Our District 4 is home to over 20 neighborhoods. Councilmember Pedersen believes community councils and other neighborhood-based organizations play an important role in Seattle. It may seem ill-timed during the COVID crisis to promote participation in community groups, but we hear from constituents that they are yearning to reconnect with neighbors and many groups are […]

This past weekend I visited the brand-new park that opened at Portage Bay in our District 4. It’s called Fritz Hedges Waterway Park, named after Frederick “Fritz” Hedges who was a long-term Parks professional with the City of Seattle. The new park is located at 1117 Northeast Boat Street. That’s east of the University Bridge […]

[NOTE: Final Budget: The blog post below discusses the beginning and middle of the Fall 2020 budget process (for 2021). For the separate blog post that details the final results of that process, CLICK HERE. Public Safety: While public safety is a key component of our city budget and is discussed below, you can also […]

Media Reports: October 14, 2020: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/uw-weighs-harsher-response-to-greek-row-covid-19-outbreak/ October 8, 2020: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/university-of-washington-and-greek-row-struggle-to-contain-covid-19-outbreak/ From the Office of the President at UW, October 7, 2020: “Minimizing the spread of COVID-19 is a university priority, and critical to the overall health of our community.  We share your concern and frustration about the recent outbreak in the Greek community. The University […]

Press Release: Celebrating passage of our Transportation Electrification Plan to guide Seattle City Light’s investments in an electrified transportation system  Seattle City Light’s Transportation Electrification Strategic Investment Plan will guide equitable investments to electrify all forms of transportation SEATTLE (September 28, 2020) – Mayor Jenny Durkan today applauded City Council’s passage of Seattle City Light’s […]

DECEMBER 14, 2020 UPDATE (regarding Mayor Durkan): Today the Seattle City Council adopted Council Bill 119966 to pay the legal fees Mayor Jenny Durkan incurred while defending against a recall effort that was thrown out by the Washington State Supreme Court. Adopting this bill for our Mayor was consistent with the adoption of the bill […]

AUGUST 12, 2020 UPDATE: SUPPORTING MAYOR’S VETO AND RESPONSIBLE COVID RELIEF: Today, our City Council responded not only to our Mayor’s veto of Council Bill 119812 but also to new information about a slower economic recovery and a larger budget deficit than expected. Our forecast of revenues dropped substantially since we unanimously passed our original COVID relief package (CB […]

Note: After voters approved in November 2020 the renewal of our “Seattle Transportation Benefit District” (STBD via Ordinance 126115 sponsored by Transportation Chair Alex Pedersen), the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) “re-branded” it as the “Seattle Transit Measure” (STM). For a link to SDOT’s updated website on the voter-approved measure, CLICK HERE. NOVEMBER 2022: Transit […]

On Monday, July 6, 2020, your Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to approve a new tax on large Seattle employers (Council Bill 119810).  This new tax will be in addition to the Business & Occupation (B&O) taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and business license fees paid by Seattle employers.  This new tax must be paid […]

A small, but concrete piece for reimagining public safety that can respond effectively to true community needs Most of my June 2020 newsletter was dedicated to addressing police accountability issues in the wake of the protests following the police killings of George Floyd and the painfully long history of misconduct and institutional racism negatively impacting […]