Good afternoon! It is the one and only #AceReporting!

My, we've come a long way from the end of May, huh?

Today's special meeting of the Seattle City Council is all about whether or not they will sustain the mayor's veto of the revised 2020 Budget.

#SeattleProtests

As always, tips are appreciated! (particularly as I am still waiting for more work and close to E on my bank accts)

venmo: houstonace
CashApp: $Archstar

#SeattleProtests #SeattleProtestComms

I'm predicting roughly an hour of testimony, if not longer. Then will will have discussion before deliberation on the three bills the mayor vetoed. If these three are not sustained, we will then have a final vote on a compromise bill. More details here:

http://seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=806390&GUID=14398D07-3597-4A21-AE0F-FD4FA5F13DD3

And we are starting! Time is 3:06pm.

We will have a total of 90 minutes of commentary.

The first 60 minutes will have one minute each, and the last 30 minutes will be 45 seconds to speak for each speaker.

I will do my best to get every bit of item on public comments, but will focus on tallying the for overriding vs. against overriding overall comments.

First comment from @evelyntchow speaking on behalf of Real Change in support of overriding the veto. Specifically calling out CMs Herbold, Strauss, and Lewis.

(go follow Evelyn, they're amazing)

"Lewis, do not turn your back on us." -strong words from speaker 2, Madison (who is somewhere on this site)

third comment, homeowner from D6, also in favor of override. Calling out Strauss.

Fourth comment, in favor of override.

D7 resident, in favor of override.
(also just called out CM Lewis for a potential conflict of interest as his partner works for the City Attorney's Office and was focused on the East Precinct until early July)

Next speaker also in favor of override.

Current speaker saying thank you for the compromise bill(?) and telling the SPD should focus on going after people who don't wear masks (COVID) instead of protesters.

Next comment, D2 resident, also in favor of override.

And now a comment in favor of override from single (and attractive straight man) Matthew Lang. #pimpmyfriends

D5 resident now commenting in favor of defunding the police.

And now @PoulChapman speaking directly to the three white men on council, CMs Lewis, Pedersen, and Strauss to override.

"There is no more convenient season to do the right thing."
(fire line)

Now with this comment we are at 11 for 1 against the overrides.

This comment, like others, says that the 2020 budget was already a compromise and not perfect. Also notes through their experiences working with Seattle KC Homelessness coalition that BIPOC are more likely to be homeless and are terrorized by the Navigation Team.

Lynn Judge calling in from outside CM Lewis' house in favor of override along with other residents.

"Don't Backslide, Override!" being chanted over the phone.

Now a D4 resident calling out CM Pedersen to override the mayor's veto.

The Executive Director of the SoDo Business Improvement District calling in favor of the compromise. Asks to consider "the public safety needs of small businesses."

Side note - can I get a list of every business that signed that letter so I know where not to go anymore?

"For once in my city, my friends have seen hope."

@BrittneyBush about to make me cry over here, in favor of the override.

And a D7 resident and police accountability organizer speaking in favor of the override. Also calling out CM Lewis.

"Are you tired of hearing from me yet? 'Cause I am sure tired of calling y'all." TK with the TRUTH.

(omg this whole comment is TEA)

"Give the people what they want!"

"What can we do if you do the bare minimum..."

I couldn't get it all but that was an EXCELLENT comment in favor of the override. Went into detail of how the protesters have been attacked by SPD.

Next comment from the Families Working Party in favor of overriding the mayor's veto. Big big labor organizing group, I'm curious what CM Lewis thinks. Especially since he just got called out.

'Andrew, Lisa, and Dan. You will be primaried if you do not vote in support today.'

Paraphrasing, but going to tag @CMAndrewJLewis, @Lisa_Herbold, and @CMDanStrauss in case they missed this.

And another speaker in favor of the override, also calling out CM Lewis.

And another D7 constituent in favor of the override, from a Sunrise Movement organizer and a union member.

Don Blakeney with the Downtown Seattle Associate speaking in favor of the compromise bill.

(can I get that business list y'all?)

#SeattleProtests #boycott

Another comment from a business operator related to the tourism industry, also asking to support the small business pledge and the compromise bill.

And another caller from D4 in favor of the override!

For the record, we are now at 20 comments in favor of override, 3 comments against.

"Also, just think of how much that guy in the White House will hate it."

LMAO

Another comment in favor of defunding SPD, making good comments related to how defunding is necessary to support police alternatives to community issues.

Another speaker in favor of the override, saying the compromise flies in the face of what the "Black Lives Matter" has worked on over the summer.

The current speaker is calling this open and shut, that the 7 who approved last month should sustain their votes.

Commenter just said taking photos at protests one day and refusing to defund the next day is co-opting the movement.

OOP.

