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Renton Police photo of confiscated fentanyl
Downtown Seattle Association President Jon Scholes succinctly summarized Seattle’s drug situation at his recent State of Downtown address as follows: “We can have a revitalized, thriving downtown with retail and restaurants and arts and culture… or we can have a fentanyl market. We can’t have both,”
Last night our State Legislature set in motion the unconditional decriminalization of possession of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs throughout our state, with no meaningful plan for helping those suffering from addiction to get clean.
As a result, Renton Chamber of Commerce CEO Diane Dobson is urgently echoing a similar message to Seattle’s Jon Scholes to preserve Renton’s business vibrancy. She’s calling on Renton’s Public Safety Chair Kim-Khanh Van to refer the topic into her committee at the Renton City Council meeting tonight.
This is happening all over Washington State today, as cities and counties reel from the news that the State Legislature is taking no action. Even with Governor Inslee now apparently calling for a special session of the legislature, cities and counties have no confidence the state can agree on anything prior to the July 1st deadline. Since so many Counties and cities are passing their own laws, any city without drug laws by July 1st will become a preferred location for drug dealers and users to set up shop. North of us, a Snohomish County Council Member has already indicated sponsorship of a Snohomish County wide drug law, but we are unlikely to see such a law pass in King County.
This issue will almost certainly be brought up at city council tonight, and I encourage those readers with a strong interest in the topic to either attend the council meeting and sign up for audience comment, or email your opinions to council@rentonwa.gov.
Here is Renton Chamber CEO Diane Dobson’s email:
From: Diane Dobson
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2023 1:03 PM
To: Kim-Khanh Van <KVan@Rentonwa.gov>
Subject: Blake Decision – Immediate Action Requested
Greetings Councilmember Van
Public Safety is a huge priority for the Renton Business Community. Our stakeholders and community businesses met multiple times with our State Legislators to discuss the impacts the Blake Decision has seemingly had upon their business and operations and begged our representatives to hear their voices and vote and advocate accordingly.
The Washington Legislators failure to come to an agreement or compromise for the betterment of our community has disappointed us greatly.
In light of the House deciding NOT to pass a negotiated Senate Bill on drug possession in Washington State, the Renton Chamber of Commerce hereby requests the City of Renton to undertake their own conversation and jurisdictional laws to the same.
We respectfully request that you, as the Public Safety Chair, refer this to committee tonight to bring immediate discussions for the same. While Governor Inslee suggests there will be a special session to try again to pass a Blake fix, our Renton community cannot sit idly by and let legislation happen to them. We need to start now.
I thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter that is of utmost importance to our community and our businesses.
Thank you for your continued awareness and importance you place on the safety and security of our Renton community. You are appreciated.
Diane Dobson
CEO
Renton Chamber of Commerce
625 S. 4th St.
Renton, WA 98057
I’m really worried that Kim, Carmen and Ed will just hide the problem in commitie.
It’s a legitimate concern that this item will get buried in a committee. Time is of the essence, as public hearings will be necessary, and any new ordinance may need to be advertised and posted for a matter of weeks before it becomes effective. The clock is ticking on the July 1st date. The Mayor’s office will need to assure that the administration gets the issue scheduled quickly, and the administration should probably push for an emergency ordinance. It could go into committee and come back out in two weeks, and that is what probably needs to happen in this case.
Tonight Kim showed complete lack of leadership in not asking for an emergency meeting of her committee and taking action immediately.
While it is a legitimate concern isn’t it also a legitimate concern for those now running to attempt to get something pushed through before their relections?Please contact your City Council with request for addressing this problem.
https://www.rentonwa.gov/city_hall/city_council