1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,136 ♪♪ 2 00:00:03,970 --> 00:00:06,706 -Hello, I'm your host, Brian Callanan. 3 00:00:06,706 --> 00:00:09,576 City leaders are responding to new concerns about gun 4 00:00:09,576 --> 00:00:12,278 violence and prostitution on Aurora Avenue North 5 00:00:12,278 --> 00:00:15,582 by shutting down streets and potentially adding a new city 6 00:00:15,582 --> 00:00:17,283 attorney to focus on the area. 7 00:00:17,283 --> 00:00:18,818 How is this plan working? 8 00:00:18,818 --> 00:00:21,921 Plus, what's next for Ballard after a light rail extension 9 00:00:21,921 --> 00:00:25,158 promised to that neighborhood has been put on hold? 10 00:00:25,158 --> 00:00:28,228 I'm talking with council members Bob Kettle and Dan Strauss 11 00:00:28,228 --> 00:00:31,231 about these questions and the ones you're sending in too. 12 00:00:31,231 --> 00:00:34,034 That's next on City Inside Out Council Edition. 13 00:00:34,034 --> 00:00:36,236 - And we have to do this for the communities, not just 14 00:00:36,236 --> 00:00:37,270 North Aurora by the way. 15 00:00:37,270 --> 00:00:40,473 The gun violence impacts Rainier Beach, impacts the CID. 16 00:00:40,473 --> 00:00:43,643 - You must put out a date for Ballard, no matter what 17 00:00:43,643 --> 00:00:44,944 it is or how bad it is. 18 00:00:44,944 --> 00:00:47,447 and I'm telling you, their ideas are very bad right now. 19 00:00:47,447 --> 00:00:50,216 All that and more, coming up next on City Inside 20 00:00:50,216 --> 00:00:51,584 Out, Council Edition. 21 00:00:51,584 --> 00:01:01,594 ♪♪ 22 00:01:10,003 --> 00:01:12,939 -Welcome once again to City Inside Out Council Edition right 23 00:01:12,939 --> 00:01:14,340 here on the Seattle Channel. 24 00:01:14,340 --> 00:01:17,510 Brian Callanan here with you and with me are two guests. 25 00:01:17,510 --> 00:01:19,446 I have Councilmember Dan Strauss 26 00:01:19,446 --> 00:01:21,714 representing District 6, which reaches out from 27 00:01:21,714 --> 00:01:24,050 Magnolia, goes through Ballard, out to Green Lake 28 00:01:24,050 --> 00:01:26,319 too. Councilmember Strauss chairs the Council's 29 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:28,822 Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments 30 00:01:28,822 --> 00:01:30,657 Committee. Councilmember, thanks for being here. 31 00:01:30,657 --> 00:01:31,691 -Thanks for having me, Brian. 32 00:01:31,691 --> 00:01:33,860 We also have with us Councilmember Bob Kettle, 33 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:37,097 who represents District 7, also from Magnolia into downtown. 34 00:01:37,097 --> 00:01:39,699 He also chairs the council's public safety committee. 35 00:01:39,699 --> 00:01:41,334 Councilmember Kettle, good to see you too. 36 00:01:41,334 --> 00:01:42,769 -Thank you for having me. 37 00:01:42,769 --> 00:01:44,704 -Councilmember Strauss, I'm going to start with you 38 00:01:44,704 --> 00:01:46,606 here because there's a lot of World Cup excitement 39 00:01:46,606 --> 00:01:47,674 coming to Seattle right now. 40 00:01:47,674 --> 00:01:50,643 You've got a big viewing party, pride celebration coming to 41 00:01:50,643 --> 00:01:52,011 your district in late June. 42 00:01:52,011 --> 00:01:53,513 A lot of excitement over Norway. 43 00:01:53,513 --> 00:01:56,082 The Scandinavian roots of Ballard are showing there. 44 00:01:56,082 --> 00:01:57,484 Sounds like a big celebration. 45 00:01:57,484 --> 00:01:59,686 I was trying to ask at a district level first. 46 00:01:59,686 --> 00:02:02,188 Is your district ready for what sounds like, well, it 47 00:02:02,188 --> 00:02:04,491 is a pretty big World Cup party going on right now? 48 00:02:04,491 --> 00:02:05,658 -We've been ready. 49 00:02:05,658 --> 00:02:08,261 We're excited for the two watch parties. 50 00:02:08,261 --> 00:02:11,164 There's one this Friday for the USA-Australia game 51 00:02:11,164 --> 00:02:12,565 in Ballard Commons Park. 52 00:02:12,565 --> 00:02:17,604 And then we will have the watch party on the 26th as well, 53 00:02:17,604 --> 00:02:20,807 where we're going to close down the streets, bring in a huge TV. 54 00:02:20,807 --> 00:02:24,377 And I'll also say, you know, Councilmember Kettle and I both, 55 00:02:24,377 --> 00:02:27,380 we've reached a disagreement recently about Interbay. 56 00:02:27,380 --> 00:02:29,315 I'm calling it the disputed territory. 57 00:02:29,315 --> 00:02:30,016 Oh, dear. 58 00:02:30,016 --> 00:02:33,486 because we have Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC 59 00:02:33,486 --> 00:02:33,786 playing at Interbay. 60 00:02:33,786 --> 00:02:35,288 - The semi-pro clubs, yeah. 61 00:02:35,288 --> 00:02:39,192 - And as well as I have a great love of Smith Cove Park 62 00:02:39,192 --> 00:02:41,261 and all these other things, Councilmember Kettle hosts 63 00:02:41,261 --> 00:02:42,228 office hours in Magnolia. 64 00:02:42,228 --> 00:02:44,931 It's a fun dispute. 65 00:02:44,931 --> 00:02:47,600 But I say that because Ballard has had 66 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,370 a youth soccer club since 1975. 67 00:02:50,370 --> 00:02:53,706 That means that there are five generation of soccer fans 68 00:02:53,706 --> 00:02:57,243 and players in our area, which is what makes the 69 00:02:57,243 --> 00:03:00,947 Ballard FC, Salmon Bay FC excitement so electric. 70 00:03:00,947 --> 00:03:03,616 And that has contributed directly to the excitement 71 00:03:03,616 --> 00:03:06,619 that we're going to see at Ballard Commons Park this Friday 72 00:03:06,619 --> 00:03:10,356 and in the, they call it, you know, Ballard Avenue, where 73 00:03:10,356 --> 00:03:12,125 Old Ballard City Hall was. 74 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:14,561 That's where we're going to, just like Seafood Fest, 75 00:03:14,561 --> 00:03:16,829 instead of having a stage, we're shutting down the 76 00:03:16,829 --> 00:03:17,897 street to put in a big TV. 77 00:03:17,897 --> 00:03:18,865 It's going to be a blast. 78 00:03:18,865 --> 00:03:20,033 I hope everyone can come out. 79 00:03:20,033 --> 00:03:20,934 -Thank you for that. 80 00:03:20,934 --> 00:03:22,402 I want to go past the excitement 81 00:03:22,402 --> 00:03:23,503 just a titch if I could. 82 00:03:23,503 --> 00:03:26,039 Councilmember Kettle, I want to talk about your district, 83 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:28,608 which includes downtown, really the epicenter of what's 84 00:03:28,608 --> 00:03:29,909 going on with World Cup here. 85 00:03:29,909 --> 00:03:31,978 You had some disagreements with the mayor over 86 00:03:31,978 --> 00:03:34,013 whether surveillance cameras should be used 87 00:03:34,013 --> 00:03:36,249 around the stadiums as a public safety measure. 88 00:03:36,249 --> 00:03:38,318 After a briefing with the FBI and the Seattle 89 00:03:38,318 --> 00:03:40,887 Police, the mayor said she believed there were general 90 00:03:40,887 --> 00:03:43,289 and credible threats, that was the phrase she used 91 00:03:43,289 --> 00:03:45,658 to describe what was going on with public safety. 