Seattle council trio joins defund police push

SEATTLE — A majority of Seattle City Council members say they agree with a proposal by advocates to defund the police department by 50 percent 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, The Seattle Times reported.

They joined colleagues Tammy Morales, Kshama Sawant, Teresa Mosqueda and M. Lorena González, who previously backed the idea and promised quick action.

That means seven of nine council members support the idea, though they have yet to say how they intend to make the cuts.

Mayor Jenny Durkan has asked the council to slow down and has not backed a 50 percent decrease.

Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now are new coalitions that emerged during 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 this week, they said the Police Department’s 2021 budget should be reduced by 50 percent 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 percent this summer.

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 Thursday.

The council is currently considering changes to the city’s 2020 budget, which has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Durkan has proposed about

$20 million in Police Department cuts as part of a broader plan to close a $378 million budget hole.

The council has the power to alter Durkan’s 2020 rebalancing package but must do so in the coming weeks. This fall, the mayor and council will hash out 2021’s budget.