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Jesse Franz

@jessefranz.bsky.social

Unfortunately, not heir to the Franz bread empire. Works for the Seattle City Council. Recovering news producer. Personal views here.

41 Posts880 Follower277 Folgt
Councilmember Dan Strauss@cmdanstrauss.bsky.social · 5d ago

Ballard Light Rail is not dead. Today’s announcement shows us the way to get Ballard Link back on track. We must use these tools and get this project delivered by 2042.

Sound Transit announces timeline for building light rail to Ballard - Seattle City Council Blog

Sound Transit announced today that the Ballard Light Rail Extension could begin service to Market Street in Ballard by 2042 if it is able to close the project’s funding gap by 2033.  “As a board and a...

council.seattle.gov

Jesse Franz@jessefranz.bsky.social · 3w ago

We just passed major affordability legislation‼️ 30k+ new working families will soon be eligible for a big break on their utilities. That could mean more than $1k per year back in their pockets for food, rent, or anything else. I’m beyond proud to have worked on this legislation for the past year.

Councilmember Dan Strauss@cmdanstrauss.bsky.social · 3w ago

Utility costs are housing costs. For so many in our community, these costs can be the difference between making rent or falling behind. This legislation is one of the fastest, most effective ways we can put money back into the pockets of working families who need it most.

Jesse Franz@jessefranz.bsky.social · last mo.

I’m just a boy, sitting on the first-ever Golden Gardens Direct, asking the internet to hop aboard and come to the beach.

Selfie on the bus. Golden Gardens Director bus stop. The golden Gardens DirectorGolden Gardens Beach
Councilmember Dan Strauss@cmdanstrauss.bsky.social · last mo.

Bus service to Golden Gardens starts today! I proposed and funded this pilot program last fall, and we’re bringing it to you this summer. Now, everyone will have better access to the beach — no hiking, scrambling, or parking required. More info: kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metr...

Jesse Franz@jessefranz.bsky.social · last mo.

The World Cup has shown so many amazing ways we can bring people together. The lasting effects of the 1962 Worlds Fair are all around us - from the Space Needle to the Monorail. My hope is the lasting effect of the World Cup is that we reenvision what we can do with our public spaces moving forward.

Stage with tv on Ballard Avenue showing the World Cup with people watching.
Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck@councilmember-amr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I authored this letter to fight for Seattle residents and their tax dollars. In addition to millions that would be directed away from our community, I'm concerned with the precedent this "cap" would set for Seattle. I'm grateful to my colleagues for signing on and hopeful for the path forward.

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 2mo ago

In a letter to King County Councilmembers, eight members of the Seattle City Council call a proposed Seattle-only cap on pass-through funding from a new countywide 0.1% sales tax "not acceptable nor equitable" and ask that it be fully dropped at Friday's planned vote.

As King County considers new revenue options for funding roads maintenance in unincorporated King County, a focus on affordability and equity is critical. Passthrough dollars to cities is a good start, but the proposal to cap that funding and restrict how it can be spent is not acceptable nor equitable. We ask that King County Council consider removing the binding cap that solely impacts City of Seattle. Under proposed Amendment 2A, our central staff analysis suggests that cities like Hunts Point, Yarrow Point, Beaux Arts Village, and others would receive a disproportionately high amount of passthrough funding per capita. And the redistribution of Seattle’s sales tax dollars won’t go to the small cities that need this funding most, like Skykomish and Carnation; these dollars will go to medium and large cities such as Redmond, Kirkland, and Sammamish. Meanwhile, Seattle will receive the lowest per capita amount of any city in King County. Further, under this amendment, the total amount Seattle would be eligible for would drop dramatically from approximately $4,812,197 to $1,910,625. Like many cities, the City of Seattle is grappling with a structural budget deficit and increased demand for city services. With this in mind, we have significant concerns with a proposal that will shift our residents’ tax dollars from Seattle to other cities. Seattle voters frequently champion transportation investments at the ballot box, and we do not take that support for granted. Per the authorizing RCW 36.73.020, jurisdictions are able to establish transportation benefit districts to fund transportation improvement projects, and we encourage more jurisdictions to consider establishing their own transportation benefit districts to fund their own services.
Jesse Franz@jessefranz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We just announced new legislation! 31,000 low-income households would be eligible for steep discounts on their utility bills. That could mean more than $1,000 per year in savings. Utility costs are housing costs and this is a fair and fast way to make rent more affordable for those who need it most.

Councilmember Dan Strauss announces proposal to reduce utility costs for 31,000 low-income households - Seattle City Council Blog

Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6) announced major affordability legislation today that would dramatically decrease utility costs for 31,000 low-income households. The legislation would expand eli...

council.seattle.gov

Jesse Franz@jessefranz.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The best time to build rail to Ballard was 50 years ago when voters rejected Forward Thrust. The second best time to build light rail to Ballard is right now. Voters approved it, Seattle's planned its future growth around it, we've passed legislation to get it done faster. Build the damn trains.

Seattle City Councilmember Strauss proposes amendments to save Ballard Light Rail - Seattle City Council Blog

Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6), who also serves as a Sound Transit Board Member, announced today he will be proposing and supporting three key amendments focused on saving Ballard...

council.seattle.gov

Amy Sundberg@amysundberg.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The Seattle City Council just passed an amendment to the supplemental budget, offered by CM Rinck, adding $300k to legal defense for unaccompanied children facing detention and deportation, taken from underspend from the City's much criticized SCORE jail contract.

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · last yr.

I'm sitting in an unusually crowded meeting of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which commissioner Kristin Hawes just said had an "unprecedented" amount of public comment—all of it against changes to the ethics code that would remove recusal reqiurements for councilmembers with conflicts

Matt Ford@mford.bsky.social · last yr.

DOJ says the Civil Rights Division is investigating a new “anti-Catholic law” in Washington state that requires priests to report suspected child abuse or neglect:

The Justice Department today announced it has opened a civil rights investigation into the development and passage of Washington State Senate Bill 5375, signed into law on May 2, 2025, by Governor Bob Ferguson, which appears on its face to violate the First Amendment. Washington State’s new law adds “members of the clergy” to a list of other professionals who are required to report information received in a confessional setting relating to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or other state authorities, with no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests. Furthermore, the State of Washington’s new law singles out “members of the clergy” as the only “supervisors” who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting. The Civil Rights Division will investigate the apparent conflict between Washington State’s new law with the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of the United States Constitution. “SB 5375 demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Worse, the law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals. We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State’s cooperation with our investigation.”