House Bill 1504, a bill that eliminates the death penalty in Washington, received a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee this morning. The Safe and Just Alternatives Campaign produced a short but powerful case for why our state should follow the 17 others that have ended this practice.
As I’ve written previously, I oppose the death penalty. There is a lack of evidence that this form of punishment deters crime, but an abundance of evidence that it costs society much more and is used arbitrarily and disproportionately across racial lines. Our society has been unable to justly administer this ultimate exercise of power. Too many lives have been ruined as a result.
Tim is a former member of the Seattle City Council (2008-2017). He served as the city’s 55th mayor for 71 days after the previous mayor resigned in 2017 and served as a deputy mayor in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s administration (2022-2025). Tim was the lead architect of the Seattle Preschool Program, first adopted by Seattle voters in 2014 and since renewed and expanded. He focused much of his work as a public official on the critical birth-to-five years of a child’s life, stronger police effectiveness and accountability, economic development, and building the common good. While serving as mayor in 2017, Tim negotiated an agreement with Seattle Public Schools to replace Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center (originally built in 1949). The new stadium will open in the Fall of 2027.
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