The mayor is poised to propose a COVID-era Seattle budget to City Council. Will she defend Black lives or defend the Seattle police budget? We must keep the pressure on. Call, e-mail, and tag City Council members on social media to demand that they commit to meeting the Defund SPD demands immediately.
Step 1: Find your Representative:
https://www.seattle.gov/council/meet-the-council/find-your-district-and-councilmembers.
| Council Member | District | Phone | Twitter Handle | IG | |
| Lisa Herbold | 1 (West Seattle, South Park) | 206-684-8801 | lisa.herbold@seattle.gov | @Lisa_Herbold | @d1forlisa |
| Tammy Morales | 2 (South Seattle and the I.D.) | 206-684-8802 | tammy.morales@seattle.gov | @CMTammyMorales | @cmtammymorales |
| Kshama Sawant | 3 (Central Seattle) | 206-684-8803 | kshama.sawant@seattle.gov | @cmkshama | @cm.kshama |
| Alex Pedersen | 4 (Northeast Seattle) | 206-684-8804 | alex.pedersen@seattle.gov | n/a | @d4alexpedersen |
| Debora Juarez | 5 (North Seattle) | 206-684-8805 | debora.juarez@seattle.gov | @D5Juarez | n/a |
| Dan Strauss | 6 (Northwest Seattle) | 206-684-8806 | dan.strauss@seattle.gov | @CMDanStraussChair: land use and neighborhoods | @cmdanstrauss |
| Andrew Lewis | 7 (Pioneer Square to Magnolia) | 206-684-8807 | andrew.lewis@seattle.gov | @LewisforSeattle Chair: select committee on homelessness strategies and investments | @cmandrewjlewis |
| Teresa Mosqueda | 8 (Citywide) | 206-684-8808 | teresa.mosqueda@seattle.gov | @CMTMosqueda | @cmtmosqueda |
| Lorena Gonzales | 9 (Citywide) | 206-684-8809 | Lorena.Gonzalez@seattle.gov | @CMLGonzalez Chair: governance and education | @cmlorenagonzalez |
Step 2: Make some calls! Call 3 People: Your rep, Gonzalez, and Mosqueda (the two city-wide reps)
Get your phone out! You are most likely to get voicemail, if so leave a message.
SCRIPT
Hi, my name is [your name] and I live in [your neighborhood].
I’m calling to demand that Council Member X agree to the following:
1. Defund the SPD by at least 50%
2. Re-allocate those funds to community-led health and safety systems
3. Release protestors arrested during this uprising without charges.As a Seattle resident, I believe defending Black lives in Seattle looks like defunding SPD and reinvesting in Community. Reforms have not worked. Tinkering with the policing system does not get rid of its racism. We cannot wait for more Black people to be murdered before we make change happen. We know the City Council is starting to rebalance the City budget this week — it’s time for Council Member [X] to listen to the people and Defund the SPD now.
Step 3: Emails! Email 3 People: Your rep, Gonzalez, and Mosqueda (the two city-wide reps)
E-mail 1: Your Representative (look them up in step 1)
E-mail 2: Lorena.Gonzalez@seattle.gov
E-mail 3: teresa.mosqueda@seattle.gov
SCRIPT
Sample Subject: Defund the SPD in Defense of Black Lives (Feel free to write your own subject line!)
Sample Body:
Hi, my name is [your name] and I live in [neighborhood].I’m writing to demand that City Council immediately agree to the demands laid out to defund the Seattle police department.
These demands are to:
1. Defund the SPD by at least 50%
2. Re-allocate those funds to community-led health and safety systems; and
3. Release protestors arrested during this uprising without chargesAs a Seattle resident, I believe defending Black Lives in Seattle looks like defunding SPD and reinvesting in Community. Reforms have not worked. Tinkering with the policing system does not get rid of its racism. Our Black and brown communities have suffered under police terror in Seattle with the murders of Charleena Lyles, John T Williams, Che Taylor, Shaun Fuhr, and more. Black and brown youth and adults have been targeted for criminalization for too long and the SPD’s ongoing militarized and violent response to protests is unacceptable. We cannot wait for more Black people to be murdered before we make real change happen. We know the City Council is rebalancing the budget now– it’s time for you to listen to the people and Defund the SPD now.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Step 4: Social Media! Tweet, Insta, FB — you name it, council members are on it.
See the graph in Step 1 to get the social media handles for those 3 council members you called and emailed.
SAMPLE POSTS
Hey, @[insert handle of your council member] Defending Black Lives in Seattle looks like defunding SPD and reinvesting in Community. #DefundSPD #BlackLivesMatter #SeattleProtests
Hey, @[insert handle of your council member] Defunding SPD could mean investing in fill in the blank (housing, community-led solutions, health care, libraries, etc.) #DefundSPD #BlackLivesMatter #SeattleProtests