92 00:03:45,658 --> 00:03:47,994 So she said she's going to turn these cameras on. 93 00:03:47,994 --> 00:03:50,029 So I'm just trying to bottom line this for 94 00:03:50,029 --> 00:03:51,231 our viewers if we could. 95 00:03:51,231 --> 00:03:53,833 Should people go downtown if there are general and credible 96 00:03:53,833 --> 00:03:55,001 threats to public safety? 97 00:03:55,001 --> 00:03:56,736 What's the message you're trying to get across here? 98 00:03:57,770 --> 00:03:59,172 -Yes, they should go downtown. 99 00:03:59,172 --> 00:04:00,873 We put all these pieces in play. 100 00:04:00,873 --> 00:04:03,076 You know, the last piece that was missing was 101 00:04:03,076 --> 00:04:04,410 turning those cameras on. 102 00:04:04,410 --> 00:04:06,512 And because of that, I think we have great coverage. 103 00:04:06,512 --> 00:04:09,782 We have a lot of jurisdictions, federal, state, local, that 104 00:04:09,782 --> 00:04:12,485 are working together to create a safe games set of 105 00:04:12,485 --> 00:04:13,920 matches for the World Cup. 106 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,188 and I think we're ready. 107 00:04:15,188 --> 00:04:16,789 I'm looking to get tickets myself. 108 00:04:16,789 --> 00:04:18,458 I know that's hard. 109 00:04:18,458 --> 00:04:20,827 But it's not just around the stadiums, by the way. 110 00:04:20,827 --> 00:04:22,862 It's like Westlake Park, Pacific Place, 111 00:04:22,862 --> 00:04:23,329 which is getting reimagined. 112 00:04:23,329 --> 00:04:24,831 - There's viewing parties all over the place. 113 00:04:24,831 --> 00:04:28,034 - Pacific Place has been reimagined as soccer central. 114 00:04:28,034 --> 00:04:30,169 And so we have all these places. 115 00:04:30,169 --> 00:04:31,671 The waterfront, of course, I was down there 116 00:04:32,772 --> 00:04:34,941 as it started, the World Cup. 117 00:04:34,941 --> 00:04:35,575 It was beautiful. 118 00:04:35,575 --> 00:04:37,644 It was electric on the waterfront. 119 00:04:37,644 --> 00:04:38,778 It was unbelievable. 120 00:04:38,778 --> 00:04:40,480 And so I think we're in a good place 121 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,250 and being ready from a public safety perspective too. 122 00:04:44,250 --> 00:04:45,585 - Okay, thank you. 123 00:04:45,585 --> 00:04:47,086 Councilmember Kettle, I wanna stay with you 124 00:04:47,086 --> 00:04:49,922 and I wanna keep talking about public safety if we could. 125 00:04:49,922 --> 00:04:52,058 Let's talk about gun violence, prostitution on 126 00:04:52,058 --> 00:04:53,259 Aurora Avenue North. 127 00:04:53,259 --> 00:04:55,161 Those issues have been present there for years. 128 00:04:55,161 --> 00:04:56,829 Shots fired in the North Seattle area 129 00:04:56,829 --> 00:04:58,564 are actually down compared to last year, 130 00:04:58,564 --> 00:05:00,867 but there was a spike in gun violence in May, 131 00:05:00,867 --> 00:05:03,436 some high visibility shootings that led residents there 132 00:05:03,436 --> 00:05:05,938 to organize a protest, and the city has responded. 133 00:05:05,938 --> 00:05:08,207 The mayor is authorized shutting some streets down, 134 00:05:08,207 --> 00:05:10,510 adding more police to patrol the area. 135 00:05:10,510 --> 00:05:14,380 What impact is this new focus on Aurora Avenue going to have? 136 00:05:14,380 --> 00:05:16,416 Because you mentioned at a recent press conference 137 00:05:16,416 --> 00:05:18,818 you weren't overly confident that the city's 138 00:05:18,818 --> 00:05:19,986 response would work. 139 00:05:19,986 --> 00:05:21,321 Help us out here. 140 00:05:21,321 --> 00:05:24,090 -Well, that lack of confidence comes from what we've 141 00:05:24,090 --> 00:05:25,558 been seeing over the years. 142 00:05:25,558 --> 00:05:27,927 We have like a little spurt of activity, and 143 00:05:27,927 --> 00:05:29,329 then we kind of fall back. 144 00:05:29,329 --> 00:05:31,230 Then we have a spurt of activity, and we 145 00:05:31,230 --> 00:05:32,131 kind of fall back. 146 00:05:32,131 --> 00:05:34,634 And so we have to have engaged leadership with 147 00:05:34,634 --> 00:05:37,403 follow-up and follow-through, And we have to do this for 148 00:05:37,403 --> 00:05:39,505 the communities, not just North Aurora, by the way. 149 00:05:39,505 --> 00:05:43,242 The gun violence impacts Rainier Beach, impacts the CID. 150 00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:45,645 The factors that impact North Aurora are also 151 00:05:45,645 --> 00:05:48,715 present throughout downtown, Belltown, even in Ballard 152 00:05:48,715 --> 00:05:51,317 and other locations, Lake City, around the city. 153 00:05:51,317 --> 00:05:54,153 And we have to keep the focus on what we're doing 154 00:05:54,153 --> 00:05:55,722 in terms of public safety. 155 00:05:55,722 --> 00:05:57,990 And a lot of this is having compassion, but then also 156 00:05:57,990 --> 00:05:59,192 the accountability piece. 157 00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:01,794 And that's what's been missing, like on North Aurora. 158 00:06:01,794 --> 00:06:05,031 And it's unfortunate because, you know, we pass a bill, the 159 00:06:05,031 --> 00:06:08,735 implementation, the follow-up, follow-through, it's not there. 160 00:06:08,735 --> 00:06:11,704 Or working with partnership with other entities, 161 00:06:11,704 --> 00:06:13,206 the state and the county. 162 00:06:13,206 --> 00:06:15,408 You have to have sustained efforts in 163 00:06:15,408 --> 00:06:16,843 order to be successful. 164 00:06:16,843 --> 00:06:19,112 -Is there something in particular that you can focus 165 00:06:19,112 --> 00:06:21,214 on in terms of we need to get this right, we need to 166 00:06:21,214 --> 00:06:22,548 follow through on this piece? 167 00:06:22,548 --> 00:06:24,016 Anything you have your eye on there? 168 00:06:24,016 --> 00:06:25,818 -Well, it's about having capacity. 169 00:06:25,818 --> 00:06:28,121 You know, because this is a tricky area, and there's 170 00:06:28,121 --> 00:06:30,356 a lot of dynamics, because part of this is I focus on 171 00:06:30,356 --> 00:06:32,759 the men, as I call the demand signal, but on the women's 172 00:06:32,759 --> 00:06:35,161 side, you have older women, but you have these minors, 173 00:06:35,161 --> 00:06:37,730 these young women, and it's like, hey, we can't have this. 174 00:06:37,730 --> 00:06:40,733 And so we have to have this kind of effort. 175 00:06:40,733 --> 00:06:43,136 But to do this, you kind of have to have detectives. 176 00:06:43,136 --> 00:06:44,871 You have to have these specialty units. 177 00:06:44,871 --> 00:06:48,408 And they got depleted when everybody was thrown on patrol. 178 00:06:48,408 --> 00:06:49,375 -And you're saying capacity. 179 00:06:49,375 --> 00:06:50,977 You're talking about more officers. 180 00:06:50,977 --> 00:06:54,580 -And so we need to reach these larger number of officers. 181 00:06:54,580 --> 00:06:56,616 I'm talking about 1258. 182 00:06:56,616 --> 00:06:59,252 I recognize in the budget there's some other numbers too. 183 00:06:59,252 --> 00:07:04,090 But if we do that, then we could fill those units up, and then 184 00:07:04,090 --> 00:07:06,359 we could be more proactive. 