July 2013
Neighbors:
This photo of the doughnuts I brought in to celebrate went viral on Twitter and Facebook, ending up on Buzzfeed. I am filled with simply overwhelming pride with this week's ruling by the Supreme Court. King County has been a leader in equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, so it was with sheer joy that my fiancé Michael and I celebrated with hundreds of couples as King County issued the first marriage licenses to same sex couples in the state last December. Now the federal government will treat those couples equally as well! This equality extends from military couples to seniors on Social Security, reaching so many hardworking families and providing them the security they deserve. |
Several months ago I wrote to you about the County's efforts to reorganize our public defense system. You'll recall that a lawsuit against the County resulted in the need to make a change to our nationally recognized public defense system. King County has historically contracted with private, non-profit entities for public defense services. Following the court ruling, the Council is positioned to send a charter amendment to County voters that will bring our existing public defense system in-house.
Under the charter amendment, a new Department of Public Defense would be headed by a public defender appointed by the County Executive and subject to confirmation by the Council. The public defender would serve a four-year term coinciding with the King County Prosecutor's term. The public defender could only be removed before the end of that term for just cause and would have the right to appeal the removal to the County Council. These protections were developed to help to ensure that the public defender can operate independently from political influence.
The proposal also creates an advisory board. The Board would be responsible for reviewing the Public Defense Department's activities; advising the Council and the Executive in regards to public defense and social justice issues; and making recommendations on departmental matters.
This proposal is the culmination of a process that began at the beginning of the year when the Executive transmitted his proposal to the Council. Through extensive work, the Council developed our legislation to protect the strengths of our current public defense system. We will now turn our attention to the details in an ordinance that will organize the new Department of Public Defense. If you would like to weigh in, visit www.kingcounty.gov/council/issues/publicdefense. I'll be sure to keep you updated as the process moves forward.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Until next month,
-Joe
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