Meeting with Deputy Mayor Greg Wong Be Bold Exercise

At our last Members Meeting Mayor Bruce Harrell was our guest speaker and answered many questions. Harrell shared that the adversarial stance the Trump Administration is taking with cities is unprecedented. He believes that Seattle will emerge as a leader and show other cities how best to respond to the Trump Administration.

To underscore this point, on July 31, Harrell and City Attorney Ann Davison announced that Seattle was suing the Trump Administration over two of Trump’s executive orders related to gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Harrell wasn’t able to answer some of our members’ questions so he asked Deputy Mayor Greg Wong to meet with WSI representatives Laurie Reinhardt, Jean Hamilton, and John Milici. The 30-minute meeting was on July 29 and was videoed.

Here are some of our questions and Wong’s answers.

“How does the Harrell administration plan to make Seattle a leader in municipalities’ resistance to the Trump Administration?”

Wong said we must not remain silent. The federal government is trying to cut funding to sanctuary cities and Seattle has been actively engaged in litigation. Seattle fought and won that battle in court, at least for now. Wong said the federal government wants to fight anything to do with DEI and LGBTQ rights and added that the city is committed to maintaining our values and our identity as a community. Seattle will continue with litigation as needed.

“How can WSI members help?”

Wong said he appreciates the work WSI has done and there may be future meetings when Harrell needs to show community support. We invited the mayor’s office to reach out to us when constituent mobilization is needed for city-sponsored events.

“How should we respond if we see someone being taken and if we are unsure whether the abductors are ICE?”

Wong said we should call 9-1-1. Editor’s note: Also try to get the license plate numbers of any vehicles involved. There are many online resources. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) are two.

Laurie discussed her bold idea for a Sept 21 INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY action. Another meeting with city staff was scheduled. Laurie will share details and progress towards the project’s actualization during our members meeting Aug 10.

There wasn’t time to ask all our questions. We followed up with an email asking if the city plans to support legislation prohibiting ICE officers from covering their faces, and if any city workers plan to take rapid response training. We haven’t heard back from the mayor’s office but will keep you informed when we know more.