

These are people who know no safety and have known no safety until they've landed here in Seattle.

And we have an obligation as a city to provide them with as much environment to grow and be the people that they should have been when they were trapped where they were.

We need to provide an environment that allows people who are fleeing to assimilate into a life that they were denied in these states when they have to, when you have to deal with violence in the home, when you have to deal with violence in the streets, you can't be yourself.

You have to put on a false perception of who you are.

And that, to be visible is to not just be out in the street.

It's not just, it is to be yourself.

And here in Seattle, what we have here in Seattle is a community that allows people to be themselves when they were denied that in their homes.

in places like Idaho and Kansas and Kentucky right now there are thousands of people who don't know what to do who don't know where they will be a year from now if they will have health care if they will be on the street or if they will be dead if they will be hit by some dude in a car because they don't match some perception of what that person thinks their gender should be these are things that I I hear from people every day, as someone who works with people fleeing these states, these people are under direct physical threat, and we as Americans, as decent human beings, have an obligation to these other people to build something that allows them to thrive, that allows them to have a life that they did not have.

and things are getting worse.

Kentucky is making it so that if you're transgender, all transgender residents of Kentucky are about to be declared mentally ill and be barred from employment in education.

This is something that is happening right now.

This Everyone in the room knows where this leads to.

I'm Japanese-American.

In 1942, my six-year-old grandfather and his family were rounded up and forced to live at the Santa Anita Racetrack in horse stables until they finished building the concentration camp in the desert.

And what do we see here now?

The federal government buying up warehouses to put people in while they finish the concentration camps out in the middle of the desert, out in the middle of the swamp.

We know where this is going.

This has happened before.

And it's not just immigrants.

It's not just trans people.

It's all of us.

It starts with us because we're the most vulnerable.

It's the easiest for them to go for.

We're the canary in the coal mine for the whole nation.

And we as a nation have an obligation to Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak to the Council, and thank you so much for this proclamation that is a great start towards building something that serves the people who need what we can give them.

Thank you, Violet.

Next we have Morgan, followed by our last speaker, C.

Michael Woodard.

Welcome, Morgan.

Thank you, Council President Hollingsworth and members of the Council.

I wish I could speak to you today in celebration of the beauty, strength, creativity, and ingenuity of my trans siblings.

But it's 2026 in the United States of America, so I need to speak about trans genocide.

The Limkin Institute for Genocide Prevention describes what is being done to trans people in this country as a genocidal process of denial of identity.

Denial of identity forces targets of genocide to choose between their identities and their participation in society.

Eventually, the denied identity is criminalized.

As if to underscore this point, the Supreme Court chose today of all days to issue a ruling that conversion therapy is protected speech and cannot be banned.

Conversion therapy is a quack medical practice banned in this state until today, where a trans or queer patient is coerced into denying basic facts about themselves.

Survivors describe this practice as psychological torture.

Many patients do not survive.

Currently, conversion therapy is mostly practiced on young people and incarcerated people, but transphobic politicians are openly discussing plans to subject all trans people to it.

This ruling illustrates three things.

First, the process of genocide will not stop with trans people.

This ruling will make it much harder for states to regulate all medical malpractice, which will harm all Americans.

Second, resistance is still possible.

There are other legal avenues to discourage conversion therapy, such as indefinitely extending the statute of limitations on medical malpractice.

We must act aggressively to push back against federal overreach.

Third, the time to act is now.

Trans genocide is already underway.

Time wasted means lives lost.

Act now to save trans lives.

Thank you.

See Michael Woodard, welcome.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Michael Woodward.

My pronouns are he and him, and I'm the leader of a small nonprofit called Traction, and I'm honored to stand with you on this transgender day of visibility 2026. I'm what you might call a trans elder.

I began my transition in the 1990s, long before there were visibility days or legal protections or really even much language to talk about what we were going through.

I found my calling and advocacy shortly thereafter because at that time, we truly had no rights at all.

Over the years, I've watched hard-won protections arrive, disappear, return again.

That rise and fall has been exhausting, but it's taught me something important.

Our community is not fragile.

Our progress is not an accident.

Sometimes younger trans men come up to me and say, wow, I've never met an old trans man before.

When I hear that, I realize what visibility truly means.

It's not just about being seen.

It's about surviving long enough to be recognizable.

To be living proof that their futures can include wrinkles, gray hair, and a long, beautiful, extraordinary life.

I also know from my experience that we cannot get there alone.

The courage of trans and non-binary people is real, but so is the power of cisgender allies who choose to stand with us.

Family members, coworkers, neighbors, faith leaders, and public officials who use their voices, their votes, and their relationships to make this city safer for us.

Visibility days are important, but what happens tomorrow?

Who speaks up in the room when we're not here?

That's what keeps people alive and rooted in community.

Thank you.

Awesome, thank you, Michael.

I think most of us want a long life without the wrinkles and the gray hair, though, but I'm just playing.

Fair enough, no, we know that comes with old age.

So now we're going to do a picture, so the guests, if you would come and do a picture.

Did you want one by yourself, Councilmember Rank?

Okay, awesome.

If you would be so kind, we're gonna have everyone come in front of, how many folks do we have?

Seven?

Do we think we can...

Should we have people...

Do we think we can all fit on the stage?

Can we try?

Yeah?

Okay.

All right, let's have everyone come up here.

We're gonna take a group photo with the council members and folks, and we're gonna look at this handsome young man right here in front of us, Brad Hardwood.

Council President, point of order.

Are we going to be able to ask, make a few comments?

Is it too late for that?

I didn't know if we were doing that before or after the picture.

After the picture, I think it would be appropriate.

Thank you, Council Member Juarez.

I don't want the gray hairs, but I appreciate you all.

but I've been going back and forth.

Yeah, perfect.

All right, awesome.

Is that good?

So we're looking at Brad.

Do you remember when we did the thing so we could have fun for you to go to San Francisco?

Oh, sorry.

Go ahead, Brad.

Tell us when.

He's already been doing it.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you all for entertaining us with our group photo.

It's new that we did that this year and so we're always navigating those photos.

Now colleagues, I know some have said they want to make comments regarding the proclamation and so we'll entertain those.

Please raise your hand for the public.

After this we are moving and we will have public comments, so don't worry.

That hasn't been suspended today, but we're doing the proclamation first.

