Calls To Action
Join us as we kick off the 2025-2026 budget season
This Saturday September 14th at Jefferson Park from 3 pm - 6 pm
3801 Beacon Ave S, Seattle, WA 98108
Picnic Shelter #1
Come out for community, food, music, art, puppets, and information on how to get involved.
Masks are strongly encouraged, and will be provided, when not eating or drinking.
Please consider bringing a chair for yourself and maybe one to share to help us make sure everyone that would like a seat has the option. We’ll have some chairs to ensure elders and anyone else that needs to sit down can, but we won’t have enough chairs for everyone.
Key Dates this budget season:
-9/24 Mayor Harrell transmits his proposed budget
-10/16 Public hearing at 5 pm
-10/22 Updated revenue forecast
-10/30 Chair's balancing package
-11/1 Deadline for proposed amendments to balancing package
-11/12 Public hearing at 5 pm
-11/13 to 11/15 Discussion & voting on amendments
-11/19 Final budget committee meeting
Emergency online teach-in and panel discussion! Monday, February 26, 7-8pm
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The Mayor is shoving harmful corporate police technologies through a rushed process this month. Learn with us all about how crappy this tech is, how bad it is for communities most impacted by policing and violence, and what we could have instead: violence and harm reduction programs that *actually* keep us safe.
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We'll cover all ways you can make your voice heard before it’s too late.
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We’re lining up some *amazing* panelists! You won't want to miss this.
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Join us streaming online on Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube
@seattlesolidaritybudget and bit.ly/CareNotControl
#StopSurveillanceCity #DefundThePolice #CareNotCages #CareNotControl #NoSoftCops #Seattle
See all our current CTAs at https://linktr.ee/seattlesolidaritybudget
Seattle’s big business Mayor & City Council know that recruiting more cops to the failed Seattle Police Department is not gonna be happening.
They *could* expand the programs we know make our communities safer — like the Regional Peacekeepers Collective and the Rainier Beach Action Coalition’s Restorative Resolutions project, which have already reduced violence in the Rainier Beach neighborhood by 33%.
But no. They want robots, cameras, microphones and algorithms instead.
In a rushed and illegitimate process, the Mayor’s office is seeking to approve three new technologies this month:
One is garbage tech that's well documented not to work (Shotspotter), one raises serious concerns about privacy and misuse (public CCTV cameras), and one is the first step towards a centralized, AI, dystopian surveillance city (RTCC).
All of these technologies will disproportionately impact the Black, brown, immigrant, sex worker, trans, queer and other communities that already experience the worst police violence and harassment by the criminal punishment system.
We have only THIS MONTH to stop this tech. WE NEED YOUR HELP. Flood your Councilmembers inboxes and telephones. Add your comments to the public surveillance review forms. Show up for two public meetings: Monday Feb. 12 and Tuesday Feb. 27.
TELL THE CITY we won't stand for this corporate tech crap. We want *real* solutions to problems like gun violence and human trafficking – solutions that are grounded in community, research, and harm reduction.
All the info you need is here: tinyurl.com/community-not-tech
View Stop Surveillance City Sign-On Letter with Endorsements HERE
#NoSurveillanceCitySeattle
#UnderHarrelsEye
Harrell Plans Hasty Rollout of Massive Surveillance Expansion
The Fight Continues
Even though the budget season is now over, you can still help and support the work ahead! It is only through continued advocacy and struggle that we can continue to move towards the future we want to see: one that divests from a system of policing and punishment that has failed to bring true safety to our communities and instead invests in meeting our community’s basic needs and allowing everyone in Seattle to not only survive but to thrive. We hope you will continue to organize with us as we demand a city that aligns with our values and meets the guarantees we have developed.
How to Plug In
Black Star Farmers - Black Star Farmers (BSF) is a coalition of people with diverse identities working towards the radical reclamation of land and food sovereignty. They achieve this through land stewardship, mutual aid, education, and direct action.
Defend the Defund - Working to shrink SPD’s budget & power, including stopping ShotSpotter in 2024. Sign up via Solidarity Budget’s website.
Divest SPD - Seattle's grassroots police watchdog.
House our Neighbors - Working for social housing in Seattle.
Labor 4 Black Lives (L4BL) - L4BL is a group of rank-and-file workers organizing in solidarity with BLM, against austerity, and toward a democratic, anti-racist labor. movement. Contact LéTania Severe if interested.
People Power Washington - A grassroots group advocating for equitable policing and divest & reinvest, with an emphasis on policy and legislation. Next up is advocating against the SPOG MOU being voted on by Seattle City Council on 12/5!
