VIDEO: Mayor’s State of the City promises include more police

When the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network met three weeks ago, police staffing turned to be the hottest topic of the meeting. Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis said he’d like to have more officers, but hiring citywide wasn’t going very quickly.

Maybe it will now – in his State of the City speech this afternoon, Mayor Ed Murray doubled his promise of new officers to be hired before his first term is up – saying he’ll now commit to hiring 200 more officers, above and beyond ongoing attrition.

Acknowledging that while violent crime in Seattle is low, property crime is not, he said SPD is forming a “dedicated team” working on reducing it.

He announced a Commercial Affordability Advisory Committee to, as the news release about his speech describes it, “identify issues that lead to displacement of small businesses in growing Urban Villages and recommend actions that support affordable commercial spaces.”

He spoke of renewed commitment for transportation projects including Sound Transit light rail to West Seattle and the Lander Street overpass in SODO, which was named in the Move Seattle levy. And he said the Vision Zero safety campaign – which has cut speed limits and rechannelized streets, including parts of 35th and Roxbury in West Seattle – is working, with traffic deaths down 25 percent, at an all-time low.

He also announced that all Seattle Public Schools campuses will be designated “Safe Places.”

Joe February 16, 2016 (4:26 pm)

Must be up for re election.

Recovering Urbanist February 16, 2016 (4:52 pm)

Wow. So the Mayor and the Urbanist pro-density folks want to increase density because they believe it will make Seattle more affordable, but then they realize that the urban villages are actually leading to dramatically higher prices in and around the urban villages for residents and businesses, and so they now want to impose affordable commercial space in addition to higher property taxes to counter the rising prices their policies are partially causing (by expanding urban villages). At what point to voters realize that the Urbanist.org pro density developers have co-opted the affordability narrative, and that you can’t just incentivize everything without adverse consequences.

Seattlite February 16, 2016 (7:11 pm)

Mr. Ed has taken up the leftist liberal baton of policies that are damaging the heart of Seattle, King County, and the middle class. Voters take heed when it comes time to elect a new mayor especially if you are in the middle class and want to make your home in Seattle/KingCounty Mr. Ed is not a leader but an ideologist who is not leading for all of the people of Seattle/KingCounty.

Free speech February 16, 2016 (7:28 pm)

Oh what a happy day, received my new proptery tax bill up this next year by 12%

i can’t afford to live in my home because of the taxes, yes my house has appreciated, but will most like have to sell but won’t be able to afford anything thanks to the mayor and inability to find funding other than proptery owners maybe mr mayor you have a cottage in your back yard I can rent

New thinking needed February 16, 2016 (8:52 pm)

More police to help patrol the new tent cities and RV parks that the mayor wants to continue spreading and supporting ???? while the homeowners begin to be taxed out of their homes. Not sure how much longer those of us earning $55K or under can keep this up, ouch!

cj February 16, 2016 (9:47 pm)

Hay I’m impressed. Not sure how he is going to do all of this with the type of landlords we have here but still impressed.

Al February 17, 2016 (6:56 am)

I support this agenda completely (and I haven’t always seen eye to eye with our mayor.) More police, more support for small business and a declared support for light rail to our neighborhood all seem obviously laudatory to me. But I guess haters are always gonna hate…

Seattlite February 17, 2016 (2:46 pm)

Who are the “haters” you’re referring to? I did not read hate in any of the comments. What I did read was different opinions and constructive criticisms on Mr. Ed’s policies. Calling people names for having different opinions is a bullying tactic.

Em February 17, 2016 (1:01 pm)

Here’s where those leftist liberal policies have led: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/economy/employment-and-wage-growth-in-washington-outpacing-other-states/

I don’t agree with everything he’s done, but we are clearly on the right track. And I appreciated the shout out to Lisa Herbold for her leadership in trying to insist that workers get secure schedules so that they can plan for their lives (whether child care, continuing education, or other uses).

Bradley February 17, 2016 (2:57 pm)

I can’t wait to vote for his opponent.

OP February 17, 2016 (3:22 pm)

Careful. That’s how we got in this position in the first place.

flimflam February 17, 2016 (5:00 pm)

the mayor and the council are awful. the social engineering they are trying to do is so far beyond their league. I love the northwest and have made it my home for the last 20 years but am definitely beginning to think about my Seattle Exit Strategy.

Recovering Urbanist February 17, 2016 (6:25 pm)

EM – the Mayor had absolutely nothing to do with the successes? of the region. If anything, his policies are making it more difficult for many families, fixed income elderly, and everyone who is not a brogrammer (or married to one) to live in Seattle (higher taxes, fears of being pushed out by developers as density destroys our access to sunlight and the promote concrete canyons, angst toward single family homes, lack of accountability, etc.).

Em February 17, 2016 (7:43 pm)

If you don’t like the city, no one is asking you to stay. If enough of the ‘fed-up’ commenters on the Blog move away, maybe that will help solve the housing and transportation problems. because there’s sure as heck a lot of people who think this is a darn good place to live.
- Free speech February 18, 2016 (1:08 am)
  
  Really, you think the solution is to tax middle class residents out of their home is the solution? Doesn’t this just enhance the problem?
  
  why is it wrong to look at other way to fund items other than the proptery owner, I am a middle income senior, and I can’t afford the taxes that keep going up 600 this year, I have lived her 40 years, worked hard for my home, but my home doesn’t create income, do you think it is fair I can’t afford to live here because we don’t look at other funding options, end users etc, do you not understand I am being squeezed out with the goal of our politicians tiring to make this a more affordable city, for some but on the back of middle I and fixed income, seriously what are we to do, my taxes are creating a situation where I can’t live in my community that I have loved and worked hard all my adult life,,,
- Seattlite February 18, 2016 (7:53 am)
  
  Right…the hard working middle class moves away. What is left are the rich and poor…kind of like Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore where gangs and crime are out of control…those cities have been driven into the ground by leftist leadership.

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