Re: “How confident are Seattleites in their police? Results of survey surprise lead researcher” [April 26, FYI Guy]:
Jackie Helfgott, director of Seattle University’s Crime & Justice Research Center, was surprised that confidence in the police force was little changed from 2019, based on what she has heard at city council meetings.
Unfortunately, the public-comment process is not set up to gather constituent views and is used by some council members to amplify their personal agendas.
Meeting agendas are often published only a few days before the meetings. Those who wish to speak must compete to get a spot during the limited time allocated for public comment. Those who are not tech savvy or cannot be online for registration are not likely to make the cut. Speakers only provide a name and never appear on camera. No effort is made to determine if they even live or work in the city.
Letters written by the rest of us seem to disappear into a black hole without making an impact on the council.
Karen Gielen, Seattle