CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to procedures for filling Council vacancies; adding a new Chapter 3.93, consisting of Section 3.93.010, to the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, vacancies on the City Council must on occasion be filled before a democratic election can take place; and
WHEREAS, the public has a strong interest in its representation on the City Council; and
WHEREAS, there is no language in the Seattle Municipal Code defining a formal appointment process to fill vacant city council positions in a uniform and transparent manner; and
WHEREAS, past City Council appointments have not always been transparent or accountable; and
WHEREAS, the Charter of the City of Seattle was enacted for the purpose of allowing "fair and equitable participation of all persons in the affairs of the City" and "to provide for transparency, accountability, and ethics in governance and civil service"; and
WHEREAS, in September 2017, a coalition of community members and groups formed under the banner of Transparent Seattle to seek an open process for community engagement to fill a City Council vacancy; and
WHEREAS, the vetting process chosen by the City Council in 2017 and the public forum organized by Transparent Seattle gave thousands of community members the opportunity to participate in the appointment process by reading publicly available applications, attending/watching a forum open to the public, and attending/watching a public comment session where community members and candidates alike shared their vision for Seattle and the vacant seat; and
WHEREAS, the public application process chosen by the City Council and the public forum organized by Transparent Seattle gave an opportunity for qualified, lesser-known candidates to be introduced to the public and the City Council; and
WHEREAS, this process led to the October 2017 appointment of Kirsten Harris-Talley; and
WHEREAS, a process with robust pu...
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