Dear Friend,

This fall two important topics will come before the King County Council for deliberation and passage. This e-newsletter covers both – King County’s Comprehensive Plan and the 2009 King County Budget. I hope you will read about these issues and contact me with your ideas and feedback as we deliberate on the two most important pieces of legislation the King County Council must tackle this year.

King County 2008 Comprehensive Plan

This year I have the honor of serving as the Chair of the Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee (GMNR). In addition to the committee’s usual workload, the committee is conducting a major review of the King County Comprehensive Plan (“Comp Plan”). The Comp Plan is King County’s leading policy document for land use policies and regulations in unincorporated areas (those areas that are not a part of a city, such as Skyway and White Center for example) of the county, and it sets county policy on major issues such as annexations, transportation, and the environment.

The Comp Plan was adopted under the State Growth Management Act in 1994. Technical changes to the Comp Plan can be made yearly, but major changes can only be made every four years. As the chair of GMNR, I am pleased to announce that on August 5, 2008, the Committee completed our recommendations to the Executive’s Proposed 2008 Comprehensive Plan and passed my Chair’s Striker.

Passing the Chair’s Striker out of GMNR culminates 5 months of GMNR meetings, public hearings, personal meetings, visits to physical sites, and communities impacted by the proposed plan. During this time, the committee dealt with many challenging issues including, simplifying the county’s concurrency map, looking at the county’s land use policies through a lens of equity and social justice, and reducing the county’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The legislation will go before the whole Council in late September. To learn more about the Comprehensive Plan update process and to read the Chair’s Striker go to http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/comprehensive_plan.aspx.

2009 King County Budget

On October 13, 2008,the King County Council will begin its deliberations for the 2009 budget. According to the KC Budget and Management Office, due to the poor economic forecast and a structural gap between our mandated responsibilities, King County’s deficit in 2009 is estimated at over $90 million.

I encourage your participation in the discussions about the 2009 budget. You can email both myself or the entire Council with your opinions and ideas or come to the public budget forums listed below.

• Tuesday, October 14, 2008 – Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, 24635 Southeast Issaquah Fall City Road, Issaquah

• Thursday, October 16, 2008 – Maleng Regional Justice Center, Courtroom 3F, 401 4th Avenue North, Kent

• Tuesday, October 21, 2008 – Finn Hill Junior High School, 8040 Northeast 132nd Street, Kirkland

• Thursday, October 23, 2008 – Shoreline Conference Center, Shoreline Room, 18560 1st Avenue Northeast, Shoreline

• Tuesday, October 28, 2008 – King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle

• Monday, November 10, 2008 – King County Council Chambers, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle, starting at 1:30 p.m.
  

Black-on-Black Crime Prevention Coalition

A little more than a year ago, I joined other African American community leaders and activists to form the Black-on-Black Crime Prevention Coalition (BBCPC). The mission of BBCPC is to build a community response to the devastating number of homicides, gang activity, misogyny, and other acts of black victimization and self-hatred being perpetrated upon each other.

I am happy to report that since its formation the BBCPC has launched some very important work in the community in relationship to its mission. Because of its work with the City of Seattle, the BBCPC had a significant influence in Mayor Nickels Youth Violence Initiative, recently unveiled on September 10, 2008. Additionally, the BBCPC received a City of Seattle Department of Neighborhood’s Matching Fund Grant to conduct the BBCPC African American Male Cultural Reeducation Academy. The academy consisted of a one-week intensive cultural reeducation program for 25 high-risk African American males 12-15 year old, and another for 25 of those 16-18 years old. Many of these youth were gang involved, by interactions with, and presentations by Aaron Dixon, Kendrick Glover, Vincent Taylor, Kelly Jefferson, Ron Bolton, Rowland Akers, Larry Evans, and others on a wide variety of subjects extremely relevant to the lives of young African Americans. The youth reported that the academy had a profound impact on their lives.

The BBCPC believes the violence in our community is not simply a youth problem, but rather a community problem that adults must take a lead in solving. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to be the vanguards of our community as fathers, mentors, religious leaders, and educators that our children are crying out for. We particularly need male volunteers who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work we as adult black men have neglected for too long.

If you would like to get involved, please contact my Legislative Aide, Larry Evans at 206-296-0396 or larry.evans@kingcounty.gov, or the BBCPC Coordinator, Vincent Taylor at 720-987-9565 or taylorvi5@msn.com.