Discouraging homelessness numbers, SPD hiring debate, King County budget shenanigans, and much more.
By Erica C. Barnett
Monday, June 22
A recently concluded investigation into Seattle Office for Civil Rights director Derrick Wheeler-Smith, which found Wheeler-Smith subjected a subordinate to “unwelcome conduct of a sexually explicit nature,” details allegations that Wheeler-Smith and several other men went to a strip club in Alabama during an official City of Seattle-sponsored trip to civil rights history sites in the South, PubliCola exclusively reported.
Tuesday, June 23
The latest biennial count of the region’s homeless population, which has been based since 2022 on interviews and statistical sampling rather than a physical count, found that homelessness overall increased 9 percent—a data point the King County Regional Homelessness Authority characterized as good news because it represents a slowed pace of increase—but that unsheltered homelessness increased 21 percent, largely because of the closure of some family shelters.
Wednesday, June 24
Three King County budget-related items in this Morning Fizz:
• First, County Councilmember Rod Dembowski’s proposal to defund a successful harm reduction program that connects drug users to services by offering safer smoking supplies will not move forward. After PubliCola broke the story last week, Dembowski replaced the proposal with a request for information on the program.
• Second, Dembowski’s proposal to add more process to every grant or contract issued through the county’s Best Starts for Kids program—subject of a recent high-profile audit—got scaled back to a level the county’s Department of Community and Human Services said it can live with. New grants and contracts will still require a letter to the county council making a number of financial and other guarantees about each program.
• Finally, a majority of the county council voted to retain the county’s longtime federal lobbyist for another year after County Executive Girmay Zahilay put out a request for proposals and hired a new lobbyist. Councilmembers accused Zahilay of taking unilateral action, which his office says isn’t true; in fact, they say, a council representative has been present at every step of the hiring process. The council decision to hire two separate lobbyists will cost the county about $200,000 a year.
Thursday, June 25
Mayor Hires Temporary New Comms Team; Councilmembers Tell SPD: Keep Hiring, We’ll Pay for It!
Thursday’s Fizz featured an exclusive about Mayor Katie Wilson’s decision to hire political consultant, podcaster, and KVRU Radio co-owner Crystal Nicole Fincher as well as longtime SDOT spokesperson Dawn Schellenberg to help craft a new communications strategy and fill in while the mayor finds a permanent new communications director, respectively.
And several members of the city council, including Rob Saka and Bob Kettle, rejected the idea of slowing down Seattle Police Department hiring, as suggested by SPD budget staff, in order to above going above budget this year and in next year’s budget. Saka suggested that slowing the pace of hiring would be tantamount to defunding the police.
Friday, June 26 How Do We Get Transit Champions on Transit Boards?
In a fascinating guest editorial, nondriver movement leader Anna Zivarts explores what it would take to get actual transit riders on the Sound Transit board, looking at how other cities have tackled the problem of transit agencies whose decision makers don’t represent or understand the challenges faced by people who rely on transit every day.
Also this week: Check out the latest episode of Seattle Nice, where we discussed the dramatic increase in unsheltered homelessness and the latest plan to address drug use and criminal activity around 12th and Jackson.