Scott Alspach
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salspach.bsky.social
Scott Alspach
@salspach.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1K following 330 posts
Seattleite. Urbanist.
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salspach.bsky.social
Can anyone explain to me why these zoning maps are so bad AND the head of OPCD is staying on? Feels like a contradiction.
January 30, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
typewriteralley.bsky.social
OPCD has released the final proposed zoning maps for Phase 2 of the Comprehensive Plan, implementing "Centers and Corridors."
one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/zoning...
Zoning Map
Centers and Corridors Zoning Changes The map below shows proposed zoning changes released and transmitted to the City Council in January 2026 as part of the Centers and Corridors Legislation. OPCD has...
one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com
January 29, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
whstancil.bsky.social
I’m so glad you went. I had many people ask me - “is it safe? Should I leave my phone and ID at home? Do I need an exit strategy?”

We’re building this bizarre and paranoid civic culture based almost entirely on miasmatic online fear endlessly feeding itself. Selma marchers didn’t even mask!
slugparade.bsky.social Slug🏳️‍🌈 @slugparade.bsky.social · 8h
Online security theater posting made me really afraid about having my phone or showing my face before going to a no kings protest and then when I got there it was a great time and my mom was taking pictures of everything lol. I felt ridiculous because I almost didn’t go people made it sound so risky
January 30, 2026 at 4:33 PM
salspach.bsky.social
We should bill Jenny Durkan and Carmen Best for this.
willjames.bsky.social Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 1d
Breaking: A jury has found the city of Seattle liable for the death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., who was shot and killed in CHOP in 2020.

The juror awarded $29 million to his father, Antonio Mays Sr.

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Seattle CHOP verdict: City must pay $29 million to family of slain teen
A King County jury found Seattle was negligent in its response to the fatal shooting of a teenager in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone in 2020.
www.seattletimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
gordonofseattle.bsky.social
Want to help tighten regulations around drunk driving in less than 2 minutes?
1) Go to: app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?se...
2) Click: HB2362 Impaired Driving
3) Click: "I would like my position noted for the legislative record" (or submit a written comment if you want)
4) Fill out the form
January 29, 2026 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
ericacbarnett.bsky.social
Former mayor Bruce Harrell remains entitled and unreflective to the end, blaming the public for not giving him enough credit for an "effective" term, @kromandavid.bsky.social reports.

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Bruce Harrell says his loss didn’t cause reflection, or at least won’t show it
Bruce Harrell spent more time in Seattle City Hall than anyone currently elected combined. He said he tried to hold himself as an unflappable leader. But he lost.
www.seattletimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
normcharlatan.bsky.social
Here’s the deal, they captured my face standing outside of my kid’s preschool in a high-viz vest. The database is going to be so big it’ll be useless. Employers will ask why you aren’t in the database and unless you explain you were doing mutual aid, the people hiring will think you’re a bad person.
dbrauer.net David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 3d
TOM HOMAN: “We’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeding and assault, we’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on TV. We’re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in their schools, know who these people are.”
January 27, 2026 at 6:24 PM
salspach.bsky.social
I know the Wilson administration doesn't want to fire the police chief right away but this has got to change ASAP or Barnes needs to go.
ericacbarnett.bsky.social Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 4d
Seattle's crisis response team leader Amy Barden hasn't met with Police Chief Shon Barnes since Bruce Harrell appointed him in 2024, despite the fact that the two departments are supposed to work together to decide which 911 calls require cops and which require a social work/mental health response.
ericacbarnett.bsky.social Erica C. Barnett @ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 4d
Two Years In, CARE Chief Amy Barden Says Her Crisis Response Team Still Faces Roadblocks

It's the latest episode of Seattle Nice!

publicola.com/2026/01/26/t...
January 27, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
1. I am a resident of the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I am over 18 years of age. I am a children's entertainer who specializes in face painting. 2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26th where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28th. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them-he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building. 18. I am disgusted and gutted at how they are treating my neighbors and my state. I keep alternating between crying and feeling determined it is important to remember the value of documenting injustice. We show up for the people who need us to bear witness, because it can't just be one group of people bearing the brunt of their tyranny. This is a struggle to protect our freedom and democracy, those things are on the line. He lost his life for those values. I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct. Dated and signed on Jan 24, 2026 in Hennepin County, State of Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
repemilyrandall.bsky.social
Lawless DHS agents are out of control. Murdering people in the streets, detaining children on their way home from school, and terrorizing our communities. That's why I voted FUCK NO on the DHS funding package. Secretary Noem must be impeached. We have to stop this fascist takeover of our county.
January 24, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
musicologyduck.bsky.social
holy crap youtube.com/shorts/hyqtA...
ICE is full of COWARDS. They are all absolute, pathetic, untrained COWARDS. DEFUND AND PROSECUTE.
YouTube video by Seth Moulton
youtube.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
bhennrich.bsky.social
If you want to support my run to replace #MGPisGOP with HONEST leadership. Please DONATE TODAY at www.BH4C.win Together we can take this seat and do our part to flip the House BLUE!
Donate to Democrat Brent Hennrich for Congress
Together we will STOP Project 2025
www.BH4C.win
January 23, 2026 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
bhennrich.bsky.social
Our community deserves someone willing to stand up and deliver impactful leadership. And yet Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez, along with 6 other Democrats in the House, just voted through a funding bill that will give ICE billions of dollars with minimal guardrails.

