Our arts and culture sector is the heart and soul of our region, giving King County residents opportunity to explore their curiosity, find joy, and connect with each other. Last year, the King County Council finalized the implementation plan for Doors Open, a transformational cultural access initiative that funds our arts, science, and heritage organizations to welcome more people into their programs and services.
After hearing from a broad range of individuals and organizations about what is and isn’t working with the first round of Doors Open funding, I sponsored legislation to speed up funding for organizations in 2025, recognizing that many local non-profits have yet to recover from the pandemic and are having trouble launching the wide range of programs that will serve our diverse and growing population. And this week the Committee of the Whole took up and unanimously passed the legislation to ensure that approximately $34 million in one-time Doors Open grant funds go to these organizations as soon as possible, so that they can continue to bring us together and move us towards a more thriving and inclusive community. Next it will go to the Regional Policy Committee for their consideration.
 Click the image to watch KOMO's reporting on the transit safety motion
In the wake of the tragic murder of Metro Transit Operator Shawn Yim, it was clear we at the county had work to do to build back trust and improve safety for both our operators and our riders. On Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole passed legislation that I co-sponsored with Councilmember Reagan Dunn, at the request of and in partnership with Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 587, to help facilitate this critical work. The legislation requests that the King County Executive establish a countywide task force to ensure that our operators and riders are safe no matter where they travel.
As a county, one of the most important services we provide is transit, and an effective transit system is necessary to meet our mobility, equity, economic, and environmental goals. We can only meet these goals if people feel safe working and riding on our system. With this motion, we are recommitting to building a foundation of safety and ensuring that every Metro employee and transit rider can safely reach their destinations. I appreciate Councilmember Dunn for introducing this legislation, ATU for their vital partnership, and the rest of the Council for their support. We will take it up again for final passage at next week’s Council meeting.
 Click the image to watch a video about how loss of federal funding would impact LifeWire, a leading service provider for survivors of domestic violence
As we watch confusion and chaos play out on the national stage, it’s more important than ever that local governments step up to protect our residents and continue to provide the vital services that people rely on every day. To that end, I sponsored legislation that the Council passed requesting an assessment of King County’s exposure to federal funding volatility and planning for how the county could respond in the face of those threats, especially for our essential human services agencies.
On Tuesday, in response to my legislation, we received a briefing from the Executive’s team about the results of their investigation, including ways we might be affected and can act quickly if federal funding is cut off for services like Metro Transit, Public Health, and Emergency Management. We can’t predict what’s coming next from the federal government, but together with our state, local, and community partners we can prepare to step up on behalf of all King County residents.
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