We have a member of the Native community (I believe) speaking in favor of defunding SPD to fund BIPOC solutions to houselessness, including tiny house villages.

Another comment in favor of the override.

D6 resident asking for funding to come before defunding the police. Thus, supporting the mayor's veto.

Current commenter from D7 (Pioneer Square) calling in favor of defunding the police. Just called the mayor point blank "a liar."

We have a Christian from D7 saying that CM Lewis being on the fence on his vote is absurd.

"It's absurd to think a wealthy white woman knows best how to reimagine policing in black and brown communities."

THAT WAS THE COMMENT OF THE YEAR!!!!

(I screamed like Trixie Mattel, I STG)

Another comment in favor of the override, again citing Duwamish Longhouse, Seattle Indian Club, and the Urban League.

Override the veto:

25 in favor

4 against

Another speaker in favor of defunding SPD!

D3 resident asking for the council to override the mayor, making a note to thank CMs Gonzalez and Mosqueda for apologizing and owning past votes that increased SPD funding.

And another comment in favor of defunding the Navigation Team (specifically, which the current budget does that was vetoed.)

Another comment in favor of overriding the veto and a comment from a founder of the Indians for Justice group, specifically asking for support to Black and Indigenous lives in the city.

(we really need to do more for Indigenous people in our city)

Current commenter speaking in favor of the override, noting the better relationships community organizations have with the unhoused as opposed to the battering of the Navigation Team. Says there is land in every district for tiny houses (there is).

(Aaron Whitlatch's name sounds familiar) he's speaking as a D6 in favor of overriding, noting that this is the first time council seems to be following the lead of the BIPOC community.

Current D7 resident (who grew up in D4) in favor of the override and a social work also in favor calling in currently.

"Say their names: Charleena Lyles, Shaun Fuhr."

#SeattleProtests #BlackLivesMatter

"Siding with this cartoon villain of a mayor...does not bode well for you."

"Black lives matter and so does your career."

Another warning of primarying of white CMs in the current speaker of support.

This whole current comment is fire and I can't do it justice. But essentially saying to the white CMs, if this isn't just a trend for you then you will follow through with overriding the veto.

Another two comments in favor of overriding and that brings us to 36-4 in favor.

Another two comments in favor of the override. Current speaker discussing her experience being tackled by SPD right by CM Lewis' home.

Homeowner in D2 asking Council to hold the line against the mayor.

(thanks for bearing with me, there's a lot of good things being said and I'm doing my best)

Mark Crawford, Executive Director of the U District Partnership, asking for "a more careful process."

#SeattleProcess

"Durkan's compromise is very anti-Black," stated by the current commenter from D3.

And now a comment noting the "Save A Horse" Incident / Brutality, in favor of the override.

(We have an upset baby. I'm assuming she's also against the mayor's veto.)

And now Alice from 350 Seattle (and honestly one of the nicest ladies in the city) speaking in solidarity of overriding the mayor's veto. Also noting her experience trying to help during a sweep and the lack of empathy from the police and Nav Team.

Laura Radford, Executive Director of the West Seattle Junction Business Association, asking the council to sustain the veto.

(Apparently they seem to think vandalism is going to go down with more police?)

We are now at

40 In Favor

6 Against

Overriding the Veto

Another comment asking Council to "hold the line" and override the mayor's veto.

(every time I hear hold the line, I think of the song "Borderline.") #nameassociation

Now a comment from an organizer of @DecrimSeattle, saying that the 5% cut was already a compromise and to support deeper cuts in the 2021 budget. That sustaining the veto will be a betrayal.

Current caller is the head of the D2 Tiny House Village, asking for an increase in funding for them and in favor of the override.

Another comment in favor of the override from a protester who "had the shit beat out of them" by the police.

Another comment from D4 in favor of the override from an organizer with the Morning March. (y'all rock!)

Lifelong D7 resident calling in favor of the override. Calling out CM Lewis directly: "your district is not just the white money in Queen Anne and Magnolia"

Another comment from a NE homeowner in favor of the override and another in favor from a lifelong Seattleite and D4 resident.

Homeowner from D6 saying that Council should confirm their work to support their elections last year against the Chamber was not in vain. In favor of the override.

Another two in favor of overriding the mayor.

Current comment saying that there is a connection between defunding education and an increase in crime. (there is)

That and the current comment are another two in favor of overriding the mayor.

Re: Overriding the Mayor's Veto

50 In Favor

6 Against

Another comment in favor of overriding the veto.

Former CM asking for the Council to sustain the mayor's veto in very much what I would call an "All Lives Matter" comment.

And another in favor of the override, noting that lost property is not the same as lost lives. (it's not)

Another D7 resident calling out CM Lewis. There's been a lot of that today.

