Mayor Jenny Durkan coming to West Seattle for ‘town hall’ on Saturday

(Seattle Channel image from mayor’s State of the City today)

The idea of having Mayor Jenny Durkan come to West Seattle for a “town hall” has been mentioned frequently at community meetings since she took office. Now, there’s a date, just confirmed by the mayor’s office: Next Saturday, February 24th, Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon), 1 pm. (We’re following up to find out more about the format.) That’ll be four days after her first State of the City address (WSB coverage here).

31 Replies to "Mayor Jenny Durkan coming to West Seattle for 'town hall' on Saturday"

  • TJ February 20, 2018 (6:20 pm)

    Well let’s see, she will make sure to stay on point of the typical talking points of housing crisis, homelessness, inequality, DACA, income tax, and transportation. You know, protect the vulnerable and punish the rich. Only mention of middle class is saying we need to pass a capital gains tax. And then turn around and support more taxes that are decimating the middle class, knowing a income tax is illegal. Oh, and she will want to talk about free Orca cards and college for high school grads. I hope nobody believes anything is free. It will just soon be a yet again underfunded social project. I mean, economics 101 would say to not start another venture when K-12 is underfunded (supposedely).
    My new taxes say schools are fully funded, yet I hear maybe still not. Crazy. Don’t go away mad Jenny, just go away.

    • Flimflam February 20, 2018 (9:07 pm)

      There is a certain checklist for our local politicians lately, I agree. This last election really didn’t give voters much of a choice unfortunately…

      • WSB February 20, 2018 (9:21 pm)

        More than 20 people ran for mayor and spanned the political spectrum. How much more of a choice could there have been?

        • Flimflam February 20, 2018 (10:19 pm)

          The actual vote was between two candidates from the same party with similar leanings. That is what I am referring to. A middle of the road, moderate candidate apparently doesn’t have a place/stand a chance in this city.

          • Jethro Marx February 20, 2018 (11:32 pm)

            And, yeah, what do we do? The voters gonna vote, I guess. It’s almost like the system is set up so the majority gets their way in this city. If only the vaunted “middle class” had numbers on their side; wait, is that who’s been voting?

          • ScubaFrog February 21, 2018 (12:27 am)

            Mayor Durkan’s very moderate, and ‘middle of the road’.  We will NEVER –  EVER elect a republican in this city.  If that’s what you want, red states are beckoning — you have the entire Midwest and South with open arms harkening to you with their siren call of a “Conservative Oasis” .   Look at Seattle’s voting history, we’ve voted consistently left and/or moderate for decades, and we Seattleites love it :)

        • Old native February 21, 2018 (1:05 pm)

          20 candidates … one republican

          a couple socialists and the rest leftyā€™s 

          so agreed with the commenter 

          not much to choose from. The debates were bobble heads 

          • WSB February 21, 2018 (1:40 pm)

            Did you take the time to read or listen to any of them? I moderated one of the forums that had most of the candidates on hand. They ranged from far right to far left, and even the majority who (not required) described themselves as Democrats had a very wide range of positions.
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_mayoral_election,_2017

            The field even included two people who have been known to show up at City Council chambers and call the councilmembers fascists (Alex Tsimerman until his ban; Tiniell Cato).

            I’ve covered politics for more than 30 years and have never seen a more wide-ranging field. But if you still don’t believe your beliefs were represented by anyone, then either run or find somebody to back! City Council election is 2019, next mayoral election 2021, and time seems to move like wildfire.

            Also possibly of interest to those who feel unrepresented: Ranked-choice voting.

    • Jethro Marx February 20, 2018 (11:28 pm)

      Man, that sucks, when people try to protect the vulnerable, huh?

      • ScubaFrog February 21, 2018 (12:29 am)

        Isn’t that sad that TJ and Flimflam want to throw the homeless under the proverbial bus?  “Waaaaaah she’s going to focus on the homeless and the middle class, she’s a far left whacko!”.  Gosh, the right wing in this country’s gone bonkers.  You’d think with their Russian Treason and Mass School Murders, they’d just be silent for a decade or two out of SHAME.

        • Jethro Marx February 21, 2018 (5:08 pm)

          Yikes: no “side” has the bonkers market cornered. The fact that we view the country as being comprised of two sides is not a good sign. It’s unclear to me how any crime can be blamed on a political party en masse, much less a senseless tragedy with murky motives and pretty much widespread disapproval. I try to see the world through more of a bs filter than an ideological one, and of course I think others should try to be like me, like we humans do. But we were talking local politics, what?

      • uncle loco February 21, 2018 (4:49 am)

        If by “vulnerable” you mean the homeless industrial complex then yeah, that does suck. Millions of dollars are being funneled somewhere but it doesn’t seem to be going to those who need it. I guess the taxpayers should know better than to expect results.

