The City Council must affirm that Black Lives Matter by voting to override Mayor Durkan's veto of the Council's modest reductions to SPD's 2020 budget.

Take action: Write your Seattle City Council member now and ask them to support the demands coming from Black, Indigenous, and POC-led movement organizations, such as King County Equity Now and Decriminalize Seattle to override the Mayor's veto of the Council's modest cuts to the SPD 2020 budget

Despite not coming even close to the 50% defunding goal set forth by local Black-led community organizations, the cuts passed by a 7-1 vote in the City Council nevertheless mark the start of a process which is long overdue: a process of reimagining public safety and addressing our history of racist policing. The Council majority's cuts amount to only $3.5 million, which is less than 1% of SPD’s almost $400 million annual budget.

By vetoing an overwhelming majority of the City Council, Mayor Durkan is demonstrating that she is out of touch with what the majority of the city is demanding.

More information on why and how we can reduce the scope of policing and invest in community-led health and safety:

• Decriminalize Seattle: Defund SPD Community Teach-in (Video and Slides)
• King County Equity Now/Decriminalize Seattle: 13-page DefundSPD Blueprint
• Naomi Ishisaka: To achieve true public safety, we can't go back to business as usual (Seattle Times, August 24, 2020)