Minimum Wage Advocates Countersue Burien; Council Bill Says Conflict of Interest Recusals Are Bad for Democracy
Today's Afternoon Fizz.
1. Legislation from City Councilmember Cathy Moore that would loosen the city's ethics code to allow council members to vote on issues where they have a financial conflict of interest, as long as they disclose the conflict, is now available on the city's website, along with a staff report outlining the (thin) justification for the proposal.
“This legislation would ensure fuller representation by providing additional opportunity for Councilmembers to participate in legislative matters in which they have a financial interest or other conflict of interest," the memo says.
Currently, council members are supposed to abstain from votes if they have a financial conflict—for example, if they stand to make or lose money if a piece of legislation passes. The most recent example of this was when Tanya Woo recused herself from a committee vote on a proposal to lower the minimum wage for delivery workers; she and her husband own a restaurant.
Historically, it has been vanishingly rare for council members to actually recuse themselves from votes, including when legislation will clearly impact them directly; Airbnb impresario Mike O'Brien, a progressive past council member who owned and rented out several houses, proposed and voted on legislation imposing new regulations on Airbnb owners, for example.
Weakening the ethics rules further would just ensure that recusal is completely off the table, even in the case of egregious conflicts of interest—like a council member approving legislation that would increase the value of their own property, or create a job for a family member.
According to the memo, "This legislation would ensure fuller representation by providing additional opportunity for Councilmembers to participate in legislative matters in which they have a financial interest or other conflict of interest."
By exempting the council from recusal requirements, the staff memo notes, Moore's legislation would create a double standard for financial conflicts: Other elected officials and city employees would still be required to recuse themselves from making decisions when they have a financial interest in the outcome.
2. Quick update on the city of Burien's lawsuit seeking to overturn a new, voter-approved minimum wage: In April, the Transit Riders Union and Katie Wilson (who's now running for Seattle mayor) countersued the city, saying that Burien illegally rejected the minimum wage initiative and attempted to interfere with the campaign for a higher minimum wage by passing a lower minimum wage after the measure qualified for the ballot.
The lawsuit accuses Burien of violating the 1st and 14th Amendment by depriving people of the substantive right to vote and of violating the state constitution, which designates the right to petition the government through initiative as a fundamental right under the US Constitution.
As we've reported, the minimum wage initiative raised Burien's minimum wage to the same minimum wage as Tukwila's, currently $21.10 an hour. The minimum wage passed by the Burien City Council would require employers to provide "total compensation," including tips, health care, and other benefits, of $19.66 an hour; tipped employees and anyone who receives benefits worth more than $3 an hour would receive the state minimum wage of $16.66 an hour.
"In addition" the countersuit says, "Burien has failed to pay the legal minimum wage required by the Initiative and is currently advertising positions for less than the minimum wage adopted by the Initiative."
As of today, three of the five jobs the city of Burien is advertising pay less than the voter-approved minimum wage, including two that pay just $17.81 an hour.