Increase in King County’s homeless population in the last 10 years.
Political leaders cannot say how much money has been spent on the homeless issue in King County.
WA state has the 3rd largest homeless population in the country. And THE largest chronically homeless population.
In recent years, well-intentioned policies have often produced disappointing results in many corners of Washington. We advocate for programs that focus on truly helping those among us most in need and focus on accountabilty for actual results.
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Day after day we see news reports about growing homeless encampments in city parks and on school property. These encampments threaten public safety and lack compassion for those who are living unsheltered, but the Seattle City Council has no plan to solve the problem. Instead, it has cut the Navigation Team and a majority of...
The refusal of the Seattle City Council to make a plan to address public safety is an endorsement of the status quo. If only they weren’t trying to make it worse. Councilmember Lisa Herbold’s Misdemeanor Loophole Since October, we’ve kept the pressure on the Herbold Loophole, which would’ve legalized most misdemeanors in Seattle. Last fall...
Even before the pandemic, small businesses in Seattle were struggling. Beneath the surface of a thriving tech and real estate boom, small businesses were being pushed to the brink of survival, threatened by rising rents and rising taxes, while public safety issues were ignored by the Seattle City Council. Enter a global pandemic. As of...
STRETCHED THIN An Analysis of Ten Years of Calls for Service to Seattle Police By Scott Lindsay – attorney; Seattle resident; former public safety advisor and special assistant for police reform to the City of Seattle; former senior counsel to House Oversight Committee Democrats. The main function of Seattle’s police force is responding to the...
Seattle City Council members are in the process of moving forward a budget that makes cuts to Seattle police and activists are pushing for even deeper cuts — without a plan for public safety. Because of your recent advocacy and participation on this topic, we wanted to make sure you were among the first to...
ANALYSIS OF SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL PROPOSAL TO EXCUSE AND DISMISS MOST MISDEMEANOR CRIMES By Scott Lindsay – attorney; Seattle resident; former public safety advisor and special assistant for police reform to the City of Seattle; former senior counsel to House Oversight Committee Democrats. On Wednesday, October 21, Councilmember Lisa Herbold, chairperson of the Seattle City...
By Scott Lindsay – attorney; Seattle resident; former public safety advisor and special assistant for police reform to the City of Seattle; former senior counsel to House Oversight Committee Democrats. On Wednesday, October 21, Councilmember Lisa Herbold, chairperson of the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee, introduced far-reaching legislation to excuse and dismiss almost all...
The Seattle City Council recently voted to reduce funding for public safety and completely eliminate the Navigation Team without a plan on how to address safety issues in parks. The Navigation Team’s absence is already being felt by many city residents. KOMO reported on the increasing presence of homeless encampments in Seattle parks in the last several...
Night after night, peaceful protests are co-opted by people destroying businesses and homes, setting fires, assaulting officers, throwing explosives, and blocking first responders. Peaceful protests and legitimate calls for social justice reforms are being drowned out by relentless violence, mayhem, and illegal behavior. Had enough? We have. It is frustrating to see Seattle’s reputation suffer as...
As this summer’s protests against police brutality continue into the fall months, more information is coming to light about where the public stands on the central issues of the protests. According to a new Crosscut/ Elway poll, the majority of voters support the broad goals of the protests, but remain against cutting the police by...
In an email to his constituents last week, Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss wanted to “address the homelessness in district 6.” Strauss said that action was needed to get homeless people out of parks, libraries, and bus stops and into adequate shelter. One of the best tools for this, Strauss wrote, was the Navigation Team....
The Seattle Times’s Dominic Gates reported that arrests and property damage in downtown Seattle are impacting SPD’s ability to respond to other crimes happening in the city and the overall public safety of the community. Following demonstrations over the weekend, interim SPD Chief Adrian Diaz pleaded to members of the community for the violence and...
The recent closing of Columbia Sportswear in downtown Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic is just one of many during this tumultuous year. According to the Downtown Seattle Association, 126 street-level downtown businesses locations have closed since the pandemic began. But in Seattle, the exodus started even before COVID-19 swept the world, and many of the...
A Superior Court Judge ruled that there was enough evidence to move forward with the recall petition against Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant. According to a King 5 News report, the judge ruled that four allegations made against Sawant can proceed. These are serious allegations ranging from misusing public resources to doxing Mayor Durkin. Sawant...