curated by Vee Hua 華婷婷
The Seattle Redistricting Commission voted on Nov. 8 to adopt the Seattle City Council's final district plan. It came following a year of work, where the commission took into consideration months of public engagement and worked with geographic information system (GIS) mapping tools. The newly adopted plan follows Washington State and Seattle City Charter regulations — including the requirement that the population of the largest district shall exceed the population of the smallest district by no more than 1%. The adopted map is based off of the commission's final amended draft from Oct. 31.
The final map can be viewed online via an interactive map and compared with the current city boundaries. For more information, visit the Seattle Redistricting Commission's webpage.
The map includes changes to all seven City Council electoral districts, and information about the Council Districts can be found on the Seattle Department of Neighborhood's website. The boundaries of Districts 1, 2, 5, and 6 have been expanded to increase their populations, and the boundaries of Districts 3, 4, and 7 have been contracted to decrease their populations.
Relatedly, on Friday, Nov. 18, four organizers from Redistricting Justice for Seattle (RJS) Coalition will analyze Seattle's 2022 redistricting results. RJS is "a coalition of organizations who advocate for fair redistricting lines for People of Color, renters, and low-income people"; the coalition reported in a press release that the final redistricting map is 93% similar to the proposal they submitted in July. They report some of this year's redistricting feats as "undoing the division of Yesler Terrace and Chinatown-International District, keeping South Seattle whole within one district, and protecting renters and students in the University District."
The event will cover changes in population, the first-ever community input process around redistricting, a breakdown of how the commission landed on their final map, and future electoral and legislative impacts. The event's participating organizers all have experience in politics, community organizing, and voter organizing. They are:
The RJS Redistricting Analysis event will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Facebook Live. No RSVP is required.
In response to the shooting at Ingraham High School on Nov. 8, Seattle Student Union organized a district-wide walkout on Monday, Nov. 14, which ended up outside of Seattle City Hall at 11:30 a.m. Their goals were to bring awareness to gun violence.
According to the students' press release, their demands are as follows:
"We are students, we are kids. We are fighting for changes that are long overdue. The majority of SPS students are under the age of 18 and are facing the consequences of our state's continued inaction as they can't vote. It is easy to feel hopeless but we must remember what we do have. We have our voices. We have our numbers. We can create powerful change," the Seattle Student Union wrote in a press release.
Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that despite the students' actions, "SPD Chief Adrian Diaz is lobbying for more officers and a change in policies to allow SPD officers back on public school campus. Diaz, last week, called for the City to hire more officers and for Seattle Public Schools to restore programs like the 'school resource officers' that used to be deployed on area campuses. In the summer of 2020, the Seattle School Board suspended a partnership with SPD that provided five armed officers at Seattle schools. The program — which cost the district about $120,000 a year — remains on hold."
The following video shared by Capitol Hill Seattle Blog and Tony Quan shows a snippet of the day's protests.
The Seattle Public Library is hosting a number of free virtual workshops around personal credit, finances, and wealth generation. All of them will be live-interpreted in Spanish; a number of other languages are also available for some workshops. There are no prerequisites or requirements to participate.
Tierra Bonds, CEO of Take Charge Credit Consulting, will be hosting workshops on personal credit. The first event has already passed, but interested parties can still sign up for the remaining two. A limited number of one-on-one personal credit consultations will also be available to participants.
Tuesday, Nov. 22
Noon to 1:15 p.m.
Credit scores, credit reports, how to clean up your credit, and more.
Live interpreted in Spanish.
Tuesday, Nov. 29
Noon to 1:15 p.m.
Repair, build, or rebuilt your credit, and more.
Live interpreted in Spanish.
Saturday, Dec. 10
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Members of the Muslim Community Finance Coalition share about their efforts to better understand the needs of Muslim-owned businesses. They speak to the different ways people finance businesses and the barriers they face in accessing funding.
Live interpreted in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali, and Amharic.
See more about business programs and services offered by The Seattle Public Library, or check out their business resource tools. Get more information and register for free programs via their Business Calendar, or sign up for one-on-one appointments.
SPL's Next Job program can also assist with job-seeking, resume-writing, or improving job skills. The service is available in nine languages.
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Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald™ is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With around 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald™ is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible.
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn’t have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference.
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!