All Policy is Local

Our guest for this episode is Seattle Public Library Chief Librarian Tom Fay.  From their efforts to fight back against book bans to the launch of it's annual Book Bingo competition, the Seattle Public Library is a treasure trove full of resources. Get a special insight into their upcoming summer plans, and the opportunities they have in store for Seattle residents.

Join Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis as he sits down with Shemona Moreno, the executive director of 350 Seattle, an organization fighting for climate justice. In this podcast, they examine the critical role of grassroots activism in addressing the climate crisis and get a look at 350 Seattle's next big campaign — curbing pollution caused by buildings.

SIFF Executive Director Tom Mara gives Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis a special sneak peek inside the Cinerama -- an iconic movie theater in the city's downtown that closed in 2020. In May 2023, SIFF announced they would buy the Cinerama. In this special video episode of the All Policy is Local podcast, Mara talks about what went into the decision and what the future of the theater (and it's famous chocolate popcorn) holds.The video form of this podcast can be found here. The intro includes audio from This is Cinerama (1952) and KUOW (2020). 

Former Congressman Don Bonker talks about the top lessons learned during his nearly 60-years in politics. Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis cover a wide range of local and national political topics including election security, campaign finance, good governance, building a good team, and Washington State’s emergence as a leader in worldwide trade. 

Proposition One - The Crisis Care Centers Levy is on its way to being approved by voters in King County. It will fund five new crisis care centers in the coming years. But, one King County city is ahead of the curve and will be opening their own mental health crisis center next spring.  In this episode of All Policy is Local, Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis interviews Kirkland Councilmember Neal Black about his city's work to bring this critical resources online. The councilmembers also talk about the new dual dispatch system Kirkland has created to help get people there by sending mental health professionals to crisis calls along with police officers. 2:37 | What Seattle can learn from the way Kirkland responds to people in mental health crisis 15:10 | How Kirkland created their own mental health crisis center 21:00 | The 'no wrong door' system 21:45 | Where the mental health crisis center will be built 28:38 | What happens when people leave treatment and need housing?

Fresh of the heels of Seattle passing Initiative 135, Camilla Walter, executive director of Real Change, breaks down the future of social housing in Seattle and other crucial work to support people experiencing homelessness. 

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis sits down with Jazmine Smith, political manager for Washington Bus, and Rian Watt, board member of the Urbanist and Futurewise, on March 9, 2023, after a major deadline for bills to be passed by the Washington State Legislature. They discuss what's happening with key bills aimed at addressing Washington and Seattle's housing crisis and strengthening our democracy.That includes:  HB 1110: Increasing middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family detached housing (01:30) HB 1755: Establishing the democracy voucher program for contributions to state legislative candidates (12:06) SB 5723: Giving cities and towns the freedom to switch their general elections to even-numbered years (17:40) HB 1181: Improving the state's response to climate change by updating the state's planning framework (21:13) SB 5208: Updating the process for online voter registration by allowing voter applicants to provide the last four digits of social security number for authentication (27:33) SB 5466: Promoting transit-oriented development (36:37) SB 5082: Encouraging electoral participation and making ballots more meaningful by abolishing advisory votes (42:55) SB 5112: Updating processes related to voter registration (48:15)

AP Diaz, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s nominee to be the next Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation, sat down with Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis to discuss his vision for the future of Seattle’s parks ahead of his confirmation hearing. 

Robert Nellams, the executive director of the Seattle Center since 2006, is retiring. Before he left, he sat down with Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis to discuss how he guided Seattle Center through the loss of the SuperSonics into its biggest revitalization since the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. 

Tiny house villages are a central piece of Seattle and King County's efforts to address our homelessness emergency. Barb Oliver of Sound Foundations Northwest, the organization that's bringing people together to build the homes, talks with Seattle City Councilmember Andrew J. Lewis about what it takes to construct them and what we need to do to end homelessness.