1/#BudgetingWithLorena 2019: today @SeattleCouncil is voting on the City's 2020 Budget. The budget puts our progressive values into action. It's an investment in the future that we want and that we can believe in.
▪️ expanded the Regional Domestic Violence Firearm Enforcement Unit to get guns off our streets
3/ ▪️ implemented Re-Entry Workgroup recs to support formerly incarcerated individuals re-entering the economy
▪️ direct City Deptarments to examine the impact of our investments in the criminal legal system on communities of color and other vulnerable populations
4/
▪️ funded additional "Hub-in-a-Box" emergency management communications stations across the City
▪️ funded a public life study for the Capitol Hill Ecodistrict to activate public spaces for climate resiliency and stronger community connections
5/ ▪️ allocated $ for the Diaper Gap for families relying on shelters, tiny villages, food banks, and childcare facilities
▪️ expanded birth-three childcare options and invested in strategies to expand access/affordability for Seattle families
▪️ increased infant CCAP slots
6/
▪️ Ensured ADU/DADU financing is within reach for low- to middle-income families, with a racial equity lens applied to the future pilot
7/ ▪️ Created a pilot program to provide rental assistance as a homelessness solution/prevention tool for households who are dependent on federal disability benefits (shout out to @KromanDavid for his excellent reporting on this!)
8/
▪️ A Resiliency Fund to support our immigrant and refugee neighbors from ongoing and emerging threats from the Trump Administration in partnership with @iandraffairs and community leaders
It's an honor to come to work everyday and fight for these priorities and more. Thanks for following along this budget season!
I intend to vote to override the Mayor's vetoes at tomorrow's special Full Council mtg.
This morning @ Council Briefing, I stated that I stand by what Council did this summer & I continue to believe these are the right policy choices. I will continue to support divestment. /1
b/c Council is required to follow the Open Public Meetings Act, I don't know the outcome of tomorrow's vote.
If vetoes are sustained, then the work we have collectively done is erased. This will mean zero dollars from 2020's budget for BIPOC-led community safety investments. /2
Today, I introduced an alternative bill that is a compromise between the Mayor and Council.
This bill will *ONLY* move forward if the vetoes are sustained by my colleagues.
Again, I plan to vote to override all the vetoes. /3
This weekend has been marked by great personal loss to those of us who knew and loved Rahwa Habte and Sarah Leyrer. Both from different walks of life. Both loved community, organized community and staunchly fought for what was right. Both gone too soon. Rest in Power. /1
I first met Sarah in law school. She was effervescent, quirky and had a heart pure as gold. I convinced her to work at Casa Latina and we often stood in store parking lots volunteering as legal observers to make sure day laborers were protected from ICE raids in South Seattle. /2
Like many of you, I have watched with dismay as the SPD has failed to demonstrate restraint or exercise the de-escalation principles that should be the hallmark of a truly reformed law enforcement department.
The culture change we are pushing for, and have been since 2010, has failed to materialize. The City Council has taken the initial votes to begin the process of transforming how the City of Seattle ensures community safety for everyone, particularly our BIPOC communities.
Meanwhile, the Mayor insists on sowing seeds of fear, intimidation and misinformation from a bully pulpit, further dividing our community in a time of unprecedented crisis. All the while, she calls for unity.
Today is a down-payment on community investments and an ongoing commitment to transform how we deliver community-supported public safety services across the city. /2
Our collective commitments now, plant the seeds and provide a blueprint for massive divestment from our militarized police force and reinvestment in community-based public safety #solutions. Phase 2 of this work begins in just 7 weeks. /3
This is great news for Child Care Providers across the Country, who are essential to our collective recovery from the #COVID19 crisis! Thanks to the House Members who voted in favor and many thanks to our Senator @PattyMurray, who needs our support to get this done! 💪/1
If passed, the #ChildCareIsEssential Act, "would provide grant money to child care providers in an effort to help the facilities reopen safely amid the coronavirus pandemic and stabilize the sector’s operations on Wednesday." /2
Additionally, the "Child Care for Economic Recovery Act, includes a number of tax provisions that are aimed at making child care more affordable for families and providing assistance to child-care providers." /3