Transportation and housing organizer Saunatina Sanchez is making a case that her background in community makes her the best choice for the Seattle City Council seat currently held by Tanya Woo.

After pushback, Councilmember Maritza Rivera backed off a push to pull back funding for the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) but the episode spoke volumes about the city council's current goals.

Moves to cut the minimum wage for gig workers and squeeze Equitable Development Initiative projects for funding will have to wait for a future Seattle City Council meeting after their sponsors tabled the votes.

The zoning changes could spur construction of up to 1,000 homes, many of them affordable, as part of a new makers district along 4th Avenue S in Georgetown.

With a 24% raise and backpay, Seattle police officers are collectively earning an extra $96 million in compensation from the City in 2024. City leaders hope to spur hiring, but the contract did little to increase police accountability and blew a bigger hole in the City's quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.

A recent poll found Seattle would support a $1.9 billion transportation levy focused on fix-it-first and safety investments, but the City's proposal currently sits at $1.45 billion.

Touting her working class roots and policy chops, Alexis Mercedes Rinck is mounting a challenge against Councilmember Tanya Woo. She hopes to unite labor and progressives against the business-backed appointee.

City leaders are weighing laxer hiring standards rather than improving SPD's culture and accountability systems. But SPD's bad reputation could be the bigger drag on hiring – not to mention safety outcomes.