Statement from the Kirkland City Council

Published on June 02, 2020

Media Contact:
Kellie Stickney
Communications Program Manager
kstickney@kirklandwa.gov
(425) 979-6562

The City Council would like to take a few moments to acknowledge recent events, locally and throughout the nation. As a council, we are united in our steadfast commitment to the values embodied in our February 21, 2017, resolution to be a safe, inclusive and welcoming community. As our country struggles to live up to America’s great promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness during these tumultuous times, the need for city leadership to listen, to support marginalized communities, and then to take action, has never been more important.

During this Council meeting our City Manager will update us on the COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus continues to spread, so too does violence and discrimination against people of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. Such actions will not be tolerated. The science is clear. The virus does not come from any one culture or race. Everyone can contract COVID. And anyone can transmit it. We will only overcome this outbreak through unity of purpose and celebration of our shared humanity.

Tonight, we will proclaim Pride Month in the City of Kirkland to once again affirm the dignity of Kirkland’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, (LGBTQ) residents, employees and visitors. We proudly fly the pride flag over City Hall and Marina Park. We continue to recognize that the fight for dignity and equality for LGBTQ people is never ending. We appreciate and support the tireless dedication of the people who strive every day to create a more inclusive society.

But as we recall Stonewall, and the protests and riots for equality from five decades ago, we are overwhelmed with sadness and anger from the actions that caused the protests and riots of today, born of slavery and injustice that began five centuries ago.

The horrifying death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis last week has broken our hearts and demonstrated once again how far we must go to end structural racism and create equal protection under the law in this nation. The City Council believes that the decision to charge the officer who killed Mr. Floyd was right and just, and that that he must be prosecuted for his actions. We also believe others who participated in the senseless and wrongful death of Mr. Floyd or allowed it to happen through their inaction must be held accountable.

The Council supports the right of the community to assemble and protest Mr. Floyd’s death. Peaceful, meaningful demonstration is one of the most fundamental constitutional rights of our Republic. The right to free speech and assembly is at the core of what it means to be an American.

City leadership is also united in our commitment and responsibility to protect our neighbors lives and property. We feel the anger, heartbreak and betrayal expressed by so many in our community and communities across this country. However, the destructive acts of violence by others do not honor Mr. Floyd. Some of those destructive acts, including many that have occurred locally, are orchestrated by well-organized thieves using peaceful protests as a cover for criminal activity. Mr. Floyd’s family has denounced such violence and so does this Council. These actions are also harming businesses that are already suffering from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

We are deeply grateful to the community of Kirkland who protested peacefully over the past few days. We also commend the courageous and dedicated women and men of the Kirkland Police Department who protected Kirkland’s right to assemble, protest and have their voices heard while also keeping our residents and businesses safe.

The recent protests are necessary to raise awareness of painful and systemic racism that still plagues our nation. We support the right to free speech, the right to assemble, and the fight for equality, justice and accountability.

There can be no successful path forward without our society, especially white people, reaching a deeper understanding of our role in systemic racism. For justice to be served for victims like George Floyd and many others, we all need to ask ourselves hard questions about our own prejudices, biases and belief systems. And as a Council, we must take actions to create change in our community.

As a Council, we are prepared and willing to do the hard work to move our City forward. We will listen. We will strive for understanding and empathy. And then we will work every day to reject racism as experienced in our economy, our social interactions, and our systems of justice. Together we can build a collective force that bends the arc of our country's future toward a more just and equitable society.

To all in our community and throughout the U.S. whose lives are directly impacted by racism and discrimination, we are sorry. We can and will do better. We will continue working together to ensure that Kirkland is a safe, inclusive, and respectful community for everyone.

In closing, our deepest sympathies go to the Floyd family for the loss of their loved one. We will have a few moments of silence this evening – First, we’ll have one minute of silence for Mr. Floyd and his family; In addition, we’ll have one minute of silence for all those who have lost their lives unjustly at the hands of law enforcement over the years. And finally we will have one minute of silence to reflect on the justified anger and pain caused by the generations of racism and hatred in our country, and additionally reflect on our own biases, and consider how we can do better, be better, help heal this pain, and commit to the work ahead.