The Seattle Police Department's Chief Operating Officer is Leaving After 15 Months on the Job: Mike Wagers was "Chief Kathleen OâTooleâs first major appointment after she was sworn in last year," the Seattle Times reports. "Wagers, the departmentâs civilian chief operating officer, said he is returning to Virginia to be with his wife and teenage children who never moved to Seattle. He said he does not have another job lined up." Both Wagers and O'Toole say his position as COO was never expected to be permanent.
Wagers Focused on Technology and Hired an Amazon Executive as the Department's Chief Technology Officer: But that executive, Greg Russell, also left the department in September after only five months on the job.
I will be sad, too. Great city. Engaged, civic-minded community. Department loaded with talent. One-of-a-kind Chief. https://t.co/GzalDxQ4wW
â Mike Wagers (@MikeWagers) October 23, 2015
Diversion Programs Are Coming to Capitol Hill: "A strategy first deployed in downtown Seattle for keeping chronic drug users and mentally ill people out of jail by connecting them with social services is expanding to Capitol Hill," writes Bryan Cohen at Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. "Within the next three months, East Precinct police officers will be teaming up with social service workers and using an arrest diversion program to help address 'street disorder' around Pike/Pine and Cal Anderson Park, city officials tell CHS."
Bertha Is Delayed Again: Who is even surprised at this point? "This is the fourth time that the state's contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners, has extended the tunnel's opening date,"Sydney reports. "First it was December 2015. Then it was November 2016, August 2017, March 2018, and now April 2018."
A Gun Safety Rally Is Planned for Today Downtown: It starts at 3 pm at Westlake. Here's the schedule. "This is not affiliated with any organization," organizers said in a press release. "It has been organized by concerned parent Melinda Barnes. It is non-partisan. It is not anti-gun nor pro-gun."
We're Finally Starting to See Who'll Be Funding the Campaign Against Public Campaign Financing: The "No Election Vouchers" campaign is opposing Initiative 122, which would give voters $100 in property-tax-funded "democracy vouchers" they could then donate to city candidates. Until now, they'd reported basically no real donations. Over the last two days, they've reported $30,000 in contributions, with the two biggest gifts coming from Microsoft and Vulcan at $10,000 each.
Here's Why They Might Be Worried About the Plan: I-122 would ban political contributions from companies that had earned at least $250,000 in city contracts in the two years before the election in question. Supporters of the idea call that trade offâwhich could give big donors unfair access to city businessâ"pay to play." Microsoft is one of the top "contractor-contributors," according to Sightline, which supports the initiative.
The Pro-Side Is Also Raising Huge Amounts of Money: The group called "Honest Elections" has now raised more than $1 million with big help from East-Coast-based campaign finance reform advocacy groups. As has been well documented, it's ironic that it's taking big money to fund a campaign claiming it'll get big money out of local politics.
In Other Election News, the Sierra Club Endorsed Jon Grant in His Citywide Council Race: That's according to Grant. The group had previously endorsed John Roderick, who lost in the primary election. Grant is running against Council President Tim Burgess.
In Even More Election News, Candidates in District 5 Aren't Sure Who Endorsed Them: Thanks to a miscommunication, Debora Juarez prematurely announced an endorsement from Mayor Ed Murray. Her opponent, Sandy Brown, also misstated an endorsement, saying he'd been endorsed by Fuse when in fact he'd been included in Fuse's Progressive Voters Guide but not endorsed by the group. Publicola has the details on both fuckups.
The Move Seattle Levy Is Polling Well: That's according to a September telephone survey of 304 likely voters, which was funded and released by supporters of the levy. Results of the EMC Research Poll released yesterday show that after hearing only the ballot language, 63 percent of likely voters were supportive. After hearing "detailed cost information and strong negative messages with no positive information," 58 percent were supportive. "It's true that the poll was conducted some weeks ago, and campaigns for tax measures do tend to tighten somewhat as we approach election day," Sandeep Kaushik, a consultant on the pro side said in a statement, "but the Let's Move Seattle campaign has continued to see strong and steady support for the levy in our nightly phone banks and regular volunteer doorbelling shifts."
This Week On Our Week-in-Review Podcast, Blabbermouth: We corner Washington State Governor Jay Inslee at the Comet Tavern, talk to Stranger food writer Angela Garbes about a recent online discussion she got into concerning restaurant racism, and hear from art critic Jen Graves about Paul Allenâs recent retreat from funding local arts organizations. Listen here.
Did the University of Washington Board of Regents Follow Public Meeting Laws When It Chose a New President? Probably not, open-government advocates and attorneys tell the Seattle Times.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction Won't Run for Reelection: Randy Dorn announced he isn't planning to seek reelection saying "'neither the Governor, the Legislature nor the Court have provided ⌠leadership' in an ongoing debate over school funding," KPLU reports.