185 00:07:06,359 --> 00:07:09,061 And we need to be on our toes, not on our heels. 186 00:07:09,061 --> 00:07:11,431 And that allows us to be on our toes on North Aurora. 187 00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:11,931 -Thank you for that. 188 00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:13,833 And we're going to talk a little bit more about police 189 00:07:13,833 --> 00:07:14,734 hiring later in the show. 190 00:07:14,734 --> 00:07:16,235 I appreciate you bringing that up. 191 00:07:16,235 --> 00:07:18,371 Councilmember Strauss, I want to draw you in here 192 00:07:18,371 --> 00:07:20,606 with a question that speaks to public safety and the 193 00:07:20,606 --> 00:07:23,176 budget, which you oversee as the Finance Committee Chair. 194 00:07:23,176 --> 00:07:26,512 City Attorney Evans said at the same press conference here she 195 00:07:26,512 --> 00:07:29,782 wants a new prosecutor to focus on Aurora Avenue who would use 196 00:07:29,782 --> 00:07:32,885 ERPOs, extreme risk protection orders, to take guns away 197 00:07:32,885 --> 00:07:34,554 from sex traffickers or pimps. 198 00:07:35,555 --> 00:07:38,357 -The ERPO prosecutor that we've asked for is going 199 00:07:38,357 --> 00:07:41,260 to help keep our community safe from gun violence. 200 00:07:43,062 --> 00:07:47,500 If you are out threatening violence in our community, we 201 00:07:47,500 --> 00:07:51,471 will use our ERPO prosecutor to take your gun away. 202 00:07:51,471 --> 00:07:53,873 -So usually this kind of protection order is used 203 00:07:53,873 --> 00:07:55,341 in domestic violence cases. 204 00:07:55,341 --> 00:07:57,443 I'm going to put that to the side for a second. 205 00:07:57,443 --> 00:08:00,446 I just wanted to ask, can the city afford to make a new 206 00:08:00,446 --> 00:08:03,716 investment like this with a budget deficit that you well 207 00:08:03,716 --> 00:08:05,451 know is north of $170 million? 208 00:08:05,451 --> 00:08:07,954 -We can't afford to not make this investment. 209 00:08:07,954 --> 00:08:10,156 This is critical that we make this investment. 210 00:08:10,156 --> 00:08:13,125 You know, something that I really appreciate about 211 00:08:13,125 --> 00:08:15,628 Councilmember Juarez is her dedication to 212 00:08:15,628 --> 00:08:18,397 fixing the problems that we see on North Aurora. 213 00:08:18,397 --> 00:08:20,900 I mentioned at the press conference I lived at 214 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:22,134 Motor Place in Aurora. 215 00:08:22,134 --> 00:08:24,670 I lived half a block from Aurora just after they closed 216 00:08:24,670 --> 00:08:27,673 down the Thunderbird Motel when these issues extended 217 00:08:27,673 --> 00:08:30,176 all the way down to the Ship Canal Bridge. 218 00:08:30,176 --> 00:08:34,046 As we've seen, and when I took office, these issues were 219 00:08:34,046 --> 00:08:36,215 occurring as far south as 83rd. 220 00:08:36,215 --> 00:08:40,653 the motel at 83rd and the motel at 87th had the nuisance 221 00:08:40,653 --> 00:08:42,889 orders put forward on them. 222 00:08:43,923 --> 00:08:46,893 And so you see us continuing to bite away 223 00:08:46,893 --> 00:08:48,861 at addressing this issue. 224 00:08:48,861 --> 00:08:52,532 What I really appreciated at the press conference is that we had 225 00:08:52,532 --> 00:08:54,433 multiple levels of government. 226 00:08:54,433 --> 00:08:56,836 We had the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. 227 00:08:56,836 --> 00:08:58,170 We had the city attorney. 228 00:08:58,170 --> 00:08:59,539 We had council members. 229 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:01,374 -We had Department of Transportation. 230 00:09:01,374 --> 00:09:02,074 Yeah, yeah. 231 00:09:02,074 --> 00:09:03,976 - The mayor showed up as well. 232 00:09:03,976 --> 00:09:09,382 And something that City Attorney Evans said very clearly, 233 00:09:09,382 --> 00:09:13,553 and I appreciate it, which is, if you are shooting 234 00:09:13,553 --> 00:09:16,889 guns in our streets, if you are purchasing 235 00:09:16,889 --> 00:09:20,359 humans as commodity, if you are engaging in criminal 236 00:09:20,359 --> 00:09:22,762 activity on the streets where people are 237 00:09:22,762 --> 00:09:25,765 raising their families, that through this coordination 238 00:09:25,765 --> 00:09:27,366 with the Seattle Police Department, 239 00:09:27,366 --> 00:09:29,835 the City Attorney's Office, the King County Prosecuting 240 00:09:29,835 --> 00:09:30,736 Attorney's Office. 241 00:09:30,736 --> 00:09:32,672 If you're running in our streets, 242 00:09:32,672 --> 00:09:34,874 engaging in criminal activity on the streets 243 00:09:34,874 --> 00:09:36,375 where people are raising their families, 244 00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:38,778 the police are gonna arrest you, the attorneys are 245 00:09:38,778 --> 00:09:40,613 gonna prosecute you, and you're gonna be 246 00:09:40,613 --> 00:09:42,381 brought to justice because gun violence 247 00:09:42,381 --> 00:09:43,215 is preventable. 248 00:09:44,817 --> 00:09:46,852 These issues we can solve for. 249 00:09:46,852 --> 00:09:49,722 And I was really heartened to see all these levels 250 00:09:49,722 --> 00:09:52,892 of government come together, but we can't lose 251 00:09:52,892 --> 00:09:55,094 sight of the fact that this is also occurring 252 00:09:55,094 --> 00:09:57,096 in the Central District, Rainier Valley 253 00:09:57,096 --> 00:09:58,230 and Rainier Beach. 254 00:09:58,230 --> 00:10:01,934 And so this isn't the end, this is the beginning. 255 00:10:01,934 --> 00:10:04,236 -Just to follow up on that protection order idea, 256 00:10:04,236 --> 00:10:05,271 is that going to work? 257 00:10:05,271 --> 00:10:07,573 I'm thinking about your capacity issue again. 258 00:10:07,573 --> 00:10:09,642 Laws are only as good as their enforcement. 259 00:10:09,642 --> 00:10:11,911 Talk to me about this plan with these emergency 260 00:10:11,911 --> 00:10:14,146 protection orders and if that's going to work. 261 00:10:15,181 --> 00:10:15,915 -I think it could. 262 00:10:15,915 --> 00:10:18,618 I don't have the complete answer for you. 263 00:10:18,618 --> 00:10:19,819 -It's a pretty novel concept. 264 00:10:19,819 --> 00:10:21,053 So we really don't know. 265 00:10:21,053 --> 00:10:24,924 -To that point, is you look at the problem set and you analyze it. 266 00:10:24,924 --> 00:10:26,258 It's like, hey, how do we attack this? 267 00:10:26,258 --> 00:10:27,360 How do we address this? 268 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:28,995 And then you look at what we can do. 269 00:10:28,995 --> 00:10:33,399 So, for example, we had our overnight premises or businesses 270 00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:37,103 Bill that really cut gun violence on the south side. 271 00:10:37,103 --> 00:10:39,605 Because that gun violence between 2 A.M. 272 00:10:39,605 --> 00:10:40,172 And 6 A.M. 273 00:10:40,172 --> 00:10:41,741 And we look at that. 274 00:10:41,741 --> 00:10:44,276 We look at chronic nuisance property, as Councilmember 275 00:10:44,276 --> 00:10:46,746 Strauss mentioned, which at one point was not even 276 00:10:46,746 --> 00:10:49,615 being used by a city attorney, to my great frustration. 