There were some empty seats in council chambers Wednesday
Sara Nelson was quiet about the decision. Her actions did the talking Wednesday as the Seattle City Council President joined fellow committee member Rob Saka in unexpectedly ditching a meeting of the Housing and Human Services Committee as 14 people awaited appointment to the Seattle Renters’ Commission.
“I think we’re in unprecedented territory, so we’re going to use this time and hopefully the award-winning Seattle Channel will accommodate us on this,” committee member Alexis Mercedes Rinck said as she and committee vice-chair Mark Solomon ad libbed and carried on without quorum.
The abrupt transition from an official meeting to a “community discussion” left Solomon and Rinck apologizing to the appointees in attendance on behalf of Seattle City Hall.
“We’re going to run this as a community discussion and not a formal meeting, since we’re all here together. I want to echo exactly what the chair said. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to come down,” Rinck said. “I’m disappointed that we’re unable to take action today. Losing quorum five minutes before a meeting feels suspect.”
Publicola explained the maneuvering as the smoke from the political skirmish was still drifting through council chambers:
For 18 months, under former city councilmember Cathy Moore’s leadership, nominees to the Seattle Renters Commission did not receive a single hearing. Moore, whose job as housing and human services committee chair included confirming appointments and reappointments to volunteer city commissions under the committee’s purview, refused to seat the Renters Commission even as she worked on legislation to dramatically reduce eviction protections, an issue the commission would have worked on if it was ever allowed to exist.
After Moore’s abrupt summer exit, Publicola reports vice-chair Solomon was working to appoint renters’ commission nominees before a committee chair was placed with the appointment of a new District 5 representative on the council.
Nelson and Saka’s absence stymied that effort.
The Burner reports the Seattle Renters’ Commission has faced increasing obstacles for more than a year:
Last June, they sent a letter to the Mayor’s Office demanding the release of $50,000 that had been allocated to their work during budget negotiations. Two months later, they wrote to the City Council urging the Housing and Human Services Committee to seat the full 15-member commission.
The Seattle Times documented the unusualness of the decision by Nelson and Saka to leave the committee short. “It’s rare for the council to fail to reach a quorum so publicly,” the Times reports, “More typically, absences are forecast in advance and committees rescheduled.”
The 15-member commission currently only has five seats filled.
Nelson, who is facing a reelection battle, has not commented publicly on the meeting and her plans around the commission nominees.
Her challenger Dione Foster said the council president’s absence was suspect and said Nelson was “present in City Hall but chose not to enter the meeting room.”
Foster called the maneuvering “an insult to the people she was elected to serve.”
Though the committee was not formally able to act on the nominees or legislation, it did review a briefing on proposed regulations against predatory homebuyers in the city.
UPDATE 3:30 PM: Nelson has issued a statement apologizing for her absence and announcing that the committee business — including the appointments, apparently — will be taken up at the next full meeting of the council next Tuesday.
In the statement, Nelson does not address questions around the “suspect” maneuverings but called her absence “excused.” Nelson said the full council session Tuesday will allow the committee to “maintain the schedule for final council action that would have occurred had committee votes been taken.”
I want to acknowledge the frustration my excused absence contributed to the lack of quorum at yesterday’s HHS committee meeting and apologize to the people who took the time to show up for the committee vote on their appointment to a board or commission, including the Renters’ Commission. I am grateful for their willingness to serve our city, and delays in the appointment process serve no one well.
To maintain the schedule for final Council action that would have occurred had committee votes been taken, the appointments will be included for final consideration on next Tuesday’s City Council meeting agenda. The same is true for the legislation regarding federal grant funds for housing and community development programs to meet the federal deadline of August 16th.
Saka has not issued a statement about his absence.
The next regular City Council meeting is Tuesday, July 29, at 2 PM
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