Hindsight recall
Seattle City Council Unanimously Passes ~$4 Billion Skagit River Hydroelectric Settlement, Affirms NBA Readiness, and Approves Local 32 CBA at April 7, 2026 Meeting
The Seattle City Council met on April 7, 2026 with 7 of 9 members present (Saka and Kettle excused). The council passed all legislation unanimously, including a landmark ~$4 billion, 50-year Skagit River Hydroelectric Project settlement involving three tribes, state agencies, and environmental groups. They also affirmed Seattle's readiness for an NBA franchise at Climate Pledge Arena, authorized a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Local 32, adopted 2026 budget Statements of Legislative Intent, and approved a City Light property sale to Snohomish County. Public comment was dominated by concerns over encampments, public safety, and open-air drug activity, with 28 speakers testifying.
Generated Apr 9, 2026, 3:04 PM from cc-seattle-city-council
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Primary artifacts for downstream parsing
Meeting metadata file x185646.json.
Transcript file 2026-04-07_city-council_x185646.srt.
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APRIL 7, 2026 MEETING OF THE
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL WILL COME
TO ORDER. IT IS 2:04, I AM JOY
HOLLINGSWORTH, YOUR BEAUTIFUL
COUNCIL PRESIDENT, WILL THE
CLERK CALL THE ROLL?
COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA: COUNCIL MEMBER RIVERA?
COUNCIL MEMBER STRAUSS? COUNCIL
MEMBER FOSTER?
HERE: HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER JUAREZ: COUNCIL MEMBER JUAREZ?
HERE: HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER LINN: COUNCIL MEMBER LINN?
HERE: HERE.
COUNCIL MEMBER RINCK: COUNCIL MEMBER RINCK?
PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER HOLLINGSWORTH: COUNCIL MEMBER HOLLINGSWORTH?
HERE: HERE.
SIX PRESENT: SIX PRESENT.
COUNCIL MEMBER SAKA AND: COUNCIL MEMBER SAKA AND
KETTLE ARE EXCUSED. I WAS SAYING
IF YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER RINCK HAS
PROCLAMATION FOR RECOGNIZING
SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH
FOR SIGNATURE AND PRESENTATION
TODAY. COUNCIL MEMBER WILL SHARE
COMS AND THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES, I WILL
KEEP REMARKS BRIEF SO WE HAVE
TIME TO READ THE PROCLAMATION
INTO THE RECORD AND HEAR FROM
OUR PARTNERS WHO ARE HERE TO
RECEIVE THE PROCLAMATION TODAY.
AS CHAIR OF THE HUMAN SERVICES
LABOR AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
COMMITTEE I HAVE SPONSORED THIS
RECOGNIZING APRIL AS SEXUAL
ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH HERE IN
SEATTLE WE STAND UNITED TO
RECOGNIZE THE STRENGTH AND
RESILIENCE OF SURVIVORS. WE
ACKNOWLEDGE THE DEEP AND LONG
LASTING TRAUMA OF SEXUAL
VIOLENCE AND CONDEMN IT IN ALL
FORMS. IN PARTICULAR, AS
SURVIVOR, MYSELF Y AM-- IT IS
TRULY AN HONOR TO SPONSOR THIS
PROCLAMATION. TODAY AND EVERY
DAY WE MUST TAKE STEPS TO
BELIEVE SURVIVORS AND HONOR THE
ADVOCATES AND ORGANIZATIONS
WORKING TIRELESSLY TO CREATE A
SAFER COMMUNITY FOR ALL OF US.
