Office of the Mayor

City of Seattle

Edward B. Murray, Mayor

Executive Order 2014-02: Race and Social Justice Initiative

This Executive Order affirms the City of Seattle's commitment to the Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), and expand RSJI's work to include measurable outcomes, greater accountability, and community-wide efforts to achieve racial equity in our community.

WHEREAS, racial and social disparities persist across key indicators of success in Seattle, including education, equitable development, health, housing, jobs, criminal justice, environment, service equity and arts and culture;

WHEREAS, in 2004 the City of Seattle launched a Race and Social Justice Initiative, led by the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR), with the vision of achieving racial equity in the community and the mission of ending institutionalized racism in City government, promoting inclusion and full participation of all residents, and partnering with the community to achieve racial equity across Seattle;

WHEREAS, Seattle is the first city in the United States to undertake an initiative that focuses explicitly on institutional racism and has become a national leader in efforts to achieve racial equity;

WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed Resolution 31164 on December 1, 2009 affirming the City's Race and Social Justice Initiative and directing City departments to use available tools to end racial inequities across key indicators of success;

WHEREAS, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued Executive Orders in 2010 and 2012 requiring City departments to develop and implement outreach strategies and Inclusion Plans to increase the City's contracts with women and minority owned businesses;

WHEREAS, equity is a cornerstone of a thriving democracy and the internal actions of local government that contribute to the health and well-being of everyone in our city; and

WHEREAS, local government leadership is necessary to achieve racial equity in the community, and it is also necessary for local government to work in collaboration with regional and national partners, both within government and across sectors;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, EDWARD B. MURRAY, Mayor of Seattle, hereby affirm the City's commitment to the Race and Social Justice Initiative, and order the following actions to expand the scope and reach of the City's commitment to achieve racial equity. To this end, I direct City departments to adopt the following:

Section 1: Measurable Outcomes and Greater Accountability.

A. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights will establish and implement new goals, and track outcomes over time and publish a report on an annual basis to report the City's progress towards achieving racial equity. The City will measure the collective actions and policies in the following nine Equity Areas: education, equitable development, criminal justice, jobs, housing, health, environment, service equity, and arts and culture.

B. The City will use a Race and Social Justice Assessment Program developed and implemented by SOCR to review departmental work and City initiatives at the request of the Mayor and by community request. The assessment tool will help to identify opportunities for improvement and ensure community accountability. The assessment will review programs, policies and practices, including community engagement efforts, community representation, mechanisms for tracking progress over time, and alignment with other departmental and Citywide programs and policies.

C. The City will incorporate a racial equity lens in citywide initiatives, such as legislation to increase the minimum wage, efforts to ensure affordable housing and coordinated planning for equitable growth and development.

D. The Budget Office will continue to require use of the City's Racial Equity Toolkit on all budget proposals, and City departments will expand their use of the Racial Equity Toolkit as part of all program and policy planning processes.

E. Department directors or their deputies will participate in the RSJI Subcabinet, led by the SOCR. The RSJI Subcabinet will provide input on citywide implementation of RSJI, and will develop new Citywide innovations and partnerships with the public and private sector to achieve racial equity.

F. Departments will continue to promote full civic inclusion and participation by all Seattle residents through the use of the City's Inclusive Outreach and Public Engagement Toolkit and other best practices.

G. Department Directors will incorporate RSJI components into their proposed annual accountability agreements that will be negotiated and finalized by the Mayor.

H. Departments will continue to submit annual RSJI work plans to SOCR according to the schedule and procedure established by that office.

I. Departments will continue to report to City Council on an annual basis regarding implementation of their RSJI work plans.

J. SOCR and the Personnel Department will continue to co-lead the Workforce Equity Planning and Advisory Committee, working to ensure that all hiring and promotional activities are fair and equitable, both in process and in outcomes.

K. SOCR and the Personnel Department will continue to ensure that City employees receive RSJI training to ensure racial equity as part of their day-to-day work, and will develop new Citywide training to expand employees' knowledge and skills.

L. SOCR will continue to administer the RSJI Community Survey every two years to collect community responses on race and concerns regarding equity.

Section 2: Campaign for Racial Equity.

A. In 2014, the City will prioritize its racial equity work in the areas of education, equitable development and criminal justice. The community identified these areas as its top three priorities. Departments with primary responsibility in these areas will coordinate the City's racial equity efforts and build partnerships with community and other institutions with the assistance of SOCR.

B. The City will partner with educational institutions including two and four-year colleges to end racial disparities and create Cradle to Career Pathways for all Seattle residents.

C. The City will partner with community based organizations and other institutions to create a Community Institute for Racial Equity, to provide ongoing education opportunities on Race and Social Justice, as well as tools for achieving racial equity.

D. Departments will support community forums convened by the Mayor's Office and SOCR to engage the public in achieving greater equity in our communities.

E. The City will develop innovative programs and projects to engage community members and the general public in a campaign to achieve racial equity, led by SOCR.

F. SOCR will continue to support community-based organizations working on race and equity through the "Structural Racism Technical Assistance" project fund.

G. Department directors will require their staff to continue to develop partnerships in the community to achieve racial equity in nine Equity Areas: education, equitable development, criminal justice, jobs, housing, health, environment, service equity, and arts and culture.

H. SOCR will continue to support the RSJ Community Roundtable. The Roundtable represents a coalition of government, agencies, community-based organizations and other community stakeholders working for racial equity in the Seattle/King County area.

I. SOCR and departmental staff will take a leadership role in participating in the Governing for Racial Equity Network and other regional and national initiatives for racial equity.

Inquiries regarding this Executive Order should be directed to the Seattle Office for Civil Rights.

Dated this 3rd day of April, 2014.

____________________________

EDWARD B. MURRAY

Mayor