Council Press Conferences
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee, proposes City legislation aimed at fighting caste discrimination. Caste is a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy (completely closed categories), and social barriers based on birth and descent. Caste discrimination occurs in the form of social segregation, economic deprivation, physical and psychological abuse, and violence. Caste discrimination is also manifested in employment, education, and housing.
It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country. Sawant and other speakers will present the draft ordinance, which will be the first of its kind in the nation if passed by the City Council. Speakers will explain the caste discrimination that exists locally and nationally, and how the proposed ordinance will help fight caste discrimination.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Samir Khobragade, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Raghav Kaushik, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Hassan Khan, Human rights activist
Javed Sikandar, Technology leader
Lama Rangdrol, Seattle-based African American teacher of Buddhism
Alvin Muragori, Socialist & community organizer
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, union members, and renters discuss proposed rent control legislation. The press conference precedes a special meeting and public hearing of the Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Julia Kobelt, rank-and-file member of UAW 4121
Ellen Anderson, UW student & Seattle renter
Sally Soriano, 32nd Legislative District member, former Seattle School Board member
Jordan Young, PCC grocery worker at the View Ridge store, member of PCC Workers United, member of the UFCW 3000 PCC Bargaining Committee
Jonathan Rosenblum, labor and renters’ rights organizer
Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 – Northeast Seattle) announced Wednesday a bold tax reform to make our system more fair for Seattle with legislation eliminating a regressive water tax for everyone and replacing it with a 2% local expansion of the State’s new progressive tax on high-end capital gains.
Matching the new State law, this local tax would apply to only a very small number who gain more than $250,000 in a single year from the sale of assets, such as stocks or bonds, and it would exempt retirement savings and real estate transactions. Using zip code-level information gathered for the state-level capital gains excise tax, a local 2% could generate approximately $50 million annually, which would offset the amount City Hall’s General Fund takes from your water bills each year, so that this tax reform is essentially revenue-neutral.
The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) consistently ranks Washington State as one of the most unfair systems in the country, where lower income residents pay a much higher percentage of their household earnings for taxes and fees than wealthier residents.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Alex Pedersen, City of Seattle
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, joined by a coalition of affordable housing developers, labor leaders, community organizations, the City of Seattle Office of Housing, and others, announced legislation (Council Bill 120584 and Resolution 32093) renewing the Seattle Housing Levy, including amendments proposed by the Seattle City Council. The Mayor and Select Committee Chair are in lockstep on the need for a robust $970 million package that invests in permanent supportive housing, resident services, workforce supports, and strong labor standards.
Councilmember Mosqueda chairs the Council’s Select Committee about the 2023 Housing Levy, which received Mayor Bruce Harrell’s seven-year, $970 million proposal for the Levy on March 30, 2023. The Select Committee has been meeting since March, unpacking the proposal, hearing from the public, and crafting amendments.
Seattle’s affordable housing needs have grown dramatically since the last Housing Levy was passed in 2016. The COVID pandemic and economic downturn have created far greater housing instability in our community than Seattle has seen in previous decades. At the same time, wages have not kept pace with inflation, and many workers in affordable housing are struggling with housing insecurity.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, City of Seattle
Patience Malaba, Executive Director, Housing Development Consortium
Katie Garrow, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, MLK Labor
Maiko Winkler-Chin, Director, Office of Housing
James Lovell, Development Director, Chief Seattle Club
Naomi Lewis, Registered Nurse, DESC
K. Wyking Garrett, President & CEO, Community Land trust
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) joined workers from PCC Community Markets on Monday, March 13, 2023. The workers, who are members of UFCW Local 3000, shared stories of their working conditions, highlighted their demands, and announced a rank-and-file organizing effort at PCC stores across the Seattle area. PCC workers’ contract expires later this year.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Maddy Olson, PCC grocery worker, Workers Strike Back activist
Arlo Bender Simon, PCC grocery worker
Kai Lee-Kenniz, PCC worker
Jared Housing, PCC worker
Tiffanie Boldizsar, PCC worker
Varun Belur, Workers Strike Back activist
Shirley Henderson, Owner of Squirrel Chops coffee shop
Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (Position 8, Citywide) hosted a ceremony on Wednesday to rename a section of Union Street “D’Vonne Pickett, Jr. Way” in honor of the late community leader.
Pickett was shot and killed in October outside The Postman, the mailing services shop he opened in 2018. Pickett and his wife, KeAnna — who have three young children — opened their business named after the profession of Jacques Chappell, Pickett’s great-grandfather, a mail carrier in the neighborhood.
Seattle City Council unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by Councilmember Mosqueda to pave the way for the renaming. The resolution was written in conjunction with Mayor Bruce Harrell and Pickett’s family to honor his legacy.
