Hey, I work in the Community Engagement department at KUOW, a Seattle NPR member station. I'm reaching out to this subreddit to offer an opportunity to make sure Washingtonians hear from voters across the political spectrum. Although we're Seattle based, we really want to ensure we're hearing from people across the state.

Political identities are heightened in an election year, and our team are interested in getting past the labels to understand the lives and priorities of voters that shape their ballot decisions. We're hosting a series of voter panels where Washingtonians will meet to talk together about their political values and what issues and policies drive their voting choices.

This program will consist of three round robin panels in which all participants mostly align with the same political party but have different perspectives on their ballot choices. Debate and disagreement will not be encouraged, and we are not looking for incendiary opinions. The intention is to hear about people's personal preferences and why they have them in order to build understanding on how people reached their choices and show there is variety in decisions and reasoning within political identities.

The panels will take 90 minutes and be held in person at KUOW in Seattle over the next three months. We will record the audio and visuals of this discussion for use in our elections coverage to ensure our listeners are hearing from fellow voters. Participants do not have to be identified by their full name, we would be happy to just use just first names or initials.

If you're interested in participating, please fill in this form so we can learn more about you.

If you're interested in election coverage, feel free to share your elections questions in a reply so we can investigate them as part of our coverage.

Hey everyone! I’m a political science student from Seattle working on a project to inform and connect Seattle residents and communities with their local government through a weekly newsletter summarizing City Council meetings. My goal is to make important government proceedings accessible so busy people can understand what is going on in their city and how they might be affected by new policies. If anyone is interested in a quick digestible update on the Seattle government, I have included my newsletter! Sign up here to receive this letter after every city council meeting to get free weekly information about local issues important to life in LA. Previous suggestions have been super helpful so any feedback is appreciated!

Seattle City Council Meeting Summaries - Week of June 17, 2024

Council Briefing 6/17/2024 (Duration: 1 hr 50 min)

• 9 Present

Councilmember Updates

• Councilmember Rob Saka: District 1

• Tomorrow (June 18): Select Committee will discuss words of proposed Transportation Levy package, will discuss individual Councilmember amendments (not voting on anything June 18th)

  • Will vote on final proposed package and comprehensive piece of legislation at following Select Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd
  • Voters will have final say

• Councilmember Tammy Morales: District 2

  • Will be in Vancouver for rest of week representing Seattle at Association of Western Cities Conference
  • Briefing from Office of Housing last week
  • Received briefing from Office of Sustainability & Environment on local Food Action Plan updates
  • Regional Puget Sound Council – comp plans due at end of December, focused areas for certification process, particularly areas of expanded review (including racial equity, housing access, addressing health disparity, anti-displacement, and climate change)
  • Attended Juneteenth picnic hosted by Southeast Senior Center

• Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth: District 3

• Parks, Utilities, Technology Committee meeting June 26th

• Last week met with General Consulate Gupta from General Council of India

• Joined Councilmember Morales at Southeast Senior Center for Juneteenth celebration

• Meeting with Human Rights Commission

• Board of Health meeting: make movement on Fentanyl crisis in Seattle

• Councilmember Maritza Rivera: District 4

• Will miss council meeting for daughter’s graduation – congratulations to all graduates

• Had Office of Immigration and Refugee Affairs present, has been doing great work in community to support immigrants, and secure funding from county and state to support migrants

• Met with 43rd Legislative District Representative Nicole Macri

• Hosted students from Bryant Elementary

• Meeting tomorrow with Seattle Interim Chief Sue Rahr

• Councilmember Cathy Moore: District 5

• Next Housing and Human Services Committee meeting on Thursday, June 26th

• Will bring amendment to ALPR bill to request SPD notify council if Axon receives a warrant or subpoena

• Attended Regional Policy Committee last week

• Councilmember Dan Strauss: District 6

• Select Budget Committee Report

  • 3 pieces of legislation compose Midyear Supplemental Package: Midyear Grant Acceptance Ordinance, Midyear Supplemental Budget Ordinance, Annual Wage Increase (AWI) Adjustment Ordinance
  • Initial briefing on Midyear Supplemental Package scheduled for July 17th at Finance, Native Communities and Tribal Governments Committee

• Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee

  • HSD Aging and Disability Services Office Lease will come to full council next Tuesday, June 25th
  • 5 Indigenous Advisory council reappointments unanimously voted for confirmation
  • Appointment of Office of City Finance Interim Director Jamie Carnell

• Won’t have office hours this week due to attending Association of Washington Cities (AWC)

• Councilmember Robert Kettle: District 7

• King County Board of Health meeting this week

• Meeting with Representative Jean-Paul on Friday morning

• Last week, went on walk-about on Third Avenue and at Civic Hotel – getting on the ground look to build on opportunities

• Met with American Jewish Committee on some public safety challenges and anti-semitism they’re facing

• Public Safety Committee met with fire station 25

• Met with Bellwether Housing about affordable housing projects

• Toured Office of Police Accountability

• Councilmember Tanya Woo: Citywide

• Met with leadership from Real Change, learned about their job program

• Attended Department of Neighborhoods Open House to learn about how they complete projects while mindful of the recipients of their work

• Attended board meeting of Asian Pacific Islanders Coalition

• Met with American Institute of Architects to discuss mayor’s comp plan

• Attended Regional Policy Committee: discussing implementation plans for King County Crisis Care centers

• Sustainability, City Light, Arts, and Culture Committee: kick-off for Arts and Economic Round-Table

  • Round-Tables will happen third Friday of each month
  • Goal of Round-Tables to connect arts with economic development

• Councilmember Sara Nelson: Citywide

• Business Improval Amendments (BIAs) go through Office of Economic Development (OED)

• Two pieces of legislation for meeting from Labor Relations Policy Committee: authorizing execution of collective bargaining agreements with Construction Maintenance Equipment Operator Unit and Information Technology Professionals Unit of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

• Will attend West Precinct Advisory Council/Belltown United’s Round-Table – commerce follows culture, so how can we support culture?

