 The art above was created by Seattle artist Jonarra Swanson
It is on display in my council office at the King County Courthouse.
You can see more of her work at Muva – a workshop gallery located in Seattle’s Columbia Tower.
Muva is designed to empower mother artists by providing a platform to showcase their work.
Health, Housing, and Human Services Committee: CM Rhonda Lewis Vice-Chair
 CM Lewis asked about outreach in neighborhoods with crisis care centers.
See and hear CM Lewis’ questions about community engagement by clicking the image above.
As Vice-Chair of the Housing, Health and Human Services (HHH) committee, I was pleased to hear an update on the Crisis Care Levy.
Approved by voters in 2023, this levy pays for the construction and operation of 5 crisis care centers in King County which will provide medical treatment for those residents facing a mental health and behavioral health crisis.
The HHH committee also received an update on the future of funding for Public Health by Executive Zahilay’s Budget Officer Aaron Rubardt.
Council
At the weekly Council meeting, I was pleased to present a proclamation recognizing the work of King County’s Therapeutic Courts. These are courts designed to get people into services to interrupt cycles of substance abuse, foster care and incarceration. Therapeutic courts help heal people and help reduce repeat offenses.
Superior Court Presiding Judge Averil Rothrock and District Court President Judge Rebecca Robertson spoke about how therapeutic courts help change lives.
See this presentation by clicking on the photo below
 Recognizing Therapeutic Courts: CM Lewis – as Chair of the Law & Justice Committee - presented a recognition of the Therapeutic Courts’ work to change lives. Superior Court Presiding Judge Averil Rothrock (to the left of CM Lewis) and District Court Presiding Judge Rebecca Robertson (to the left of Judge Rothrock) received the proclamation. Tami Siemers (left of Judge Robertson) told her story of how she was helped by the Family Therapeutic Court.
The Council also presented a recognition to local leaders in the Iranian community in King County. This recognition was designed to show support for our neighbors of Iranian heritage. It did not comment or take a position on the war or political issues involving Iran.
 CM Lewis joined CM Balducci and fellow councilmembers in recognizing King County’s Iranian residents. Representative Darya Farivar (46th District) also spoke.
The Council also voted in favor of King County’s financial participation in the construction of a large pedestrian and bike path over I-405 connecting downtown Bellevue and the entire King County regional trail network. The City of Bellevue and Executive Zahilay proposed doing so through Tax Increment Financing (TIF) which directs property tax increases within a district toward construction costs. The Council added two additional options – a direct buy-out or a countywide property tax – for consideration and for the purpose of containing financing costs.
Above is a design of the final pedestrian bridge crossing over I-405.
The construction of this bridge would provide a connection to the regional trail network.
This construction is also expected to stimulate 15,000 units of new affordable housing in the surrounding neighborhoods. For more information, click here.
The Council also took a major step toward addressing a recent forensic audit of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s financial administrative functions. The legislation offered by CM Jorge Baron and CM Steffanie Fain directs Executive Zahilay to brief the council in June on steps for moving forward with a formal plan presented in August.
I supported this effort to lay out a constructive “runway” for decision-makers to respond to this audit findings.
Fundamentally, it is important to me that we keep our eye on serving the vulnerable populations served by the KCRHA using the lessons we have learned to improve a regional approach.
 Click the image to watch CM Lewis's comments on the KCRHA motion.
The Metropolitan King County Council meets every Tuesday at 1:30 pm and public comment on any topic is welcomed at the 4th council meeting of the month.
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