The street, which stretches between Liberty Bank Building, and Midtown Square, and is an area honoring important and loved figures including Rev. Dr. Samuel B. McKinney Ave added in 2014 near Mount Zion Baptist Church and E Barbara Bailey Way designated in 2019 between Cal Anderson and Capitol Hill Station.
Speakers include:
Mayor Bruce Harrell, City of Seattle
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
KeAnna Rose Pickett, wife of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
De’Auzjanae Pickett, sister of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Cassandra Nicole Chappelle, mother of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Craig First-Rider, brother of D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Jermaine Williams, friend of D'Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Paul Sutton, friend of D'Vonne Pickett, Jr.
Councilmember Sawant & community leaders rally for first-in-nation caste discrimination ban
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee, held a press conference and rally alongside community leaders, socialists, and supporting organizations to demand Seattle City Council vote ‘Yes’ on the ordinance her office has introduced, to make Seattle the nation’s first city to ban caste discrimination.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Samir Khobragade, tech worker
Tanmay Waghmare, tech worker
Ram Kumar, Ambedcar International Center
Raghav Kaushik, tech worker
Councilmember Lewis unveils amendment protecting Pike Place Market Historical Commission’s authority
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia) announced his intentions to protect Pike Place Market from proposed legislation that would permanently strip historic districts of key administrative review authority. The Market, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, was stripped of its independent administrative review processes like many other historic districts at the start of the COVID pandemic. This disconnect between the community stewards and administration of the Market has outlasted its need and is cutting out some of the Market’s strongest advocates from discussions on its future. Thursday’s event features representatives from Friends of the Market who have an extensive history of service to the Market and can speak to the importance of returning administrative review to the Market, provided by Councilmember Lewis’ amendment to CB120456.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Sara Patton, Friends of the Market advocate
Duncan Thieme, Friends of the Market Board member
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee, proposes City legislation aimed at fighting caste discrimination. Caste is a system of rigid social stratification characterized by hereditary status, endogamy (completely closed categories), and social barriers based on birth and descent. Caste discrimination occurs in the form of social segregation, economic deprivation, physical and psychological abuse, and violence. Caste discrimination is also manifested in employment, education, and housing.
It is faced by South Asian American and other immigrant working people in their workplaces, including in the tech sector, in Seattle and in cities around the country. Sawant and other speakers will present the draft ordinance, which will be the first of its kind in the nation if passed by the City Council. Speakers will explain the caste discrimination that exists locally and nationally, and how the proposed ordinance will help fight caste discrimination.
Speakers and attendees include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Samir Khobragade, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Raghav Kaushik, Tech worker & South Asian American community member
Hassan Khan, Human rights activist
Javed Sikandar, Technology leader
Lama Rangdrol, Seattle-based African American teacher of Buddhism
Alvin Muragori, Socialist & community organizer
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda join local child care provider Jenny Lowery and representatives from SEIU 925 to highlight the importance of long-overdue investments in child care. The U.S. Senate continues to negotiate the Build Back Better Act that was passed by the House of Representatives in November.
The Build Back Better Act is a $1.85 trillion package that would make unprecedented investments in working people, families, and communities across America. This is particularly true when it comes to child care. The House bill includes universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, expanding access to free, high-quality preschool for more than six million children; affordable, high-quality childcare with costs limited to no more than seven percent of income for families earning up to 250 percent of the state median income; and four weeks of guaranteed paid family and medical leave, guaranteed.
Speakers include:
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Washington Dist. 7.
Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council
Jenny Lowery, Hullabaloo Preschool
Councilmember Strauss, partners discuss new model of encampment removal used at Ballard Commons Park
Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 - Northwest Seattle) and a coalition of homelessness service providers, city officials, business leaders and others highlight their successful work to offer people residing at Ballard Commons Park appropriate shelter and a path towards permanent housing.
