CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION concerning Washington Referendum Measure No. 88 ("Referendum 88"), proposing voter approval of Initiative Measure No. 1000, and urging Seattle voters to vote "Approved" on Referendum 88 on the November 5, 2019, general election ballot.
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WHEREAS, Washington Initiative Measure No. 200 ("I-200") (Ban Preferential Treatment and Discrimination in Public Employment, Education, and Contracting) appeared on the ballot as an initiative to the Washington State Legislature for the November 1998 election; and
WHEREAS, I-200 was sponsored by Tim Eyman, a frequent sponsor of initiatives in Washington, and was approved by state voters; and
WHEREAS, according to State data, when I-200 was passed in 1998, 13.31 percent of expenditures by state agencies and educational institutions went toward certified minority- and woman-owned businesses. However, in fiscal year 2018, that figure declined to 3.6 percent of expenditures; and
WHEREAS, that steep decline has caused small minority- and woman-owned businesses to lose an estimated $3.5 billion in revenue over the past 20 years, according to the Washington State Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises1; and
WHEREAS, from 1998 to 2019, the number of certified woman- and minority-owned businesses has fallen 45 percent from 4,917 to 2,700, according to the Office of Minority and Women's Business Enterprises; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, Washington's veteran unemployment rate was nearly 25 percent higher than the national average (4.3 percent unemployment in Washington, 3.45 percent nationally) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10/7/2019); and
WHEREAS, Washington is one of only eight states that has restricted affirmative action2; and
WHEREAS, black, Latinx, and Native American students make up a lower share of enrollment at the University of Washington than they do in the demographics of Washington State's population (Inside Higher Ed, 5/6/2019); and
WHEREAS, last year...
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