So I see Councilmember Saka, you were up, and then followed by, or is it Councilmember Juarez?

I'm sorry, Councilmember Juarez, followed by Councilmember Saka.

Do I recognize?

Thank you.

First of all, I want to thank Councilmember Rink for bringing this forward.

Thank you so much for that.

And it's good to see you back, Danny.

Where are you?

Did she leave?

She's over there.

Oh, there she is.

She's been a friend of ours.

She's been a friend and a counterpart in a lot of our work that we've done, at least that I've done in the last nine, ten years, so it's good to see you back.

I'm going to bring up just a little bit of history because I think it's really important, and these are the words that I said back in 2016. Then Councilmember Gonzales was the first Councilmember to bring forward an ordinance in which Mayor Murray signed.

to outline conversion therapy in this city.

And a lot of people don't know that.

And I was there at the signing, but I had my notes, and I remember what we talked about back in 2016, is that conversion therapy basically is an echo from the 1860s federal government policy of assimilation policies to Native Americans.

That's where they got that.

And it was violent, it was obscene, and the saddest part in the 1850s and 60s It was a federal government policy to do that to our people, to not speak our language, to not practice our religion, to cut our hair, to take us away, and of course, you know, right up until, I think it was, it was either, who was the president before Eisenhower?

Roosevelt, I can't remember the guy before that, but anyway, there was that saying, you can read it everywhere, it was the kill the Indian, save the man.

And that's where a lot of that violent language came from, and the assault.

So I bring that up today.

And of course, from that came the policies of boarding school, where they took our people and our children and physically took them from their families, including side of my family, four- and five-year-olds, taken away from their families and sent away to Chimowa, to Carlisle, to all these Indian schools to be quote-unquote white.

So I understand that at a DNA molecular level about people trying to make you be something that you're not and telling you that you are flawed because you aren't.

So for that and from my heart, thank you, and thank you for being here today.

And so with that, I think that with this City Council, and to echo what we said back in 2016 still stands the same, your pride and your dignity, and it is more than just one day of visibility.

It is a lifetime of commitment and dignity, and I'm glad we're here to support you, so thank you.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

We signed the proclamation yesterday, and unfortunately, I missed yesterday under our council rules.

Would have loved the opportunity to affix my name to that.

Would love to sign it, sign the actual physical copy today, but in any event, this is such an extraordinary initiative to honor The Honor Trans Day of Visibility.

And as we heard through the leaders that were here today, trans rights are under attack in this country.

They're under attack across the border in Idaho through criminalizing people's mere status.

They're under attack in was it Kentucky or Arkansas, what we heard earlier.

They're under attack through our own US Supreme Court, issuing rulings, harsh, cruel, inhumane rulings that impact people's everyday lives and long-term well-being.

So that's why initiatives like this and proclamations like this are so important.

That's why I also want to thank Councilmember Rink for bringing it forward.

I want to thank members of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, Lavender Rights Project, Gender Justice League, Utopia Washington, The Kawaguchi-O'Connor Initiative, Mutual Aid Network for trans and intersex individuals in Seattle, otherwise known as MANTIS, and of course TRACTION, Trans Community Action, led and capably run and organized by one of my own constituents from West Seattle, C. Michael Wood.

Thank you for your leadership and for being here.

I don't want the gray hairs, they're coming, but that is an opportunity, to your point, we should all have the right to achieve our true potential in life and thrive and get to that point.

So thank you all for being here.

Awesome, thank you.

Are there any other comments, Councilmembers?

Councilmember Foster?

Thank you so much, Council President.

I'll be brief with mine.

I just wanted to express my appreciation to everyone for showing up today and for sharing words with us, and not just for what you shared today, but for your leadership every day.

We know that there's so much that you do that is visible, and then there's so much that you do that we have not yet recognized.

And so I just want to appreciate each and every one of you And I wanted to share, I know one of the commenters said that you shared the moment that you chose yourself.

And I just thought that was really beautiful.

And I appreciate you calling us to say, let's celebrate trans folks every day, not just when we're doing Trans Day of Remembrance.

So I just wanted to say thank you for that, and thank you for the words that you shared.

Thank you.

And final comments from Councilmember Rink.

Thank you, Council President.

And I just wanted to take a moment to thank you colleagues for engaging on this.

Each of your offices reviewing and contributing to this proclamation.

Thank the organizations that also had a heavy hand in crafting it.

And also take a moment to thank my staff, Rachel, who did a lot of coordination with these organizations.

They know her well.

To bring them all together for today.

Thank you for your work on this, Rachel.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Rachel.

It's a lot of logistics going on.

So, thank you, Rachel and Councilmember Rink's team, and for bringing this.

And we are so honored to have you all here, recognizing your...

We need to humanize folks a lot more.

We're all human, and I'll just leave it at that, that we just need to start treating each other like we're humans.

Very simple, so thank you all.

Now, we're, thank you, my friend.

Now we're going, I only got one clap and that's okay.

Y'all don't want me to treat you like, no, I'm just like, okay, I'm just joking.

Okay, so now we're gonna transition into our public comment period.

And the public comment period, colleagues at this time, we're gonna open the hybrid public comment period.

Public comment is limited to items on today's agenda, the introduction referral calendar and council's work.

The council cannot accept comments on quasi-judicial items or campaign-related matters.

I'm also gonna ask people to watch their language as well.

That would be really appreciative that we watch our language as well.

So, clerk, how many speakers do we have signed up?

We have 17, excuse me, 16 in person and five remote.

Awesome.

So 16 plus five is 21, if my math is correct.

So that's under 30. So everyone will get two minutes to speak.

And clerk, I'm going to hand it over to you to read the rules for public comment.

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

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

Speaker's mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

All right, awesome.

I'm going to call up the first five speakers.

We have Yvette Dynish, followed by Peter Manning, Gwendolyn Hart.

We have Ms. Carolyn Malone, and then Keiondre Lucas.

So we have those five.

Don't be so shy.

Come on down, Ms. Yvette.

You're in the middle, so Ms. Yvette, Peter Manning, Gwendolyn Hart, Ms. Carolyn Malone, and Keiondre, followed by Aries, Mickey, Jim Baines, Long, and then Michael.

Good afternoon, council members.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I also wanted to give a shout out to you, Council President Hollingsworth.

