In a 5 to 4 vote Tuesday evening the Seattle City Council voted down a measure to allow the City Attorney's Office (CAO) to prosecute people for drug possession and public drug use for the first time in the history of the city. If the proposal had passed, it likely would have increased court costs and added hundreds of new criminal cases and treatment requests that would have gummed up a system already groaning under a hefty caseload.
Council Members Andrew Lewis, Lisa Herbold, Teresa Mosqueda, Tammy Morales, and Kshama Sawant voted against passing the bill, while Council President Debora Juarez and Council Members Sara Nelson, Alex Pedersen, and Dan Strauss voted in favor.
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