Seattle Nice

Tent City Gets a Reprieve, Council Rolls Back Ethics Rules, and Kshama's Back, Baby!

David Hyde, Erica Barnett, and Sandeep Kaushik Season 4 Episode 27

A Seattle City Council committee advanced legislation last week that will eliminate a requirement that council members abstain from voting on legislation that presents a financial conflict of interest. Under the new, lower standard, the council will merely have to disclose any financial conflicts before voting—allowing council members, for the first time since the 1980s, to vote in their own financial interest.

Sandeep thinks disclosing a conflict of interest before voting should be enough; Erica's with the haters who want more constraints on the council's ability to vote in their own self-interest.

The legislation is moving forward quickly and will probably take effect just before the council votes on the elimination of several anti-eviction laws passed by the previous council, which might not pass if everyone on the council who's a landlord has to refrain from voting to repeal these laws. 

In related news, Kshama Sawant and her group Workers Strike Back are showing up to disrupt council meetings, antagonizing the council over the upcoming vote on the anti-eviction laws. David and Sandeep are fascinated by internal squabbling among Seattle's local socialists, while Erica argues that Sawant's latest "movement" is mostly bluster—and reminds everyone that Sawant worked tirelessly on Jill Stein's "Defeat Harris" campaign last year. 

Also this week: Tent City 4 gets a temporary reprieve after a last-minute effort to keep the self-managed encampment from moving to the former Lake City Community Center. And we discuss Dan Strauss' effort to require all clubs and other "loud music venues" to sell earplugs. David calls it a "modest public health campaign" but Sandeep says it's a nanny state intrusion into our god-given right to destroy our hearing.

Our editor is Quinn Waller. 

Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.com

HEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller. 

Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.com

Support the show

Your support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Blue City Blues Artwork

Blue City Blues

David Hyde, Sandeep Kaushik
The Ezra Klein Show Artwork

The Ezra Klein Show

New York Times Opinion
The Daily Artwork

The Daily

The New York Times