The Burien City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday, July 31, 2017 regarding the petition to repeal Burien’s Ordinance 651.

This meeting – which starts at 7 p.m. – is free and open to the public, and will be held at City Hall (400 SW 152nd Street).

There will be an opportunity for public comment at this meeting.

The “immigration status ordinance” directs Burien City staff to not inquire about immigration status or religious affiliation.

The petition – which obtained enough signatures last week (read our previous coverage here) – asks that an ordinance repealing Ordinance 651 be submitted to a vote of the registered voters of the City of Burien.

During Monday’s special meeting, the Council must take one of the following actions:

  1. Adopt the proposed ordinance as set forth in the petition (which repeals Ordinance 651) or
  2. Pass a resolution submitting the measure to the King County Elections office asking that it be placed on the November 7, 2017 ballot.

If the Council chooses to have the measure placed on the ballot, it must submit a resolution to King County Elections by August 1, 2017. If the Council takes this action, it must also appoint members to Pros and Cons Committees. The committees will be responsible for drafting statements in support of and against Initiative 1, respectively, to be included in the November 2017 King County Voter’s Guide.

Volunteers needed for Pros and Cons Committees
The City of Burien is looking for volunteers to serve on Pros and Cons Committees. The committees will need to submit completed statements to King County Elections no later than August 8. Committee members do not need to reside in Burien to serve on the committees.

If you are interested in serving on the Committee, please email Burien City Clerk Monica Lusk at [email protected] by Friday, July 28, 2017. In your email, include the following:

Name:

Email address:

Phone number:

Whether you want to serve on the Pro or Con committee.

The Council will select up to three people for each committee from the list of candidates. The Council will select committee members at the July 31 special meeting, if it chooses to have the measure placed on the November 7 ballot.

More information:

More info here: http://burienwa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7098

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30 replies on “Burien Council to hold special meeting July 31 to discuss Ordinance 651 repeal”

  1. Let’s do the math – In a last ditch effort to save face and appeal to their constituency, as three out of four of them are gone this election I see the following members forcing a vote on November 7th.

    Bezerkoitz
    Tosta
    Bell
    Armstrong

    Steve could change his tune for the sake of his election but he still won’t be getting my vote for numerous reasons.

  2. Do I detect an element of fear of constituents coming from the Council? Or is it just time to put them back in their place?

  3. If we are looking for people on a “pros and cons” committe, it looks like the City Council has already decided not to act. Why have the meerting?

    All you people that want to support criminal activity and higher taxes to support an uncontrolled growth of known law-breakers should sign up to support this.

    Not Me.

    1. How is this going support more crimal activity.

      How does this support higher taxes .

      How many of the illegal aliens in burien are committing crimes.

      How many have children in school compared to the amount of underaged American parents or unemployed parents (on state benefits or ssi, WIC).

      1. Good Questions CO. I agree with your thoughts. Some assume they know who are the ‘bad guys’ and who wear the white hats in our society. I think some are quite wrong in their assumptions.
        I would like to see some statistics about who the individuals are that are committing crimes in our area, and are going to our schools and graduating, and who are needing help with drug problems, and who are paying property tax and Social Security, and who’s buying local and going into higher education, the military and law enforcement.. I think we might be surprised by the real picture of ‘who’s who’ in our fair burg.

    2. Last I checked, mr racist, the people committing the crimes around here were american citizens.

      Maybe we should start tracking old white people, they seem to be the majority residents of those homeless camps.

      1. I hear you B! It’s been my experience, time and again, to find ‘the bad guys’ causing havoc in our neighborhood are white people, born and bred right here in the good ole USA. They have stolen cars, broken into houses, stole mail, trashed much loved possessions and caused our insurance to go, up. up, up – while lowering the property value. Are there gangs and others who do rotten things, of course. I’m just saying, in my experience, it has ALWAYS been a white person of various ages, being a real problem for me and my immediate neighbors.

        1. This is because Washington State is still predominantly Caucasian. And what does this have to do with rejecting a local effort to flout immigration law?