It was good to see you at the 303 Tournament in Rainier Beach recently.

And Sean Kipp, he's a big dude, he made you look short.

I was glad I went.

And also, I want to thank you for your...

Your deep involvement and engagement in our communities.

Could you be all over the place on social media and in person?

I really respect and appreciate that.

And the same goes for Rebecca Saldana.

She's not part of the council, but she's another community hero of mine.

And also, there was a recent article on the news about the Disabled American Veterans Building in West Seattle is in shambles.

And so I'm asking for money for them, if it ever comes up you got extra money, because our veterans do a lot for our country.

And it's a shame, we can spend billions on a war in which we have no business, but we cannot take care of our veterans properly.

And also, there's a state law recently passed, Senate Bill 6026, which now can allow building a housing in strip malls.

And that reminded me, speaking of building housing, that that big empty lot right across the street, who owns that?

And why has the possibility of building housing on that been explored?

And let's see, what else did I have?

I think that was kind of it.

Yeah, I'm gonna stick to that.

Thank you for listening.

And here's a copy of that article from the Disabled American Friends that talked about helping them out.

Thank you, Ms. Yvette.

Next, we have Peter Manning, followed by Gwendolyn Hart, Carolyn Malone, and Keiondre.

I don't see Mr. Manning here, so we're going to go on to Gwendolyn, followed by Ms. Malone, and then Keiondre.

Is Gwendolyn Hart here?

Welcome.

Yeah, so it's very positive that this council just affirmed Trans Day of Visibility and in particular COI for their work with trans refugees.

So why is this council not doing their part to protect trans refugees and other refugees in the city by taking concrete action against ICE, which is actively endangering trans people?

Transgender immigrants and asylum seekers are put under intense scrutiny by ICE and Border Patrol due to the bureaucratic labyrinth that is sex documentation, especially today now that the Trump admin's new visa requirements effectively bar trans immigrants from any path to documented status, making it easier for ICE to target and criminalize any trans people.

Trans people who are detained by ICE are extraordinarily targeted for brutality in ICE facilities.

This temporary moratorium on ICE facilities in Seattle, which the city council passed under pressure from the movement, should be made into a permanent ban today.

ICE is not going to be our friends in one year.

We need municipal IDs to be issued so that immigrants can access essential services and get documents that accurately match their identities without having to worry about triggering federal surveillance systems and being targeted by ICE.

We need to end eye surveillance in the city.

Mayor Katie Wilson just had a very stormy town hall this Friday for going back on her campaign promises to stop the rot of these Axon high-tech surveillance cameras.

It's not easy for working people to get out to city hall in the middle of a working day like this, and I think we should look to that town hall for people's moods.

People are furious about the lack of action against ICE in this city.

Under pressure, the mayor agreed to shut down one such camera outside a gender-affirming care facility to protect people's identities.

So why are they going up in the rest of the city where trans people, you know, walk the streets?

We're not just inside one facility.

We have lives.

We walk the streets.

So do immigrants.

Why are these cameras that make us unsafe being proliferated?

City Council can take action today, pass laws against these cameras for all these things today.

But Democratic Party politicians created ICE.

Democratic politicians funded ICE throughout the years.

The City Council has a chance to show that they're not like them, whose side they're on.

Thank you, Gwendolyn.

We have Miss Carolyn Malone, welcome.

And then we have Keiondre, welcome.

I like facing the audience, and I think you can hear me.

I applaud and support all of you for standing up for your rights as a culturally specific group.

I'm part of a group, an elder.

So I hope city council will submit or command its much attention to my needs, my group needs, because as seniors in, toxic, hostile situation, which I am in my housing.

I'm on the back burner.

But I'm a fighter.

I'm a survivor, like you.

Keep fighting, because it's all about our rights to fight together and self-actualize.

Issue in fighting security here.

all white male with the beard, treats me like a suspicious person.

Anytime I come inside, he shows up.

I was given this list of rules to follow that sign.

I can't bring my sign in.

And I know I can't attach it to a building or a car, pamphlets or anything like that.

And I don't.

But if the sign is for a cause and I'm not disturbing the progress of the work of the people here, what's the problem?

But I was told...

And I have it here in black and white.

Signs carried...

Signs carried by an unperson are permitted provided the signs are no larger than 36 by 36 inches and are...

panel in a way that does not endanger others or obstruct the view of pedestrians and others.

I cannot come in and even sit with the sun.

This is insecure to people.

Nick is one, Cedric is the other.

Thank you, Miss Malone.

We have Keiondre, followed by Aries, Mickey, Jim Baines, Long, and Michael Kennedy.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Keiondre, and I organize with Seattle Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression.

We are out of time.

We have less than three months till the World Cup.

And besides an emergency moratorium on detention centers that didn't go far enough, there's been little done to protect our community members, our friends, and our loved ones from ISIS terrorization of the community.

The mayor's office would rather hand the responsibility of public safety to the people they are supposed to be keeping safe.

So that's exactly what we're going to do.

The Seattle Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression is holding a town hall April the 11th at Cherry Street Village, which council members, you are more than welcome to come.

You guys are invited as well.

And I invite all of you to also come along to this town hall.

where the organizations that have been on the ground since Trump took office will do what the city refuses to do.

We will reach out, we will listen to you, and we'll fight together because SPD will not keep us safe.

Surveillance will not keep us safe.

We, the people, will keep us safe.

Thank you.

Thank you, Keiondre.

Next, we have Aries, followed by Mickey, Jim Baines, Long, Michael.

Welcome, Aries.

Hello.

My name is Aries.

My pronouns are he, him.

I want to kind of piggyback off what the earlier discussion was about the trans people.

I moved here from Idaho, fleeing, looking for a safe haven.

I applaud Seattle for being a safe haven, but we also have to keep in mind ICE.

There's immigrant trans people that are not safe coming here.

If our whole priority is to be a safe haven for trans people, or want to be, then we also have to look at the ICE situation and understand that they're not safe.

Saying that, Keiondre said it, but I'm going to go a little more into it.

I want all of you all there.

Our town hall on April 11th, the people's town hall, is for you to hear the people's voices.

Be there.

Show up.

Show us that you care.

I don't care if you guys have stuff.

Make time.

Make time for the people.

