Friends and Neighbors, We’re in the heat of the budget amendment process, so it would be cool to hear about your budget priorities. This budget bonanza is the bulk of this month’s newsletter, along with more civic treats: District 4: Wallingford Volunteer Cleanup, Your District 4 Team Finding and Fixing, Climate Resiliency Upgrade at NE Seattle […]

Friends and Neighbors, Falling into the Fall, the big issue is the big budget proposed by Mayor Harrell. Your City Council enters its 2-month process to review, amend, and adopt a balanced budget as required by State law. Here is the entire pile of topics you can peek into this month: District 4: 50th Anniversary […]

“There is a magic machine that sucks carbon out of the air, costs very little, and builds itself. It’s called a tree.” – George Monbiot INTRODUCTION: We call ourselves the “Emerald City” within the “Evergreen State” and yet our City laws have many loopholes that enable the removal of scores of trees each year, including healthy, […]

Friends and Neighbors, I’m working for you throughout August, despite the City Council being on what we call a “recess” for the last two weeks of this month. The recess is not a vacation, but rather a time free from formal committee meetings and City Council meetings. This time enables our offices to catch up […]

Here are updates on the new Tiny Home Village helping people experiencing homelessness in our District 4. Located in the heart of the U District at NE 45th Street and Roosevelt Way NE, Rosie’s Village has 35 temporary tiny homes in place for at least 2 1/2 years, thanks to the City of Seattle, Sound […]

Friends and Neighbors, Let’s jump into our July newsletter where there’s something for everyone. Thank you for reading and caring! District 4: Community Center Ribbon-Cutting in Magnuson Park; Save Luma the Cedar Tree in Wedgwood; Getting Your Goat; Exploring the Troll’s Knoll in East Fremont; and Traffic Challenges near Montlake Bridge. Public Safety and Homelessness: […]

Friends and Neighbors,As we enter the warmer summer months, I answer questions on hot local government issues for the Seattle Channel – including why it’s time for City Hall to stop taxing your drinking water. That and much more in our June newsletter!Seattle Channel Interviews Alex Pedersen Seattle Channel journalist Brian Callanan asked me to provide insights on […]

Recent History (in reverse chronological order):   August 18, 2023: Seattle Times Editorial Board Calls Pedersen’s Tax Reform “a solid idea.” The Seattle Times editorial board called Pedersen’s tax reform proposal “a solid idea.” Here’s the excerpt: “Big picture, I don’t believe City Hall has a revenue problem. It has a spending problem,” said Councilmember Alex […]

Friends and Neighbors, In this month’s newsletter from City Hall and Northeast Seattle, we unveil new citywide survey results along with our regular riveting topics. Please click on the links below to zip to the sections that interest you the most: District 4:  Eastlake Finishes Pedestrian Path; Hawthorne Hills / View Ridge Crime Prevention Meeting; […]

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 […]