Since August, Councilmember Strauss has worked to bring together a host of community members, city departments, and service providers to coordinate a robust response that ensured people living in the park were offered the support they needed, including 24/7 enhanced shelter with wraparound onsite services like case management and housing navigation.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Dan Strauss, Seattle City Council
Mike Stewart, Ballard Alliance
Chloe Gale, REACH
Rev. Canon Britt Olson, St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the council's Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee, joins tenants at the Terrace Crest Apartments in Seattle's First Hill Neighborhood to demand their landlord, Breier-Sheetz Properties, fix the boiler which has been broken since mid-September, leaving tenants almost entirely without hot water and/or heating for the last two months. Councilmember Sawant shares a letter she has sent to the landlord in support of tenants and announces future plans for legislation to protect renters from landlord negligence.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Allison Rau, Terrace Crest Tenant
Fran Love, Terrace Crest Tenant
Thaddaeus Hug, Terrace Crest Tenant
Violet Lavatai, Tenants Union of Washington State
Melina McCombs, former Terrace Crest Tenant
Mark Dunn, Terrace Crest Tenant
Perry Holstein, Terrace Crest Tenant
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia) and a coalition of service providers, members from the business community, and others provide an update about the team effort to successfully shelter 31 individuals experiencing homelessness on 1st Ave. and Yesler, all of whom accepted appropriate shelter voluntarily. The JustCARE alliance coordinates whenever possible with City-funded shelter options via the Human Services Department (HSD), and partners with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), and Public Utilities (SPU) for debris removal when people have voluntarily left items behind when they move. As Seattle wrestles with the homelessness crisis, this model - non-siloed teams of JustCARE and the City working in concert - has been repeatedly proven effective, both humanely providing shelter services for those experiencing unsheltered homelessness as well as clearing public spaces for everyone.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, Seattle City Council
Dominique Davis, Wheeler Davis Safety Team
Emily Kim & Heather Hodge, The Pastry Project
Lisa Howard, Alliance For Pioneer Square
Jon Scholes, Downtown Seattle Association (DSA)
Karen Salinas, Evergreen Treatment Services - REACH
Nichole Alexander, Public Defender Association
Lyly Nguyen, JustCARE
Lisa Daugaard, Public Defender Association
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) holds a press conference.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council
Liban Abdalla, Tenant
Annie Byse-Moore and Patricia Bruce, Tenants
Jacob Schear, Real Change
Kate Rubin, Be:Seattle
Lydia Rubenstein, Tenants Union
Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4, Northeast Seattle), Sound Transit, City of Seattle Human Services Department, Low Income Housing Institute, service providers, neighbors, and members from the local business community celebrate an Open House of Rosie's Village. This will be the first tiny house village to open on Sound Transit property.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Alex Pedersen, Seattle City Council
Sharon Lee, Low Income Housing Institute
Tracy Williams, tiny house village resident
Theresa Barker, Northeast Seattle community member
Barb Oliver, Sound Foundations NW
Kimberly Farley, Sound Transit
State Representative Frank Chopp
Don Blakeney, U District Partnership
Councilmember Sawant & others unveil legislation to fund affordable housing in Central District
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, joined Central District faith leaders, the Low Income Housing Institute, and community organizations to unveil legislation to support the New Hope Family Housing project and the compensation of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church and others for land taken from them by the City of Seattle under the racist Urban Renewal programs of the 1960s. New Hope Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey Sr. documented this forced sale in a recent Seattle Times op-ed. The legislation will also fund affordable housing for displaced and low-income neighbors with roots in the neighborhood.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, District 3
Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey, Sr., Senior Pastor, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
Aisaya Corbray, Low Income Housing Institute
Rev. Lawrence Willis, Pastor, Truevine of Holiness Baptist Church
Rev. Angela Ying, Senior Pastor, Bethany United Church of Christ
Alvin Muragori, Socialist Alternative member, community organizer with Councilmember Sawant's office
Eddie Rye, Jr., Community Activist
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis (District 7 - Pioneer Square to Magnolia), service providers and members from the business community announce the publication of a University of Washington study demonstrating the effectiveness of the JustCARE model, and provide a tangible example of how 33 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness on 3rd Avenue downtown were connected with appropriate shelter by JustCARE and voluntarily accepted. The JustCARE model is a team effort combining outreach workers from REACH/Evergreen Treatment Services, a field team from CoLEAD, and hotel-based teams with Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) & CoLEAD, along with the Wheeler Davis safety team. The JustCARE alliance coordinates whenever possible with City-funded shelter options via the Human Services Department (HSD).
