Issue 13: Get out and vote
The primary is August 3rd and there are two abolitionists running: Nikkita Oliver for Seattle City Council Position 9 and Nicole Thomas-Kennedy for Seattle City Attorney. With just a week left, it’s time to vote and to encourage our friends and family to vote too!
Get out the vote for #NikkitaForNine
I’m most excited about getting out the vote for the #NikkitaForNine campaign. We know there is a huge base in Seattle that supports Nikkita but we need to ensure they come out to vote in an election that more young people, renters, and people of color often miss. (I’m still feeling the sting of Nikkita missing the 2017 mayoral general election by a mere 1,170 votes.) One of the most effective ways to get people to vote is by doing peer-to-peer outreach to our own community networks.
It can be daunting to reach out to peers with a political ask, though -- so to help get folks comfortable doing that outreach, Nikkita’s campaign is holding peer-to-peer organizing sessions over zoom. I went to one last week and it gave me momentum to send some texts and emails of my own. We went over best practices for reaching out to friends, shared talking points with each other, and started making our lists of who we want to talk to. It reminded me how many communities we’re all a part of. I also learned some practical things -- for instance, I didn’t know you could print out your ballot.
I highly recommend attending one of these zoom sessions if you can make it. It’s a quick way to have a meaningful impact on the election outcome. There are two more peer-to-peer sessions this week, both from 7-8pm. Register here:
There are also #NikkitaForNine canvasses almost every day leading up to the election. If you’re down to canvass, this is another fantastic way to get out the vote. I talked to people who’ve been knocking doors and they’ve said that many people were not aware this election was happening. To canvass, there’s no need to register; you can show up at any of these times.
Wednesday 7/28, Garfield Playfield at 5:30 with SEA
Thursday 7/29, 6th Ave NW Pocket Park at 5:30 pm with KCYD + YDUW
Saturday 7/31, Rainier Playfield at 12 pm with Seattle DSA
Sunday 8/1, Gasworks Park at 12 pm with MLK Labor
Happy voting!
-- Alice Mar-Abe (she/her)
End the Deadly Exchanges: CB 120142
Legislation to ban the Seattle Police Department from training with military forces of any country that violates international humanitarian and human rights laws has been introduced at the Seattle City Council. We believe that Seattle should invest in community, not racist and militarized policing.
You can support CB 120142 in the following ways:
Give public testimony in support of the legislation. This page contains details and a call script: https://tinyurl.com/EDXToolKitSupportHumanRights. Sign up 2 hours prior to each meeting here: https://www.seattle.gov/council/committees/public-comment
Full Council July 26th at 2 PM (introduction date)
Full Council August 2 at 2 PM
Full Council August 9 at 2 PM
Public Safety Committee August 10th at 9:30 AM
Send a letter to your council representatives in support of the legislation. Only takes a minute or so with this neat tool.
Share news about the legislation on social media! You can find us on twitter and instagram at @enddxseattle and on Facebook at @seattledeadlyexchange
Recruit your friends, neighbors and community members to support the legislation.
In solidarity,
End The Deadly Exchange Seattle Campaign
Policing Voter Guide
People Power Washington is pleased to present our 2021 Policing and Public Safety Voter Guide for Seattle, King County, and Burien to help you know where local candidates stand as you make voting decisions in the August 3rd primaries. Key races will determine who sets the course in areas that impact all of us including choosing heads of our law enforcement departments, setting budget priorities, and negotiating collective bargaining agreements with police guilds. Many local candidates responded to our questionnaires about public safety and the criminal legal system -- you can read their on-the-record answers at our website and work to hold them accountable if they are elected. We have also put together explainers to provide context to the critical issues at stake this year. If your own jurisdiction is not covered by the current guide, we’d love to help you get it included in our voter guide for the general election in November; please contact us at wapeoplepower@gmail.com for more information.
Happy voting!
--Amy Sundberg (she/her)
Funding for community
On July 21, 2021, the city announced that 33 organizations working toward community-led solutions to end violence and increase safety in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities would receive a combined $10.4M in one-time funding. This is a big win for non-police public safety, but the Human Services Department received over 70 applications, totaling $40 million in requested funds. Get in touch with city council and encourage them to transfer SPD’s salary savings to community: https://bit.ly/SPDSavings2Community
The Consent Decree
Councilmember Theresa Mosqueda, commenting on SPD funding and the consent decree on June 1, 2021, expressed her opinion that the concerns of the DOJ and consent decree monitor are out of alignment with those of community:
“I disagree with the concerns and the fears cited by the court and the monitor and I hope that the court and the court monitor do listen to all of the public testimony that was provided today.”
Do you know what the consent decree is? Do you have confidence in its ability to serve the needs of community? Use this very short form to share your thoughts. We might use what you provide to inform outreach or educational material.
https://forms.gle/4WPKTrCLusGdxSmw8
-Peter (he/him) Condit
Trainings and Resources
Check out this de-escalation training from Project NIA and AYO, NYC!
“In order to create the world where we are fully free, we have to learn how to deal with conflict, how to interrupt violence, prevent, and de-escalate harm.” —Project NIA
Direct Support
Please support the family and loved ones of Tirhas Berhane Tesfatsion financally through gofundme and through direct actions for justice by following #justicefortirhas on social media.
South King County & Eastside Mutual Aid needs support to complete their remaining requests for mutual aid from the community. If you can, please give!
Venmo: @MutualAidSKCE
Cashapp: $MutualAidSKCE
Paypal: covid19mutualaideastside@gmail.com
https://www.patreon.com/skcemutualaid
There’s always more
Like this newsletter and want more like it? Join our google group! There tend to be just a few messages each week. You can find more ways to connect with people and get support for your own abolitionist ideas. Just look over our organizing principles here and click through to the “request to join” link.