Advocacy In Action

As the CEO of the Spokane Business Association and former CFO for the city of Spokane for 18 years, I am deeply concerned about proposed changes to Spokane City Council’s rules. These changes are being rushed through and are set for a vote Monday. If adopted, the changes will further diminish the ability of our city government to address Spokane’s most pressing needs, such as the ongoing public safety crisis in our downtown and neighborhoods including the critical need for effective programs to assist our most vulnerable populations.

The council majority’s proposed changes include the following:

• Move the weekly City Council meetings from Monday evenings to Tuesday.

For over 60 years, Spokane’s council meetings have been held on Monday nights, providing consistency for citizens, elected officials and stakeholders alike, providing an important opportunity for open forum from their constituents. On Monday afternoons, the council has a briefing session as well. Shifting these meetings to Tuesday would not only conflict with Spokane County Board of Commissioners public meetings in the afternoon, making it difficult for engaged citizens and leaders to attend both, but also penalizes one council member whose schedule conflict on Tuesdays is well known. Proposing and trying to push through a procedural change for Tuesday meetings, after 60-plus years of Monday meetings reeks of a hidden political agenda.

• Reduce public testimony on legislative items from three minutes to two minutes.

Public testimony is a cornerstone of local democratic governance, allowing residents to voice their concerns and perspectives on issues that impact their lives. Shortening this time – without any compelling justification – sends the message that the voices of Spokane’s residents are less valued. At a time when civic engagement is more critical than ever, this move risks alienating the very people local government exists to serve.

• Require sponsorship by three council members – up from the current two – to place an item on the legislative agenda.

Each district has two council representatives so this change effectively silences the minority party and makes it so no single district can advance legislation. This is not a fair representation of any one district or of you, the people.

All these changes undermine the principle of equitable representation and further entrench the partisan divides that have already eliminated the city’s ability to govern collaboratively – I believe most of us agree we have seen too much of that already!

As the former chief financial officer for the city of Spokane nearly two decades, I have witnessed firsthand the power of collaboration and bipartisan cooperation in achieving remarkable results for our community. During my tenure as CFO, we raised the city’s credit rating six notches – from near junk status to AA. Through partnerships across party lines, we consistently balanced budgets – often with unanimous Council support – built strong reserves, dropped utility rate increases from over 10% annually to below 3% annually for 12 straight years, cleaned up the Spokane River, rebuilt crumbling infrastructure, restored Riverfront Park, and, with our local business community, brought about a remarkable renaissance in our downtown.

We desperately need new successes like these, but they can only happen through a renewed commitment to bipartisanship and collaboration.

I urge Spokane residents to immediately ask our City Council to reconsider these changes – and our mayor to oppose them – and instead prioritize policies that foster collaboration and create outcomes. This is not a partisan or political issue – regardless of which party is in the majority, this is about getting things done for the good of our community.

Spokane has always thrived when we have come together to solve our challenges and make great things happen – let’s not lose sight of that spirit now.

Gavin Cooley
Spokane Business Association CEO