Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located in the U.S. state of Washington between Puget Sound and Lake Washington, about 108 miles (180 km) south of the United States-Canadian border in King County, of which it is the county seat.

Government and politics

Seattle is a charter city, with a Mayor-Council form of government, unlike many of its neighbors that use the Council-Manager form. Seattle's mayor and nine city council members are elected annually, at large, rather than by geographic subdivisions. The only other elected office is the city attorney. All offices are non-partisan.

Related Topics:
Mayor-Council - Council-Manager - City council - City attorney

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The city government provides more utilities than many cities; either running the whole operation, such as the water, sewer, and electricity services, or handling the billing and administration, but contracting out the rest of the operations, such as trash and recycling collection. In most neighboring cities, for example, electricity is provided by either a private company such as Puget Sound Energy, or a county public utility district. See the Utilities section for more details.

Related Topics:
Puget Sound Energy - Public utility district - Utilities section

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As with most U.S. cities, the county judicial system (courts and jails) handles most crime — the Seattle Municipal Court deals mostly with parking tickets and the like. Seattle does not even have its own jail, contracting out the few misdemeanor inmates it convicts to either the King County Jail (which is located downtown), the Yakima County Jail, or (for short-term holdings) the Renton City Jail. In 2004, there were only 24 murders in Seattle, the fewest since 1965. Violent crime has declined by nearly 42 percent since 1994, to a rate of approximately seven per 1,000 people. Auto theft has increased about 44 percent in the same period; the SPD has responded by almost doubling the number of detectives in the auto theft detail, and is starting a "bait car" program. A Money magazine table, using 2001 statistics, ranked Seattle 18th in highest crime rate in the U.S., with 80.5 crimes per 1,000 citizens.

Related Topics:
Yakima County - Renton - 2004 - 1994 - ''Money'' magazine

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Seattle's politics lean famously to the left compared to the U.S. as a whole, although there is a small libertarian movement. Only one precinct in Seattle, located in the famously exclusive Broadmoor area, voted for Republican George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Social conservatism is especially weak throughout the city. In partisan elections, such as for the State Legislature and U.S. Congress, most elections are won by Democrats, with Greens getting more votes than in many cities.

Related Topics:
Libertarian - Broadmoor - Republican - George W. Bush - 2004 presidential election - Social conservatism - Democrats - Greens

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Official nickname, flower, slogan, and song

In 1981, Seattle held a contest to come up with a new official nickname to replace "the Queen City," which it had been since 1869 and was also the nickname of Cincinnati, Toronto, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The winner, selected in 1982, was "the Emerald City." Submitted by Californian Sarah Sterling-Franklin, it referred to the lush surroundings of Seattle that were the result of frequent rain. Seattle has also been known in the past as the "Jet City" though this nickname, related to Boeing, was entirely unofficial.

Related Topics:
1981 - Nickname - 1869 - Cincinnati - Toronto - Charlotte, North Carolina - 1982 - Emerald - City - California - Rain - Jet

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Seattle's official flower has been the dahlia since 1913. Its official song has been "Seattle the Peerless City" since 1909. In 1942, its official slogan was "The City of Flowers"; 48 years later, in 1990, it was "The City of Goodwill," for the Goodwill Games held that year in Seattle.

Related Topics:
Flower - Dahlia - 1913 - 1909 - 1942 - 1990 - Goodwill Games

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Seattle mayors of note

Among Seattle's notable past politicians is Bertha Knight Landes, mayor from 1926 to 1928. She was the first woman to be mayor of a major American city.

Related Topics:
Bertha Knight Landes - Woman

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Another, Bailey Gatzert, was mayor from 1875 to 1876. He was the first Jewish mayor of Seattle, narrowly missed being the first Jewish mayor of a major American city (Moses Bloom became mayor of Iowa City, Iowa, in 1873), and has been the only Jewish mayor of Seattle so far.

Related Topics:
Bailey Gatzert - Jewish - Iowa City, Iowa

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See List of mayors of Seattle for a list of Seattle's mayors going back to 1869.

Related Topics:
List of mayors of Seattle - 1869

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See also: Current leaders of Seattle, Washington

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Sister cities

Seattle is twinned with: Beer Sheva (Israel), Bergen (Norway), Cebu (Philippines), Chongqing (China), Christchurch (New Zealand), Galway (Ireland), Gdynia (Poland), Haiphong (Vietnam), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Kobe (Japan), Limbe (Cameroon), Mazatlan (Mexico), Mombasa (Kenya), Nantes (France), Pecs (Hungary), Perugia (Italy), Reykjavik (Iceland), Sihanoukville (Cambodia), Surabaya (Indonesia), Taejon (Korea), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Vancouver (Canada).

Related Topics:
Beer Sheva - Israel - Bergen - Norway - Cebu - Philippines - Chongqing - China - Christchurch - New Zealand - Galway - Ireland - Gdynia - Poland - Haiphong - Vietnam - Kaohsiung - Taiwan - Kobe - Japan - Limbe - Cameroon - Mazatlan - Mexico - Mombasa - Kenya - Nantes - France - Pecs - Hungary - Perugia - Italy - Reykjavik - Iceland - Sihanoukville - Cambodia - Surabaya - Indonesia - Taejon - Korea - Tashkent - Uzbekistan - Vancouver - Canada

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