On Thursday, March 11th, Governor Inslee announced multiple updates to the Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan, including a new Phase 3 under the reopening plan. Beginning Monday, March 22nd all counties in Washington State will advance from Phase 2 to Phase 3, evaluations of metrics county-by-county will be taken to asses Phases in the future. 

Additionally, Governor Inslee announced that starting Wednesday, March 17th, everyone in 1B tier 2 of Washington’s COVID-19 vaccine prioritization will be eligible for their vaccine. This will include workers in agriculture, food processing, grocery stores, public transit, firefighters and law enforcement, among with other groups.  

For those of us who have yet to receive the vaccine,  continue to mask up and stay healthy!  What are some ways you like to stay active responsibly? My family enjoys socially-distancing at the local dog park and going for walks.   

For more information on current case rates and additional resources related to COVID-19, I’ve included a link to the Snohomish County Health District page.   

As vaccination rates continue to ramp up, there are many questions and much uncertainty about who can get the vaccine, where can individuals book appointments, and other questions related to vaccine distribution. As your council representative, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some additional information and links regarding vaccinations and distribution. The Snohomish County Coronavirus Response & Community Resource Hub is a great resource for scheduling appointments, finding your phase, and other general vaccine information. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the Snohomish County Health District (contact information below).   

Residents currently eligible for the vaccine include:   

• Workers in health care settings  
• High-risk first responders   
• Residents and staff of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other community-based, congregate living settings where most individuals over 65 years of age are receiving care, supervision, or assistance  
• All people 65 years or older  
• People 50 years or older who live in multigenerational households (2 or more generations)  

If you do not fall within the aforementioned categories, you will be eligible for vaccination in a future phase. Snohomish County has set up a Call Center for registration support, language assistance, as well as answer general questions about COVID vaccinations, they can be reached at (425) 339-5278. Please note, the Call Center cannot modify existing appointments.   

We’ve talked in previous newsletters about my efforts this past year to invest in early learning here in Snohomish County. I’m happy to announce on Wednesday, March 10th, the Snohomish County Council voted on the allocation of Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA) program dollars. The County Council voted unanimously in favor of my Proposed Substitute Motion 21-089, which establishes an allocation plan for the amount received by the County from the program, estimated at roughly $79 million over 15 years. Together, the council was able to agree on a plan which requires that 67% of the appropriation go to K-12 schools within the boundaries of Sound Transit projects (primarily Edmonds, Mulkiteo, Everett), and the other 33% will be allocated between the three Higher Education institutions within the county (Edmonds CC, Everett CC, Washington State University - Everett Campus). You can read more about the vote in the Everett Herald.  

For those who are unfamiliar with the PSTAA program, the account was created as an amendment to the 2015 State Transportation Revenue Package by the Washington State Legislature. The amendment directs that these Sound Transit-related funds be used for educational services to improve educational outcomes in early learning, K-12, and post-secondary education. If you’re interested in learning more about the program, I’ve included a link to Washington RCW 43.79.520 In the past year, I have been working diligently with County staff, non-profit organizations, and community members who work alongside children, youth, and their families as they engage with the educational systems to create a policy that reaches the heart of addressing gaps in Snohomish County’s Early Learning systems. Ultimately working to create a more equitable education system for everyone, aiming to improve outcomes for children and families that are low-income, experiencing homelessness engaged with child welfare (foster care), communities of color, and other vulnerable populations. 

I want to take a moment to thank everyone involved in this body of work. Both past and current councils, dedicated staff who have helped wrangle feedback from councilmembers, non-profit organizations, the presidents of the three higher-education institutions, and K-12 partners who have all worked tirelessly to ensure that this funding creates sustainable change for the youth, and future, of Snohomish County. With this plan, we can ensure that we are filling gaps within our education system and providing opportunities to those most in need throughout Snohomish County.

As your elected representative, I am honored and look forward to the opportunity to work together to serve the youth of Snohomish County.  

Together, Councilmember Nate Nehring and myself will spend the next few weeks virtually touring classrooms and town halls to engage constituents and students in a conversation of working across differences to understand different points of view and being better together for our community.  

The idea for the open-format presentations stemmed from an op-ed that CM Nehring and I collaborated on for the Everett Herald titled, It’s up to us to chart a path forward, where we discussed how now more than ever, we need to work together and have the challenging conversations across party lines to create better communities and healthier environments for everyone. We wanted to share the message that if we choose to live in our echo chambers, we will never be able to have meaningful discourse and effect positive change. When the comment piece was posted, we got a very positive response from educators and community members around the county who invited us to give informal presentations.  

I am really excited for the opportunity to create a dialogue with constituents around the county, regardless of party-line or political views. Thank you all for continuing the work of making Snohomish County a better place for everyone.  

Happy March! I hope you have been able to enjoy some of the recent sunshine, a nice reminder that brighter times are ahead of us. In more personal news, my wife and I recently welcomed our baby girl into the world, meet Olivia Mead!