The council weighs a critical appointment, a cop gets sentenced for murder, and firefighters triple their salaries with overtime.
By Erica C. Barnett
Tuesday, January 21
Seattle Nice: Our 2025 Predictions!
PubliCola founder and columnist Josh Feit joined us on the Seattle Nice podcast this week to discuss our predictions for 2025, including MAGA’s emergence in Seattle, David’s predictions for this year’s February and November elections, Sandeep’s expectation that Seattle will continue its “malaise” era, and my worries about Seattle’s readiness for immigration raids and the likely withdrawal of federal funding during Trump 2.0
Wednesday, January 22
The city council is preparing—for the second time in a year—to appoint a new member, this time to represent Southeast Seattle in the seat formerly held by Tammy Morales. Unfortunately, the one and only public forum for the six finalists focused on micro-issues and complaints the city council has no power to address—like “why can people who I don’t know park in front of my house?”
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Thursday, January 23
Auburn Cop Convicted of Murder and Assault Is First Sentenced Under 2018 Accountability Law
An Auburn police officer who was convicted of murdering and assaulting Jesse Sarey, a 26-year-old homeless man who was experiencing a mental health crisis, was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison under a law passed by voters in 2018 that reduced the high burden of proof for police misconduct.
Friday, January 24
Nearly 200 Firefighters Made More than $200,000 Last Year, Amassing Thousands of Hours of Overtime
Last year, 180 Seattle Fire Department employees—almost one in five—made more than $200,000, doubling or tripling their salaries by working thousands of hours of overtime. Of those, 19 made more than $300,000, sometimes averaging 120 hours a week or more under a system that places almost no limits on how much overtime a firefighter can accrue.
Saturday, January 25
Six Applicants Make Their Case to Become the City Council’s Newest Member
The council applicants made their cases before the city council for nearly two hours on Thursday, answering questions that ranged from “where did you go to middle school?” to “how will you approach the city’s comprehensive plan?”