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Changes to Metro Transit Service
Last month, the Council voted on Metro service changes that will take effect in June. These changes are the first service adjustments to Metro’s bus service since the adoption of the County’s Transit Strategic Plan and Service Guidelines last year. As part of these service adjustments, the Route 42 was eliminated effective February 2013. The implementation of the elimination was delayed until next winter to allow Metro time to work with the community to identify alternatives to meet the transit needs of the community. I intend to work with both Metro and community to ensure this work gets done.
Metro is already soliciting public comment on the second service adjustments that are intended to go into effect in September. The current proposal is available on Metro’s Have a Say website, click here. During this round of service adjustments, the District 2 buses that are most impacted are in the Central Area (Routes 2, 3, 4, 14, and 27). Metro is hosting an Open House on February 27th at Washington Middle School from 6 pm – 8 pm. I will be there and I hope you will join me to learn more about the proposed bus changes and what they mean to District 2 residents. I want to hear from you, so please email me at larry.gossett@kigncounty.gov about these or other issues about Metro.
Acknowledging the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Powerful Legacy
During the week of Martin Luther King Jr.‘s 83rd birthday celebration, I spoke at two great tributes to Dr. King. The first was sponsored by King County government and held at Benaroya Hall on Thursday, January 12, 2012, and the second was organized by the Seattle based, Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee and took place for the 30th year at Garfield High School, on Monday, January 16, 2012.
Participants at the 30th annual MLK Day march & rally preparing to march to the Federal Building to honor Dr. King's life and legacy. |
At both events my remarks focused on educating the thousands of people who participated about how Dr King’s vision and priorities changed during the last three years of his life (1966-1968). He methodically began explaining to millions of Americans the need to transform our movement, from a civil rights to a human rights struggle. This is why he started to talk about the need for ending the war in Vietnam and eliminating poverty in the United States of America. This is why I thought, for once, a new emphasis was necessary. It occurred to me that for decades most celebrations of Dr. King’s life have centered around his 1963, “I Have A Dream,” speech, in which he powerfully cast a light on why Americans must support passage of the civil rights bill. Who could ever forget his imagery, when he said I dream of a day “when little black boys and girls could walk hand in hand with little white boys and girls” without being subjected to humiliating signs requiring them to walk down separate roads, drink out of separate fountains, and attend separate schools.
This was an historic and necessary speech when he gave it in 1963, but during the last years of his life he had taken the struggle to a much higher level - one which is not talked about enough when we get together to celebrate his birthday and discuss the meaning of his legacy.
During the years 1966 – 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. increasingly challenged our nation’s economic and political leaders irrational allegiance to materialism and technological development as well as their stubborn desire to look at all international conflict through the lens of anti-communism. During those three years, he called for more fundamental changes in our country including bringing an end to poverty in the richest country in the world, immediately withdrawing our troops out of Vietnam, and dismantling the undergirding of white privilege in a manner that would cause the foundations of institutional racism to crumble into little pieces of sand so they could be swept into the dustpan of history. A shrinking number of people in our community are aware that one of the main themes articulated by Dr. King during the last period of his life was the need to reprioritize our nation’s spending on people - not on foreign investments, wars and increased profits for the rich.
An example of this was the 1967 announcement of his Poor People’s Campaign, with the aim of bringing thousands of poor people of every nationality into the halls of Congress. He carried his message to Whites residing in the Appalachian Mountains, Native Americans on their Reservations and Latinos in urban barrios. He wanted them to join Blacks from around the country in massive caravans that would meet in Washington D.C. during the month of June 1968 to start pressuring their Congressional representatives to support the legislative platform of the Poor People’s Campaign.
Dr. King was vilified for launching this campaign, slandered, and accused of polarizing people on the basis of race by millions of Americans and the power elite. Unease with facing up to the fact that so many Americans resisted his call for a more transformative democracy has lead us to refuse to talk about the kind of legislation he was pushing for in 1968 (guaranteed annual income, health care for all, doubling of the minimum wage, etc). And we certainly have not been encouraged since Dr. King’s death to initiate a dialogue as to whether or not these kinds of demands may still be relevant or needed today.
Currently, the political debate in our nation has been dominated by discussions of the economic recession so devastating to millions of poor and working class American families. We are mesmerized by the controversy swirling around the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations - a movement primarily composed of youthful participants who have decried the fact that 99% of the wealth in this country is controlled by just 1% of the population. They are guided by the belief that true democracy in America is not possible until we figure out how to better redistribute wealth among all.
Dr. King’s words still ring true today. If Americans can “forgo greed and learn to live more simply, we could allow the people of Vietnam, and elsewhere around the world to simply live.” Given what is happening today in our county, I find his thought surrounding the war in Vietnam a sobering one. Do you agree?
Gossett to Continue as County Council Chair in 2012
As part of its annual reorganization, the Council unanimously appointed me to serve another term as Chair of the Council. I am honored that my colleagues have given me the responsibility of directing the Council for a second term. I look forward to meeting the challenges and responsibilities of providing mandated services in King County, while supporting those in crisis in our community.
I will also serve as a member on the following committees:
• Government Accountability, Oversight and Financial Performance (GAOFP), Transportation, Economy and Environment (TrEE);
• Law, Justice, Health and Human Services (LJHS); and
• Regional Water Quality Committee (RWQ).
Additionally, I will continue to serve as the Vice-Chair of the King County Ferry District and as member of the Executive Committee of the King County Flood District.
Washington’s Marriage Law – A Commitment to Equality
On February 13, 2012 Washington became the seventh state in the nation to put a law on its books recognizing same-sex marriage. I applaud Governor Christine Gregoire and the Washington State Legislature for this important piece of legislation providing equal opportunities for marriage for same sex couples.
The County Council declared its support for marriage equality in January as part of our adopted 2012 Legislative Agenda for King County. As a long time supporter of marriage equality, I want to thank the proponents of this bill and the organizers of the broad support for this legislation. The support for this landmark law was built over years and years of work and is an important step in opening the doors of equality to all.
Councilmember Gossett speaking at the 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rally sponsored by the MLK Celebration Committee. |
Seattle City Living Article on My Career as a Public Servant
I am honored by the article in Seattle City Living. I was interviewed about my career spent serving the minority and low income communities of Seattle and my commitment to fighting the institutional racism and inherent unfairness that pervades our criminal justice system. The article can be found here.
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