Because that is proving to us that you are behind us, that you care.

Thank you.

Oh, sorry.

One more thing.

I do have flyers.

I want to give it out to y'all.

I could add a little stack in there, and then I'll give the rest to the people.

Thank you, Aries.

Next, we have Mickey, followed by Jim Baines, Long, and then Michael.

Welcome, Mickey.

Thank you so much.

Thank you all so much for the words today announcing Trans Day of Visibility.

And also, we need so much more than words.

We need action from you.

The actions coming from other people are extreme, with denying driver's licenses overnight, with up to life sentence in prison in Idaho if you use a restroom more than once.

One year in prison if you use the restroom once.

If you use it multiple times in Idaho, it can be up to a life sentence in prison.

These are extreme actions, and they require more than words from you.

They require extreme actions in return.

I personally have been affected by this in Seattle, because even though we want it to be a safe place and we claim it's a safe state, that isn't always the case across the board.

I am a father to a trans daughter, and we had 50-50 custody.

When things got hairy this last January a year ago, I was taken to court by my children's mother, and a commissioner, which is someone who can kind of fill the place of a judge for family court, said during a, I forget what it's called, but said that my daughter obviously had extreme mental issues when there was nothing, no mental health record except for gender dysphoria in childhood.

These are people who work for you.

These are people who work for Seattle.

And because of that, my daughter was removed from my house, my house being the affirming house, and put only with her mother.

And it was said that, sorry, I'm gonna run out of time.

It was said that because I'm affirming, mother's not, that it was alienation.

There are people in this building who are not affirming and we really, really need actions and not just words.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mickey.

Next, we have Jim Baines, followed by Long and Michael.

Thank you, council members.

I want to build off the prior speaker that we need real, concrete action.

So today, I'm calling on all of the city council members, especially council members Foster, Lynn, Rink, these so-called called progressives who are taking feckless half measures to go and stop surveillance and stop ICE in this city, to do more than just vote for the 60-day suspension, but to go and expand to an entire divestment from Axon.

Our mayor, Katie Wilson, seems to think that surveillance is useful despite it largely solving crimes for the owning class and not the working class.

She also thinks Axon is a company worth doing business with despite their deep ties with the Zionist state.

Just last year, Axon acquired Carbine, an Israeli company, for $625 million.

And Carbine goes and uses location services to aid police in targeting individuals accused of crime.

This is a technology being brought back stateside in the imperial boomerang.

Israel has also used Axon's flagship tool, the taser, against Palestinian prisoners since the company's founding.

Zionist jailers regularly use tasers to electrocute hostages for their enjoyment and torture confessions of murder out of them.

Even though Mayor Wilson says many companies sell to Israel, a direct quote from her town hall.

It sees no problem there.

I want my tax dollars and the city to divest from genocide.

Just yesterday, the Knesset passed a law that makes a default sentence for Palestinians convicted at a rate of 96% of murder.

So those convicted of murder, I call every, uh, I call on you all to take a real stand.

There is a genocide happening in Israel, and you all are funding it with my money and their money.

Stand up.

Jim, next we have Long, followed by Michael, and then we have Summer Miller, M, excuse me, AJ, Howard Gill, Nathan, and Lou.

My name is Long.

I'm a member of Labor Militant.

We are demanding to shut down ICE, a permanent ban on the detention centers, shut down the surveillance cameras and eviction moratorium for immigrants, and we will kick out every pro-ICE Democrat that does not concede to these demands.

So far, this has been a great conversation for bringing the trans community and their needs into the broader working class movement.

More working and oppressed people should be allowed to raise their issues here.

These council meetings should be at 6 p.m.

on the weekdays or it should be on the weekends.

There are people who want to come out to these council meetings to make public comment but can't because of work.

The reason these council meetings are at 2 p.m.

on a Tuesday is to prevent working people from being able to make public comment.

The City Council supports the trans community.

They should pass legislation to tax the rich for free healthcare for all, including gender-affirming care.

Free healthcare would support everybody in Seattle, including the trans community.

Trans people are disproportionately affected by homelessness and unemployment.

Right now, this is a major problem for the working class, where people are unable to afford rent as the cost of living skyrockets.

This group of working and oppressed people include immigrants being terrorized by ICE.

That's why we're demanding an immediate eviction moratorium.

Immigrants have been unable to work due to ICE raids and attacks.

Families have been torn apart by deportations.

This has led to countless millions in lost income.

So far, the city council has only passed a one-year ban on detention centers.

This should be a permanent ban.

But these council members will not do that.

They will not pass any of these things we are demanding unless we force them to.

They will not pass free health care for all by taxing the rich.

We have to break from the Democratic Party and build our own party that can run socialist candidates outside of the Democratic Party.

Labor militant will be building a meeting for April 11th to talk about how we can build this new party and how we can break from the Democratic Party.

It'll be at 2 p.m.

on Saturday, the 11th at Garfield Community Center.

Thank you, Long.

Thank you, Long.

Michael Kennedy, you are next.

Thank you, Long.

Is Michael Kennedy in the room?

Thank you, Long.

Michael, welcome.

Any microphone you want.

So really, I'm kind of begging if I could actually have all of your time maybe after the meeting, if I could speak with you privately, or at least one of you.

I would much rather do it like that.

It's very serious what I have to say.

Lives are on the line.

People have already died, and if you don't let me say, there will be more people that will die.

If you don't let me speak, what I need to tell you guys, but it's just, it's longer than two stories.

Is that possible?

Want to just have a little bit of time, one of you guys time right after this meeting?

It's very serious what I need to tell you.

So I guess that's a no.

Well, I'm not gonna get halfway through it and tell you, so I guess I'll just let it go.

I guess later.

Thank you, Michael.

Next, we have Summer Miller, followed by Em, then AJ, Howard Gill, Nathan, and Lou.

My name's Summer Miller.

I'm a member of Labor Militant.

As many of us have already said, the Democrats and city council have failed to fight against ICE.

This isn't just a crisis of people being deported.

It's a crisis of working class immigrant families being terrorized and torn apart.

It's estimated that in Minneapolis alone, immigrants have lost $47 million in income because they've been afraid to go to work.

People are getting evicted because ICE is terrorizing our communities.

The same is true in Seattle.

And this city council can't even pass a permanent ban on detention centers.

