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What qualities ought to voters search for in a Seattle Metropolis Council member?
Private preferences apart, listed below are few issues: accessibility, consistency, and competency.
Weighed towards these standards, the editorial board recommends that every one three incumbents operating for reelection ought to lose their jobs.
Tammy Morales, Dan Strauss and Andrew Lewis voted in 2020 to get behind a proposal by advocates to defund the Seattle Police Division by 50% and reallocate the {dollars}.
Regardless of the justifiable push for higher policing following the homicide of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers, this was an clearly unhealthy concept. Any metropolis division may doubtless stand up to a finances lower of 5%. Defunding by 50% basically places the division out of enterprise. That these three council members had been OK with not having a practical public security response is purpose sufficient for voters to go in one other path.
Representing District 2 in South Seattle, Morales has constantly voted towards public security measures, together with the latest vote making public drug use a gross misdemeanor.
As for accessibility, Erin Goodman of the Sodo Enterprise Enchancment Space stated her group had a “well mannered” relationship with Morales’ employees, however, she stated: “Councilmember Morales has proven little interest in small companies in Sodo.”
The identical could possibly be stated for Little Saigon and different neighborhoods in Morales’ district. It’s merely inexcusable.
No less than with Morales, voters know what they’re going to get. Not a lot with Strauss and Lewis.
In 2020, Strauss, the council member for District 6 (Ballard, Fremont, Inexperienced Lake and components of Magnolia) stated he was in “100% settlement” with the defund motion. Final yr, Strauss and 5 different council members flouted Mayor Bruce Harrell’s request and eradicated 80 unfilled SPD positions. Now, Strauss claims in marketing campaign literature that defund was a mistake as he frantically tries to burnish his public security credentials. A lot for consistency.
Consistency has additionally bedeviled Lewis, who represents District 7 — downtown, Queen Anne and components of Magnolia. Lewis was the swing vote that killed an ordinance that might have conformed Seattle Municipal Code with state regulation prohibiting public drug use and emphasizing remedy and diversion. He later voted for a revised model.
Altering his thoughts is Lewis’ customary working process. He voted on a invoice to cap late-rent charges in committee after which switched positions on the ultimate vote. After Lewis expressed full-throated help for defunding the police in 2020, he just lately chastised his council colleagues — presumably together with Strauss — for chopping the 80 police positions in final yr’s finances, which Lewis termed “stealth defunding of the police.”
Is your head spinning? You’re not alone.
In a September ballot of doubtless voters, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce discovered {that a} whopping 75% of respondents disagreed with the assertion: “I belief the Seattle Metropolis Council to reform the Seattle Police Division with out endangering public security.”
One other poll gave the Seattle Metropolis Council a dismal 20% favorable opinion total.
Fortunately, all three council members have drawn succesful challengers.
In District 2, Tanya Woo has made public security a key precedence. As a small-business proprietor and Chinatown Worldwide District activist, she is clearly engaged with the group and understands that constituents deserve solutions, not a brushoff.
Residents of District 6 ought to decide on Pete Hanning, the chief director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Hanning served on the police division’s North Precinct Advisory Council, selling partnerships between police and group members. With deep neighborhood connections, Hanning is finest capable of preserve a constant method and follow the fundamentals.
Former Naval officer Bob Kettle in District 7 served on the West Precinct Advisory Council in addition to the Queen Anne Group Council. Kettle understands that diverse neighborhoods within the district have particular considerations, and he pledges to maintain an open door to all constituents.
Advocating for a clear sweep of the Seattle Metropolis Council just isn’t one thing the editorial board takes frivolously. New lawmakers will face their very own challenges studying the job. Nevertheless, the incumbents’ monitor report leaves little doubt that their opponents will higher serve the town if given the chance by voters.
Election Day is Nov. 7. Could it’s the catalyst for constructive change.
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