Political Brief: January 15, 2013

By Michael Sarko
- The Capitol Hill Times -

Still so early in its new session, the Washington State Senate is likely to be the grave of two progressive bills in the wake of a surprise alliance between two Democratic senators and the entirety of the Republican wing. Senators Tim Sheldon and Rodney Tom have successfully partnered with Washington State Republicans to get themselves named President Pro Tempor and Senate Majority Leader, respectively, after forming the Majority Coalition Caucus with all 23 Senate Republicans. With majorities in most major committees, the coalition is likely to kill two bills, one that would require healthcare insurers to cover abortion and another that would place regulations on assault weapons.

The long-in-the-works Community Police Commission, part of the SPD 20/20 plan accepted as an alternative to federal oversight of the Seattle Police Department, now has its roster. The commission, as listed in a news release by the Office of the Mayor, is as follows:

Claudia D’Allegri, Sea Mar Community Health Centers, vice president of Behavioral Health
Lisa Daugaard, co-chair, Defender Association, deputy director
Kate Joncas, Downtown Seattle Association, president and CEO
Bill Hobson, Downtown Emergency Services Center, executive director
Jay Hollingsworth, John T. Williams Organizing Committee
Joseph Kessler, Seattle Police Department, captain
Diane Narasaki, co-chair, Asian Counseling & Referral Service, executive director
John Page, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, program coordinator at the Defender Association’s Racial Disparity Project
Tina Podlodowski, former Seattle City Councilmember
Marcel Purnell, Youth Undoing Institutional Racism
Jennifer Shaw, ACLU of Washington, deputy director
Kevin Stuckey, Seattle Police Department, officer
Kip Tokuda, former state representative for the 37th Legislative District
Rev. Harriet Walden, co-founder of Mothers for Police Accountability
Rev. Aaron Williams, Mount Zion Baptist Church, senior pastor

Think rent in Capitol Hill is high today? Just wait until the Pike/Pine corridor is considered waterfront property. The City’s Green Ribbon Commission is spending the next few months putting together an action plan for turning Seattle carbon-neutral by the year 2050, citing concerns about rising sea levels flooding now (relatively) dry parts of town. The first public forum on the action plan is set for Jan. 30 at the Yesler Community Center, beginning at 6 p.m.