Speakers include:
Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis, District 7
Katherine Beckett, UW Professor of Sociology
Nichole Alexander, JustCARE
Dominique Davis, Wheeler Davis Safety Team
SJ Percer, CoLEAD
Rachel Smith, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Rick Yoder, Wild Ginger
Lou Bond, Melbourne Tower
Chris Park, Downtown Seattle Association
Jesse Benet, Public Defender Association
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2 - South Seattle & The C/ID), housing advocates, tenant protection groups, renters and community members rallied for new protections for renters on Friday outside of City Hall. Morales introduced new legislation that provides an enhanced eviction defense for renters. The "Sound at Home" legislation provides a defense in eviction court for any renter who has faced a financial hardship caused by the pandemic that would have caused them to fall behind on rent. Speakers include:
Speakers:
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, District 2
Anquida Adams, Chair of the Seattle Disability Commission & affected renter
Julissa Sanchez, Tenant Organizer at the Tenants Union of Washington
Tram Tran-Larsen, Community Engagement Manager at the Housing Justice Project
Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6 - Northwest Seattle), chair of the Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee, with the support of area business owners, announces the official extension of the city's existing Café Streets program through May 31, 2022. The program enables restaurants and other retail storefronts to utilize streets outside of their businesses for outdoor dining or displays for an additional year and creates a path to permanency.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Dan Strauss, City of Seattle
Mike Stewart, Ballard Alliance
Max Genereaux, Hattie's Hat
Hannah Carter, Bitterroot BBQ
Doug Farr, Seattle Farmers Market Association
Anna Zibarts, Disability Rights Washington
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, unveils renters' rights legislation. Sawant and community members describe plans to push the City Council to enact residential and commercial rent control, currently banned by state legislation. Sawant also unveils companion legislation to address the growing rent crisis for tenants and struggling small businesses, including requiring landlords to provide 180 days' notice for any rent increases and providing for landlord-paid economic eviction assistance for any tenant who is forced out of their home due to rent increases.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Shirley Henderson, small business owner
Reverend Dr. Robert Jeffrey, Sr., New Hope Missionary Baptist Church
Jordan Van Voast, homeowner, nonprofit leader, parent, climate justice activist
Amzi Jeffs, union activist, renter
Joe Sugrue, union activist, renter
Castill Hightower, Black Lives Matter activist
Matt Maley, educator, union member, renter
Deyo Esquivel, indigenous community activist, renter
Renée Holmes, Central District renter
Raghav Kaushik, tech worker, homeowner, immigrant community activist
Star Willey. Starbucks worker, trans community activist, renter
Karla Esquivel, business owner
Kailyn Nicholson, Socialist Alternative member, parent, renter
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, unveils legislation that would prohibit evictions of school children, their families, and educators during the school year. Sawant is joined by Seattle School Board Member Zachary DeWolf, Seattle Education Association educators, Seattle school students, and renter advocates who will explain the devastating impact that evictions have on school children and the urgent need for this legislation.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Bruce Jackson, Aki Kurose Middle School Seattle Education Association
Natalya McConnell, Student
Julissa Sanchez, Tenants Union of Washington State
Zachary DeWolf, Seattle School Board
Matt Maley, Seattle Education Association
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (District 2, South Seattle and the CID), together with community representatives, introduces the scope of work for the first in a series of Tenants' Bill of Rights legislation. The legislation is intended to fix a weakness in the City of Seattle's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance that has, for the last forty years, allowed tenants to be forced from their homes without cause. This legislation aims to ensure that tenants are not removed from their homes without cause following the end of the eviction moratorium, or at any other time in the future.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle
Dulce Gutierrez Vasquez, El Centro de la Raza
Tram Tran-Larsen, Housing Justice Project
Arianna Laureano, Seattle tenant
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, eviction defense experts, and renter advocates share why the Seattle City Council should vote for Right to Counsel legislation without any means testing or other loopholes.The legislation would for the first time give Seattle tenants the right to legal aid when facing eviction.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Jacob Shear, Real Change Real Change Vendor
Sharon Crowley, UAW
Edmund Witter, Housing Justice Project
Violet Lavatai, Executive Director, Tenants Union of Washington State
Maya Garfinkel, Organizing Director, Be:Seattle and coalition member of Stay Housed Stay Healthy
Anastasia Schaadhardt, UAW 4121 member
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, eviction defense experts, and renter advocates explain why the Seattle City Council should vote for the Right to Counsel legislation without loopholes and resolution to extend the eviction moratorium through 2021.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Edmund Witter, Housing Justice Project
John Pollock, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel
Julissa Sanchez, Tenants Union of Washington State
Sharon Crowley, Seattle Renters Commission & UAW 4121 member
Jacob Shearer, Real Change organizer & Bookworkers Union member
Shirley Henderson, Seattle small business owner
Council President M. Lorena González and Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Tammy J. Morales clarify with the public the Council's plan for meaningful community investments this year to improve public safety for everyone, especially BIPOC communities in Seattle.
The Councilmembers discuss cuts to the Seattle Police Department's Budget during the 2020 summer rebalancing package, and proposed cuts that will be decided on during the fall budget process, which will kick off in September. They also share their vision for a pathway forward during the upcoming fall budget session with the explicit goal to uproot the harmful systems that have continued to oppress Black and Indigenous communities, and also to lay the foundation for new systems to be built that center the humanity, healing, and growth of BIPOC communities.
Speakers include:
Council President M. Lorena González, City of Seattle
Councilmember Lisa Herbold, City of Seattle
Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, City of Seattle
Sawant unveils plan to defund remaining 2020 Seattle Police budget, invest in BIPOC communities
Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle), chair of the Council's Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee, announces amendments she will introduce at the Friday, July 31, 2020 City Council Budget Committee. The amendments incorporate the Black Lives Matter movement's demands that the remaining 2020 Seattle Police budget be cut by 50%, with those funds invested in Black and Brown working-class communities.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Kshama Sawant, City of Seattle
Sam Sumpter, UAW 4121
Bruce Jackson, Educator
Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey, Sr., Pastor, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church