Seattle City Council

Seattle City Council strikes down drug enforcement policy

The city council narrowly rejected a proposal that would give the city attorney the power to prosecute public drug use and possession. The slim margin suggests there’s a lot of division in the city about how to approach the crisis. Publicola journalist and editor Erica C. Barnett will tell us how the vote went down and what happens next.

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison says she's not leading a new 'war on drugs'

Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison wants her office to prosecute people arrested for drugs.

City Council candidates enter the Thunderdome

Elections for Seattle’s City Council are still a couple of months out, but we now know exactly who is running. The top line is: it's chaotic. Forty five people are vying for seven positions on the council. KUOW politics editor Cat Smith gives a run down of what we know so far about the candidates and what to keep in mind if you’re looking at candidates in your district.

45 candidates are running for Seattle City Council. Who are they and what do they stand for?

KUOW’s politics editor Cat Smith has been talking to the candidates since last week’s filing deadline. She joined Morning Edition host Angela King to talk about some of the key issues and races so far.

After more than a decade, Seattle passes new rules to protect more city trees

Seattle is known as the Emerald City, but over the past couple decades it’s been losing a lot of what makes it green. The city’s most recent tree canopy assessment, released in 2021, found that Seattle’s tree cover had dropped to 28.1 percent -- short of a goal set nearly 15 years earlier of getting canopy coverage to at least 30 percent. To protect more trees from development, many urban forest advocates have spent years asking for an update to rules for removing and replacing trees in Seattle. On Tuesday, those rules were finally updated.

Are Seattle's democracy vouchers working? The results so far are mixed

Dozens of people are running for Seattle City Council this year, 45 to be exact. And they’re vying for just seven council seats. But, when you look at the last comparable election, the candidate field isn’t as crowded as you might think. There are about 18% fewer candidates than 2019, which is the last time we had seven council seats on the ballot in Seattle.

Seattle, King County candidates have until Friday to make it official

These Seattle 4th graders planted trees to bring green to their barren playground

The Seattle City Council is considering updates to its current tree regulations this month. One goal is to bring more trees to areas that lack them. Mayor Harrell’s proposal includes a “fee-in-lieu” program that would require people to pay into a tree-planting fund when they cut down trees on their property.