Dear Readers,
I am Sally Bagshaw, Seattle City Councilmember since 2010, and your Council representative for District 7, which spans the neighborhoods of Pioneer Square, Downtown, Belltown, Uptown, Queen Anne, Interbay, and Magnolia. I truly love the work I do as a Seattle City Councilmember, and want to share with you what being a Councilmember is like on a day-to-day basis.
I am blessed to live Downtown, and have an eight-block walk (and 7 minute bike ride!) to City Hall. My short walk often takes up to 30 minutes, depending on how many neighbors I see along the way. When I arrive at City Hall, I head up to the second floor where we immediately jump into the docket for the day.
I spend my days meeting with District 7 community members and people from across our city and region to discuss their recommendations on how to make our City better, on subjects ranging from parks to neighborhood vibrancy, to housing affordability, and gun safety.
I chair the Human Services & Public Health Committee of the City Council, which meets bi-monthly to discuss our progress on addressing homelessness, with daily meetings to continue the discussions with department staff and leaders from the community.
This year we have received briefings in my committee from the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department, King County’s Health and Human Services Department, Seattle King County Public Health, human services providers and advocates, and many others about the work that is being done — and what there is yet to do.
I serve on several other City Council Committees as well. I am vice-chair of the Parks, Seattle Center, Libraries, and Waterfront Committee, and am a member of the Gender Equity, Safe Communities, and New Americans Committee. I am very interested in transportation, land use, and environmental issues, and even though I am not a member of those committees I track closely what could impact District 7.
Every Monday all nine Councilmembers have a morning and afternoon meeting together where we discuss the issues we are working on in our respective committees. In these committees we work on issues that impact all our neighborhoods — funding affordable housing, developing our parks, cleaning up our streets, leading the state on paid family leave are examples from this past week. I particularly value this opportunity to come together with my colleagues and be part of the progress we are making on so many fronts.
I like to stay moving, and am regularly out in the community visiting with other leaders in the city, county, and state. I serve as committee chair for the Association of Washington Cities, which gives me an opportunity to work with cities across the state on things that matter to us here in Seattle: specifically, building our educational and apprenticeship programs, enhancing economic development with our port, and developing healthy communities for all of us.
I am holding office hours outside of City Hall across District 7. My time with my neighbors is something I cherish, and provides opportunities for us to walk the neighborhoods and see and hear how we can all be part of the solution to the challenges we face.
I have held office hours this year in Queen Anne, Belltown, Magnolia, and South Lake Union. So far we’ve met in community centers, retirement homes, libraries, and a neighborhood bank. Would you and your neighbors like to meet me in the community to discuss issues important to you?
Alberta Bleck, my Legislative Aide and Uptown resident, serves as the Community Relations Liaison to District 7—she is my personal link to all that is happening in the community. Alberta coordinates my office hours and will also be holding office hours herself on a weekly basis to discuss issues and ideas you may have. Sign up for a meeting on my website and suggest a convenient location for conversation—we will see you there.
Yours in service,
Sally Bagshaw
Seattle City Councilmember, District 7