Earlier this week we posted a series of accomplishments that we made – the community working with my team – throughout the year - 1. seattle.gov/council/meet-t… 
This mix of legislation and amendments happened because of YOU – a demand for a more equitable city, weaving worker rights, fair housing, public health, and racial equity together - 2
We have been successful advancing changes in public policy through an intersectional lens, with an eye on eliminating gatekeepers, and centering change on those most impacted by choices made by elected officials - 3
One of our first bills – a moratorium on rent-bidding applications in Seattle – came to our office from the students at the University of Washington - 4 seattletimes.com/seattle-news/p…
These new technologies have run the risk of eroding fair access to housing for all members of our community – students, low-income households, and immigrant families - 5
Through a collaborative effort designed to press pause and allow the City of Seattle to identify a strategy for appropriate regulation, we ensured that these platforms cannot disrupt and harm our fragile housing market - 6
In April, we continued the work that former Office of Labor Standards hoped to complete – we banned sub-minimum wages in Seattle - 7 kuow.org/stories/seattl…
Working with advocates fighting for equitable rights for our neighbors living with disAbilities, the City Council took lead, and permanently ended this egregious practice in Seattle - 8
We then looked to updated legislation proposed to incentivize investments in energy efficiency for existing building retrofits. This model from Seattle City Light is part of our leadership in the nation - 9
Our efforts to enhance this bill included an amendment to facilitate local hire, area standard wages and benefits, and apprenticeship utilization for projects receiving publicly funded support, regardless the amount of investment - 10 seattle.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&…
During this, we learned that our own Office of Housing was limited in its ability to acquire properties pending identification of an organization ready to build affordable homes. This leaves properties on the table that could otherwise grow our affordable housing stock - 11
This is why we worked with Office of Housing, following long-advocated for direction from community, and changed the rules, affording OH the ability to acquire and hold properties in the public realm, meaning more affordable homes in the future – 12 seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDet…
Ensuring we are making investments NOW in affordable housing is a key component to sustainably addressing homelessness in our region. This is why I worked with partners developing the Convention Center to front-load and increase investments in affordable homes! - 13
This effort successfully increased the total 2018 funding for affordable housing by $30 MILLION dollars – increasing the total amount announced this week by over 65%! – 14 seattle.curbed.com/2018/5/8/17331…
Using the community as a barometer, and with a forward-thinking work-style, we made sure that as the Convention Center grows, affordable homes and safe streets are included up-front (along with the union jobs and tourist benefits this expansion will bring to Seattle) - 15
In July, we adopted legislation to protect some of the most at-risk workers in Seattle – the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights! - 16 crosscut.com/2018/07/seattl…
Following months of community engagement, and centering our work on those most vulnerable – immigrants and women of color – we advanced policies to extend protections around pay, rest breaks, and harassment & intimidation in Seattle - 17
Further, we created a new board that will continue monitor and offer proposals for standards that impact domestic workers, continuing the work that ensures all workers are treated with respect, and feel safe in their workplaces - 18
The people that take care of our elders, of our kiddos, of our homes, deserve to be taken care of, and we were able to take a large step in that direction! - 19
In mid-July, after months of work, we considered Seattle City Light’s Strategic Plan, a six-year set of initiatives offered by the department and the mayor – 20 seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDet…
Recognizing a glaring omission, we successfully amended this plan to require Seattle City Light address workplace culture and worker safety as key initiatives in the coming years - 21
Our city can espouse the need for gender equity and workplace safety, but if we are not living our values, we are not well positioned to tell others what to do - 22
This effort will take time, and ensuring that we acknowledge our shortcomings, and committing management to change, is key to building a positive culture for City employees - 23
At the end of July, as the City Council considered legislation affirming a commitment to safe streets, I offered a new way of thinking about cycling – all ALEGRA, all happy! – 24 seattlebikeblog.com/2018/07/31/cm-…
We changed the conversation to ensure that our investments in community are centered on all ages, languages, ethnicities, genders, races, and abilities - 25
What we have heard from community, and what the data shows us, is safe streets are for EVERYONE, and dis-investment hurts low-income communities, and communities of color, the most - 26 crosscut.com/2018/11/its-ti…
In August, our work continued, codifying privacy protections for City Light customers as part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure program - 27 aclu-wa.org/news/seattle-c…