2024 Overview of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs)

• Presentation by Office of Economic Development: convey importance of BIAs for neighborhood care and economic development
• Present: Markham McIntyre (Director, OED), Theresa Barreras (Business Districts Manager, OED), Erin Goodman (Director, SODO BIA), Jeff Liang (Board President, Chinatown ID BIA), Monisha Singh (Interim Director, Chinatown ID BIA), Chris Leverson (Project Manager, Build Lake City Together)
• BIAs are a funding mechanism for revitalizing and managing business districts for the benefit of businesses, residents, and visitors. They are enacted by City Council, overseen by Ratepayer Advisory Board
  • BIA proposes rates and methods, proposes how to spend funds – BIAs are broadly used across the world. This September Seattle will host the International Downtown Association Conference
• 11 BIAs in Seattle: Ballard, Capitol Hill (Broadway), 15th Ave, STIA (Visit Seattle), DSA/MID (Downtown), U District, Pioneer Square, Chinatown-ID, SODO, West Seattle Junction, Columbia City
  • Generate $38 million for enhanced services and programs, 100% of revenue collected is for district
• BIA Exploration Project: support Equity Districts to explore BIAs, support Chinatown-ID BIA to explore update and expansion, invest in education, promotion, and improvements
• BIA Formation Process: BIA proposal development, petitions, city department review, City Council established by ordinance

Notable (Upcoming) Legislation

Future of Seattle Economy Pillar (Resolution 32099): A resolution investing in neighborhood business districts, revitalizing downtown and neighborhood commercial corridors. Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) aid economic vitality, community care and maintenance, and collaboration between business, residents, and property owners.

• Sponsored by Office of Economic Development and BIAs

Resources

• If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at info@purplely.org, and we will get the answers to your questions from the city council.
• Sign up here to receive this letter after every city council meeting
• Go to https://www.purplely.org/ to get to know all the candidates in this year’s city council elections.

Republicans Might Win, Democrats have no plan for anything in life, Green Party members are just people who actually care about people, while the people give them the exact opposite.

My opinion is that good leaders can happen if we adopt a parliamentary state system:
https://thefulcrum.us/parliamentary-system-could-help-avoid-gridlock
https://www.route-fifty.com/management/2019/02/time-try-something-new-parliamentary-state-government/155213/

View Poll

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/psilofest-tickets-707426982147

Hi there, I work at Seattle-based radio station, KUOW. We’re hosting a community program with StoryCorps called One Small Step. We know how frustrated many people feel about the political divisiveness of the last few years, and what excites us about One Small Step is it offers people a concrete step that they can take to help be a part of a solution. The idea is to help reconnect Americans through one-on-one conversations.

How it works:

We’re inviting Washington residents to meet a fellow community member with different views or beliefs from them for a personal, 50-minute conversation to learn about each other’s lives. Conversations are hosted by a trained staff facilitator, and although they’re recorded, there’s no obligation for participants to share the recording (or even use their name).

The goal is 100% about providing community members the experience of safely meeting someone different from them who they might never otherwise connect with. Conversations aren't a debate. They're just a chance for two people to break the ice and talk about who they are as people, what they care about, and their dreams for the future.

If you’re interested, you can check out our website, which has an extensive FAQ about how we approach matching you with a partner and what the experience is like, and there are example videos of how the conversations go. People (including you!) can sign up by filling out a short questionnaire about themselves and why they want to participate. Our station will be reviewing these responses and matching people through to the end of this year.

Am interested for a politics research project, all advice is appreciated

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https://preview.redd.it/rf9ehq6aoz171.png?width=1179&format=png&auto=webp&s=fbfb61e1f7cf218772147632095a9a4430356956

She seems to have difficulty juggling all her conflicting priorities. Sounds like it’s time to simplify her life by relieving her of some of those obligations next year (she’s up for re-election in 2022).

There has been a new bill introduced in the Washington State Legislature called HB 1109, which would provide a number a positive reforms for survivors of sexual assault. It's currently being voted on in the Washington State House. If this gets passed in Washington, it could lay the groundwork for similar reforms to happen in states nationwide.

HB 1109 changes training and investigatory practices for law enforcement around sexual violence issues. it also provides survivors with free forensic examinations, access to sexual assault advocates, and a written notice of their rights as survivors. The bill also mandates timely updates on the status of the case and requires law enforcement to report on status updates of the case, as well as submit semiannual reports on investigations.

This is huge as many sexual violence cases don't provide proper resources for the victims, as well as lack transparency about the status of the case. It also makes law enforcement take these cases more seriously, and perform proper investigations and prosecutions.

I am sharing an email campaign to inform WA State officials about the support for this bill. So if you are in WA State please use the link below to send this out to your representatives!

https://modernaction.io/send_cause/pass-washington-house-bill-1109 (if you are sending this you must use your real address, this is because the website needs it to locate what representatives to send it to)

If you aren't in WA State, then please checkout Youth Against Sexual Violence (https://natyasv.org), they are the group organizing the campaign through the Modern Action platform. They have some good info about sexual violence issues in the country!

Let's keep fighting!