Special header for the 2020 State of the City edition of the Durkan Digest



This year, I had the honor of delivering my 2020 State of the City address [ [link removed] ] at the incredible Rainier Arts Center a place filled with creativity, engaged people, big ideas, and lots of love. It shows the power of partnership and the incredible things we can accomplish when we work together to make progress on shared goals.

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan delivers her 2020 State of the City speech from the stage at Rainier Arts Center

This year, I discussed Seattles work to advance our shared progressive values and take important steps to address public safety, expand access to transit [ [link removed] ], and combat our regions affordable housing [ [link removed] ] and homelessness crisis [ [link removed] ]. Working together, we have done some amazing things.

We invested nearly $1.5 billion in affordable housing [ [link removed] ] to provide more housing options for people throughout Seattle. We created a Regional Homelessness Authority to make transformational, systemic change that will improved the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors [ [link removed] ]. And we have recommitted to funding critical transit and transportation priorities [ [link removed] ] by expanding transit service by 36%, and providing nearly 14,000 free ORCA cards to Seattle youth and Seattle Housing Authority residents.

Mayor Durkan poses for a photo with Anthony Garcia, a second-year Seattle Promise Scholar and his father

And weve worked tireless to expand access to education and build lasting opportunity for our young people. I was lucky to have Anthony Garcia introduce me at my State of the City address today. Anthony is a Seattle Promise student whos currently studying to transfer to a four-year school next fall where he plans on majoring in business.

Students like Anthony remind us of why we create programs like the Seattle Promise: Access to free, high-quality education makes a tangible positive improvement on our young peoples lives. Thats why Im so proud that nearly 1,800 students have expressed interest in the Seattle Promise program for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Social media graphic featuring a quote from Anthony Garcia

In addition to celebrating the bold action weve taken to make our progressive values real in peoples lives, I also announced a series of new actions the City is taking to expand access to opportunity and invest in equity:


* Significantly expanding the Seattle Promise Jobs and Career Pathways [ [link removed] ] Program to connect students with paid internships with local employers and the City of Seattle;
* Creating a Small Business Relief Package [ [link removed] ] to streamline permitting process and reduce fees so that all of our small business can grow and thrive;
* Expanding the incredible, life-saving Health One Pilot, and implementing additional measures to promote public safety [ [link removed] ]; and
* Preparing for a fair and accurate count of all our communities in the 2020 Census [ [link removed] ] and ensuring Seattle residents can know their rights and be counted.

Because of our shared actions and commitment, I can tell you today the *State of our City is strong and resilient*. We can and we will continue to show what it looks like when progressives make progress.

In this era of division, we can show people how to can come together to do the big, hard things. We can show the power of kindness, love, and compassion.

Mayor Durkan, Chief Carmen Best, and Former Councilmember Larry Gossett pose for a photo with SPD Community Service Officers

You can watch the full video of the event and read my speech here [ [link removed] ]. And if you have a moment, please write me at [email protected] and let me know what you think. As always, you can reach me on Twitter [ [link removed] ]or Facebook [ [link removed] ], and you can stay up-to-date with all the great work were doing together on my blog [ [link removed] ].

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan's Signature




*Seattle Office of the Mayor*

600 4th Avenue

4th Floor

Seattle, WA 98104

*Phone: 206-684-4000*

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