Thank you for an incredible 30 years in elected office!

January 25, 2022

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

After serving you in elected office for 30 years, it is with mixed emotions that I share with you that I will not be running for re-election this fall and that I will be retiring at the end of this year.

Representing my constituents – first in the 36th Legislative District in the State House and Senate, and more recently in District Four on the King County Council – has been the privilege and honor of my lifetime, and I am incredibly grateful for the partnership, support, and trust that you all have offered me over the years.

This decision did not come to me lightly. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving the public, those residing in my district but also more broadly throughout King County and the state. It has been particularly important to me to work collaboratively in strengthening protections for the most vulnerable and marginalized in our communities, especially as income inequality, displacement, and homelessness have increased, as climate change has become increasingly threatening to us all, and as gun violence has become more frequent.

As long as I have held elective office, I have worked to provide access to affordable, equitable and quality housing, child care, education, health care and a safe and secure life for all. And so important to me has been increasing access to arts, culture, heritage, and science programs and events, as well as an urgency in working on climate change and its effects on everything we all hold dear -- our people, our environment, our natural resources, our society, and our planet!

I’ve also cherished working alongside so many talented, intelligent, and dedicated people and in balancing multiple, sometimes conflicting, interests in the pursuit of better public policy for all of us. I will miss the work mightily, but mostly the people and the communities in my district. While I will enjoy finding more time for family and friends and for returning to my writing, I do know it will be challenging to shift gears after working so long with so many fantastic people and on so many challenging issues in the pursuit of the common good.

After 30 years, there are many lessons I’ve learned, but perhaps the most important is that there is always another side to the story. Sometimes, an issue is presented in a way that makes it appear the solution is simple. It rarely is. Just as we are multi-faceted as individuals, the ways we experience and are impacted by social issues are, too. That is why it’s been vital to me to bring as many voices into policymaking as possible – those with different backgrounds and experiences can provide a more complete picture of the issues we face. In fact, I have found it essential to listen to different voices and to craft solutions that take all angles into account.

Truly well thought out legislative advances serve the community and better stand the test of time. After working collaboratively, we’re more likely to reach equitable, effective and sustainable outcomes.

While I look forward to the next chapter of my life, I also look back fondly on all I have done and all those with whom I have worked alongside. I feel blessed by my career, fortunate to be part of such a wonderful community and a participant in crafting needed public policy and social change. And we’ve accomplished a lot over the past seven years (and in the previous 23 in the Legislature), so check out an abbreviated list of Council accomplishments below.

But, with nearly a year to go, my work is not done yet and I am eager to finish strong! So, stick around for more informative e-news editions and other communications from my office this year, and expect to see some exciting legislation and other projects before I leave at the end of December. As always, please reach out to me or my exemplary staff with any of your questions, concerns, or ideas.

Lastly, politics is – in every sense of the term – a public endeavor, and this is how I’ve approached it my whole career. Not only could my work not have existed without that amazing staff I just mentioned, it definitely could not have existed without the tireless work of countless others, including those working in advocacy groups and nonprofits, journalists, community organizers, community-based organizations, union members, policy analysts, academics, business owners, concerned citizens, and yes, lobbyists. Our form of democracy is messy, sometimes chaotic, and ultimately beautiful. It’s best when it’s open, visible, and built on relationships and dialogue. Perhaps it’s the sociologist in me that leads me to love the public aspects of the work as much as I do, but I think we can all agree that at the core of our governance experiment is a dynamic, colorful, beating heart. Thank you all for accompanying me on this journey.

Warmly,

Disclaimer: some of my cosponsors, ones with whom I worked closely to develop legislation, are listed, but not all of them. None of this would have been achieved without collaboration and support from all of my colleagues.

General:

• Led in passing 13 budgets during the COVID pandemic while serving as budget chair.
• Organized six Women’s History Month Panels (with another one set for this coming March).
• Donated 28 retired Metro Vanpool vans to local organizations and changed the policy so that donated vans can be used to transport goods and supplies in addition to program participants.
• Held more than 10 town halls.
• Ensured the placement of a new ballot drop box in Lower Queen Anne/Uptown.
• Changed election years for many county positions from odd- to even-years, with voter approval.

• Secured funding to save the Ballard P-Patch through Parks Levy and Conservation Futures funding.
• Secured $250,000 to support the restoration and preservation of the only remaining steam ship in Puget Sound, the National Historic Landmark vessel S.S. VIRGINIA V.
• Secured $1.1 million in capital funding for the United Indians of All Tribes Canoe House, coming soon to South Lake Union.

• Secured $200,000 for the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority for the Alaskan Way and Western Access Improvements Elevator Replacement Project.

• Secured $750,000 for the historic ASUW Shell House, the setting of the bestselling Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

Safety and Justice:

• With CMs Dembowski and Zahilay, earned voter approval of several Charter Amendments to change the Sheriff from elected to appointed and to expand oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.