277 00:10:49,615 --> 00:10:53,019 But I'm so very happy that City Attorney Evans is using it. 278 00:10:53,019 --> 00:10:54,987 So, hey, how can we use that in combination? 279 00:10:54,987 --> 00:10:57,857 So if we can use ERPO, if we can use that in combination 280 00:10:57,857 --> 00:11:00,993 with other ordinances that can kind of drive a 281 00:11:00,993 --> 00:11:03,396 solution here, I'm up for it. 282 00:11:03,396 --> 00:11:06,332 It is different, so we'll see. 283 00:11:06,332 --> 00:11:08,100 -Okay. Let me take it one step further. 284 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:09,301 Or, yeah, would you— -May I jump in there? 285 00:11:09,301 --> 00:11:12,004 And this is a fun fact you might not know about me. 286 00:11:12,004 --> 00:11:14,340 When I worked for Senator David Frockt, I was one of 287 00:11:14,340 --> 00:11:17,309 three people that worked on the initial bill of that—of the 288 00:11:17,309 --> 00:11:19,078 extreme risk protection order. 289 00:11:19,078 --> 00:11:21,881 So, as Senator Frockt, I worked for him and Adam Hall. 290 00:11:21,881 --> 00:11:25,351 And what we have found is that this protection order has 291 00:11:25,351 --> 00:11:27,219 saved lives countless times. 292 00:11:27,219 --> 00:11:30,356 There are famous people that it has been reported about in the 293 00:11:30,356 --> 00:11:32,758 news that have had their lives saved with extreme 294 00:11:32,758 --> 00:11:33,893 risk protection orders. 295 00:11:33,893 --> 00:11:37,263 It is a really good program, and I think that it 296 00:11:37,263 --> 00:11:41,067 will be applicable here because it does two things. 297 00:11:41,067 --> 00:11:45,805 One, it says if you are a danger to yourself or others, you go 298 00:11:45,805 --> 00:11:50,576 through due process to have your firearm rights reviewed. 299 00:11:50,576 --> 00:11:53,879 And if you are engaging in behavior such as sex trafficking 300 00:11:53,879 --> 00:11:56,649 and using these weapons to imprison human beings 301 00:11:57,717 --> 00:12:00,753 then that's not something that's going to work for us and 302 00:12:02,021 --> 00:12:05,157 using the due process to ensure that constitutional 303 00:12:05,157 --> 00:12:07,927 rights are maintained Is the way that we are able 304 00:12:07,927 --> 00:12:10,563 to address the situation and ERPOs are one and I 305 00:12:10,563 --> 00:12:12,598 think it's a great tool. -Okay, we'll see. 306 00:12:12,598 --> 00:12:15,568 -And to add to this point, again, we'll see, but the DV 307 00:12:15,568 --> 00:12:19,138 aspect of domestic violence, you could argue the way the 308 00:12:19,138 --> 00:12:23,542 pimps manipulate the women, the girls, that it creates a similar 309 00:12:24,577 --> 00:12:27,313 And so hopefully, you know, this can be added to the mix 310 00:12:27,313 --> 00:12:30,216 and then we can take advantage But we have to implement it and 311 00:12:30,216 --> 00:12:32,651 we have to have the follow-up and the follow-through. 312 00:12:32,651 --> 00:12:35,154 -Let's talk about some of the other legislation the council's 313 00:12:35,154 --> 00:12:37,990 working on here, including some some emergency legislation to 314 00:12:37,990 --> 00:12:41,093 allow Seattle's police chief to temporarily shut down streets 315 00:12:41,093 --> 00:12:42,461 as a public safety measure. 316 00:12:42,461 --> 00:12:44,296 Council Member Juarez sponsoring this ordinance. 317 00:12:44,296 --> 00:12:45,397 I did invite her on the show. 318 00:12:45,397 --> 00:12:47,032 She said she couldn't make it. 319 00:12:47,032 --> 00:12:49,068 Council Member Kettle, do you support this idea? 320 00:12:49,068 --> 00:12:50,302 What does it mean to give the chief 321 00:12:50,302 --> 00:12:52,638 this kind of authority over street closures? 322 00:12:52,638 --> 00:12:56,809 - It goes to our overnight premises establishments bill. 323 00:12:56,809 --> 00:12:59,178 It also goes to chronic nuisance properties. 324 00:12:59,178 --> 00:13:00,913 So I support it. 325 00:13:00,913 --> 00:13:03,149 One could argue the mayor could just do it herself. 326 00:13:03,149 --> 00:13:06,152 You don't really need it, but on the ground, 327 00:13:06,152 --> 00:13:09,522 Chief is working these issues very detailed, 328 00:13:09,522 --> 00:13:14,160 and he can work with the precinct captains, 329 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,329 and he has a philosophy of really empowering 330 00:13:17,329 --> 00:13:20,499 the precinct captains, and so with that knowledge 331 00:13:20,499 --> 00:13:22,868 and then working with SDOT Director Brady, 332 00:13:22,868 --> 00:13:24,670 yes, they can take action. 333 00:13:24,670 --> 00:13:27,506 And by the way, it's better to do it beforehand, 334 00:13:28,641 --> 00:13:30,776 before a bullet goes through a house, 335 00:13:30,776 --> 00:13:33,646 and instead of going a couple feet over a bassinet, 336 00:13:33,646 --> 00:13:34,613 it could kill somebody. 337 00:13:34,613 --> 00:13:36,515 -Yeah, that was a terrible incident 338 00:13:36,515 --> 00:13:37,650 that happened in the community. 339 00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:40,252 Do you worry at all that it creates a sort of pretext 340 00:13:40,252 --> 00:13:42,822 for anybody hanging out in that area could be arrested? 341 00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:44,990 I wanted to make sure I asked you that question. 342 00:13:44,990 --> 00:13:45,891 -No, I don't. 343 00:13:45,891 --> 00:13:49,261 I recognize that this comes up in different ways 344 00:13:49,261 --> 00:13:52,965 for other bills, too, and we need to be... 345 00:13:52,965 --> 00:13:54,667 It's kind of like what we've done with the 346 00:13:54,667 --> 00:13:55,568 technology program. 347 00:13:55,568 --> 00:13:57,970 We have our mission in terms of what we're trying to do, but 348 00:13:57,970 --> 00:13:59,238 then we build in protections. 349 00:13:59,238 --> 00:14:02,641 And so you can build in different pieces to ensure 350 00:14:02,641 --> 00:14:06,011 that we are focused on what needs to be focused on 351 00:14:06,011 --> 00:14:08,781 and not getting distracted with issues on the side like 352 00:14:08,781 --> 00:14:10,449 you're kind of mentioning there. 353 00:14:10,449 --> 00:14:10,950 -Yeah, okay. 354 00:14:10,950 --> 00:14:11,750 Thank you for that. 355 00:14:11,750 --> 00:14:13,953 Councilmember Strauss, just some quick thoughts here on 356 00:14:13,953 --> 00:14:16,155 this legislation to allow the chief to shut down streets. 357 00:14:17,223 --> 00:14:18,757 Is this kind of ordinance needed? 358 00:14:18,757 --> 00:14:20,226 I guess it could be used in Ballard or 359 00:14:20,226 --> 00:14:21,227 any neighborhood here. 360 00:14:21,227 --> 00:14:22,361 What do you think about it? 361 00:14:22,361 --> 00:14:26,832 -I don't know that it's needed, but clarity is always helpful. 