What you really should be passing is an eviction, an immediate eviction moratorium.

evictions in King County just hit an all-time high.

There's been a 12% increase in evictions in King County.

Seattle Times said that the spike in evictions has, quote, shocked officials.

But the Democrats on this council don't seem shocked.

You don't seem shocked about the murder of Renee Goode or Alex Preddy.

You don't seem shocked about the 600,000 immigrants who've been deported.

You don't seem shocked about the eviction crisis.

Otherwise, you'd do something.

Transgender people experience some of the highest rates of eviction and homelessness.

So today's proclamation is completely fucking hollow if the Democrats aren't going to protect trans people.

But week after week, you continue to do nothing.

Katie Wilson had a town hall on Friday where she made excuse after excuse for why she's broken her campaign promises, even denied breaking them, just fucking lied to people's faces.

These Democrats deserve no thank yous ever when we come in here until they're actually doing something to fight against ICE and to do anything for the working people of this city.

We need to build an independent socialist party in Seattle that can challenge the Democratic Party stranglehold and throw out every single one of these do-nothing politicians.

Thank you, Summer.

Next, we have M followed by AJ, then Howard, Nathan, and Lou.

Welcome, M.

Yeah, my name is Em Smith.

I'm a member of Labor Militant.

This is an all-Democrat city council.

The mayor, Katie Wilson, is a Democrat who calls herself a socialist, yet all you have managed to do in the last three months is pass a one-year ban on ICE detention centers.

Katie Wilson has broken promises.

She's expanding surveillance alongside this council.

You and Katie Wilson have said that this is about crime.

If this is about crime, why are the Democrats not fighting for things that could actually prevent crime in our city?

You could pass an eviction moratorium right now.

You could create a fund to compensate small landlords who are bearing also the brunt of the inability of renters to pay because of the skyrocketing costs of the city.

You could tax the rich to fund free universal childcare.

You could tax the rich to build free hospitals and clinics around this city.

You could build city-run public grocery stores to ease the food crisis in the city.

And the Democrats aren't doing any of this.

And I'm speaking to everyone in the room as well.

The Democrats aren't doing this because the Democratic Party doesn't represent working class people fundamentally.

They represent big business.

They represent the big landlords.

They represent SPD.

Those are the interests that the Democratic Party represents in this city, and that's why they're spending a million dollars on an expansion of police surveillance instead of funding those things that working class people need.

When we had an independent socialist on this council, Shama Sawant, we won a $15 minimum wage, which is now $21.30.

And I hear people laughing, and I know that not everyone supports Shama, but this isn't about Shama.

This is about the movement that we built with a working class representative in office.

and you can disagree with some of the things that Shama did or some of the things that she said, but we had someone who fought for working class people and we brought the movement into city hall and we won those things.

We won an Amazon tax for affordable housing.

We won renter's rights, including a $10 a month cap on late rent fees.

Those are critical for working class people in this city.

We can't rely on just one politician and we certainly can't rely on the Democratic Party.

We need to build a socialist party.

We need to build a working class party that can throw out these Democrats

We have AJ, followed by Howard, followed by Nathan and Lou.

Welcome, AJ.

Hi.

Listening to all of the trans voices today, this is for everyone in this city.

So I'm supporting the call for the immediate eviction moratorium.

Immigrants have been able to go to work because of ICE raids and attacks.

Families have been torn apart by deportations.

This has led to countless millions of loss of income in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

So in Minneapolis alone in January, it's estimated that immigrants lost $47 million because of lost wages.

Immigrant families are being threatened with eviction, along with thousands of other working class renters who are feeling the pain of layoffs and high gas prices because of the US war in Iran.

We need an eviction moratorium in the city until ICE is out permanently.

And until we can solve the cost of living crisis, the demand came from the movement in Minneapolis, and we need to fight for it here.

And I yield the rest of the time.

Thank you, AJ.

Next, we have Howard Gale, followed by Nathan, and then Lou, and then people who have been patiently waiting online.

We will switch over to you.

Good afternoon.

Howard Dale from 36 District Dems.

Six months ago, 36 District Dems passed a resolution imploring the city to take actual concrete measures to protect all citizens, not just immigrants, from Fourth Amendment violations that are coming to our city.

Some of those items were for SPD officers to obtain evidence of judicial warrants or probable cause when there's an arrest.

That's something that's actually being done in Boston.

It's being done in other cities, and it's not being done here.

For SPD officers to intervene when proper law enforcement credentials are not provided, for SPD officers to aid private property owners in preventing warrantless access, for SPD officers to prioritize protecting people from Fourth Amendment violations over the protection of property when there are fractious demonstrations and confrontations involved.

Council President Hollingsworth, I sat down with you and went over all these items.

It's almost three months now.

You looked me in the eye, you checked each one of these, and now three months later, nothing has happened.

There's been a complete lack of transparency It's antithetical to good government's transparency and basic decency to constantly repeat, quote, we are doing everything possible.

That is a statement people only make when they are not doing everything possible.

So I implore you again, I want to go back to what Keandre said earlier.

Yes, it's we who are going to keep ourselves safe.

It's not the police.

However, not directing the police to take affirmative action to protecting people's Fourth Amendment rights is inevitably going to lead to them actually working behind the scenes and harming Seattle citizens.

So again, this is about giving an affirmative role for police.

If they fail that role, we can hold them accountable, but that's the minimum that needs to be done.

And again, I'm just going to repeat what Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has said.

This is months ago now.

He warned rank-and-file officers if they witness federal agents use excessive force on civilians and fail to intervene, they could be fired.

Thank you, Mr. Gayle.

Next we have Nathan, welcome, and then followed by Lou, and then we're gonna jump online.

Welcome, Nathan.

Yeah, so first I wanna say, you know, Seattle is, we're a city of people that wanna welcome everybody.

That's trans people, that's immigrants, that's people from other states, that's Muslims, that's Jewish people, that's Mormons, that's anybody that has ever needed somewhere to call home.

And that's part of what makes the city great.

What people said earlier, we're seeing anti-trans fascism in this country.

Trans people in Kansas are getting their passports and their licenses revoked.

We know where this is going.

And with the conversion therapy decision today, conversion therapy is torture, and we know this.

So that's what I want to say first.

I'm demanding that Mayor Katie Wilson follow through on her campaign promises and turn off all of the cameras.