        • West Seattle Hipster February 21, 2018 (7:19 am)

          Agreed.  With all the money allocated to homeless resources and the situation is only getting worse in a booming economy?  Lots of people are making money off of the ā€œhomeless crisisā€, so I donā€™t expect it to get better any time soon.

          i voted for Durkan but really had no choice.  The alternatives were awful.

  • CanDo February 20, 2018 (7:44 pm)

    Why don’t you show up and listen to what she has to say before you blast out criticism of what you think she might say?    I’m grateful she’s willing to come to West Seattle to talk with us after being in office such a short time.

  • MJ February 20, 2018 (9:43 pm)

    Call 911 I just received my property tax bill today.  

    Mayor Durkan at the candidate event I went to talked about making sure resources are being spent wisely.  Government has grown to much in the last few years, it is not sustainable.  She grew it again today by handing out ORCA cards to high school students.

    What is going to happen when the economy turns south?  

    I’m still hoping Mayor Durkan will show some fiscal control.

    • Mr J February 21, 2018 (9:27 am)

      I know right?! Can you imagine spending a little money to give underserved neighborhood kids access to transit to get to schools, events, libraries etc. itā€™s so unreal and a waste of taxpayer dollars! She must have grown the City government by 500%. 

      I think youā€™re confusing fiscal control with what you deem worthy of spending money on. 

  • Cynical girl February 21, 2018 (7:33 am)

    Please ask her how she plans on preventing fraud with these cards. Ask her what she plans on doing when students sell their cards like EBT users do or give them to family members to use instead. And last question is- nothing is free, how does she plan on paying for all the freebies? 

    • WSB February 21, 2018 (7:44 am)

      While the format hasn’t yet been announced, the mayor’s media liaison says she will be talking with constituents, so you should be able to ask her yourself. Meantime, thousands of students already have transit passes, as noted in the Times’ preview of this announcement, which also details the planned funding source.
      https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/all-of-seattles-public-high-school-students-to-get-unlimited-orca-passes-under-new-durkan-plan/

    • ScubaFrog February 22, 2018 (10:19 am)

      Hopefully Jenny raises taxes on the upper-middle class, and the rich.

      We can afford it, and we  (higher earners) have a moral/civic obligation to be paying more (not less).  

      Again to the naysayers:  Move to the Midwest or South (seriously).  Red states are set up ideologically for your kind.  Seattle’s meant for moderate and left-leaning residents — that will never change.  I was born and raised here, my ancestors designed Seattle with moderates in mind..  We care about our unregistered immigrants, our homeless, and we have a moral compass.  If you don’t like Seattle Cynical Girl/TJ/FlimFlam/OldNative/MJ/Jethro/Bear, Get Out.

      • Jethro Marx February 22, 2018 (7:50 pm)

        I don’t think you have a great grasp on my ideology, but it’s clear that you’d like the country to be segregated into colors; that kind of sucks. I’m not sure where this talk of who’s “meant” for Seattle comes in but it comes off here as pretty spiteful and short-sighted. Was it meant for the people of the inside, once? Because if you’ve got extra money that needs a home the Duwamish have a place for it and are happy to take rental payments.

         And regardless of our politics, we can do our elected officials the honor of referring to them properly; that’s Madam Mayor or Mayor Durkan, in “Jenny’s” case.

         I’d love to hear more about my naysaying, though, and also how “red states” are set up for my kind. (I always thought I was one-of-a-kind; imagine whole states just for me!)

  • Denise February 21, 2018 (7:43 am)

    ScubaFrog, your comments are so out of line. Talk about hateful.

    i got my property tax. Ouch 

    • ScubaFrog February 21, 2018 (9:34 am)

      I’m hateful because I care about the homeless?  

      I wish you well Denise.

      • KBear February 21, 2018 (11:48 am)

        Calling out others’ intolerance is not intolerance, Denise.

  • wscommuter February 21, 2018 (9:16 am)

    Lemme get this straight – because the STATE legislature has raised your/our property taxes (and let’s be clear here – it was a deliberate plan by the GOP -led state senate designed to impose the tax burden on King County), folks are complaining about CITY government?  Wonderful civic awareness there, folks.   Don’t like your property tax bill?  Thank a Republican for creating this plan.  

    To paraphrase the late great Daniel Patrick Moynihan, you are entitled to your own opinions, god bless you, but not your own facts.  

    No one likes higher taxes and no one likes unsolved social problems like homelessness.  I guess bitching is cathartic.  But if that’s all you’ve got, say so.  Otherwise, please … do tell us what your solution is … I’m all ears …

    (crickets chirping).  

