- Richard Conlin
Richard Conlin is current (as of January 2008) president of the
Seattle City Council , first elected in1997 and reelected in2001 and2005 .Council duties
As of August
2006 , Conlin is chair of the Environment, Emergency Management & Utilities Committee, and chair of the Annexation Committee.Conlin is a member of Urban Planning & Development Committee; and of Parks, Education, Libraries & Labor Committee.
The areas of focus in his current role are public health, sustainability, and the environment. Under the banner of environment, he is involved in efforts to improve the salmon population.
Conlin is involved in emergency response planning for Seattle.
Background
Conlin received a B.A. in History from
Michigan State University (1968 ), as well as a Master's degree in Political Science (1971 ).Conlin spent time teaching public administration at the
University of Botswana andUniversity of Swaziland .Controversy
Conlin sponsored the July 16, 2007 [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=&s2=&s3=30990&s4=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect1=IMAGE&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=RESN1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=RES3&p=1&u=%2F~public%2Fresn1.htm&r=1&f=G Zero Waste Strategy, Resolution 30990] which directed
Seattle Public Utilities to produce recommendations by December 2007 on whether to ban or discourage through taxation non-compostable plastic shopping bags andStyrofoam food containers.The ensuing December 2007 report by
Elway Research found 89% citizen support for both voluntary reductions in plastic bag use at the store level and 87% support for provide recycling bins for shoppers, with 63% outright opposing bag fees for shoppers. [http://www.seattlebagtax.org/spusurvey_dec2007.pdf]A further January 29, 2008 report from SPU and Herrera Environmental Consultants inresponse to the Resolution 30990 directive found 6 in 10 residents opposed a fee on shoppers for every plastic bag or for any type of disposable bag including paper, as Seattle's plastic bag recycling rate is between 2.5 to 4 times the national average. [http://www.seattle.gov/util/stellent/groups/public/@spu/@csb/documents/webcontent/spu01_003520.pdf] Additionally noting, "Experience and stakeholder input suggests that any strategy implemented for disposable shopping bags should address all disposable shopping bags (of all materials), at all retail outlets that provide them." [http://www.seattlebagtax.org/herrera1.pdf]
On July 28, 2008 Conlin sponsored [http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?s1=bag+fee&s2=&s3=&s4=&s5=&Sect4=and&l=20&Sect2=THESON&Sect3=PLURON&Sect5=CBOR1&Sect6=HITOFF&d=CBOR&p=1&u=%2F~public%2Fcbor1.htm&r=1&f=G Seattle's Bag Fee Law] which creates a 20-cent fee for bags provided at convenience, drug and grocery store retailers. Businesses with under one million dollars in annual sales are omitted and retain all proceeds. The measure passed the city council by a 6-1 margin. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008078323_apwabagfee4thldwritethru.html]
Conlin cited "litter in our streets and parks" and economical costs [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004324267_bagfee03m.html] in opposition to the findings that Seattle resident's selecting fees as the lowest priority of four options, a 3 to 1 preference for uniform application of the fee to all businesses, and 87% favoring fee of 10 cents or less if a fee were required at all. [http://www.seattlebagtax.org/herrera2.pdf]
On August 8, 2008, Washington Food Industry, a trade group representing independent grocery stores, launched a petition drive against the ordinance. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/374525_bags12.html] , needing 14,374 voter signatures in three weeks to place the measure on the ballot. In two weeks, the Coalition to Stop the Seattle Bag Tax collected and delivered over 20,000 signatures to the City Clerk. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/376383_plastic26.html] , On September 15, the petition was certified by the King County Elections Office [http://www.kirotv.com/news/17490452/detail.html] , delaying implementation of the fee pending a public vote.
References
External links
* [http://www.seattle.gov/council/conlin/ Richard Conlin on Seattle City Council website]
* [http://www.vgt2004.org/a-seattlepi05/candidate-detail.go?id=2804116 Seattle Post-Intelligencer's candidate voters' guide]
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