People put faith in Mayor Wilson during her campaign.

We told people things would be different this time.

These cameras will not only endanger members of our community, but this backtracking will lead people to question if it was even worth volunteering for you at all.

That's what I'm thinking right now.

I echo the calls to expand the detention center moratorium to a ban.

Donald Trump will not be president in a year's time.

I think we can all see what's coming, too.

But we can't rely on that to keep us safe, and I don't trust SPD to comply in good faith with the new professionalism standards with the Keep Washington Working Act.

Officers like Michael Wallier, who again told me that I should be grateful we no longer have open borders like we did under Joe Biden, or the officer who I did not identify that told me that Elon Musk was unfairly maligned by the liberal media.

These people will find ways to work with ICE to target immigrants, trans people, and political dissidents.

Last 30 seconds.

Some suggestions for improving public safety that don't involve surveillance.

Better streets and sidewalks.

24-7 community centers staffed by Parks Department.

Piloting free public bus routes.

Investments in behavioral and mental health.

We know that the South End is dangerous, not because of under-policing, but because of under-investment.

Is a shitty Band-Aid, sorry, on a gaping wound.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nathan.

Next we have Lou.

Welcome.

And then we're going to jump online.

Welcome, Lou.

Hi.

So a lot has already been discussed about genocide, and I think it's made abundantly clear what we're facing.

Hold on.

Let's pause time.

Let's put two more minutes back on the clock.

Make sure you talk into the mic, Lou.

We can't hear you.

You're all good.

Hold on.

Let's restart your time.

All right.

A lot has been spoken about the fact that we're facing genocide.

And what I want to say is when people's lives are on stake, just like any moment, care is what is required.

And care is a very tangible thing.

Basically, the opposition to genocide is not saying, hey, there's a genocide happening.

It is tangibly building something so that we can protect people and we can care for them.

People are fleeing here from the trans community, and it is really, really hard to flee political oppression.

It's hard to flee your family.

That's where I'm coming from.

and you just need a lot of care that the city and its safety nets do not provide.

The city needs to work directly with the people already doing this, like the Kawaguchi-O'Connor Initiative and Mantis, and we need to build a like a good system with housing, with care at the front and it needs money and it needs resources and otherwise people will die.

That is what is needed for the moment and we need care right now.

That's what will save people's lives.

Yeah.

Thank you, Lou.

Now we're going to switch to online.

And up first, we have Mr. David Haynes.

You're not present.

I'm going to call everyone's name.

David Haynes.

We have Rose, followed by Lady Scribe, Charlotte, and then Jason.

And so I guess we'll start with the people that are present.

We have Lady Scribe first, and then followed by Charlotte, and then Jason, David Haynes, Rose.

Okay.

This is Lady Scribe.

Am I ready to go?

Yeah.

Hold on.

We're going to restart your time.

You were testing the mic.

One second.

Go ahead and start whenever you're ready.

Well, good afternoon, council members.

My name is Lady Scribe, founder of the Seattle Sound Music Awards Family Foundation, and I'm speaking on behalf of District 2. I'm going to be direct because our community does not have the luxury of time.

This past weekend, while families are still planning to bury their children due to ongoing gun violence, we gathered over 150 legacy residents, creative small business owners, and youth.

The conclusion was clear.

District 2 continues to be deprioritized unless it's election season.

that is unacceptable in 2026 we are demanding a 10-year committed investment into district 2 funded structured and accountable because what we are experiencing is not just neglect it is the result of long-term decisions there used to be a direct access software i-90 between jenkins park and massachusetts that brought economic flow into our community that access was cut off in robert terranier avenue and black businesses paid the price that impact is still being felt today now we see sound transit expansion we We see the development, but due to displacement and the very community that built the Central District has been pushed out.

So again, who is this development for?

At the same time, the city is preparing for FIFA activations across downtown, Soto, Lake Union, but where is the plan for black youth?

the Seattle Sound Music Awards Family Foundation.

We are calling for direct inclusion, access to tickets programming, and opportunities so our children are not priced out of a once-in-a-lifetime global event in their own city.

We are also watching global instability, environmental crises, and emergency situations, and yet District 2 remains unprepared.

Emergency preparedness is not where it needs to be.

That is a public safety issue, and we I'm not just talking about the fear of our youth, but even us, the adults, are honestly scared.

Not having proper identification right now is creating real fear for black families.

Traveling, navigating systems, emergencies, Black Indigenous Seattle really needs our passport initiative.

Thank you, ladies scribe.

Where is the, one second.

Next, we have Charlotte followed by Jason.

Charlotte, please press star six.

Thank you, Madam President, members of the council.

Today, 27 states prohibit trans kids from playing school sports.

Twenty-one states prohibit trans people from using public restrooms.

Three carry criminal penalties for doing so.

Eleven states prohibit Medicaid recipients from accessing hormone therapy.

It is 434 days since the President took office, and there are over a thousand days left in his term.

Today marks the 17th annual Trans Day of Visibility.

I came out as trans in high school 12 years ago.

I have spent all but 140 days of my adulthood medically transitioning with the help of clinics like Seattle Children's and Planned Parenthood.

I'm grateful for the work this council and past councils have done to protect, support, and affirm the rights of trans people in our city.

Councilmember Rink's Council Bill 121-179 is a critical step in keeping our neighbors safe, including those who have fled here for their safety.

This bill directs suspension for 60 days of SPD's CCTV and LPR systems in the case of a subpoena or direction from the mayor or police chief with particular respect to trans and reproductive health care.

Multiple scholars on the history of genocide have gone on the record to say that the U.S. is as far as step 8 of 10 in a genocide of trans Americans.

The bill isn't perfect.

The shutoff window should be longer.

This should not be our last action on ALPRs.

More absolutely must be done with respect to ALPRs and CCTV in Seattle, but this, I think, is a great first step.

I know that the council can't walk an amendment today, and I know you all will have ample opportunity to reconsider this window.

Pass the bill as is today and stand with your trans constituents and trans people across the nation and around the world who look to us for action.

Pass the bill and continue to bring legislation that keeps us safe in a world that wants us dead.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Charlotte.

Next, we have Jason Thiel followed by David Haynes and then Rose.

Welcome, Jason.

Hi, my name is Jason Thiel.

