Church Council Rejects CB 120844-5
As part of our Seattle Budget Cycle Organizing work, the Church Council submitted the following testimony to Seattle City Council regarding Council Bill 120844-5:
Dear Council President Nelson and members of the council,
As Co-Executive Directors of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, we are urging you to reject CB 120844 and 1208445 to install CCTV and new RTCC software. We feel you have a duty to invest the intended funds in equitable, evidence-based strategies for violence prevention, not surveillance that puts migrant, transgender, and BIPOC communities in danger.
Throughout the Church Council’s 105-year history in Seattle, we have worked for justice across the city of Seattle. Today, one of our primary organizing priorities is immigration justice. The Church Council’s immigration organizing is led by those in our community navigating the immigration system and in coalition with immigrant justice organizations across the city, county, and state. At a time when Seattle has claimed to be a place of sanctuary for migrants amidst ever-more-threatening national immigration policies and rhetoric, this is the time to listen to what migrant communities are calling for, and what would truly make them feel safe and welcomed. Migrant communities are asking for housing, not investments in surveillance technology that will allow other government agencies to circumvent state laws that protect migrant communities - like Keep Washington Working and the WA Shield Law.
These bills not only put migrant communities at risk, but it also creates harm for the LGBTQ+ community. As increasing transphobic and homophobic polices are passed in the Pacific Northwest and across our country, Seattle is becoming a hub for access to gender affirming healthcare. In 1978, the Church Council stood with Seattle’s LGBTQ+ community as Seattle faced Initiative 13, spearheaded by Anita Bryant. Creating a surveillance infrastructure may allow government agencies from other states to target and potentially criminalize transgender community members seeking gender affirming care in Seattle. In 1978 Seattle voters defeated Initiative 13 nearly 2 to 1, cementing our long-standing value that supports the LGBTQ+ community and causing the campaigns against LGBTQ+ people to “run out of gas.” Passing CB 120844 and 120845 will only add to the fuel of other states targeting the transgender community.
We know Seattle is required to have a balanced budget. As such, every dollar spent on surveillance is a dollar that cannot be invested in evidence-based strategies for violence or community care. As an organization made up of faith communities, we know that budgets represent the morals and values of a community. The values we wish to see in the Seattle budget are ones that prioritize care over punishment. Increased surveillance has psychological impacts on those being surveilled. The proposed use of this surveillance technology will fall disproportionately on Seattle’s BIPOC communities as the areas intended to be surveilled will be population centers with some of the highest percentages of Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Simply put, CB 120844 and 1208445 is not an investment in evidence-based solutions, or in community and does not feel true to the values and morals of our city to eliminate racial disparities.
CCTV and RTCC will not protect our neighborhoods. Instead, it will put our neighbors most impacted by systemic oppression in danger. These invasive devices will increase surveillance, violate our civil rights, and allow ICE and other states’ governments to bypass critical laws that protect migrant, transgender, and BIPOC communities. The Church Council calls Seattle City Council to reject additional surveillance and to invest the allocated $1.5 million in equitable and evidence-based strategies for violence prevention.
Sincerely,
Tara Miller (they, them) Joey Lopez (he, him)
Co-Executive Directors,
Church Council of Greater Seattle