Mayor Durkan Boosts Funding for Police and Transit in Proposed Budget
Mayor Jenny Durkan delivered her first budget address today at Fire Station 10. While the mayor had broadcast her desire to trim department budgets...
Mayor Murray Delays North Precinct Project
Yesterday morning, I attended a Seattle Design Commission meeting on the parking design of the North Precinct building. By the evening, Mayor Ed Murray...
Day 6 of Protests: Nikkita Oliver Rallies Thousands, Mayor Durkan Backpedals
The sixth day of Black Lives Matter protests felt like a turning point and perhaps even a moment of catharsis--while activists acknowledged the work...
Op-Ed: Restoring Seattle’s Community Court Is Good, Pre-Filing Diversion Even Better
Reviving community court isn’t a simple fix for Seattle’s criminal legal system — pre-filing diversion programs are more effective, cost less money, and avoid the harmful consequences of prosecution. Here's one Seattle City Attorney candidate's plan.
Seattle Council Poised to Allow Expanded Use of ‘Less Lethal’ Crowd-Control Weapons
A Seattle Council committee voted to move forward with Mayor Bruce Harrell's new less lethal weapons bill on Tuesday. Scheduled for a final vote on February 4, this bill is one of the last steps in Seattle exiting the consent decree, but critics are concerned it could impact Seattleites' constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.
Vaccination Surge Shows Employee Mandates Work
The City of Seattle and King County released their final Covid vaccination rates this week as Governor Jay Inslee's October 18th mandate deadline went...
Auditor Criticizes Seattle’s Approach to Gun Violence, Deputy Mayor Fires Back
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell pushed back against an auditor report calling for more coordination around gun violence prevention and criticizing SPD’s haphazard approach to investigations. Deputy Mayor Tiffani Washington said she felt disrespected by the audit process being reinitiated by Council President Sara Nelson and that the issue was already under control.
Op-Ed: Katie Wilson’s Civilian Safety Plan Would Unlock More Effective Police Department
Seattle has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve public safety outcomes by civilianizing more tasks and focusing police on major crime. That’s what mayoral candidate Katie Wilson’s public safety platform proposes, which Bryan Kirschner argues would be anti-bad guy, pro-good cop, and taxpayer-friendly.