Friends and Neighbors, Our first newsletter of the new year is lengthy because there’s a lot City Hall needs to accomplish in 2023. Based on feedback from constituents, I believe local government must do much more to improve safety. With its existing $250 million budget, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCHRA) needs to increase the pace […]

Dear Friends & Neighbors, Striving to serve the public as a voice of reason during tumultuous times has been an honor, but I am not a career politician. While I appreciate the encouragement from several neighborhood leaders from Wallingford to Wedgwood, I have decided not to seek re-election in 2023 to another four-year term as […]

Dear Friends & Neighbors, We’re using this month’s newsletter to provide you with highlights from 2022. After emerging from the COVID pandemic, Seattle residents, schools, and store owners have made it clear they expect their government to make progress reducing crime and homelessness. As the elected City Councilmember for Northeast Seattle, I strive to provide sensible […]

Friends and Neighbors, Our November newsletter focuses on the final decisions allocating Seattle’s $7.4 billion budget to address the issues that concern you the most. As I mentioned in my October newsletter, I realize that reducing homelessness and increasing safety remain the top concerns across Seattle and so my efforts during the budget review process […]

Friends and Neighbors, Our October newsletter focuses on City Hall discussions on allocating Seattle’s $7.4 billion budget to address the issues that concern you the most. Reducing homelessness and increasing safety remain the top concerns across Seattle and so I’m likely to support Mayor Harrell’s budget proposals on those two important challenges. Please click on the […]

After conducting research and conferring with constituents, I have concluded that gasoline-fueled leaf blowers should be phased out in Seattle because they harm public health and the environment. Leaf blowers powered by clean electricity and batteries have become more powerful and effective. Our city government should lead by example in converting to cleaner, less noisy […]

Context: For the City government’s ongoing and increasing efforts to reduce homelessness, please see Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Homelessness Action Plan (CLICK HERE) and the website of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (CLICK HERE). This blog post about a single entity and site (Tent City 3) should be considered within the broader context of the […]

Friends and Neighbors, September is back to school for our kids and back to budget for our policymakers. In this newsletter, we celebrate our District 4, I discuss why I voted against doubling the property tax for parks, I provide initial thoughts on the Mayor’s proposal to spend $7.4 billion for the City budget, and more. […]

The sudden safety closure of the West Seattle “High-Rise” Bridge in March 2020 has been a major challenge for Seattle and Washington State. Even though the West Seattle Bridge is not in Seattle’s District 4, Councilmember Alex Pedersen provides periodic updates on the closure, stabilization, repairs, and other issues impacting the bridge because he was […]