Seattle/King County Climate News 1.2.24

[Robin Briggs]

It's a new year! I hope you all enjoyed a restful end of the year holiday. Here's the latest in local climate news as everyone gets back in gear.

Seattle

The new City Council had its first meeting on Jan 3 (Crosscut). They elected Sara Nelson as Council President. They will be accepting applications for a replacement for Theresa Mosqueda through Jan 9.  They made the following committee assignments:

• Land Use – Tammy Morales

• Finance, Native Communities and Tribal – Dan Strauss

• Sustainability, City Light and Arts & Culture – Theresa Mosqueda's replacement

• Transportation – Rob Saka

• Parks, Public Utilities and Technology – Joy Hollingsworth

• Governance, Accountability and Economic Development – Sara Nelson

• Libraries, Education and Neighborhoods – Maritza Rivera

• Housing and Human Services – Cathy Moore

• Public Safety – Bob Kettle

Here are some things we can expect over the next year from city government:

January

• Council elects a replacement for Theresa Mosqueda

• OPCD releases the Draft Comprehensive Plan. This is already about 7 months late.

• Council files work plans for what each committee expects to do during the year

June

• OSE begins rule making for the Building Emissions Performance Standards

• Council approves a Transportation Levy proposal to go on the November ballot

November

• Election for city-wide councilmember to for the remainder of the term (just one year), replaces the temporary appointment Council will make now

• Election also for the next Transportation Levy, to replace Move Seattle levy

• Council passes a new two year budget for 2025 and 2026

December

• Council passes a new Comprehensive Plan, including a Climate Element

Sound Transit

Julie Timm, CEO of Sound Transit has resigned, and will be paid one year's severance pay while she is on retainer to provide consultations. It is not clear why she is leaving, but it seems likely that there were differences with the Board, which is mostly made up of elected officials from counties and cities within the Sound Transit service area. Sound Transit will be starting a search for a new CEO. In the meantime, the technical advisory board has voiced concerns that problems they have pointed out remain, and that important management oversight roles, beyond that of CEO, still need to be filled.

State

Northwest Natural, a gas company that serves 2.5 million people in northwest Washington, has been offering builders $2000 to install gas in appliances and hook ups in new homes. This is according to The Guardian: Revealed: US utility firms offer builders cash and trips to fit new homes with gas appliances. The article points out: "The longstanding relationship between gas interests and the building sector could be a major impediment to decarbonizing buildings, which account for roughly one-third of US greenhouse gas emissions."

The State's Legislative Session starts on Jan. 8 and runs through March 7.

Note: if you would like to weigh in on climate legislation during the Legislative Session, a great way is to subscribe to 350 Washington's Civic Action Team, which sends out twice weekly updates on legislation with quick actions you can take to influence the outcome. Another great resource is Climate At the Legislature.

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