          1. I’d like to keep Washington State predominately Caucasian.

            If not I can sell my modest Burien home for about $700,000 to someone from India and that will buy me a very nice place in Idaho.

          2. D S
            It sounds like you would fit right in with some of the northern Idaho racists. I hope you take a few of your blog buddies with you.

  4. Question, Roy, Al:
    Tsk, such nastiness. Let’s put it on the ballot and let the good people of Burien decide.
    But Al and Roy I respect the use of real names. Tom

    1. Who said those are real names and that goes for you as well? I may just start using a fake one to make you happy, how about John Smith or Bob Anderson?

      1. Oh QA, I hope you come-up with something more colorful than John Smith (apologies to any John Smith reading this post). Let’s see … how about Simon Legree?

        1. By commenting on the condoning of illegal immigration by certain council members and their voting history you think I’m a racist? This is about the law and the disregard of it by those who support the ordinance, not what or who it hypothetically protects from enforcement.

          1. QA truly sorry my comment got under your skin. I was just kidding you. If you don’t like Simon LeGree, perhaps I will start using it, though I was giving serious though to ‘The Babe’.

    2. Who in their right mind would ever use their real name on the internet and risk ID theft or harassment.

  5. You have parents pushing baby strollers in the middle of the street because we dont have sidewalks, yet we are worried if this city is labled a Sanctuary city………. Good job Burien.

  6. Seems to me that the vast majority of violent crimes in Burien have been from people of questionable legal resident status the past 12 months.

    As a Texan growing up, my father’s very first new truck was stolen by illegals and recovered at the border of Mexico. He saw a group of them driving off in the truck.

    A simple trip to the jails in any Southern State will show you a huge (HUGE) number of illegals in the jails. The only thing magical about WA State is the weather curtails crime and the local pols don’t allow proper reporting of criminal activity.

    1. It is simple common sense. Why are these people here without proper immigration documentation. Just to work harder here than they could do in the home country? Legal immigrants have build enterprises and this country has prospered from people across the globe that come here legally and see a big market for their ideas. With illegal immigration you obviously get other side of it. Everybody knows that, but they want it to look like they all contribute while the MS-13 gang is flourishing because of the sanctuary city ordinances. Wake up, people of Burien.

    2. Now your story may be right but you also have to consider that happened in Texas a border state with Mexico. So yes there would not be much of a surprise of that activity there. But here most of the stolen cars are dumb teenagers looking for a joyride especially in the summer months. Then there are a few more professional car thief’s looking for certain models (not necessarily burien residents but travel through).

      Then we some scrap metal collecting people that look for things to come back and take at night.

      Then gangs recently it’s been two gangs fighting one in burien which sounds like it’s your neighborhood unfortunately. Another gang from South Park now I don’t know the names of these two gangs. But I am pretty sure there not MS 13 like the media and other people keep talking about. Some of them might have relatives in that gang.

      These are two smaller gangs that for what ever reason have started fighting with each other.
      The police in the area seem to be on top of it.

      Then if you really want to look at things look at how burien’s crime rate fluctuates from year to year some years it goes up then some years it goes back down.

      Then you also have to realize that even if the city council appoverd more police officers to be hire. It takes at least a year of service at the academy. Before a officer can be put on the force. Then also a lot of the thefts and break in are crimes of opportunity. Where unfortunately someone leaves a window open or a car unlocked. They leave there tool shed unlocked. Some dumb teenager or scrap metal guy comes by at night or some even during the day. They walk off with your items.

      I for one can’t see blaming the city council for something like this. It’s unfortunate we all do it some times leave something unlocked and sometimes we get a way with it. But we think oh boy I can’t let that happen again. I my self have to remind family members to lock the windows and the doors even if you’re going to be gone for 10 minutes.

      Then there common sense of not associating with gangs and definitely not talking trash about them. You most likely are not going to get shot.