Seattle Mutual Aid Groups - Find a mutual aid group in your neighborhood.
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways - Volunteer coalition advocating for people walking, rolling, biking, and accessing transit.
Services Not Sweeps - Seattle coalition of service providers, advocates & people with lived experience who want a response to homelessness that is people-focused & humane.
South Asians Resist (SARI) - A militant org of South Asians dedicated to organizing against various forms of imperialism & its plight on workers across the globe.
Stop the Sweeps - They believe in a world without state-sanctioned violence and mobilize to challenge state violence directed at our unhoused neighbors during sweeps.
What is #ShotSpotter and why is Mayor Harrell fighting to include it in the 2024 SPD budget?
Tune in at 5:30 pm on Wednesday Nov. 8th to learn why we are fighting this addition to the budget. (And save the date 11/13 at 5pm to give public comment against this racist and ineffective surveillance technology!)
Image description
Multi-color background with yellow on top. Over the yellow background there is bold red and black text that reads STOP SHOTSPOTTER.
The middle is a gray background. Blue text on the left reads "Free Webinar Panel Discussion." On the right side is a circular graphic with green text above it that reads "Safety is community." The circular graphic has a light blue background and 4 people of color with their fists raised.
The middle of the graphic has a white box with pink trim and black text that reads "Wednesday November 8, 5:30-6:30pm"
The bottom half has a black background with blue and white text that reads "Featuring these amazing panelists: Aje Amaechi, Digital Organizer at Freedom to Thrive Portland;Gregory Davis, Managing Strategist at Rainier Beach Action Coalition; Mohammad Tajsar, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU Southern California; Jonathan Manes, Attorney at the MacArthur Justice Center; Moderated by; Aretha Basu, Puget Sound Sage Political Director. Below that is the ACLU Washington blue and red logo, the Solidarity Budget teal, red and black logo and seattlesolidaritybudget.com in green text. In the bottom right corner is a graphic with light pink background and red zeros and ones over it and a red cop car and red surveillance street camera in the foreground.
#StopShotSpotter
Livestreaming here on our Facebook page and on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f8NgPjdsPo
Blue Cone Studios in collaboration with Solidarity Budget presents:
Artists' Listening Session
Digital drawing of a blue birdhouse with paint splatters, atop a wood post. Two yellow birds are standing on platforms coming out of opposite sides of the birdhouse. The bird on the left is facing right with its mouth open. The bird on the right is facing left with its head turned to look at you.
Sunday November 12, 4-7pm
Blue Cone Studios
1520 11th Ave, Capitol Hill, Seattle
Accessibility: Blue Cone Studios is up two flights of stairs with no elevator
Also streaming live! Food will be provided!
Instagram: @blueconestudios
seattlesolidaritybudget.com
It’s really not complicated. When people are struggling, one of the best things to do is to give them cash on a regular basis, no strings attached. This has been proven again and again as one of the most simple, cost-effective, and dignified methods of increasing people’s health, housing & food security, community safety, and educational opportunity. We are calling on Seattle to follow the lead of King County and the hundreds of other municipalities around the nation that have found success with guaranteed basic income programs.
Talking points and sample scripts are here - bit.ly/GBI-for-Seattle
SPD has an extra $1.8 Million to spend on surveillance?? ShotSpotter has already been shown to be dangerous in other cities, why would we want it here?
bit.ly/NO-Shotspotter-Redux to learn more
You have a chance THIS WEDNESDAY Oct. 18th at 5 pm to give public comment and
Tell City Council
1) “No to ShotSpotter”
2) “Permanently eliminate ALL SPD ghost cop positions!”
3) “I support the Solidarity Budget!”
Let’s deflate the SPD budget and inflate our chances for a #9Guarantees
You can show up in person or provide your comment remotely.
Either way, all the info you need is here: bit.ly/change-seattle-budget
#StopShotSpotter #NoGhostCops #DefundSPD #SolidarityBudget #BudgetToLive #BudgetToThrive #9Guarantees
Let Seattle City Council know what YOU think belongs in the 2024 Budget. Give public comment at the Budget Public Hearing this Wednesday 10/18 at 5:00 pm. All the info you need: bit.ly/change-seattle-budget
Do you think 32% of our city’s general fund should go towards the criminalization and punishment of our most vulnerable residents?
Do you think the corrupted Seattle Police Department should get a $31M Ghost Cop Slush Fund?
