Seattle’s always been a bastion for liberals.
Just take the whole Capital Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) area situation for example.
Radical ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter protesters take over a significant portion of the city and what does the Democrat mayor do?
Basically nothing!
Now, Seattle is taking things a step further, as a majority of the city council has pledged their support today for defunding the police by 50%.
The Seattle Times reports the details on the council’s announcement:
A majority of Seattle City Council members now say they agree with a high-level proposal by advocates to defund the Police Department by 50% and reallocate the dollars to other community needs.
Council members Lisa Herbold, Dan Strauss and Andrew Lewis added support Thursday to a road map set out by Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now.
They joined colleagues Tammy Morales, Kshama Sawant, Teresa Mosqueda and M. Lorena González, who previously backed the push to reduce the Police Department’s annual budget by 50% and promised quick action, while Mayor Jenny Durkan has asked the council to slow down.
That means seven of nine council members are on board with the idea, though they have yet to say exactly how they intend to make the cuts; six votes are needed to pass budget-related legislation and to override a mayoral veto. Durkan has not backed a 50% reduction.
Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now are new coalitions that have emerged during the recent Black Lives Matter protests and that count a number of community organizations led by Black people as endorsers.
In a presentation to the council’s budget committee Wednesday, they said the Police Department’s 2021 budget should be reduced by 50% from the status quo (its budget is $409 million this year). They also said the department’s remaining 2020 budget should be cut by 50% this summer.
Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now laid out a four point proposal for defunding the Police Department:
- Remove Seattle’s 911 dispatchers from police control
- Scale up community-based solutions to public safety
- Fund a community-led process to “imagine life beyond policing.”
- Invest in affordable housing
The aim is “defunding the Seattle Police Department and building a world where we trust and believe in community to provide the safety that we need,” Decriminalize Seattle’s Jackie Vaughn said at a news conference Thursday.
A 50% cut would be an astounding blow to the police department.
Even woke Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City didn’t cut the NYPD budget by that much.
Check out responses on Twitter to the city council’s move:
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