As part of the nationwide movement to defund the police, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay is proposing an amendment to the county charter to give the council the authority to shrink and redirect certain public safety duties away from the sheriff’s office and towards nonviolent alternatives. Currently, the council lacks the constitutional authority to review or change the duties of the independently elected sheriff.
This charter amendment is a necessary first step in taking the #DefundThePolice movement to the county level. Once this proposed charter amendment passes the County Council, it will then go to the voters to be voted on this fall.
ACTION: Ask County Council to pass charter amendment to allow funding to be shifted away from sheriff’s office
Find your King County Council representative here:
https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/councilmembers/find_district.aspx
Script:
“Hello, my name is [name] and I live in [city, zip]. Please vote in support of King County Ordinance 2020-0231, which will amend the County’s charter to give the council the authority to defund and shrink the duties of the County Sheriff. This is a necessary first step towards addressing police violence at the County level, and building nonviolent alternatives to armed policing.”
Background:
https://kuow.org/stories/king-county-council-prepares-to-ask-voters-for-more-power-over-sheriff-s-office
https://twitter.com/GirmayZahilay/status/1283892041118740480?s=20
