Yesterday, Mayor Bruce Harrell addressed the people of Seattle and shared his vision for the future of our city. I've provided links below for you to read or watch his speech. I have returned to City Hall at the Mayor's... Continue reading

If we set our minds to it, Washington State could make high-quality, universal, voluntary preschool available for all of our three- and four-year-old children. And, we could do it in just ten years. Should we set out on this journey?... Continue reading

There are still votes to count but it is clear from last night's results that the pragmatic, rational progressive candidates came out on top. Finally! Congratulations to Mayor-elect Bruce Harrell, Councilmember-elect Sara Nelson, and City Attorney-elect Ann Davison. Each of... Continue reading

Your mail-back election ballot will arrive today or tomorrow, so here are my voting recommendations for your consideration. Help set the future course of our city by returning your ballot no later than Tuesday, November 2. Some candidates on the... Continue reading

"Bruce Harrell seeks reform without risking public safety or demonizing the many officers who serve our city with professionalism and integrity, treating all people with dignity. Harrell understands safe neighborhoods are essential for shared prosperity. He appreciates the vital work of our police officers and isn't afraid to say so. He will rebuild our police service so that we all can have trust and confidence in our officers." Continue reading

It's time to establish a plan of action to address the continuing crisis of unsheltered homelessness and tent encampments in Seattle. Charter Amendment 29 does exactly this and you can help it qualify for the November election. Nearly six years... Continue reading

The most recent estimate of the number of people living unsheltered in Seattle was 3,738. These are homeless individuals, many with health or substance use challenges, that need a better, warmer and safer place to stay. Last week a friend... Continue reading

I want to tell you about a young kid in Seattle. His family was poor. Conflict in his home occasionally turned violent. There was sexual assault by an outsider to his family. He didn’t do very well in school because... Continue reading

Seattle’s City Council will tomorrow morning consider cutting more funding — approximately $5.4 million — from police services; it's part of their plan to shrink the size of the police department. This new reduction would come on the heels of... Continue reading

The tents, dilapidated vehicles, and piles of trash you see in almost every Seattle neighborhood have become an enduring fixture. So has the human suffering. Continue reading

We — you and I — can change that with a compelling vision for the future, a future based on shared values and an unwavering commitment to the evidence of what works to strengthen the common good. Continue reading

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's decision not to seek re-election didn't come as a total surprise, but it certainly creates uncertainty for our city going forward. When I write that it's not a surprise I mean that in today's political climate... Continue reading

Just how out of touch some members of our City Council are became painfully clearer this week when prosecution of misdemeanor crimes was discussed. Some Council members want to make it more difficult to successfully prosecute these cases. Misdemeanor crimes... Continue reading

With national and local attention rightly being focused on policing and criminal justice reform, it is very important that we hear from experts who have studied these issues for years. One of these esteemed experts is University of Washington Professor... Continue reading

This post was first published Friday, August 14, 2020 in The Seattle Times. In its reckless rush to slash the police budget, the Seattle City Council has forced out Chief Carmen Best — the city’s first Black female police chief... Continue reading

This post was first published today at Crosscut.com. It was co-authored by myself and Bernard Melekian, DPPD. It took less than 9 minutes. That’s how long Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck of George Floyd, killing the... Continue reading

The challenges of policing in our country did not arise in a vacuum. They connect to a broad array of factors . . . They connect to the fact that in this country police shootings and police misconduct disproportionately affect... Continue reading

A shorter version of this article was first published in The Seattle Times earlier this afternoon. Three Seattle City Council members — Tammy Morales, Teresa Mosqueda, Kshama Sawant — want to permit tent encampments almost everywhere citywide. This ill-conceived, very... Continue reading

A shorter version of this article was first published at Crosscut on May 18, 2020, with my co-authors Gladys Gillis, owner of Starline Luxury Coaches in Seattle and immediate past chair of the national United Motor Coach Association and Jon... Continue reading

This post was first published in The Seattle Times on April 24, 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has shattered our feelings of invincibility. It has exposed deep divides that separate us — inequities in education, economic opportunity, criminal justice and public... Continue reading

While we are hunkered down at home, I’ve been thinking about why our country wasn’t at all prepared for this respiratory pandemic that is sweeping the globe. Not being prepared is going to cost us a lot in human and... Continue reading

Seattle’s downtown is booming. There are now 328,000 jobs located downtown, a 52% increase since 2010. Nearly 90,000 people now live downtown, including almost 5,000 children. In the decade ending in 2019, 286 new buildings were constructed, 4,050 new hotel... Continue reading

Workers retiring into poverty is bad for workers and bad for all of us. Nudging workers to begin saving through a workplace payroll deduction IRA is a practical, effective step toward a brighter retirement. Continue reading

This post was first published earlier today at Crosscut.com. I've been thinking a lot about the violence last week in the core of downtown. I have felt anger, frustration and grief, topped off with irritation at the responses I’ve heard... Continue reading

Former State Representative Ruth Kagi and I wrote this post which first appeared in the Puget Sound Business Journal. An alarming childcare crisis is impacting every community across our state. And it’s getting worse for families, childcare providers, and businesses... Continue reading