362 00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:27,533 -Okay, okay. 363 00:14:27,533 --> 00:14:29,401 By which you mean you'd like the chief to 364 00:14:29,401 --> 00:14:30,502 have that kind of role? 365 00:14:30,502 --> 00:14:32,238 What's your thought there? 366 00:14:32,238 --> 00:14:36,175 -In these times and spaces, we've seen different streets 367 00:14:36,175 --> 00:14:39,979 and alleys in Belltown and in downtown already closed 368 00:14:39,979 --> 00:14:41,814 for public safety issues. 369 00:14:41,814 --> 00:14:45,751 And that's why I don't believe that legislation is needed. 370 00:14:45,751 --> 00:14:48,787 and I would say that without that clarity, 371 00:14:48,787 --> 00:14:50,055 it creates a gray space. 372 00:14:50,055 --> 00:14:54,393 And when you have repeated, when you are engaging 373 00:14:54,393 --> 00:14:57,529 in the same problem set time and time again, 374 00:14:57,529 --> 00:15:01,133 rather than having a case-by-case basis decision, 375 00:15:01,133 --> 00:15:02,334 it's good to have clarity. 376 00:15:02,334 --> 00:15:03,736 And that's what the bill does. 377 00:15:03,736 --> 00:15:07,740 But also, I think that the bill came from a frustration 378 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:09,441 that neighbors were not being heard 379 00:15:09,441 --> 00:15:14,213 and that there was action not being taken swiftly. 380 00:15:14,213 --> 00:15:17,216 And so this is adding clarity. 381 00:15:17,216 --> 00:15:21,153 It's being very clear that these closures do need to happen. 382 00:15:22,755 --> 00:15:23,822 So it's a process for us. 383 00:15:23,822 --> 00:15:26,392 -And it's best to do it through the chief and with the 384 00:15:26,392 --> 00:15:29,028 Director Brady, in this case, rather than people doing 385 00:15:29,028 --> 00:15:31,196 things on their own because you don't know exactly. 386 00:15:31,196 --> 00:15:32,598 - And that was happening in that neighborhood. 387 00:15:32,598 --> 00:15:34,199 People are setting up their own barriers. 388 00:15:34,199 --> 00:15:36,769 -Yeah, if residents and constituents are doing their own 389 00:15:36,769 --> 00:15:38,137 thing. We're in a bad place and 390 00:15:39,405 --> 00:15:41,840 So we need to avoid that so again 391 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:46,278 We are similar, but we also see the need for it in clarity on 392 00:15:46,278 --> 00:15:50,282 door the ability to be proactive. -Yeah, and I'm gonna go a step 393 00:15:50,282 --> 00:15:53,419 further to say that I have a lot of residents in my district 394 00:15:53,419 --> 00:15:55,154 asking for these types of street 395 00:15:56,522 --> 00:16:00,092 safety measures in places that gun violence is not occurring. 396 00:16:00,092 --> 00:16:03,395 And SDOT routinely tells me that there's not the funding 397 00:16:03,395 --> 00:16:03,862 to do it. 398 00:16:03,862 --> 00:16:06,065 And so then I ask about the Vision Zero 399 00:16:06,065 --> 00:16:08,934 work. Those funds are only allowed to be used 400 00:16:08,934 --> 00:16:09,935 on arterials. 401 00:16:09,935 --> 00:16:12,104 And I have, maybe not quite in my 402 00:16:12,104 --> 00:16:16,208 district, it's still up in D5, but there are folks that 403 00:16:16,208 --> 00:16:20,980 put out their own implements to slow traffic down, and I'm 404 00:16:20,980 --> 00:16:24,850 feeling like SDOT's not hearing the residents, that they want 405 00:16:24,850 --> 00:16:27,252 their residential streets slowed down. 406 00:16:28,821 --> 00:16:30,255 So it's beyond just gun violence. 407 00:16:30,255 --> 00:16:32,458 I think everyone wants to feel safe on their 408 00:16:32,458 --> 00:16:34,893 street, and we have to address the gun violence, 409 00:16:34,893 --> 00:16:36,929 but SDOT also needs to be more responsive 410 00:16:36,929 --> 00:16:38,130 to everyday residents. 411 00:16:38,130 --> 00:16:40,132 - When you look at the public safety surveys that come 412 00:16:40,132 --> 00:16:42,167 back, yes, people are concerned about gun violence, 413 00:16:42,201 --> 00:16:44,703 but actual just safety for pedestrians up 414 00:16:44,703 --> 00:16:46,138 there is off the charts. 415 00:16:46,138 --> 00:16:47,573 People are really calling for that. 416 00:16:47,573 --> 00:16:49,274 -Teenagers do have driver's licenses. 417 00:16:49,274 --> 00:16:49,975 -True story. 418 00:16:49,975 --> 00:16:51,143 I had one, and I was a teenager on the streets, too. 419 00:16:51,143 --> 00:16:53,312 -Don't even bring up e-mobility scooters. 420 00:16:53,312 --> 00:16:54,613 -Okay, okay, okay. 421 00:16:54,613 --> 00:16:55,214 Thank you for that. 422 00:16:55,214 --> 00:16:56,482 I really appreciate that. 423 00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:59,018 A lot of people have been talking about what's 424 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:00,085 going on on Aurora. 425 00:17:00,085 --> 00:17:01,787 Councilmember Strauss, back to you for a question 426 00:17:01,787 --> 00:17:02,521 about Sound transit. 427 00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:03,088 Here we go. 428 00:17:03,088 --> 00:17:05,491 So the plan to have a light rail extension go to 429 00:17:05,491 --> 00:17:08,494 Ballard was put on hold or maybe deferred a few weeks ago. 430 00:17:08,494 --> 00:17:10,829 I'm not sure what the right nomenclature is there, but it 431 00:17:10,829 --> 00:17:13,499 doesn't sound like light rail is coming to Ballard anytime soon. 432 00:17:13,499 --> 00:17:15,100 You serve on the Sound Transit board. 433 00:17:15,100 --> 00:17:17,002 Can you break down what's happening with the 434 00:17:17,002 --> 00:17:19,838 Ballard Link extension and what Seattleites can expect, please? 435 00:17:19,838 --> 00:17:23,742 -Yeah, several months ago, Sound Transit staff killed the idea of 436 00:17:23,742 --> 00:17:25,544 the ability to get to Ballard. 437 00:17:25,544 --> 00:17:27,446 They provided three options. 438 00:17:27,446 --> 00:17:30,783 None of them prioritized ridership, and none 439 00:17:30,783 --> 00:17:34,053 of their three staff options got to Ballard. 440 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:36,221 What we saw in the chair's package that was 441 00:17:36,221 --> 00:17:37,289 voted on, I voted no, 442 00:17:38,457 --> 00:17:43,262 is that County Executive Zahilay was successful 443 00:17:43,262 --> 00:17:47,866 in getting us the funding to design all the way to Market 444 00:17:47,866 --> 00:17:49,835 Street on the Ballard line. 445 00:17:49,835 --> 00:17:54,006 That move by Executive Zahilay, with my support and 446 00:17:54,006 --> 00:17:57,776 all of us working together, is what is keeping 447 00:17:57,776 --> 00:17:59,578 Ballard alive today. 448 00:17:59,578 --> 00:18:01,547 So Ballard's not dead yet. 449 00:18:01,547 --> 00:18:02,714 It is on life support. 450 00:18:02,714 --> 00:18:05,451 We need every viewer to reach out to Sound Transit 451 00:18:05,451 --> 00:18:08,887 board members directly and share the importance 452 00:18:08,887 --> 00:18:13,292 of getting the extension that provides new ridership 453 00:18:13,292 --> 00:18:17,329 opportunities to new riders in the Seattle area. 454 00:18:17,329 --> 00:18:20,532 The downtown tunnel is redundant for Seattleites. 