By taking rules and turning them into law, we worked with colleagues and the ACLU to ensure that clear guidelines are in place for what information can be used for (providing a service), and what it can’t (anything else) - 28
In an era where corporations are trading your data like currency, we refuse to allow your publicly-owned utility to be a participant, and ensured the utility and its contractors must play by a clear set of rules that protects YOU first - 29
At the end of August, the Mayor announced her pick to lead Seattle City Light, Debra Smith - 30 seattlemet.com/articles/2018/…
The fourth City Light CEO in as many years, we heard from constituents and workers that it was vital there was steady leadership for the Utility - 31
While historically City Light CEO confirmations take months, we were able to work with environmentalists, clean energy leaders, Labor, and many more to create a robust and transparent process - 32 seattle.gov/council/issues…
Combining a detailed questionnaire with two committee meetings in September, and with Ms. Smith going above and beyond engaging with our community, we were able to ensure that she was the right choice for Seattle - 33
Following months of work, on October 1, the City Council adopted an overhaul of policies determining what we, as a city, do with surplus and underutilized properties. - 34 crosscut.com/2018/10/seattl…
Building on calls from community that have heard for years, and working hand-in-hand with anti-displacement groups, urbanists, developers, and environmentalists, we crafted guidance that prioritizes community-driven development in our city - 36
With these policies, and ones for City Light adopted earlier in the year, we have set the stage to not only build homes, but build community across Seattle - 37
Prioritizing development that is community-led, inclusive of assets such as child care facilities and micro-business opportunities, we are able to forge ahead with more creative RFP processes - 38
Recognizing that not all surplus lands will fit this need, we also added a provision directing the bulk of any property sale revenue be invested in affordable homes and equitable development - 39
It is poor governance to rely on selling publicly-owned land to fill budget holes or fund short-term political whims, and together we crafted forward-looking policies to end that practice in Seattle - 40
During budget season, we were able to secure victories on numerous fronts – this included investment to open a childcare facility in a downtown City-owned building - 41
Recognizing the dearth of options for growing families, this investment will provide new opportunities for households to have reliable childcare when they return to work - 42
We secured investments for a communicable disease response team, and an air and noise pollution study for Beacon Hill, aiming to be prepared in efforts to protect public health - 43
Our efforts to bring community to City Hall were successful, redirecting jail service funding from unused contracts to restorative justice reform in our region - 44
Listening to safe streets advocates, we secured funding for a Home Zone Pilot Project, as well as direction to SDOT to identify funding gaps – and ways to fill them – for the upcoming Thomas Street Greenway connecting SLU with Uptown - 45 crosscut.com/2018/11/unwill…
After reading report upon report identifying the disparate impact of our current growth strategy on communities of color, we formed a team to stop studying the cause, and through community engagement, start identifying a better strategy - 46 theurbanist.org/2018/11/12/top…
At the same time, we began the process to identify the City’s reliance on consultants, and what that cost is to taxpayers, particularly when that work could be better done in-house - 47
Our amendment to fund 2020 Census outreach was successful, fulfilling a need to ensure that ALL residents of our city are counted in 2020 - 48
And, working with workers, community groups, and council colleagues, we successfully authorized an inflationary adjustment for frontline workers supporting our neighbors experiencing or exiting homelessness – ALL workers – while expanding the Nav Team - 49 q13fox.com/2018/11/19/sea…
To end the year, my office took the lead on ensuring that the proposed Office of Employee Ombud in Seattle met the needs of City of Seattle employees - 50 seattletimes.com/seattle-news/p…
Enhancing legislation submitted by the Mayor, we worked with Silence Breakers and members of the anti-harassment team to ensure as much independence as possible for this new position - 51
Continuing to lead on safe workplaces means we must have our own house in order first, and together we ensured that this new office for City employees can be the advocate that workers need when facing intimidation and retaliation from management - 52
It has been an amazing year, and these successes only happened because of YOU. Your commitment to a safe and welcoming city for ALL residents has been a key component of our ability to craft and advance legislative priorities - 53
We will continue the work in 2019, and together I know we will ensure that the policies we advance will benefit Seattle residents for years ahead - 54
Thank you, Seattle, for the opportunity to serve. I look forward to continuing to be an effective advocate, bringing an intersectional lens to policies in Seattle! - 55
From all of us at #TeamTeresa, have a great holiday season! - 56/end
