President Elect Beth Knox called the Seattle Rotary Club #4 to order at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.
Knox spoke about the City Day of Service scheduled for May 21. 3,000 volunteers have signed up. The Downtown Seattle Association along with President Elect Knox are involved in an effort to help restore vibrancy in downtown Seattle and are working on welcome back events, scheduled for May 18, 19, 20th from 4-6 p.m. There will be local Seattle bands playing and sports celebrities in attendance. More details about these concerts can be found in the May 13 newsletter.
President Elect Knox introduced the Song of the Day: Star Spangled banner performed by Don Murphy and Freeman Fong.
Bill Center led Rotarians with the Inspiration for the Day:
Bill said Ukraine was as divided as America prior to the Russian invasion. He pondered the question, what would it take to unite America again? He suggested that each of us has a role to play. Bill suggestions finding common ground with people you may disagree with, listen carefully, smile, and be nice.
President Elect Knox thanked Don and Freeman for the song of the day and asked Mary Goldie to introduce guests of the Rotary.
A video with the song “Walking on Sunshine”, highlighting the anniversary of Rotarians and are as follows:
One year: Brenda Barnes, Tim Cummins, Justice Steve Gonzalez, Jonathan Harvey, Yvonne Richards, and Scott Slater
Ten years: Peter Wright
Twenty years: Jerilyn Brusseau and John Kilpatrick.
Bobbie Bridge, former Washington State Supreme Court Associate Justice, introduced the main speaker of the day, Ann Davison, Seattle City Attorney. Bobbie described the functions of the City Attorney’s office. The Office prosecutes misdemeanors which make up approximately 80% of the crime in the city. When City Attorney Davison took office, there was a backlog of 5,000 criminal cases. Ms. Davison is the first female City Attorney as well as a mom. She received her BA from Baylor University and her JD Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law.
Ann Davison, Seattle City Attorney
Ms. Davison thanked Rotary for inviting her.
She said an important factor in how she views her role is the impact it has on children. Children are processing what they see in the world and how things work around them.
Ms. Davison reviewed the City Attorney’s Office functions via a slide show.
The office has Civil, Misdemeanor and Criminal divisions. Approximately 100 attorneys and 100 support staff are employed at the City Attorney’s Office.
She stressed the importance of establishing a close working relationship within a “public safety circle” consisting of the Seattle Police Department, King County Prosecutor, and King County Jail.
The Seattle Charter gives the City Attorney’s Office oversight responsibilities of the following: assault, theft, criminal trespass, DUI, and domestic violence.
The Civil Division responds to lawsuits against the City.
Ms. Davidson reiterated the backlog of 5,000 cases she inherited when she became City Attorney. Some of the cases are too late to prosecute because of the Statutes of Limitations.
She said figuring out which cases to let go and which cases to prosecute is a top priority.
When she came to office, the average waiting time for the City Attorney’s Office to respond to whether charges would be filed or not was 334 days. She wants to bring the response time down to six days.
She said her office is very concerned about the people who are crying out for help and have been overlooked and ignored. This has allowed them to continue their self-destructive behavior.
The number of repeat victims of crime is too high. She believes that community court has its place but not for repeat criminal or violent behavior. She said one of her goals is to make sure that more victims are not traumatized.
John Steckler led the Q & A:
Q: The City of Seattle’s settlement with the Seattle Times on the deleted text messaging.
A: Can’t comment
Q: How is your department looking to reduce crime in the longer term?
A: Multiple offenses calls for a change in behavior or they will fall back into old patterns.
Q: How will justice be served to the 2,000 criminals if their cases are dropped?
A: Response must be quicker in order to close the time gap. It is prioritizing cases that weren’t followed up on.
Q: How do you prioritize cases?
A: It depends on the severity of the crime and how long ago it happened.
Q: What can your office do about SPD apathy?
A: Our partnership with the police is important. The City Attorney’s office must establish a partnership with the Seattle Police. That includes thanking them, which I have done and will continue to do. It makes a difference.
Q: What are your thoughts on the reductions in police force?
A: It is concerning. Police officers can’t respond and we don’t get a referral. We must all play our roles. This is an issue.
Q: What is being done to clean up graffiti?
A: I don’t know why it is out of control. Seattle used to have graffiti enforcement.
John thanked Ms. Davison for coming to Rotary. He announced that 600 servings of fresh produce to Harvest Against Hunger will be donated in her name.
John also thanked the sponsors:
Liz Powell, REMAX on Market
Bob Alexander
Joel Farrell, Morgan Stanley
Dominik Musafia, Seattle Divorce Options
Jacobson Jarvis, Certified Public Accountants
Matt Bratlien, Net Tech Pro Bono IT Services
Stan Crissey spoke about the importance of Bloodworks Northwest Blood Drive. He reminisced about the Dupont train accident several years ago, that resulted in 3 deaths and 57 injuries. There was a successful blood drive just several days earlier and that resulted in saving a number of lives. To schedule an appointment to donate during the current campaign, please call 1-800-398-7888 or go to www.bloodworksnw.org. Be Bold 4 Blood!
Next week’s Rotary Club meeting will be held at the Rainier Club as well as Zoom. A tour of an Edward Curtis photography exhibit at the Rainier Club gallery will follow the meeting for those who wish to attend.
David Fain introduced next week’s speaker:
President Elect Knox will be back but in her role as CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission (SSC). She will talk about how the sports scene is helping in our regional comeback. She will address the existing sports scene and how the SSC is driving future sports opportunities in Seattle.
In closing, President Elect Knox announced a breakout session following the meeting with Bill Center. Bill talked about the latest developments in Ukraine.
The meeting adjourned at 1:29 p.m.
Thank you to meeting reporter Paul Casey for this week's report!