  7. I will say as the original commenter on this thread the topic started as nothing more than voter information. It has evolved into discussions of race which is a different topic for another time, the percentage of who does what or causes more of something is linked by nature. What I will add is the ordinance was adopted per fervor and the main issue is and will always be is it reeks of support for illegal individuals from other nations who have violated immigration law by sneaking into the USA without permission. That sets a bad tone to ever follow any other law.

    1. Oh come on QofA you could come up with something better to say to back out of this pickle you got your self into.

      Do you know any illegal aliens that are committing felony crimes or how many are committing felony’s in burien.

      Also when they get a ticket for a non felony (speeding,jaywalking,no insurance) they still pay the ticket. That still more money going back in to the system.

      Most of the illegal aliens in Washington live on east side of mountains. Most likely picking fruit and doing other jobs most Americans just don’t apply for or won’t do. Then there is the 10 to 15 that sit in front some local home depot’s (tukwila and Seattle,west Seattle)none in front of Ace hardware or Dunn lumber or even Fred Meyers. But then again some might not be illegal aliens. Just might be day labor workers that don’t like the stupidity of labor works or the other day labor ripoff shops. That find ways of charging ridiculous fees to low income people. Like charging you a extra $2 because they told you what bus to catch or if you got ride with a friend they charge you a
      $2 traveling/gas fee per every 10 to 20 miles but they don’t give that $2 to the driver. There stupid annoying things like that at some day labor shops that push people away.

      1. Good luck getting local police to tell you who is committing crimes, let alone tell you they are illegal aliens.

    2. Your erroneous assumptions that hide your own Xenophobia betray you. The majority of illegals actually overstay their visas–they did not have to sneak into this country. The crime rate of illegals is actually no different from the general population. And the number of people actually sneaking in has been in decline for several years. You focus upon one group to assign all your fears to.

      And you support the current version of “Show me your papers” and Stop and Frisk when there is no probable cause for it or arrest made. You then remain willfully ignorant when it is pointed out that you advocate an unfunded mandate to enforce Federal laws which would require raising local taxes to support that, or receiving a federal grant that the Feds have given zero indication of giving.

      So your defense of but, but, it’s illegal! ignores the fact that illegals are still prosecuted and reported to ICE when they are arrested. Not before. This is a federal issue. Take it up with them.

  8. Ah question, at it again. You know this is a real name and you know who I am.
    It is possible that you are using your real name too. There was a family of Authorities back in West Virginia. They weren’t half as smart as you are tho. Mostly moonshiners and ne’er do wells. And they didn’t have half the political sophistication you do.
    Just google me Question, you will see that I exist.
    If it is your real name, I will have much more respect for your writings than I do now. Tom

  9. I see many comments about not wanting to repeal or that this is a non issue. I don’t know what the solution is but I do know we as a community have to start somewhere. This is a great place to start even if it is to begin a discourse. I just looked at the crime map from King County. If you read this please head over there and take a look. We have a problem. Normandy Park does not. Why? Do we need more cops? Do we need more community action? Stronger city council? Honestly I’m done finding .38 shells every morning I walk in the park. We are better than this and if the means we do like West Seattle and price out the dirt bags then I’m all in. I can eat spam in exchange for security.

  10. The first week I lived in Burien, someone who appeared to be an illegal alien flashed a huge folding knife as I passed by walking through the park. My very first pieces of mail were stolen, neighbors warned me about a house where a gang shootout had just happened (since then another 30+ gunshots have happened there) – OH YEAH, BURIEN IS THE SHINING CITY ON A HILL – u betcha.

    1. David Silver – “someone who appeared to be an illegal alien” huh, good to know you judge a book by the cover.

    2. David Silver— you can always move away if you don’t like it….. if your scared of Burien maybe it’s just not right for you.

      1. Well I just found Mr David silver video online claming to be harass by burien police (police ring his door bell he talks from his video security system) After making threatening comments to the city council.

        https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a79_1486372162

        You picked were you wanted to live. Why did you not look at crime stats for that area before moving.

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