A sign from the People’s March Seattle demonstration in January
Seattle City Council president Sara Nelson has responded to the call of the council’s junior member for a new committee dedicated to responding to “changes in the federal government which threaten funding to the City of Seattle.”
Council President Sara Nelson announced headed into the weekend she is form a new Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Changes.
Citywide rep Alexis Mercedes Rinck called for the new committee Friday morning.
“Throughout the past week, we have seen a flurry of executive orders coming from the new presidential administration challenging the rights and livelihoods of many of our residents, and the health of our institutions,” the statement from Rinck’s office read. “Many organizations, programs, and people within Seattle rely on federal funding to carry out their work and live healthy lives. What is clear is that major changes are underway on the federal front, and local leaders must be tuned in.”
Rinck says a a dedicated select committee is needed “to identify strong local responses to changes in the federal government which threaten funding to the City of Seattle,” including changes in funding that could “impact areas including but not limited to housing, public safety, transportation, emergency and disaster aid/response, climate change, public health, human and social services, immigration, nutrition, economic development, small businesses, and education.”
The start of the second Trump administration has been marked by extraordinary levels of executive orders that have caused confusion and uncertainty — and sometimes real, immediate damage as aid and funding to programs has been paused or wiped away.
While local governments are girding themselves against the chaos, protests and demonstrations including a small wave of actions around Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park have continued.
In her statement, Nelson said the new committee will include all nine members of the council, and with a planned first meeting date in early March.
“It’s my responsibility as an elected official and as Seattle City Council President to make sure every one of my constituents feels safe, particularly our most vulnerable communities who are being targeted by the onslaught of executive orders on a daily basis” Nelson said in a statement thanking Councilmember Rinck “for bringing this forward.”
“We’re all seeing the chaos and uncertainty in Washington, D.C. but we’re focused on stability here. Our constituents deserve to know that we are not only paying attention, but have a viable plan to protect our people, community resources, and basic government services,” Nelson said.
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Rinck is the only one who cares on this Council. Good on her
no doubt…
I’m so happy to have a council member who is forward-thinking and ready to rally resources and attention to the coming chaos.
Wish they would spend some energy and money on lowering crime. Has anybody been down broadway lately, what a complete shitshow.
Were they only elected to do one thing at a time?
Yeah, ugh, it’s such a bummer that they’re only allowed to care about one singular issue at a time!!!
To the barricades!
When times get tough, turns out you can only look left for people offering material solutions to the problems of working people. Who could have known?
Good on her for standing up to the rest of the council’s complacency.
Just curious, what material solution has been offered? Setting up a committee doesn’t count as a solution. And let’s be honest, this is a problem of limited resources. How much of what City Council spends time and money on is the result of the mistakes of the last council and the one before that one?
Instead of staying focused on the real day to day problems in Seattle they set up a committee to joust with windmills. Look for them to accomplish nothing besides empty demands. To the extent that federal funding may not longer be available for some programs, it’s time to figure out how to cut waste in the city budget and reallocate funds toward what matters most
waste? what would that be?
I personally am glad that my elected officials are doing SOMETHING to at least keep abreast of what’s happening in Washington DC, because it has the potential to severely affect every single American citizen and municipal area in the country. With SO MUCH happening so fast, I know I sure can’t keep up, which means it’s going to be difficult for any individual citizen to get a solid grasp on what’s happening at the federal level that might eventually directly impact their life.
Glad to hear Nelson receptive to all ideas, and finding this topic too important to assign to a committee, making it a priority for the entire council.
I’m glad Rinck pushed this.
I don’t expect this council to make miracles but as disappointing as they are, I still expected a public statement indicating they were taking guidance from the AG’s office or something. Nothing. I’ve called and written to my council member and the mayor’s office specifically asking if they had any guidance for people in Seattle who might find themselves impacted by Trump’s EOs. No replies. Not even a form “We’re considering this issue seriously.”
Please share the specifics on how one or more of Trump’s Executive Orders has affected your life.
I don’t dispute what you are saying and I believe that if you are clear, on what the specific issues are, that will directly affect you, then we will all have a better understanding of the impact and threat to us all.
I find Trump to be abhorrent and I did not vote for him. He told us exactly who he is and what he intended to do, and yet WE elected him, one way or another (not voting, choosing other issues as more important than democracy, special interests, geopolitical issues, etc.).
I would like to see more from the federal level democrats in the congress, but I think that they are just getting their feet back underneath themselves after the election. These are the people we elected to provide guidance and leadership on national issues. You might want to contact Patty Murray and Pramila Jayapal. I feel that Murray is doing a great job.
On a state level, I like our new governor and attorney general. Sharon Tomiko Santos is the 37th district representative. You might try contacting them.
What guidance do you expect, from the City, that will instruct you on dealing with national issues? It might help more people deal with these problems. Thanks.
Why do you think these are only national issues? Trump signed an EO that would criminalize teachers calling students by their preferred names and pronouns, and ordered state AGs to investigate the same (paired with another EO that is supposed to overturn educational standards on the state level). Wild stuff, and obviously our AG’s office won’t go with the flow and our school district isn’t very likely to either, but it opens a space for people to cause trouble for teachers and students and it would be good for the city council to work with the school district on a workflow for reporting any such event -and passing those reports up the chain to state government as necessary- and reiterating or expanding policies protecting students and staff.
Just to be clear, I’m not expecting the city council to charge off and barricade federal buildings, or negotiate some weird city exemption with Canada if Trump decides to resume tariffs. I’m expecting them to communicate with their constituents about practical matters within their purview.
FYI, I’ve called Murray’s and Jayapal’s offices, and they are far more responsive than the city council but communication about potential issues for the school district isn’t really their jam so I focused on the illegal gutting of USAID and the OMB instead.
Thank you for your reply.