Last week I received my Court sentence of 24 community service hours, and one year probation. I was part of the 15 arrested in June for blocking a street downtown. We were protesting the mayor's policy of sweeping out homeless encampments.
Recently, the mayor took his campaign to eradicate homelessness to the next level. Huffing and puffing, he threatened to close down Nickelsville and, like a bully in school, started intimidating everyone associated with it. Never mind that, there are no shelter beds and the weather is beginning to turn. Never mind that without more shelter beds, there is no community of care for those currently homeless other than encampments. Never mind the facts on the ground, the mayor in his faith-based world claims it is "inhumane" to allow encampments. Evidently he thinks it is far more humane to simply let the poor die on the street, out of sight, out of mind.
The mayor does not love us. He refuses to gather together the Church Council of Greater Seattle and homeless providers for a strategy session to shelter the homeless NOW. Rather than gathering together for solutions, the mayor implements a policy of removal and intimidation. The heart of this mayor has grown cold. Our task as citizens is to force him to listen to the cry of the poor. I think there are two practical options available to us.
First, an ongoing, weekly phone/email avalanche insisting that the mayor convene a strategy session with the Church Council and homeless providers. Give him a call today: (206)684-4000. Repeat the call a couple times a week until the wax melts from his ears. This will take thousands of calls and emails. One need not rant nor rave. One need simply request that the mayor convene a meeting with the Church Council and homeless providers for the purpose of developing shelter options now. Although he does not love us, if he will at least speak with us, then we can hopefully work together.
Secondly, the phone calls might not be enough. We might need an on-going action to catch his attention. I think we should train a group of folks to make the mayor's public life uncomfortable. At least 35 homeless persons have died on the streets of Seattle this year. As we move into the holiday season and the mayor makes his public relations appearances, I think we should greet him at his next 35 appearances with our request that he convene a meeting with the Church Council and homeless providers. After all, even Mary and Joseph got a barn in their time of need.
Our city needs leaders who love us, but this mayor is not that leader. But he is the mayor, and we're stuck with him until the next election. He does not love us, so we must compel him to listen to us.