11:43 AM: We’re about to head back from Ballard, where Mayor Bruce Harrell led a lineup of local leaders in insisting that all of ST3 – including light-rail extensions to West Seattle and Ballard – must be built. The exhortation “Build it all” came from another speaker, regional labor leader Katie Garrow, but others said it in other ways; West Seattle was represented by County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who declared, “Voters said yes in 2016; now our job is to deliver on that promise … if we fail [to complete all of ST3], we fail the entire region.” There was no hint of anything dramatic such as new taxes; there was some talk of what ST board member and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci mentioned at last week’s ST board meeting (WSB coverage here), looking at whether the second downtown tunnel could be dropped, and the mayor noted that city councilmembers are about to take up legislation allocating dozens of city jobs to speeding up permitting and otherwise assisting with the project. (We asked if the city has estimated how much that might save ST; the mayor said no.) More details when we get back to HQ, including video of the event.
2:46 PM: Adding video as promised. First, above, Harrell’s opening remarks; below, the other two elected officials who spoke, City Councilmember Dan Strauss (whose district includes Ballard) and County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (whose district includes West Seattle):
As Harrell remarked afterward, Mosqueda “brought the fire” – she was the most fiery speaker at the event. The ST “spine” does not work without strong connections such as West Seattle and Ballard, she declared. Of note: Strauss is on the ST board; Mosqueda is not, though she told us afterward she has long wanted to be (no openings currently but that could change considering that two other County Councilmembers who are on the board are candidates for County Executive in the November election). Also of note, two elected officials stood behind Harrell but did not speak – Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson (who like Harrell faces a come-from-behind re-election fight in November) and County Councilmember Jorge Baron.
5:02 PM: Adding the final section of video – the two non-elected officials who spoke, Kirk Hovenkotter of the Transportation Choices Coalition and Katie Garrow of MLK Labor, plus media Q&A:
If you want to read the mayor’s-office version of what today was about, go here. As noted in that writeup, the proposals for city-staff resources will be presented at tomorrow morning’s meeting of the City Council’s Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee (9:30 am; documents linked in the agenda). Speaking of the council, one more note – if you’re wondering why West Seattle’s City Councilmember Rob Saka was not at today’s media event – it was held at the same time as the meeting of the Transportation Committee, which he chairs.
