Following the May 16 announcement that Washington legislators reached a compromise on the Blake fix, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Rachel Smith issued the following statement:
“Addressing the Blake decision was a moment for leadership and action – and many of our state legislators rose to the occasion. Those who continue to push an either/or approach to addressing public safety and dangerous drug use have it wrong – and they are on the wrong side of the voters. We need to deploy every tool we have: at the state level that means making drug possession a gross misdemeanor and funding treatment and services at the county level, it means passing and implementing a behavioral health crisis care network, and at the local level it is adequately resourcing public safety strategies. Taking these steps, at all levels of government and community, is the only way we are going to make progress. We thank, deeply, the legislators who showed leadership and voted yes.”