I'm a member of Labor Militants.

Trump has been in office for over a year and has deported hundreds of thousands of people and brutalized many more through ICE terror.

And yet the only thing that this city council has managed to do in that time is pass a one-year ban on detention centers.

There are no Republicans on this council, so you don't get to use that as an excuse.

That ban should be permanent.

Councilmember Rink presented a proclamation about Trans Day of Visibility.

But if you really gave a shit about trans rights, you would be fighting back against ICE and passing things like free health care and affordable housing in this city.

If the city council wanted to, they could raise the Amazon tax and pass free universal health care for everyone, regardless of immigration status, including gender-affirming care.

But they won't without a movement of working people that breaks from the Democrats and forces them to.

They could do a ton of different things to fight back against ICE, but they haven't.

Many people have been mentioning this today in public comments.

Hundreds of people came to Katie Wilson's town hall last Friday demanding that she shut down the surveillance cameras and take real action against ICE in the city.

Katie Wilson refused to shut them down.

The city council also has the power to shut down the cameras, and yet they have not.

But we need more than just shutting down cameras.

We need an immediate eviction moratorium until ICE is shut down.

We need a municipal ID system so that undocumented immigrants can access city services.

The head of the police union has said that SPD will not obey the executive order against collaborating with ICE.

If this city council isn't going to keep the police accountable, then working people should be able to.

We should have an elected group of working people with the ability to hire, fire, and subpoena cops so that we can fire the pro-ICE cops.

And lastly, we need to throw out pro-ICE Democrats.

Every single Democrat on this council should be thrown out of office for their complicity in this ICE terror and their lack of action.

This is not specific to these Democrats.

The Democratic Party created and funded ICE.

We need a new party of working people.

We need to build a movement that can challenge pro-life Democrats with independent socialists and build the roots of a new workers' party.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jason.

Is David Haynes online or Rose?

No, we do not see them.

All right, awesome.

We will switch.

Is there any more commenters signed up?

Is there anyone else?

Okay, awesome.

Thank you.

So we have reached the end of the list of registered speakers.

I also want to thank the folks that give us public comment every day through their emails, online, when we're in the store, we're walking around town, all the events that we do.

in the city of Seattle when we're talking to people.

Always people give public comment, not just here at two o'clock.

We really appreciate your time and energy.

And thank you all for taking the time out of your day to come and see us to give public comment.

We really appreciate the words and really appreciate your time today as well.

So saying thank you and no matter what you all say to us, it's always good to see you.

So thank you, all right?

So next, we're now gonna consider, if there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the introduction referral calendar is adopted.

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

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

We will now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar include the minutes of March 24th and Council Bill 121186, payment of the bills.

Are there any council members who would like to remove that from, would like to remove anything from today's consent calendar?

Hearing none, I'm gonna move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second, it's been moved.

Can I second it myself?

Nope, okay.

Will someone get, thank you.

It's like, hello, second.

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

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

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Saka?

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Foster?

Yes.

Council Member Juarez?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Oh, I see you.

You're muted, but I see aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Awesome.

Thank you.

And Councilmember Kettle, I don't believe your audio is working.

Excuse me.

The consent calendar is adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation consent calendar on my behalf?

Councilmember Kettle, do you want to test your audio?

Testing one, two, testing.

Awesome.

Perfect.

We can hear you.

Thank you.

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

The report of the Public Safety Committee, agenda item one, council bill 121-179, related to collection of surveillance data specifying conditions for mandatory 60-day pause in data collection for the Seattle Police Department closed-circuit television and automated license plate recognition systems.

And amending ordinance 127-044 and 127-297, the committee recommends the bill pass.

Councilmember Kettle, as chair of the committee, you are recognized to provide the committee report.

After the committee report, Councilmember Rink, as sponsor, you will address the bill.

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

I'd like to have Councilmember Rink go first as the prime sponsor of this legislation, and then I'll follow her.

If she's okay with that.

Thank you, Chair Kettle, and thank you, Council President and colleagues.

This bill is straightforward.

It intends to build additional safeguards for a mandatory 60-day pause in data collection for SPD's ALPR program.

I hope we can all agree that we do not want data that is collected through ALPR to be used against our residents for immigration action, reproductive health care, or gender-affirming care.

That is not the intended use of this technology, but these concerns, as we've heard today, but we've continued to hear from the ACLU and many impacted communities that we've seen data sharing issues with ALPR systems.

and I believe taking this action today to amend the ALPR program to build in this safeguard is an important measure and an important step that we can take, and I ask for your support.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Rink.

Councilmember Kettle, do you have anything you'd like to say?

Yes, I just want to thank you, Council President, for like Councilmember Rink and And she's right, this is an important step that we need to take.

I also want to thank our Public Safety Committee members for their support of this bill as well.

This piece of legislation is important in ensuring that our ALPR program and our CCTV program, I know it's called ALPR but it affects both, are in sync in the event of an intrusion of the systems in our real-time crime center.

It's important to note today that we've had no intrusions nor any subpoenas from the start of ALPR in 24 and CCTV in 25. And I should add that this is partly due to the protocols we've introduced into our systems and now augmented for ALPR, a very important step to take.

And also from the recently passed legislation and now signed Senate Bill 602 related to ALPR.

I'm happy that this legislation builds on the four pieces of legislation that created the technology programs and really creates a mechanism to address any situation that may arise with respect to federal law enforcement.

This is really important.

To include a surge by agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border Protection.

It's important that we do have these protocols in place, partly because it's possible that these systems may help us in terms of documenting any actions by federal law enforcement that are contrary, to include staging, as we recently passed our bill, staging on city-owned or controlled property.

So with all that, and again, thank you to Council Member Rink, colleagues I asked for your support.

Awesome, thank you, Councilmember Kettle.

Colleagues, are there any further comments with the bill on the floor?

I'll take this time to thank Councilmember Rink for your leadership on this and finding ways which we can strengthen these laws and step in the right direction, and I really appreciate you always going through every bill with a fine combed tooth.

Wait, fine combed, you know what I'm talking about, fine, very, really thin comb, okay, and trying to find ways in which we can strengthen for the loopholes and everything.

So I support this wholeheartedly.

And do you have any further comments?

Awesome.

All right.

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

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Foster?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

Take that as an aye.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

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

Thank you, clerk.