In a sing-song voice:

"Override the veto, Andrew.
Override the veto, Andrew.
Override the veto, Andrew.
I'm done."

One America calling in to support overriding the veto.

The founder of "Lesbians Against Jenny Durkan" currently calling in favor of overriding the mayor's veto and in favor of a better housing plan.

Another D7 constituent calling out CM Andrew J Lewis.

55 In Favor / 7 Against.

Another two comments in favor of the override.

And now @cruickshank in favor of overriding the mayor, stating that she is only interested in maintaining the status quo.

"We will never forget the choice you made today."

D6 resident asking Council, and specifically CM Strauss, to hold the line.

"I just want to say something about the homeless problem."

(Oh boy.)

"Look out for the taxpayers of Seattle."

I'm just going to ignore that comment in general.

60 votes in favor, to be clear.

(7 against, is correct.)

Those last words were SPICY against CM Lewis.

And another D7 resident in favor of defunding.

Currently a disabled individual calling in favor of the override. "The Nav Team doesn't help."

Another comment in favor of defunding SPD, specifically calling out CMs Lewis, Pedersen and Juarez.

Now a D7 resident asking CM Lewis to defund SPD.

Now a D2 Tiny House Village resident in favor of the override and asking for more tiny house funding.

Another comment in favor of overriding the mayor's veto.

So that ends public comment!

Final tally:

76 In Favor of Overriding

7 Against

cc: @CMAndrewJLewis @CMDanStrauss @Lisa_Herbold @D5Juarez

And now we are getting into the reconsideration of the three bills. There has to be an independent vote for each bill.

First one is CB 119825. This requires a 3/4 vote.

(it's the major vote)

CM Pedersen is going to speak first to all the bills, but again each bill is being voted on separately.

(I'll only post the important parts, he's just politicizing rn)

"We get more done when we work together." (he wants to work with the mayor)

Making it clear he was not part of the conversations around the compromise bill and wants Council to continue to stick to its word of 14.5MM for community now.

"While I respect the mayor's decision, I will vote to override the third bill." He has presented around an amendment to preserve the funding to the BIPOC organizations, however he is now discussing his displeasure with defunding the Navigation Team.

(he's threading the needle)

(he's still talking)

Stating that reforms need to be expanded and that in his observation from the choices made by the Police Chief there may be actually insufficient police officers to cover the city.

Asking for more coordination and more process and more BIPOC people at the table.

In summary, he will vote to sustain the veto on the first bill (the full budget) and will override the votes on the $14MM to BIPOC orgs and the $3MM for research to alternatives.

In closing, he's stating that the police contract needs to be renegotiated and is the major roadblock that is being faced.

(again, Seattleites are great at recognizing the problem, but not actually solving the problem.) #SeattleProcess

"Let's remember the real enemy is Donald Trump."

Fuck Alex Pedersen.

Period period.

And now CM Morales! She is now reading off the names of every single person who has been killed by SPD in the last ten years.

Too many names.

Now speaking on COVID and how it has increased the gap between white and black members of the Seattle community.

"Do we walk back the months of work we and our staff have done with community?"

'We owe our Black and Indigenous community members about 400 years worth of investments.

CM Morales will override this first bill.

Now to CM Lewis.

(his eyes look watery)

CM Lewis will vote to override every single bill.

He's stating that it's important to work together with the mayor, but the pattern of veto then compromise is very waning. He is committed to revisions in the future, but for now he will override all three bills.

(THANK YOU CM LEWIS!!!!)

Council President Gonzalez now thanking CM Lewis for his commitment but also condemning the comments made here (online) against his partner.

And now CM Herbold.

She is stating that she was part of the compromise discussion, however finds that it falls short in many ways.

Iterating now that the Mayor did not provide explanations as to why she did not choose to do any of the reductions that the Council proposed, including the Mounted Patrol and SROs, the latter which have been eliminated by Seattle Public Schools.

CM Herbold now citing the Brady list and hoping that the Executive (read: Mayor) would choose to eliminate all officers on this list as they cannot fully execute their jobs. (they cannot serve as an eye witness in a trial to any crime, for starters)

CM Herbold now expressing her itemized list of issues with the compromise bill, also noting the "militarized response to what has been mostly peaceful protesting."

"It's important to note that overriding this veto will not reduce" outreach to those at encampments.

(I think that means she's overriding the veto)

CM Herbold making it clear that Council only directs how to spend the money, it is the Mayor's prerogative to spend said money.

(guess where y'all are marching next!)
#SeattleProtests

(BABY! She's so beautiful.)

and now to CM Strauss.

CM Strauss just directly starts with that he's going to override the veto.

He's tired of playing political games.

(THANK YOU CM STRAUSS)

Saying that the 2020 Rebalancing Package is a modest step. Now going into his specific disapprovals with the compromise bill by the mayor.

