Politics and Government

Nikkita is a Black woman. She wears rainbow hoop earrings. her curly hair to the side, and a big smile.

Nikkita Oliver Is Our Urbanist Meetup Guest on September 14th

Nikkita Oliver is our featured guest at The Urbanist's monthly meetup on September 14th. Oliver (they/them) is a community organizer, cultural worker, artist, attorney,...
Mayor Durkan stands on a sidewalk on a leafy residential block.

Durkan Text Scandal Whistleblowers Sue City for Retaliation

Whistleblowers in the scandal around Mayor Jenny Durkan's missing texts and mishandling of public records requests have filed suit against the City of Seattle...
A five-story apartment building in Issaquah at 1118 7th Ave NW/1036 7th Ave NW/600 NW Locust St.

King County Scrambling to Distribute Rent Assistance as Eviction Crisis Looms

King County officials are scrambling to distribute $145 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to tenants and are far behind schedule. Those...
A photograph showing participants holding colorful signs at a press event. The signs carry messages such as "sweeps cause harm" and "sweeps bring no compassion"

Judge Strikes ‘Compassion Seattle’ City Charter Amendment from November Ballot – Update

Update (August 31, 2021): The Compassion Seattle campaign has filed an emergency motion with the Washington Court of Appeals and is seeking a stay...

Harrell Ducks Police Accountability Forum, Burgess Rides In to Attack González

Yesterday, the Seattle Community Police Commission (CPC) announced that Bruce Harrell had declined their invitation to a mayoral candidate forum on police accountability and...
Harrell is in a dark blazer and González a blue top.

2021 Primary Precinct Results Show Familiar Rich vs Rent-burdened Battle Lines

King County Elections finalized Primary Election results on Tuesday and Seattle's data wizards quickly went to work conjuring maps showing precinct-level results. What emerged...

Sunday Video: A City Split in Half

https://youtu.be/P6qg0sKJJKM Berlin shows how arbitrary and definitive administrative boundaries can be through its divided history between West Germany and East Germany after World War II....
Police gathered in large numbers to ensure houseless were swept and cleared in rapid fashion with no interruption from encampment residents or their allies. (Photo by Enrico Doan)

Consent Decree Judge Contemplates Police Reform under a New City Attorney

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Robart summoned City Attorney Pete Holmes and Court Monitor Anthony Oftelie to his courtroom to get an update...