Will the clerk also please read item number two into the record?

Agenda Item 2, Council Bill 121-180 relating to inquiries into immigration status, changing the requirements for circumstances where Seattle Police Department personnel may inquire into a person's citizenship or immigration status to align with the Seattle Municipal Code with state law.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Awesome.

Council Member Kettle, as chair of the committee, you're recognized to provide committee report.

And afterwards, we will go to Council Member Lin as sponsor of the bill.

Thank you.

to follow what we just did and recognize the work of Councilmember Lin by giving him the opportunity to go first.

Councilmember Lin, you are recognized.

Thank you, Chair Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

This is a pretty straightforward bill.

This basically just updates our Seattle Municipal Code to align with the Keep Washington Working Act.

As we all know, the Keep Washington Working Act is a critical state law to protect our immigrant communities and also to build trust with the police departments.

And so this is an important measure to protect privacy, but also for our public safety needs, and I would appreciate your support.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Lin.

Council Member Kettle.

Yes, thanks, Council President.

I want to start by thanking Council Member Lin for his work, and this builds on earlier legislation brought forward by Councilmember Rivera, which is a good point to also say that we've had, with this bill, I believe seven pieces of legislation that involves Councilmember Ring, Councilmember Foster, Lynn, Rivera, and myself, and it shows, and the members of our committee, the comprehensive approach and looking to build on these.

And I think that's important that it's not just these bills as individual pieces of legislation, it's them as a package.

And I do believe that the end result is greater than the sum of its parts and it shows leadership and it shows our you know, our approach to this, whether it's professionalism and standards, you know, the staging bill, you know, these pieces related to Keep Washington Working, and then obviously with ALPR, and then the data privacy pieces.

I think these are all important, and then they can also be built on in the future.

But as a set, I do think that they show initiative and show our position as it relates to federal law enforcement.

So with that, Council President, thank you.

And colleagues, I urge your support.

Thank you.

Awesome.

Thank you, Councilmember Kettle.

Are there any comments about the bill before us?

Awesome.

Thank you, Councilmember Lynn, for bringing this.

Councilmember Kettle, your leadership, it's actually called a fine-tooth comb.

So fine.

Thank you for your fine-tooth comb of this.

Support it wholeheartedly.

Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Foster?

Yes.

Council Member Juarez?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

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

So, colleagues, there were no items removed from the consent calendar, and there's not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

We do have one proclamation for signature today.

We moved it to today so we could all sign it, but I do recognize that Councilmember Rivera is not here, is absent today.

Council Central staff have prepared a proclamation recognizing April 1st, 2026 to be Ben Noble Day.

I will lead the discussion on the proclamation.

Not now, we don't want to say anything because we do have a celebration coming for Ben Noble tomorrow, but we'll request signatures today.

And so, say that one more time.

We will add signatures, okay, because I have it here.

No, okay.

So colleagues, now we'll take a vote.

Who would like to be added to the, I thought it'd be as simple as just passing it left and right, but no, okay.

You saw, Amelia said, hell no, okay.

Sorry, okay.

She also looked at me that way when I said, can I second myself?

She said no.

Okay, so question.

Colleagues, we're now going to take the roll to see who will sign the proclamation for Ben Noble Day.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss?

Aye.

Councilmember Foster?

Yes.

Councilmember Juarez?

Aye.

Councilmember Kettle?

C&I.

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Eight signatures will be affixed.

Awesome.

And I do believe, Council Member Kettle, you have a motion to be excused.

Do you have to make that motion or I can?

It's a request.

Okay.

I think I made it, but we'll make the motion to be excused next week, the 7th of April, please.

And the 14th.

I have it in my notes.

Yes, 14, sorry.

Awesome.

Your mic works for that, but not setting eye?

You're all good.

No, I was just wondering, because you went up.

Okay, if there's no objection, Councilmember Kettle will be excused from April 7th and the 14th City Council meeting.

Is there an objection?

No objection, but...

Okay, so hearing no objection, Councilmember Kettle will be excused from April 7th and the 14th City Council meeting.

Councilmember Saka followed by Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

I too ask to be excused on Tuesday, April 7th.

Awesome.

Are there any objections from Councilmember Saka being excused from April 7th?

Hearing none, you are excused.

Councilmember Strauss.

So you missed the announcement yesterday.

Yes, thank you, Council President.

I am requesting to be excused on April 28th.

And I'm also now learning that we may not have quorum for the Budget Committee next week.

And so if you are on the Finance Committee next week, I need you there.

Thank you kindly.

Looking for an excusal for April 28th.

Awesome.

If there's no objections about April 28th, Councilmember Strauss will be excused.

Hearing none, Councilmember Strauss, you are excused.

I know there's no more further business to come before the Council.

I'm going to take a point of privilege to recognize, unfortunately, last week there was a fire in the Central District.

and we lost a pillar in our community named Miss Joanne Buchanan.

She was 87 years old, and she was one of the great members of Mount Zion Church, and we are sending a ton of love to the Buchanan family as they are going through this process with losing a loved one.

She was a great member of our community, has lived in the Central District for a long time, and was the matriarch of that family.

We are sending our thoughts and prayers and love to the Buchanan family.

I also want to thank the incredible first responders, the fire department that got there within minutes, the aid car that got there within minutes as well, and all the people that helped put that fire out in our central district.

So I wanted to send that and just highlight that, colleagues.

Otherwise, is there any other items that come before the council at all.

All right, awesome.

Well, Council Member Kettle.

I just wanted to add just something small.

And because I have this unique look angle from coming in, I did not speak like Councilmember Juarez during the earlier part with the proclamation at the beginning.

But I do want to say thank you to the person sitting in the front row who's got his sign perfectly positioned for people who are watching this to say that we should protect trans kids.

And so I just wanted to let him know that His efforts throughout this meeting are appreciated, and it's an important thing that we should protect the kids, the trans kids.

So I just wanted to thank him as I have this interesting look angle since I'm not on that side of the dais.

Thank you, Council Member Kettle, and I believe your name is Mickey.

Awesome.

Thank you, Mickey, for being here and holding up the sign and making sure that that is seen today.

So thank you.

Colleagues, are there any other business to come before the council?

Seeing none, time is 3.41.

This meeting is adjourned, thank you.