455 00:18:20,532 --> 00:18:22,534 It is needed by the region. 456 00:18:22,534 --> 00:18:24,770 It's a nice-to-have for Seattle. 457 00:18:24,770 --> 00:18:28,173 Ballard and West Seattle are a must-have for Seattleites, 458 00:18:28,173 --> 00:18:31,176 and they are a nice-to-have for the region. 459 00:18:31,176 --> 00:18:33,812 And so over the course of the next six to nine months, 460 00:18:33,812 --> 00:18:36,482 we'll see a number of decisions that we will need to make, 461 00:18:36,482 --> 00:18:39,218 and there's gonna be a calendar, and sign up for my newsletter 462 00:18:39,218 --> 00:18:40,452 if you wanna stay informed. 463 00:18:40,452 --> 00:18:43,088 But all this to say, through that design work, 464 00:18:44,189 --> 00:18:47,793 we have, and I've heard 2028 or 2032, 465 00:18:47,793 --> 00:18:50,529 as the date in which we need to have full funding 466 00:18:50,529 --> 00:18:51,530 to stay on track. 467 00:18:51,530 --> 00:18:54,399 Yeah. And so one of the amendments that I put forward 468 00:18:54,399 --> 00:18:57,369 and was passed is a transparency measure says to Sound 469 00:18:57,369 --> 00:19:00,339 Transit, you must put out a date for Ballard, no matter 470 00:19:00,339 --> 00:19:01,740 what it is or how bad it is. 471 00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:04,309 And I'm telling you, their ideas are very bad right now. 472 00:19:04,309 --> 00:19:05,544 Like, it's not good. 473 00:19:05,544 --> 00:19:08,614 But it's better to be transparent and say, we are 474 00:19:08,614 --> 00:19:12,518 working to find cost-cutting measures and funding options. 475 00:19:12,518 --> 00:19:15,787 And through that work, we will be able to bring 476 00:19:15,787 --> 00:19:17,589 that date closer in time. 477 00:19:17,589 --> 00:19:21,527 And that is the transparency that Sound Transit needs 478 00:19:21,527 --> 00:19:24,930 to rebuild the trust that they have lost with so 479 00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:26,698 many people in our area. 480 00:19:26,698 --> 00:19:27,199 -Thank you. 481 00:19:27,199 --> 00:19:29,268 Councilmember Kettle, I want you to respond 482 00:19:29,268 --> 00:19:31,503 to some online chatter that might be a little too 483 00:19:31,503 --> 00:19:32,671 hot for Seattle Channel. 484 00:19:32,671 --> 00:19:33,305 Here we go. 485 00:19:42,314 --> 00:19:44,483 If those fiery words sound familiar, they came 486 00:19:44,483 --> 00:19:46,618 from one of your press releases a few weeks ago. 487 00:19:46,618 --> 00:19:47,819 -I was going to say I recognize that. 488 00:19:47,819 --> 00:19:49,254 -Yeah, that might have been you. 489 00:19:49,254 --> 00:19:52,324 I wanted you to explain your concerns to viewers. 490 00:19:52,324 --> 00:19:53,692 -Well, two things. 491 00:19:53,692 --> 00:19:56,361 Kind of like the leadership that Councilmember Juarez 492 00:19:56,361 --> 00:19:58,730 is showing in North Seattle, nobody can match the 493 00:19:58,730 --> 00:20:01,266 leadership and the involvement of Councilmember 494 00:20:01,266 --> 00:20:03,936 Strauss on Sound Transit, and particularly related to 495 00:20:03,936 --> 00:20:05,337 the Ballard Regional Center. 496 00:20:05,337 --> 00:20:08,040 And I have great frustrations with Sound Transit and 497 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:10,609 with the state generally, because the state, on one 498 00:20:10,609 --> 00:20:13,345 hand, through Puget Sound Regional Council, you know, 499 00:20:13,345 --> 00:20:14,580 the comprehensive plan. 500 00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:16,381 We've created a regional center. 501 00:20:16,381 --> 00:20:19,218 Sound Transit's mission is to connect regional centers. 502 00:20:20,252 --> 00:20:23,555 Regional centers are connected except for Ballard. 503 00:20:23,555 --> 00:20:26,758 And as I said many times, land use and transportation are 504 00:20:26,758 --> 00:20:28,260 two sides of the same coin. 505 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:31,496 So we are going to create problems with the densification 506 00:20:31,496 --> 00:20:34,333 of Ballard without proper transportation links, 507 00:20:34,333 --> 00:20:37,402 public transit, between that regional center and 508 00:20:37,402 --> 00:20:38,770 the rest of the system. 509 00:20:38,770 --> 00:20:40,672 And that's really frustrating to me. 510 00:20:40,672 --> 00:20:42,608 -Councilmember Strauss, we had a question come in 511 00:20:42,608 --> 00:20:43,542 from one of our viewers. 512 00:20:43,542 --> 00:20:45,110 Eric wants to know this. 513 00:20:59,258 --> 00:21:01,660 Is that solution something the board is looking into? 514 00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:03,462 Some thoughts about what's next here, I guess. 515 00:21:03,462 --> 00:21:05,664 -We have to look at all of the options. 516 00:21:05,664 --> 00:21:09,268 And that was part of the motion that I worked on with Executive 517 00:21:09,268 --> 00:21:12,771 Zahilay saying, and that's one 518 00:21:12,771 --> 00:21:16,441 next six to nine months, is when Sound Transit will engage with 519 00:21:16,441 --> 00:21:19,811 these ideas from the community about how do we save money. 520 00:21:19,811 --> 00:21:20,379 The D.C. 521 00:21:20,379 --> 00:21:22,014 Metro system is a metro. 522 00:21:22,014 --> 00:21:24,683 We have a light rail, technical differences. 523 00:21:24,683 --> 00:21:26,652 But when you look at D.C. 524 00:21:26,652 --> 00:21:29,888 Metro, all of the stations are the same. 525 00:21:29,888 --> 00:21:31,723 They're not glamorous. 526 00:21:31,723 --> 00:21:33,625 And they're super functional. 527 00:21:33,625 --> 00:21:36,595 Sound Transit has a reputation for overbuilding, 528 00:21:36,595 --> 00:21:37,729 overengineering. 529 00:21:40,332 --> 00:21:42,801 Seattle stations are not going to be as nice as 530 00:21:42,801 --> 00:21:44,236 the Federal Way stations. 531 00:21:44,236 --> 00:21:47,439 And we need to take these ideas from the community 532 00:21:47,439 --> 00:21:50,575 because not getting to Ballard is not an option. 533 00:21:50,575 --> 00:21:52,077 -Thank you very much for that. 534 00:21:52,077 --> 00:21:54,079 Councilmember Kettle, I'm going to jump back to you 535 00:21:54,079 --> 00:21:55,147 for another big issue here. 536 00:21:55,147 --> 00:21:58,050 The Seattle Police Department recently put out a report 537 00:21:58,050 --> 00:22:00,519 that shows the plan to increase hiring at the SPD 538 00:22:00,519 --> 00:22:01,987 has run into a complication. 539 00:22:01,987 --> 00:22:04,289 Fewer veteran officers are leaving the department, or 540 00:22:04,289 --> 00:22:06,625 separating as it's called, and that's putting a strain 541 00:22:06,625 --> 00:22:07,526 on the hiring budget. 542 00:22:07,526 --> 00:22:09,061 The report says this. 543 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,442 The report went on to say that the 544 00:22:23,442 --> 00:22:25,844 SPD will, if necessary, slow down hiring so 545 00:22:25,844 --> 00:22:27,512 it doesn't go past its budget. 