A bittersweet Fourth of July, COVID updates, this week’s Committee of the Whole meeting on gun violence prevention, and visits out in the district

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

First, I wish everyone a happy Fourth of July weekend. For all of you with a vacation day on Monday, I hope you have a wonderful weekend with family and friends. And I extend my deep appreciation to all essential workers, those working in the service and hospitality industries, our law enforcement, fire and rescue, and health care and hospital workers, our bus drivers, food workers, and all the other individuals who will be working through the holiday taking care of us. You are a constant example of what it takes for a community and a society to work together for our common good. 

But as I personally look to the holiday on Monday and what it stands for, I sadly feel somewhat bitter this year. My rights and the rights of American women and others everywhere are under attack, and the Supreme Court shows no sign of stopping here in its attack on civil rights, our privacy, and our reproductive health care. While we worry and wait to see what will become of other, hard fought progress made in our country, the court wasted no time undermining protection for our environment as well.  (I will go into more detail around this EPA-related decision, my reaction, and the County’s climate work next week.) 

With the civil rights of so many groups now in jeopardy, I share in the fear and angst of so many across the country. I feel solidarity and alliance with my BIPOC and LGBTQI+ neighbors and family as they worry that they are next. I have spent my career fighting to protect and enhance the civil liberty and equal access to rights and justice for women, BIPOC and LGBTQI+ individuals. What the Supreme Court has done to date — and where it seems to be heading — sickens me.   

But our country is defined by our ability to peacefully act out and struggle for what is right, in politics and in protest. I will not stand idly by while a privileged few strip the freedom and dignity from so many. While I may not be as young as when I began my journey for justice, I am nowhere near done fighting. I will see you in the halls of government and in the streets. Our fight is now. 

As always, I would like to hear from you. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.    

All the best and I hope you are staying safe. 

The committee will hold a second meeting on July 20 to continue the conversation, with a focus on community-based voices and violence interruption work as well as on tangible strategies to achieve safer, healthier communities. 

Prior to the committee’s discussion on gun violence, we will have a briefing from the County’s Budget Director Dwight Dively on the county’s economic recovery and status as we continue to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic. This will be followed by possible action on a motion sponsored by Councilmember Girmay Zahilay requesting that the executive develop an operational plan for sheltering the most-vulnerable King County residents in the event of extreme cold, heat or wildfire smoke. 

Last week, I stopped by Path with Art’s new home in lower Queen Anne and enjoyed getting to see its new space. Path with Art does wonderful programming with the goal of helping participants process trauma through art. Thank you very much to Board President Jill Rullkoetter, Board Member Pamela Eakes and Executive Administrator Austin Moreman for showing me around!  

I was truly inspired, and later found this interview with Path with Art’s CEO Holly Jacobsen. 

The current King County COVID level is classified as Medium. For up-to-date information on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the County, see the Daily COVID-19 outbreak summary dashboard. The links to the data by demographics and geography are on the same page. 

You can also sign up for Covid alerts and find recent articles and information from Public Health here. 

Another interesting Covid dashboard is the Economic, social and overall health dashboard. 

View all County COVID-related Data Dashboards here, including vaccination rates and outcomes according to vaccination status. 

View the most recent statewide COVID-19 data from the  state Department of Health (DOH). 

As this was the fifth week of the month, no committee meetings were scheduled. 

King County Council 

On Tuesday, the King County Council passed a proclamation of Summer Meals Week and a recognition of our beloved and longtime colleague, Sharon Daly, who retired after a long career of service to the residents of King County.  The Council then passed an amendment to the King County Charter to move elections for certain county offices from odd-numbered to even-numbered years, sending that amendment to the ballot for voter approval in November. The Council also passed unanimously an ordinance relating to the creation of protection order commissioner positions for King County superior court.  The ordinance related to winery, brewery and distillery uses was not voted on and instead was referred back to the Local Services and Land Use committee for further work. Finally, the Council passed a motion approving the executive's reappointment of Anita Khandelwal as Director of the Department of Public Defense. You can find links to the minutes and video from the meeting here. 

On Tuesday, the King County Council will take action on an ordinance declaring an emergency and making a supplemental appropriation of $500,000 to Public Health for abortion services. I am pleased to cosponsor the legislation with Councilmember Claudia Balducci as the lead sponsor. The rest of the agenda is mostly pro forma. The agenda, meeting materials and instructions for providing public comment can be found here.  

Committee of the Whole 

See above summary. The agenda, meeting materials and instructions for providing public comment can be found here. 

Regional Water Quality Committee 

On Wednesday, the committee will hear two reports, the first from the Metropolitan Water Pollution Abatement Advisory Committee and the second from the Wastewater Treatment Division. Then members will receive two briefings, the first on the implementation of 2021-2022 Water Works projects and the last on resource recovery program involving biosolids. The agenda, meeting materials and instructions for providing public comment can be found here. 

Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee 

On Thursday, the committee will receive a briefing from our new Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall on her vision for her role as Sheriff and how she plans to lead the department. Members will then discuss and possibly take action on both a motion accepting the 2020 annual mental illness and drug dependency evaluation summary report and another motion declaring fentanyl-related overdoses a public health crisis and requesting the executive to identify strategies and recommendations regarding the county's public health response. The agenda, meeting materials and instructions for providing public comment can be found here.