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Seattle's city pension fund is invested in private prisons and fossil fuel companies. The pension fund chair from 2013-17 who resisted calls to divest? Tim Burgess. The same guy running a massive business PAC to buy this year's elections. seattleglobalist.com/2019/09/18/sea… 
Sharing these facts because there are real differences between city council candidates. The business PACs knows that - and will try to hide it. But it's no accident that Seattle remains invested in fossil fuels and private prisons - it's what they want.
As background - in 2013 I committed Seattle to divesting from fossil fuels - the first city in the nation to do so. I had two appointees on a seven member pension board. They suggested the board first adopt an ethical investing policy to address this and related issues. It did.
Ed Murray was then elected and Tim Burgess became the chair of the pension board, both supported by massive spending from the business community. And that was that - fossil fuel divestment died, despite a significant campaign from @350_Seattle.
@350_Seattle Between them they controlled 3 of the 7 votes on the pension board, and could have easily used their influence to get another vote to divest. They never tried, despite a council resolution calling for divestment.
@350_Seattle Since 2013, over 1000 institutions, controlling 8.8 trillion in assets have divested, including other pension funds, foundations, colleges, cities, and other governments. divestinvest.org
@350_Seattle And it is absolutely shameful that we call ourselves a sanctuary city and are profiting from the imprisonment of immigrants and refugees. Our current mayor and every city council member and candidate should commit right now to ridding this city of unethical investments.