  • DP February 21, 2018 (9:18 am)

    LOL @ Durkan not being moderate.

    And another LOL @ people being worried about ORCA/EBT cards. 

    Good Lord, people. 

  • TJ February 21, 2018 (1:16 pm)

    wscommuter, at the budget deal time the state legislature had a slim republican control, which has now flipped to democratic majority due to one election. And if it was a GOP led plan, why did all of the democrat representatives from our area support it when it hit us so hard here? Interesting. And to your question about what the state increase in property taxes have to do with the city, it’s more to the point of FOUR taxing agencies hitting Seattle residents with increases…the state, King County, Seattle, & Sound Transit. It’s like one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Or actually really caring, since locally they actually want the middle class to feel the pain so they support their ridiculous capital gains income tax that has no chance of holding up. Scubafrog mentioned moderates and left here, well reality check for you; the left and liberals of today are so close to socialists now they make the old liberals of 25 years ago (mayor Norm Rice) look conservative. Progressives = social activists in politics, which means constant new crusades that means raising taxes. City politicians don’t care how much we have been taxed by someone else, they havrme their own agenda. A prime example is Inslee. Just recently signed the new budget that kills us here. You would think he might lay low on taxes for 2018? Nope. Right away started pushing his dumb carbon tax, which will be a large tax increase. Local politicians have been backing it. Yet we know they too have still more funding requests in mind too. 

  • Wakeflood February 21, 2018 (3:58 pm)

    I have but one question for her with a followup: 

    Given that they exist already in many cities and towns around the state AND we’ve already let several boom construction cycles go by with MILLIONS of much needed infrastructure and livability $’s gone…WHEN WILL SHE PROPOSE AND CHAMPION TO THE CITY COUNCIL substantial and immediate DEVELOPER IMPACT FEES???

    Why isn’t it tied to implementing HALA?? 

  • Tom February 21, 2018 (5:35 pm)

    I was hopeful that we would actually have a new mayor .So far all we have gotten is Ed Murray 2.0 I have serious questions to ask Mayor Durkan. I have contacted her several times no response .I would ask her why Mike Fong was hired as deputy mayor.As was reported in the Seattle Times.Mike Fong was very high ranking in the Murray administration.We all know how well that went.Why are we allowing the homeless dictate to us where there going to camp.If we provide the dumpsters why can’t they clean up their own mess.

  • M K February 22, 2018 (7:52 am)

    Unfortunately I will be out of town on this but will someone please bring up the issue of traffic and the war on cars? When I moved to West Seattle 21 years ago, I could drive to Downtown Seattle in 15 minutes or so regardless of the time of day. Now that same distance can take 45-60 minutes at times and that’s with no accidents blocking the way. I can’t use public transit because I have to drive for my job and frankly I am losing money everyday just being stuck in traffic. Around the City there has been such an assault on cars that we have 20-35% less lanes thanks to taking lanes away for busses and bicycles. And it will only get worse because the assault will continue unless people speak up. We keep paying more and more in taxes for roads through our property and gasoline taxes (one of the highest in the nation) yet we have fewer and fewer roads of travel and what we have is full of potholes and bumps from lack of maintenance and the constant digging up and refilling. When is this insanity going to stop? Please keep bringing this issue up.

  • wakeflood February 22, 2018 (8:49 am)

    MK, you will be out of luck, my friend.  The war on cars is real and isn’t ending because single occupancy vehicles just don’t work in crowded, limited space environs like Seattle.  Driverless vehicles are coming soon and will help but you simply can’t build any more roads and the current space is needed transit and walkable/rideable space.  The toothpaste isn’t going back in the tube and the genie is out of the bottle.  Such is the reality of 21st century urban living. 

    And our revenue generation for roads has been slowing down for a decade as cars drive less with better mileage and using electrics…money has to come from someplace and tolls and use fees are in everyone’s future. 

    • Jethro Marx February 22, 2018 (11:42 am)

      Yeah, driverless cars are cool; the technology is amazing in a hypothetical, “wow, that’d help a lot!” kind of way, but wireless power transmission would help with a lot of things too; that’s been coming soon since oh a hundred or so years ago.

       MK makes a good case. I have had a similar time and commute in Seattle but I wondered about the percentages given- if those lane reductions are factual you’d have to look at the total road capacity to see the impact on traffic.

       I don’t think any city has lots of density but free-flowing roads. So, while I also have driven the changing roads of Seattle daily since 2001, I always figured traffic was a fact of life and getting bothered by it just made life in the city sucky.

       Driverless cars remind me of riderless bikes- how’s that going for us? To make a real difference, stop tailgating and getting in accidents. Humans have at least the capacity to be a better driver than a computer.

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