• Sponsored legislation that passed banning government use of facial recognition technology in the interest of protecting the civil liberties of King County residents.

• Established a task force on labor trafficking and economic exploitation and required a report with recommendations on the steps the county can take in addressing systematic issues related to labor trafficking and economic exploitation and then called on the Executive to implement these recommendations.
• Commissioned a report with recommendations for adding requirements related to human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation awareness training and testing for for-hire drivers.
• Launched an interjurisdictional anti-trafficking awareness campaign with CM Dunn, airlines, and the Port of Seattle, which eventually turned into a statewide collaborative campaign.
• Launched a firearms safety program with CM McDermott that included safe storage, destruction of forfeited weapons, creation of a gun safety task force, funding for a study on youth-identified strategies to reduce gun violence.
• Secured funding for a full-time clerk to process U and T visa applications, ensuring that there is a path to citizenship for undocumented crime and trafficking victims.
• Created a marijuana retail security task force with CM Dunn.
• Co-sponsored the Youth Right to Counsel ordinance to ensure young people involved in the criminal legal system can access legal counsel (introduced by CM Zahilay).
• Led in requiring legal representation for victims’ families of law enforcement-involved killings at inquests.
• Restricted funding from the office of inquests until it increases transparency about past, pending, and future inquests.
• Secured $775,000 for increased services for domestic violence survivors seeking protection orders.
• Convened a series of three panels on gun violence prevention as Chair of the Committee of the Whole.
• Co-sponsored the creation of a safe firearm and ammunition return program with CM Dembowski.

• Called on the Board of Health to review the disparate enforcement of the King County Helmet Law and secured funding for helmet education and awareness.

• As Board of Health Chair in 2019, launched the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Subcommittee.

Transit and the Environment:

• Expedited Metro’s transition to electric buses with CM Dembowski.

• Sponsored legislation that passed requiring the building of electric vehicle infrastructure along with certain development activities in Unincorporated King County.

• Sponsored legislation to provide no/low cost ORCA passes for individuals with very low incomes.
• Secured the creation of a bus stop at Broad St. and First Ave. in Belltown.
• Lobbied Sound Transit to bring light rail to Ballard (West Seattle to Ballard).
• Sponsored legislation to ensure Metro rides are free upon activation of the Emergency Snow Network.

• Collaborated with waterfront stakeholders to help bring back the Free Waterfront Shuttle and secured $500,000 to support it.
• Ensured free masks are available on Metro buses.
• Cosponsored legislation making transit free for youth ages 18 and below.
• Sponsored a $65 million funding package for critical upgrades to the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant to improve the plant's power supply systems and prevent future bypass of untreated wastewater and added oversight for critical safety upgrades.
• Extended Metro’s SaFE Reform Community Ambassadors program to Belltown along Third Avenue.
• Commissioned a study on the impact of chemicals and wastewater effluent on the Puget Sound’s marine ecosystem, including salmon and orcas.
• Led in restoring the Youth Conservation Corps.
• Sponsored a proviso to receive a status report on the county’s integrated pest management program to better help keep people safe from dangerous chemicals.
• Strengthened language on water quality and habitat restoration in County’s Comprehensive Plan.

Health, Housing, Homelessness, and Human Services:

• Cosponsored the Health Through Housing Implementation Plan, which provides 1,600 safe shelter alternatives with wraparound services to support individuals exiting homelessness.

• Led in the creation of the King County Regional Homeless Authority.

• Fought to redirect some of the critical lodging tax revenue away from Safeco Field and toward affordable housing.
• Cosponsored a transformative tenant protections package with CMs Zahilay and Upthegrove, including Just Cause evictions to prevent unnecessary evictions, and the creation of a Renters Commission with former CM Gossett.
• Cosponsored the renewal of the Best Starts for Kids Levy, which was approved by voters and will support children, youth and families at key stages of development
• Launched a substance use anti-stigma campaign with CM Dunn.
• Organized and welcomed District Four students to testify to the Board of Health on the issue of gender-based violence in K-12 schools after successfully amending workplan to include the topic.
• Reworked and updated King County’s Anti-Harassment/Discrimination policies and procedures.
• Worked with CM Balducci to change KC Code to using gender-neutral instead of gender-specific language, with voter approval.
• Co-sponsored the equitable development initiative to combat gentrification with CMs Dembowski and Zahilay.
• Amended the property tax refund period to six years from three years for overpaid taxes.
• Secured funding for transit-oriented affordable housing at North Seattle College.
• Secured bridge funding to keep the JustCARE program operating during the COVID pandemic, supporting its work to bring people safely inside by providing important resources to those living unhoused.
• Sponsored a motion to invest $318 million of state Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account funds to improve education outcomes for our most vulnerable children and youth.
• Led the implementation plan for original Best Starts for Kids (BSK) Levy and in adding Seniors to the Veterans, Seniors, Human Services Levy (VSHSL) renewal, as Chair of the Health, Housing, Human Services Committee.

A press release on my career and retirement is available here.