(Also, for those at home this in essence confirms that we have the votes to override the veto. Juarez' vote is not key.)

(We got the votes)

CM Strauss currently speaking more about looking forward to working together in the future with the mayor and the police chief.

And now CM Mosqueda!

(her hair looks great, I wish I could do that with my hair. It's not that long - yet)

"Seattle is really at the heart of a national conversation on policing."

"That's what this conversation is really about."

'We legislated to continue showing that we respond to the fact that there is an ongoing call across our nation.' (paraphrasing)

Noting (like CM Strauss) that the police has grown by almost half since the start of the Consent Decree.

'There is broad agreement in the community that the city needs to invest in the community.'

(paraphrasing, y'all need to see it, she's so inspiring.)

"We did this first step in the middle of an uprising"

Noting that these are the first small steps to making change and noting that there is more that can be done between now and the future.

"Our plan is informed; will be informed by the process outlined in the budget."

"I'm really looking forward to having a conversation on the next step."

CM Mosqueda now breaking down 16 hours of public comment related to SPD inquests. Showing that there have been plenty of opportunities for engagement and noting that they specifically reached out to BIPOC groups to bring them to the table.

CM Mosqueda saying we do this work for those who are no longer able to be with their families, saying she's missed tucking in her child a few times during this process but that does not compare to these permanent losses of lives.

CM Mosqueda not breaking down the budget and made it extremely clear that the budget never asked for the most diverse officers to be eliminated and encouraged out of order layoffs, and now currently there are already 90 officer positions vacant when the Council aimed for 100.

(she's still talking)

(CM Mosqueda is such a badass)

and now comments by CM Sawant.

(and shout out to CP Gonzalez and being a working mom during this meeting. Reminds me of my mom.)

(Democratic council blah blah blah)

"It is a lesson of the power of movements."

CM Sawant now stating her work to get the budget to a 50% reduction and that this is still an austerity budget.

CM Sawant now condemning the mayor for her compromise which did nothing to remove SPD officers or even fund the Green New Deal Oversight Board in the middle of the wildfires.

"We can't breathe in every sense of the word."

CM Sawant curious where the discussions around their commitments to override the veto and is calling into question if CMs violated the Open Meetings Act.

(note we still haven't taken the vote yet and in essence she's talking a lot of shit to her colleagues)

(ok, she's done now.)

Ok final remarks now to CP Gonzalez before the vote.

"I believe this is the needed course of action."

"We need public safety that invests in" community and emphasizes "harm reduction."

Calling the budget rebalancing a small step to begin the process in true public safety.

"Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe in their community" but that the summer and videos have shown that not everyone feels safe in this community and not everyone is.

Says she wants to tell her daughter in the future that she did the right thing.

She has truly taken to heart the words of groups like @KCEquityNow @DecrimSeattle and @ENDDSeattle

Now explaining that she felt it was her responsibility as Council President to ensure that if for any reason the veto was not overridden, that there was at least some money sent out into the community to start the process of defunding the police.

Also pushing back on Sawant's accusation that they violated the Open Meetings Act by working with the mayor on this compromise. (that she does not support)

"Is it perfect? No. But neither are the three bills we voted on this summer."

Saying this entire process is about ensuring that at the end of the day this is about making sure that there is some change. Saying we need to put this to rest so we can move forward and make change.

Making it clear that part of her work is to listen and speak with people that she agrees with and does not agree with.

"This fall will. be. hard."

Saying we need to do the hard work now so that they do not sit here again talking about another reconsideration in three years from now for the entire city.

And debate is now closed on CB 119825.

The vote is now. (after a little bickering)

Must receive 7 or more votes to override the bill. CP Gonzalez making the votes clear.

7-2 with Pedersen and Juarez voting in the negative.

THE VETO IS OVERRIDDEN ON THE BUDGET!!!!!

So now Item 4 is dead, so now we are on to Item 2, which is the amendment that allows usage of money from the Revenue Stabilization Fund.

There are no comments on this bill, so we go straight to the vote.

Item 2 is overridden 9-0! Unanimous!

Now into Item 3, which authorizes the Interdepartmental Loan of $13MM to pay for investments in community-led orgs and also the research needed to move to a new public safety model.

Again reminding that it is up to the executive to spend these dollars.

This one only needs 6 votes to pass.

It also passes 9-0!!!

YES 3 for 3!!!!!!!

#SeattleProtests

(baby is now happy!)

And Seattle City Council is now adjourned!

Y'ALL. DID. THAT.

This has been #AceReporting. Thank you as always, and until next time -

be sure to protest in front of the mayor's house until she spends the money.

In related news, I'm having pork for dinner.

GOODNIGHT!

#SeattleProtests