1/6
January 22, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
onefussyone.bsky.social
Reps Tarra Simmons and Shaun Scott have introduced a bill in the WA State Legislature that would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from hiring individuals who were previously employed as sworn officers with ICE on or after Jan 20, 2025.

This is called an idea whose time has arrived.
January 23, 2026 at 4:21 AM
salspach.bsky.social
Just checking in on how the "AOC of the Washington Senate" is doing. That chamber cash must be pretty sweet.
Screen shot showing former Washington State Senator, and current leader of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Joe Nguyen signing in to testify against HB 2100 which is a payroll expense tax on high incomes to fund the Well Washington Fund. Also shown is former State Senator and current head of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce Joe Fain who lost his reelection bid after he was accused of sexual assault. Excerpt from an article in The Stranger about Joe Nguyen. "Nguyen also runs his office a little differently than some of the other senators. At their first all-staff meeting, Nguyen laid out a mission statement, which is apparently another uncommon practice among senators. He said he wanted to be known as the office that "puts people before profit," a familiar refrain from his campaign."
January 22, 2026 at 7:31 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
hannahkrieg.bsky.social
NEW: A bunch of Washington Dems in deep blue districts are legitimatizing right wing craze over age verification obscenity laws that endanger your privacy and free speech just to appease pearl clutchers and make kids sneakier about how they watch porn www.theburnerseattle.com/post/biparti...
Bipartisan Caucus of Prudes Push Age Verification For Sexual Content In WA Legislature
If it sounds like a bill you’d read about in a red state, that’s because it is. A bipartisan coalition in the Washington State legislature is borrowing from policy “role models” such as Texas, Florida...
www.theburnerseattle.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
fixthel8.bsky.social
Transit riders have been forced to sit through traffic on Seattle’s slowest and least reliable bus for decades. Finally we have a mayor willing to prioritize mobility and the climate to improve our transit system and give Seattleites the freedom of mobility they deserve. Roll out the red carpet!
January 16, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
notlikewe.bsky.social
what a legend lmao
January 14, 2026 at 12:22 AM
salspach.bsky.social
I've gotten to know Nilu through the 46th Dems and she would make a fantastic city council member. I'm not in D5 myself but look forward to supporting her campaign this year!
amysundberg.bsky.social Amy Sundberg @amysundberg.bsky.social · 15d
Yesterday I sat down and chatted with Nilu Jenks about her run for the D5 Seattle City Council seat. A first generation Iranian American, Jenks is particularly passionate about climate action and democracy, and we talked about a wide range of subjects.

www.theurbanist.org/2026/01/15/c...
Climate Advocate Nilu Jenks Announces D5 Seattle Council Campaign » The Urbanist
# Lake City activist Nilu Jenks is the first to jump in the race for Seattle City Council’s District 5. The special election could determine control of the council next year. The first-generation Iran...
www.theurbanist.org
January 15, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
ericacbarnett.bsky.social
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is announcing two executive orders today. First, she's launching an effort to ID and prioritize public land to site new shelter for people like those living at a large encampment in Ballard, where she paused an encampment removal yesterday.
January 15, 2026 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
ronpdavis.bsky.social
Seattle "ethics" board FINED Katie Wilson for getting childcare help from her parents. But it was cool for Bruce Harrell to use city resources to campaign & they won't investigate his brazen coordination with his $$$ PAC.

Hypocritical, sexist, classist bullshit.

www.tiktok.com/@rondezvouss...
January 15, 2026 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Minneapolis police chief comes out 100% in support of ICE
January 15, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
bubbaprog.xyz
Here's Jacob Frey & his police chief. Is Frey telling his police to protect his own residents? No! He's letting his police chief order protestors to stop exercising their first amendment rights, and calling them "criminal demonstrators"
January 15, 2026 at 4:33 AM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
poulchapman.bsky.social
So far Wayne Barnett and Marc Mayo of the SEEC have refused to comply with Seattle law and investigate 2 elections complaints I submitted against Harrell

PAC collusion: drive.google.com/file/d/1LfXK...

Fundraising from city employees: drive.google.com/file/d/1Tj4C...
January 14, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Scott Alspach
typewriteralley.bsky.social
Hot off the presses: the @theurbanist.org interview with new Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
www.theurbanist.org/2026/01/13/o...
One Week In, Katie Wilson Charts the Path Ahead » The Urbanist
# The Urbanist recently sat down with Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson to get the latest on initiatives she has cooking now that her team is in office. We touched on emergency housing, bus lanes, World Cup ...
www.theurbanist.org
January 13, 2026 at 9:18 PM