Do you think we should race over the impending $251M budget cliff and impose an austerity budget that will disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, and communities of color?
Or – do you join us in believing that true safety comes from guaranteeing people’s material needs are met and DEMANDING that every person in Seattle is guaranteed what they need to survive and thrive?
bit.ly/change-seattle-budget
Image description : Red and teal Solidarity Budget logo in top left corner. Black outer border with teal inner border and a black and white image of gold marching in the street. Text description : Save the date. When : Saturday September 9 (1-4pm). What : 2024 budget demands. Where : TBD. There will be free food, live entertainment, and opportunities to get involved.
Save the date and join us September 9th from 1-4pm as the Solidarity Budget launches our 2024 budget demands. We demand the City of Seattle provide the residents of our city with basic guarantees for living and quality of life. The city has prioritized punishment as a means to attempt to mitigate social issues, when services and access to resources are what have been proven to not only mitigate, but remediate circumstances that currently lead to contact with police and the punishment system. We demand the following guarantees:
Basic Income Guarantee
Housing Guarantee
Health Guarantee
Transportation Guarantee
Communication Guarantee
Climate Action and Resilience Guarantee
Care Guarantee
Food Guarantee
Living Wage Guarantee
Solidarity Budget Wins Elimination of 80 “Ghost Cops” from City Budget, Protects Investments in Community Well-Being
Tell Council what should be in the budget. Click on the link below to find sample scripts and the amendments that will give us a Budget to Live, Budget to Thrive!
Click Here to
TAKE ACTION
NOW
October 31st - Ghost Cops Take City Hall!
November 2nd
Fund Services Not Sweeps
Rally at City Hall Plaza at 4:30 PM
November 3
We're launching “Should SPD Do It”?
If you had control over Seattle’s dispatch system, when would you send an armed police officer, and when would you prefer another option? Here’s a website where YOU make the call:
https://should-spd-do-it.glitch.me/
These different kinds of responses are not all robustly funded yet, but they could be.
1. Check out the website and take the two minute survey
2. E-mail City Council your results and tell them what YOU want our public safety $$$ spent on!
3. Screenshot your results and share with your friends.
#ShouldSPDDoIt?
November 7th
Seattle Says NO to ShotSpotter Webinar
12pm, streamed live on Facebook (@SeattleSolidarityBudget), Twitter (@wapeopleprivacy) and YouTube (@wapeoplesprivacy)
Sponsors: WA People’s Privacy
Watch the webinar here : http://bit.ly/StopShotSpotterSeattle
November 8th
Rally for Human Services & Dignity
City Hall, 8:30am
Sponsors: King County Coalition on Homelessness, Seattle Human Services Coalition, OPEIU Local 8, SEIU 1199NW
Wear red, bring signs and banners
Voter registration and voting rights restoration available
Followed by 9:30 a.m. public comment
Please join Women in Black on the steps of Seattle City Hall (4th/James) from noon to 1 pm Wednesday 11/9!
November 9th
Wednesday’s vigil now will be for TWENTY-FIVE people, and the 2022 Death List now stands at a heart-stopping and record-breaking 216. Directly after the vigil we’ll be delivering letters with our budget demands to our elected leaders.
We're grateful to WHEEL's volunteer Homeless Mortality Work Group for helping maintain and analyze our Women in Black lists, and staff and participants of WHEEL’s First Presbyterian Shelter for lovingly painting our signs.
Learn more : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064430329677
For the past two weeks, Solidarity Budget has been pouring over Bruce’s proposed budget and listening to hours of council hearings so you don’t have to! There are some MAJOR fails in the budget that take us farther from our vision of a budget to live and a budget to thrive.
Council has the chance to amend the budget, with the first round of amendments due Tuesday, October 18th. Contact them today, and tell them: Fix Bruce’s Fails!
Everything you need to take action is here: bit.ly/BrucesTopFails
Post the Call to Action to your Social Media pages. Slides are here.
Make your community aware of the Solidarity Budget
Bring it up in conversation. Post our social media slides. Do what it takes to make the Solidarity Budget common knowledge.
Contact your Seattle city council member
3 easy steps to tell your council members that you support the Solidarity Budget.
Craft a unique message about why you support the Solidarity Budget. It doesn’t have to be long; brief comments get the message across.
Enter your home address to find your district and council members here.
Choose a contact method:
Sara Nelson
Tammy Morales
Lisa Herbold
Kshama Sawant
Debora Juarez
Andrew Lewis
Alex Pedersen
Dan Strauss
Teresa Mosqueda