Seattle council advances its own youth gun violence measure
The Seattle City Council approved a separate resolution on youth gun violence the same day Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled her own strategy. The council measure passed 7-0, with Councilmembers Dionne Foster and Alexis Mercedes Rinck abstaining.
The resolution, introduced by Councilmember Maritza Rivera, backs bringing in the National Network for Safe Communities, a New York-based group, to work on a focused-deterrence approach aimed at young people.
Wilson’s proposal would shift $5 million in community intervention contracts to the CARE Department, making it the city’s main hub for violence prevention and response. The mayor’s plan also calls for broader youth prevention efforts and for using data and research to assess anti-violence programs, with an emphasis on prevention and intervention rather than policing.
Foster and Rinck said they appreciated Rivera’s work but questioned moving ahead with a nonbinding resolution without clearer answers on budget pressures, how it would fit with other gun violence strategies, and whether city leaders, especially the mayor, would support it.
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