Seattle CIty Council
Seattle’s Democracy Vouchers Aim To Increase Civic Participation. Will They Work?
Seattle’s unique Democracy Voucher Program was designed to increase the number and diversity of local candidates. Is it doing the job?
This article appears in print in the July 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe. This year’s Seattle City Council races have produced a bumper crop of candidates—56 people running for seven council seats. Of those, more than 40 have signed up to participate in the city’s audacious experiment in campaign funding: democracy vouchers, a unique form of public…
City Council’s Lorena Gonzalez Proposes Paid Family Leave for Private Employees
Earlier this year, the city council adopted legislation guaranteeing 12 weeks of paid parental leave to City of Seattle employees, but expanding family leave to private employees is proving more controversial
The numbers are stark. According to a survey conducted for the City of Seattle by Maggie Simich of Patinkin Research, a Portland-based consulting firm, 41 percent of Seattle residents lack access to paid parental leave. Half of all companies offer no paid parental leave at all. Workers in the lowest-paying industries, such as restaurant workers,…
In Search of a Happier Seattle
It’s time to start talking about what really matters when making policy decisions for our city: the
When civic disputes get down to arguments over numbers, the point has usually been lost. Debates this year over building heights near the planned Roosevelt light rail station and in Pioneer Square heated up because the numbers symbolize an approach: density versus single-family homes, sustainability versus sprawl, high-rises versus history. These debates, legitimate as they…
Seattle’s Mini Mayors
Our's is one of the last big cities with an ‘at large’ city council. Some say it hurts neighborhoods
As he travels around Seattle seeking support for his City Council candidacy, Bradley Meacham hears the same two questions over and over again. “Can I vote for you?” and “Do I live in your district?” Every time, Meacham hesitates. The answer is complicated: Yes, Seattle voter, you can vote for Meacham. But no, you don’t…
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