On this Thanksgiving Day eve, I find that there is so much for which I have to give thanks. There are people in District 1 and elsewhere who deserve recognition. In raising their voices, they help contribute every day to making Seattle a better city and they insure that City government is making decisions in the public interest. This year, as in previous years, there also are legislative victories that I couldn’t have accomplished without others. I am thankful for those as well, but I’ll wait until my annual year end wrap up post, to give recognize those accomplishments and those who helped me get it done.
Please indulge me now reflecting on my thanks for particular inspirational individuals. Anyone reading this, if you are working for your community I’m thankful for you, I’m just doing a shout out to a few people and groups on my mind today as I write this. No hurt feelings I hope, for names not mentioned!
I am thankful for small business owners like Cote Soerns and John Bennett who work in District 1 to advocate for small businesses as well advocating for healthy, cohesive, and engaged community!
I am thankful to Ann Levinson, a District 1 resident who has done so much for Seattle. She was the former Office of Professional Accountability Auditor, she was a Seattle Municipal Court Judge, and a Women’s National Basketball team, the Seattle Storm, Association team owner. I’m thanking her here for not only her service to the City but for her support of my efforts working to advance police accountability.
I am thankful to Marianne McCord for the work she has done in the South Delridge Neighborhood; it is through her advocacy that I was able to secure passage of the new Vacant Building Monitoring Program.
I am thankful for Bruce Stotler’s recent life estate that will facilitate an eventual donation of his property to expand Schmitz Park Reserve, and want to recognize here how that donation may inspire others, like a possibility that may led to a donation to expand the Orchard St Ravine.
I am thankful to Matt Algieri and John Lang for the work that they do every year organizing their neighbors to do a cleanup under the Admiral Bridge – picking up more than 4,000 pounds of garbage in 2018.
I am thankful for Steve Daschle honored by Southwest Youth and Family Services (SYFS) with the Weeks Award for his 30 years of leadership at SYFS and growing SYFS from a small neighborhood organization to one of the area’s leading human services organizations.
Finally, I want to thank Tomasz Biernacki for his production of Trickle Down Town, a documentary film about the homeless crisis in Seattle including visits to Camp Second Chance here in West Seattle and the RVs along Avalon Way. Tomasz says about making the film:
“I have discovered that most people have uneducated, knee-jerk reactions and false beliefs . . . about the homeless. They see the tents, the RVs, the addicted people who have untreated mental and physical health issues, and instead of doing something to help their neighbors, they degrade, cast away, and add insult to injury…”
Many thanks to Casey Flagg for sharing so much of her own personal struggle in the film.
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