A desperate Seattle needs Mayor Harrell to bring his A-game to public drug use law

After a bitterly failed Seattle Metropolis Council effort, Mayor Bruce Harrell has handed the duty of formulating an ordinance to ban public drug use to a newly fashioned work group.

The hill to a ultimate decision simply received steeper.

Ultimately, at any time when the group finishes its work, there ought to be three key outcomes: the Metropolis Council ought to go an ordinance that adopts the state legislation on public drug use. The town shouldn’t try and micromanage police operations via municipal code. And town ought to prioritize funding remedy over knowledge assortment.

In an interview with The Instances editorial board, Harrell stated he had believed the general public drug use ordinance debated at a fractious Metropolis Council assembly on June 6 would go. (Learn extra ideas from the mayor here.)

Within the aftermath of the ordinance defeat, Harrell introduced a piece group on June 12 comprising 24 members representing his workplace, the Metropolis Council, Seattle Municipal Court docket, Seattle Metropolis Legal professional and varied neighborhood and social service organizations.

First on the work group’s agenda, Harrell emphasised his need for a complete checklist of all these consuming medicine in public. This appears a time-consuming job with restricted worth.

In downtown Seattle, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, town’s Third Avenue Venture and the Seattle Metropolis Legal professional’s workplace have lists of people who find themselves residing unsheltered, posing public security challenges, or each. How one other checklist would add to the understanding — and embrace different neighborhoods resembling Lake Metropolis, Ballard and Columbia Metropolis — is unclear. The King County Medical Examiner’s Workplace may actually present insights concerning the 712 individuals who died from fentanyl overdose final yr.

It might be much better to place metropolis funds into extra strong remedy as an alternative of paying service suppliers to tabulate an ever-changing demographic of drug customers.

Information questions apart, Harrell added: “We aren’t going to delay our technique of enforcement till we have now that checklist. I have to have that clear.”

However an enforcement technique can also be to be decided.

Harrell stated his ultimate ordinance will obtain the suitable stability between giving officers the discretion they should apply the legislation with widespread sense, and the path he stated cops advised him they need to guarantee they’re doing their jobs correctly.

That could be a worthy aim, however it’s laborious to see consensus rising on such a granular challenge from a 24-member work group. The state Legislature’s fumbling makes an attempt to supervise when police can pursue suspects ought to function a cautionary story. A greater method would maintain the police chief accountable to a transparent set of ideas.

Different vital particulars stay to be labored out. Ought to officers confront folks utilizing medicine in public solely in the event that they represent a risk? How is a risk outlined?

Within the dialog, Harrell thought of one other issue: if public drug use made somebody really feel “unwelcomed.”

“Sooner or later, the wants of the particular person with the infant stroller ready on the bus cease, that must be introduced into the dialog and that may be centered. The overwhelming majority of individuals, and the individuals who elected me, they need security round bus stops. They need security round downtown, and that’s OK. They need to have that.”

Placing all this down on paper — with enter from two dozen extremely opinionated folks, some with vastly totally different factors of view — is a tall order. Harrell advised the board he’s uniquely able to getting it accomplished.

“That is actually powerful work, however I do it with a smile on my face,” he stated. “Fairly frankly, this ordinance we’re going to go — I don’t assume few folks may go it. Clearly, the council couldn’t go it. It ought to have been perfunctory. It ought to have been 5-4 (to) adjust to state legislation, with metropolis legislation, no brainer. However it tore town aside.”

Harrell’s confidence is welcome. His instincts are sound. The town would undoubtedly profit from his success. However he should make use of his political abilities on steering the work group a fantastic deal greater than he interacted with the Metropolis Council. In any other case, Harrell dangers a repeat efficiency that may additional cleave a determined and divided neighborhood.