However, something changed in the four days since the vote. On Monday, the council voted 5-2 to mostly exempt Best's salary from the pay caps. Councilmembers Tammy Morales and Sawant voted against. Councilmembers Andrew Lewis, Alex Pedersen, Dan Strauss, Lisa Herbold, and Council President Lorena Gonzalez voted yes. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda abstained, and Debora Juarez was not present.
Herbold proposed a change that would reduce Best's salary from $289,420 to $275,000 instead of to $172,000 as the original amendment proposed.
Herbold admitted she "made an error without having enough information on the impact of this vote" when she initially voted for the amendment. Herbold's big concern was that Best, who manages the largest department in the city, would go from being the third-highest paid department head to the second-lowest paid department head. (FYI, the director of the Department of Neighborhoods is at the bottom of the list.)
Herbold was sweating the idea that the council was advocating for cutting the pay of a Black woman in a "non-traditional sector," and argued she did not want to perpetuate the "race and gender discrimination" Best had experienced in her career.
Herbold worried the council's move would "become the headline" and "distract us from following through on our commitments to policing." She's right about making headlines, but now those headlines will highlight the council's backtracking on commitments they'd made to police reform groups only a week after making them in the first place.
Sawant said she was disappointed that "identity" was being used as an excuse not to cut Best's exorbitant salary, which is above the average for what major city police chiefs make across the country. She added that snipping SPD's budget and Best's salary was "a matter of taking resources away from where they’re not being used effectively."
Agree but it's still only a stop-gap when your state is going bankrupt from dem policies, if that money is gone so is your pension
I honestly think that anyone with a spine would either resign or stop enforcing unconstitutional orders by tyrannical mayors.
I think they walked back reduction of her salary - 'cus black woman (and I am not even joking).
https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/08/10/44260079/the-city-council-is-already-rolling-back-commitments-to-defund-the-police
However, something changed in the four days since the vote. On Monday, the council voted 5-2 to mostly exempt Best's salary from the pay caps. Councilmembers Tammy Morales and Sawant voted against. Councilmembers Andrew Lewis, Alex Pedersen, Dan Strauss, Lisa Herbold, and Council President Lorena Gonzalez voted yes. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda abstained, and Debora Juarez was not present.
Herbold proposed a change that would reduce Best's salary from $289,420 to $275,000 instead of to $172,000 as the original amendment proposed.
Herbold admitted she "made an error without having enough information on the impact of this vote" when she initially voted for the amendment. Herbold's big concern was that Best, who manages the largest department in the city, would go from being the third-highest paid department head to the second-lowest paid department head. (FYI, the director of the Department of Neighborhoods is at the bottom of the list.)
Herbold was sweating the idea that the council was advocating for cutting the pay of a Black woman in a "non-traditional sector," and argued she did not want to perpetuate the "race and gender discrimination" Best had experienced in her career.
Herbold worried the council's move would "become the headline" and "distract us from following through on our commitments to policing." She's right about making headlines, but now those headlines will highlight the council's backtracking on commitments they'd made to police reform groups only a week after making them in the first place.
Sawant said she was disappointed that "identity" was being used as an excuse not to cut Best's exorbitant salary, which is above the average for what major city police chiefs make across the country. She added that snipping SPD's budget and Best's salary was "a matter of taking resources away from where they’re not being used effectively."
Absolute clown world
I'm not a PNW person, but all I read was, "Going gets tough, diversity hire quits".
Racist left just forced a successful black woman out of her job.