A clean sweep: Seattle voters should dump City Council incumbents | Editorial

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What qualities should voters look for in a Seattle City Council member?

Personal preferences aside, here are few considerations: accessibility, consistency, and competency.

Weighed against those criteria, the editorial board recommends that all three incumbents running for reelection should lose their jobs.

Tammy Morales, Dan Strauss and Andrew Lewis voted in 2020 to get behind a proposal by advocates to defund the Seattle Police Department by 50% and reallocate the dollars.

Despite the justifiable push for better policing following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers, this was an obviously bad idea. Any city department could likely withstand a budget cut of 5%. Defunding by 50% essentially puts the department out of business. That these three council members were OK with not having a functional public safety response is reason enough for voters to go in another direction.

Representing District 2 in South Seattle, Morales has consistently voted against public safety measures, including the recent vote making public drug use a gross misdemeanor.

As for accessibility, Erin Goodman of the Sodo Business Improvement Area said her group had a “polite” relationship with Morales’ staff, but, she said: “Councilmember Morales has shown no interest in small businesses in Sodo.”

The same could be said for Little Saigon and other neighborhoods in Morales’ district. It is simply inexcusable.

At least with Morales, voters know what they’re going to get. Not so much with Strauss and Lewis.

In 2020, Strauss, the council member for District 6 (Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake and parts of Magnolia) said he was in “100% agreement” with the defund movement. Last year, Strauss and five other council members flouted Mayor Bruce Harrell’s request and eliminated 80 unfilled SPD positions. Now, Strauss claims in campaign literature that defund was a mistake as he frantically tries to burnish his public safety credentials. So much for consistency.

Consistency has also bedeviled Lewis, who represents District 7 — downtown, Queen Anne and parts of Magnolia. Lewis was the swing vote that killed an ordinance that would have conformed Seattle Municipal Code with state law prohibiting public drug use and emphasizing treatment and diversion. He later voted for a revised version.

Changing his mind is Lewis’ standard operating procedure. He voted on a bill to cap late-rent fees in committee and then switched positions on the final vote. After Lewis expressed full-throated support for defunding the police in 2020, he recently chastised his council colleagues — presumably including Strauss — for cutting the 80 police positions in last year’s budget, which Lewis termed “stealth defunding of the police.”

Is your head spinning? You’re not alone.

In a September poll of likely voters, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce found that a whopping 75% of respondents disagreed with the statement: “I trust the Seattle City Council to reform the Seattle Police Department without endangering public safety.”

Another poll gave the Seattle City Council a dismal 20% favorable opinion overall.

Thankfully, all three council members have drawn capable challengers.

In District 2, Tanya Woo has made public safety a key priority. As a small-business owner and Chinatown International District activist, she is clearly engaged with the community and understands that constituents deserve answers, not a brushoff.

Residents of District 6 ought to choose Pete Hanning, the executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. Hanning served on the police department’s North Precinct Advisory Council, promoting partnerships between police and community members. With deep neighborhood connections, Hanning is best able to maintain a consistent approach and stick to the basics.

Former Naval officer Bob Kettle in District 7 served on the West Precinct Advisory Council as well as the Queen Anne Community Council. Kettle understands that varied neighborhoods in the district have specific concerns, and he pledges to keep an open door to all constituents.

Advocating for a clean sweep of the Seattle City Council is not something the editorial board takes lightly. New lawmakers will face their own challenges learning the job. However, the incumbents’ track record leaves no doubt that their opponents will better serve the city if given the opportunity by voters.

Election Day is Nov. 7. May it be the catalyst for positive change.

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