The new city council takes on its first city budget and the council candidates take on our policy questions.
Monday, September 30
Why Does the Mayor’s Budget Use Outdated, Inaccurate Estimates for JumpStart Spending?
This year, Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed a budget that uses most of the revenues from the JumpStart payroll tax, which is supposed to primarily fund affordable housing to fill a massive general fund deficit. Not only that—the budget ensures that the funding that actually goes to the tax’s original spending priorities will decline in real terms every year, by setting a baseline far below actual tax collections and increasing it every year by less than the rate of inflation—ensuring that as long as revenues from the tax keep increasing, more and more can be siphoned off.
Tuesday, October 1
What Seattle Will Lose If It Loses the Seattle Channel
Harrell’s budget would eliminate all original programming, along with the entire web team, at the Seattle Channel, the city’s award-winning municipal broadcast channel. We talked to current and former Seattle Channel employees and contractors about what the city will lose if Harrell manages to shut down what makes the channel unique among its peers.
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Thursday, October 3
Seattle Nice: Listen to the City Council Debate Before You Vote!
On Tuesday, my Seattle Nice podcast co-hosts and I hosted a City Council debate at Town Hall Seattle, where Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck answered tough policy questions in front of a raucous crowd. If you missed it, you can still listen to our live recording by tuning in to this week’s edition of Seattle Nice.
Friday, October 5
Seattle Budget Update: Rob Saka Has Questions
Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka has been raising a lot of questions during this year’s budget presentations. Questions like: Are school zone speeding cameras bad? Should the city keep its ceremonial horse patrol, which mayors have been trying to get rid of since the McGinn administration? And can we “bodega our way out of” food deserts?
Saturday, October 5
Seattle Nice Minisode! Who Won the Seattle City Council Debate?
We did it! We managed to make a mini-episode that didn’t go as long as a regular episode! In this one, we discuss how the candidates for the citywide Seattle City Council seat, Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Tanya Woo, performed at the Seattle Nice-moderated debate on Tuesday at Town Hall.