546 00:22:27,512 --> 00:22:29,915 The city authorized some big raises for SPD 547 00:22:29,915 --> 00:22:32,084 last year to make them the highest paid officers in 548 00:22:32,084 --> 00:22:32,451 the state. 549 00:22:32,451 --> 00:22:33,518 I know that was important to you and 550 00:22:33,518 --> 00:22:35,654 it's important for you to hire more people too. 551 00:22:35,654 --> 00:22:37,723 What are your thoughts about this? 552 00:22:37,723 --> 00:22:38,924 -What's our mission? 553 00:22:38,924 --> 00:22:40,592 You know, what's the priority. 554 00:22:40,592 --> 00:22:42,327 You know, if we don't have a safe base 555 00:22:42,327 --> 00:22:44,596 in our city, all these other things fall off. 556 00:22:44,596 --> 00:22:46,365 And so we have to, you know, build 557 00:22:46,365 --> 00:22:47,366 up those numbers. 558 00:22:47,366 --> 00:22:48,934 We're supposed to be at 1,400 559 00:22:48,934 --> 00:22:51,870 plus. You know, we're not even, you know, on the ground 560 00:22:51,870 --> 00:22:53,772 we're not even hitting a thousand yet. 561 00:22:53,772 --> 00:22:54,606 And so we have... 562 00:22:54,606 --> 00:22:56,942 -When you say 1,400, where's that number come from? 563 00:22:56,942 --> 00:22:58,377 Well, it's come up over the years, 564 00:22:58,377 --> 00:23:00,545 and also like with Mayor Harrell and what we've 565 00:23:00,545 --> 00:23:02,781 and also like with Mayor Harrel and what we've 566 00:23:02,781 --> 00:23:06,184 adopted you know as a council in terms of what we're 567 00:23:06,184 --> 00:23:08,286 looking at and so the hard part... 568 00:23:08,286 --> 00:23:10,021 -Fewer than a thousand now keep going... 569 00:23:10,021 --> 00:23:11,323 -Yes well in terms of you know on 570 00:23:11,323 --> 00:23:13,592 the streets yeah this goes to other it's really 571 00:23:13,592 --> 00:23:16,161 complicated in a sense of you know we've been bringing 572 00:23:16,161 --> 00:23:18,563 on and there's the training piece and getting that 573 00:23:18,563 --> 00:23:20,999 really smooth and there's different pieces to this 574 00:23:20,999 --> 00:23:23,301 but you know what this is actually in some ways 575 00:23:23,301 --> 00:23:26,104 reflection of a good story because we put in our our 576 00:23:26,104 --> 00:23:28,106 Our plan, our strategic framework plan. 577 00:23:28,106 --> 00:23:29,708 Pillar one was SPD staffing. 578 00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:32,010 You know, it had pieces like from the labor, but 579 00:23:32,010 --> 00:23:33,078 It had more than that. 580 00:23:33,078 --> 00:23:36,181 We had, you know, bills to encourage and for those to stay 581 00:23:36,181 --> 00:23:38,583 And also for people to bring— brought on. 582 00:23:38,583 --> 00:23:40,986 But here's the other thing, too: leadership. 583 00:23:40,986 --> 00:23:43,722 The council and city government showed leadership. 584 00:23:43,722 --> 00:23:45,490 I had somebody who was retirement eligible. 585 00:23:45,490 --> 00:23:49,628 He says, "You know, sir, I'm staying because 586 00:23:49,628 --> 00:23:51,630 Of what you've done." 587 00:23:51,630 --> 00:23:54,633 And not just me, my colleagues have gone to the stations, 588 00:23:54,633 --> 00:23:57,569 gone to roll calls and showed that, hey, because anybody 589 00:23:57,569 --> 00:24:00,672 wants to be supported by their boss and by the community and 590 00:24:00,672 --> 00:24:02,307 upper management, if you will. 591 00:24:02,307 --> 00:24:03,608 And that's what we got a nice raise. 592 00:24:03,608 --> 00:24:05,377 And so but it's not just that. 593 00:24:05,377 --> 00:24:08,447 And we have to work through these issues because at the 594 00:24:08,447 --> 00:24:11,817 end of the day, that's what we need going back to North Aurora. 595 00:24:11,817 --> 00:24:12,951 And it's not just North Aurora. 596 00:24:12,951 --> 00:24:15,353 We need we need bike teams in Belltown. 597 00:24:15,353 --> 00:24:17,189 You know, if we really want we need to be at that 598 00:24:17,189 --> 00:24:18,256 fourteen hundred number. 599 00:24:18,256 --> 00:24:20,525 Okay, if we really want to address these pieces and I 600 00:24:20,525 --> 00:24:23,195 know it's expensive, but you know, what's the alternative? 601 00:24:23,195 --> 00:24:24,429 What's the alternative? 602 00:24:24,429 --> 00:24:26,097 Yeah, you look at what's happening 603 00:24:26,097 --> 00:24:27,232 in business downtown? 604 00:24:27,232 --> 00:24:29,000 Okay. Yeah, so we should not you know 605 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,736 cut our nose or spit in our face. -Got it, Councilmember Strauss, 606 00:24:31,736 --> 00:24:33,738 I know this is gonna be a hot issue during the budget 607 00:24:33,738 --> 00:24:36,341 Deliberations that come up this fall the mayor is 608 00:24:36,341 --> 00:24:39,277 asking departments across the city to prepare for five 609 00:24:39,277 --> 00:24:41,847 to ten percent reductions. Will the SPD be getting cut 610 00:24:41,847 --> 00:24:43,982 and I know some people are gonna be asking that too? 611 00:24:43,982 --> 00:24:45,951 -You know, all departments are being asked to go 612 00:24:45,951 --> 00:24:46,952 through this exercise. 613 00:24:46,952 --> 00:24:50,922 It's a common exercise that every mayor has engaged in. 614 00:24:50,922 --> 00:24:52,057 It is an exercise. 615 00:24:52,057 --> 00:24:54,192 Their budget isn't built until August. 616 00:24:54,192 --> 00:24:56,661 What I said directly to the chief of police: Do 617 00:24:56,661 --> 00:24:57,996 not slow down on hiring. 618 00:24:57,996 --> 00:25:02,167 Do not—if you are having to make decisions now because of 619 00:25:02,167 --> 00:25:05,036 this exercise, you must keep And— 620 00:25:05,036 --> 00:25:07,372 -Even if it pushes them past their hiring budget? 621 00:25:08,607 --> 00:25:11,309 we have to keep hiring new officers. 622 00:25:11,309 --> 00:25:13,578 If we want to be effective in North Aurora, 623 00:25:13,578 --> 00:25:15,981 if we want to be effective in Rainier Beach 624 00:25:15,981 --> 00:25:18,416 and Rainier Valley, if we want to be effective 625 00:25:18,416 --> 00:25:21,586 in the Ballard Industrial Area where we're seeing 626 00:25:21,586 --> 00:25:24,923 organized criminal activity, this is what it takes. 627 00:25:24,923 --> 00:25:28,260 It takes, and we know that the newer officers 628 00:25:28,260 --> 00:25:30,695 that are coming on, we are now the highest paid 629 00:25:30,695 --> 00:25:33,298 police department in the state, which means that we are 630 00:25:33,298 --> 00:25:34,699 recruiting good officers. 631 00:25:34,699 --> 00:25:36,968 If we want the future of policing to be 632 00:25:36,968 --> 00:25:39,504 what we want it to be, we have to hire these new 633 00:25:39,504 --> 00:25:43,108 officers, and we can't slow down because that timeline 634 00:25:43,108 --> 00:25:44,643 is so protracted. 635 00:25:44,643 --> 00:25:46,278 -I want to touch on something else that's 636 00:25:46,278 --> 00:25:47,212 happening in the city. 637 00:25:47,212 --> 00:25:49,915 The mayor's plan to increase the amount of enhanced 638 00:25:49,915 --> 00:25:51,249 shelter units in Seattle. 