Council News Release

Councilmember Tim Burgess

COUNCIL COMBINES PUBLIC SAFETY, HUMAN SERVICES AND EDUCATION OVERSIGHT IN NEW COMMITTEE
Burgess to chair revamped committee

SEATTLE – The Council today appointed new Councilmember Tim Burgess to chair a committee that combines oversight of the Police and Fire departments, Human Services, and the Council’s partnership with the Seattle School District.

Councilmember Burgess had suggested the new committee to his colleagues after he won election to the Council in November. “Public safety does not only depend on police officers and firefighters but also on homeless shelters, school teachers, addiction counselors, and food banks,” Councilmember Burgess said. “By bringing together those city services charged with protecting the public, including the most vulnerable among us, I hope to advance a more holistic vision of public safety. I’m very open to innovative thinking and helping people see the importance of broadly understood and supported public safety goals.”

In addition to chairing the Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee, Burgess will serve as vice-chair of the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee. He will be a member of the Environment, Emergency Management and Utilities Committee and the Labor Policy Committee.

“I’m looking forward to serving the citizens of Seattle and, with my colleagues, taking advantage of the opportunities we have to keep this a great city,” Councilmember Burgess said.

Burgess took the oath of office today becoming the 313th member of the City Council since Seattle’s incorporation in 1869. Burgess is a former journalist and Seattle police detective. He ran a marketing consulting business in downtown Seattle for the past 22 years, growing the business to more than 150 employees with satellite offices in Atlanta and London, England. He served 12 years on the city’s Ethics and Elections Commission and chaired a special Council citizens’ commission that reviewed police planning and response following the World Trade Organization disturbances of late 1999.

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City Council