THIS PROCLAMATION IS A
COMMITMENT TO CHALLENGE THE
SOCIETAL ATTITUDES AND MAKE
MEANINGFUL ACTION AGAINST THE
STRUCTURES THAT ALLOWS RAPE
CULTURE TO EXIST. WITH THAT, I
WILL READ THE PROCLAMATION INTO
THE RECORD. WHEREAS SEXUAL SALT
AWARENESS MONTH WAS FIRST
OBSERVED BY THE UNITED STATES IN
APRIL, 2001 TO RAISE AWARENESS
ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT, PREVENT
SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND SUPPORT
SURVIVORS, DENIM DAY WAS
ESTABLISHED IN APRIL, RECOGNIZE
THIS YEAR APRIL 29, 2026, TO
PROTEST GLOBAL MITTS AROUND
CONSENT AND VICTIM BLAMING AND
REMAINS THE LONGEST RUNNING
SEXUAL VIOLENCE PREVENTION AND
EDUCATION CAMPAIGN IN HISTORY,
AND WHEREAS RAPE IS AMONG THE
MOST UNDER REPORTED CRIMES FOR
MANY REASONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO FEAR OF NOT BEING
BELIEVED AND FURTHER TRAUMATIZED
BY THE LEGAL SYSTEM, ADDITIONAL
BARRIERS SUCH AS LANGUAGE,
IMMIGRATION STATUS, GENDER BIAS,
AND SYSTEMIC RACISM FURTHER
OPPRESS AND SILENCE VICTIMS, AND
WHEREAS SEXUAL VIOLENCE EXISTSEN
OCONTINUUM OF BEHAVIOR INCLUDES
RACIST, SEXIST, TRANSPHOBIC,
ABLEST AND HATE SPEECH, THIS
RANGES FROM RAPE JOKES, AND
NORMALIZED HARMFUL LANGUAGE TO
HOSTILE VERBAL HARASSMENT, TO
VIOLENT THREATS, AND CYBER
STOCKING AND ONLINE SPACES TO
NONCONSENSUAL GENERATION AND
DISTRIBUTION OF DIGITAL IMAGES,
AND WHEREAS MILLIONS HAVE BEEN
SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AND ARE TOO
OFTEN LEFT WITH LITTLE SUPPORT
AND FEW SOLUTIONS, OVER 81% OF
WOMEN AND 43% OF MEN ACROSS THE
UNITED STATES HAVE REPORTED SOME
FORM OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND/OR
ASSAULT DURING THEIR LIFETIME.
GIRLS AGES 16-19 ARE FOUR TIMES
MORE LIKELY THAN THE GENERAL
POPULATION TO EXPERIENCE RAPE
AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. WHEREAS WE
KNOW THAT TRANSGENDER WOMEN,
ESPECIALLY TRANS WOMEN OF COLOR,
ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY MORE
LIKELY TO SUFFER DISCRIMINATION,
VIOLENCE AND ABUSE, AND AS CITY
GOVERNMENT WE COMMIT TO THE
ELIMINATION AND PREVENTION OF
THIS IDENTITY-BASED HATE, AND
FIGHT TO CHANGE ALL NORMS THAT
PERPETUATE DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST GENDER QUEER
INDIVIDUALS, AND WHEREAS WE
UNDERSTAND THAT WARTIME SEXUAL
VIOLENCE HAS BEEN USED
THROUGHOUT HISTORY AS
DELIBERATELY BRUTAL TACTIC OFTEN
UNPUNISHED AND WIDESPREAD DURING
CONFLICT RECOGNIZED BY UNITED
NATIONS AS A CRIME AGAINST
HUMANITY AND A WAR CRIME, AND
WHEREAS WE MUST PUBLICLY
RECOGNIZE THE HUNDREDS OF
REPORTS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE MADE
BY IMMIGRANTS WHILE BEING HELD
IN IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS
DETENTION CENTERS, THESE REPORTS
INDICATE A SYSTEMIC PATTERN OF
ABUSE PERPETRATED BY DETENTION
OFFICERS, GUARDS, AND FACILITY
STAFF, AND WHEREAS WE KNOW THAT
94% OF NATIVE AMERICAN OR
INDIGENOUS WOMEN LIVING IN
SEATTLE REPORTED THEY HAVE BEEN
RAPED OR COERCED INTO SEX AT
LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIVES AND WE
KNOW THERE IS A CRISIS OF
MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS
WOMEN ACROSS WASHINGTON STATE
AND WHEREAS WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
HOMELESS AND HOUSING INSECURE
WOMEN FACE UNIQUE CHALLENGES
THAT AFFECT THEIR WELLBEING,
HIGH RISK FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AND
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE
SEXUALLY ASSAULTED SEVEN TIMES
MORE OFTEN THAN PEOPLE WITHOUT
DISABILITIES, AND WHEREAS WE
REJECT SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN ALL
FORMS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT
TARGETS THOSE WHO IDENTIFY AS
WOMEN IN THE HOME, ON THE
STREETS, IN THE WORKPLACE,
MEDIA, AND ONLINE, AND SUPPORT
SURVIVORS IN THEIR RECOVERY.
WHEREAS WE KNOW THAT WORKING
TOGETHER TO EDUCATE COMMUNITY
ABOUT SEXUAL VIOLENCE,
SUPPORTING SURVIVORS WHEN THEY
COME FORWARD, SPEAKING OUT
AGAINST HARMFUL ATTITUDES AND
ACTIONS, AND ENGAGING I
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