639 00:25:51,249 --> 00:25:53,485 These are units that not only offer tiny homes, 640 00:25:53,485 --> 00:25:55,654 but pretty intense human services, too. 641 00:25:55,654 --> 00:25:58,056 Councilmember Strauss, you were at an event a few weeks ago 642 00:25:58,056 --> 00:25:59,925 celebrating the opening of such a facility. 643 00:25:59,925 --> 00:26:02,294 brought up an example for Ballard, from Ballard, 644 00:26:02,294 --> 00:26:04,429 I should say, where you had a pilot program in 645 00:26:04,429 --> 00:26:06,965 2023. I thought this was very interesting when you 646 00:26:06,965 --> 00:26:07,866 spoke about this. 647 00:26:07,866 --> 00:26:09,334 It got people off the street, 648 00:26:09,334 --> 00:26:11,570 I should say, but a number of those people failed 649 00:26:11,570 --> 00:26:13,872 out, as you put it, because they needed more care. 650 00:26:13,872 --> 00:26:15,206 I wanted to take it next level. 651 00:26:15,206 --> 00:26:17,208 Are you confident this new enhanced shelter 652 00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:19,678 program that's getting rolled out here is going to do a 653 00:26:19,678 --> 00:26:22,547 better job than what you saw in your district three years ago? 654 00:26:22,547 --> 00:26:26,017 -Let me add some nuance to what you just said. 655 00:26:26,017 --> 00:26:28,019 We had a list of 38 people. 656 00:26:28,019 --> 00:26:28,553 -That's right. 657 00:26:28,553 --> 00:26:29,621 -We couldn't find one. 658 00:26:29,621 --> 00:26:32,857 So we had 37 people that we got into shelter. 659 00:26:32,857 --> 00:26:36,528 Of those, all but three got this enhanced type of shelter. 660 00:26:36,528 --> 00:26:40,098 For those that went into the enhanced shelter, they 661 00:26:40,098 --> 00:26:44,069 stayed in shelter and were successful at stabilizing and 662 00:26:44,069 --> 00:26:46,404 addressing some of their issues. 663 00:26:46,404 --> 00:26:48,974 For the three people that we didn't have room for at 664 00:26:48,974 --> 00:26:51,576 the enhanced shelter, they went to a tiny home that 665 00:26:51,576 --> 00:26:52,711 had a front desk clerk. 666 00:26:52,711 --> 00:26:53,044 -I see. 667 00:26:53,044 --> 00:26:53,378 I see. 668 00:26:53,378 --> 00:26:57,515 -That had somebody managing the space, but not much more. 669 00:26:57,515 --> 00:26:59,351 And those three people failed out. 670 00:26:59,351 --> 00:26:59,918 -I see. 671 00:26:59,918 --> 00:27:03,054 -And so what I was saying, I don't need any more tiny 672 00:27:03,054 --> 00:27:04,990 homes with front desk clerks. 673 00:27:04,990 --> 00:27:09,694 When you look at the data of how many shelter beds we 674 00:27:09,694 --> 00:27:12,964 have online in that area, in that part of the 675 00:27:12,964 --> 00:27:15,200 spectrum, compared to the enhanced shelter, 676 00:27:16,434 --> 00:27:19,104 It explains why people who are just down and out 677 00:27:19,104 --> 00:27:22,140 on their luck, we have been effective at getting them inside 678 00:27:22,140 --> 00:27:24,275 because they are in these tiny homes. 679 00:27:24,275 --> 00:27:27,278 For the people who need enhanced services, 680 00:27:27,278 --> 00:27:29,347 they are the ones that are still left on the streets 681 00:27:29,347 --> 00:27:31,616 because we are not providing a place for them 682 00:27:31,616 --> 00:27:34,452 to get off the streets too because they require a 683 00:27:34,452 --> 00:27:35,487 higher level of care. 684 00:27:35,487 --> 00:27:37,322 - Okay, thank you. 685 00:27:37,322 --> 00:27:39,257 Council Member Kettle, we're getting close to wrapping up 686 00:27:39,257 --> 00:27:40,659 here, but I do wanna talk about this. 687 00:27:40,659 --> 00:27:42,594 This is a shelter that's in your district. 688 00:27:42,594 --> 00:27:43,762 How is it going with this? 689 00:27:43,762 --> 00:27:45,830 your thoughts about where this is going to go in the future. 690 00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:47,298 -Right, in disputed territory. 691 00:27:47,298 --> 00:27:48,933 -Okay, all right, just so you know, just so you know. 692 00:27:48,933 --> 00:27:49,868 Here we go. 693 00:27:49,868 --> 00:27:51,069 -Yes, in Inner Bay. 694 00:27:51,069 --> 00:27:54,039 And, you know, I support it in the sense that we have 695 00:27:54,039 --> 00:27:57,375 to build the capacity again, you know, have this option, and 696 00:27:57,375 --> 00:28:00,078 to learn the lessons learned, like with the Salmon 697 00:28:00,078 --> 00:28:02,747 Bay Village just up the road near Ballard Bridge, 698 00:28:02,747 --> 00:28:05,183 which was a combination RV and tiny home, 699 00:28:05,183 --> 00:28:08,153 where they put in all these pieces regarding security, 700 00:28:08,153 --> 00:28:09,454 outreach to community. 701 00:28:09,454 --> 00:28:12,090 We have a process right now with the council regarding 702 00:28:12,090 --> 00:28:14,492 neighborhood engagement and mitigation plans. 703 00:28:14,492 --> 00:28:16,995 So these service providers have a baseline in terms of 704 00:28:16,995 --> 00:28:19,364 what they need to be doing with their neighborhoods 705 00:28:19,364 --> 00:28:22,500 and the engagement and the mitigation, which is important. 706 00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:24,669 And so a lot of those have been built into the 707 00:28:24,669 --> 00:28:27,072 Armory Array location at the shelter location. 708 00:28:27,072 --> 00:28:27,839 It's a little different. 709 00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:28,873 It's not a tiny home. 710 00:28:28,873 --> 00:28:30,075 And so we'll see. 711 00:28:30,075 --> 00:28:33,144 But part of it is, to Council Member Strauss' point, you 712 00:28:33,144 --> 00:28:34,879 have to have this combination. 713 00:28:34,879 --> 00:28:36,781 And, you know, and by the way, we have to have a 714 00:28:36,781 --> 00:28:38,116 combination across the board. 715 00:28:38,116 --> 00:28:41,186 This morning, I was at the Matt Talbot Center, which 716 00:28:41,186 --> 00:28:42,654 is a sober living option. 717 00:28:42,654 --> 00:28:45,223 So we need more sober living options to go with the 718 00:28:45,223 --> 00:28:46,691 other options that we have. 719 00:28:46,691 --> 00:28:48,960 And by having this, that really sets up success 720 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,296 for the next stage, going to what Councilmember 721 00:28:51,296 --> 00:28:52,297 Strauss was saying. 722 00:28:52,297 --> 00:28:53,331 -Okay. Thank you very much. 723 00:28:53,331 --> 00:28:54,733 That's all the time we have for now. 724 00:28:54,733 --> 00:28:57,102 A big thanks to Councilmember Kettle, Councilmember Strauss. 725 00:28:57,102 --> 00:28:58,103 Thanks a lot for joining me. 726 00:28:58,103 --> 00:28:59,070 -Thanks for having us. 727 00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:01,406 -I'm Brian Callanan and we'll see you next time on Council Edition 728 00:29:01,406 --> 00:29:02,507 here on the Seattle Channel. 729 00:29:02,507 --> 00:29:12,484 ♪♪