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Seattle mayor warns of deteriorating political discourse

It was a quiet moment when Mayor Tim Burgess signed the $5.6 billion budget into law.

But in the City Council Chambers last week, things were often contentious, especially when advocates for the homeless didn't get the employee head tax they wanted to raise money for the homeless.

“Shame on you! Shame!” advocates shouted when a majority of council members voted it down.

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Tim Burgess served 10 years on the council, before becoming mayor when Ed Murray resigned.

“It's become very common, for example, at City Council Chambers for example, for meetings to be disrupted and citizens who come here to share their opinion if the crowd thinks otherwise to shout them down.”

And some council members complain about what they see as personal attacks.

“The real reason why there is opposition to the homeless tax and that is where the rubber hits the road which is corporate politics,” charged Council Member Kshama Sawant.

Council Member Debora Juarez responded, “I didn't meet with any big business either, I find that interesting. I didn't meet with anybody,. I’ve met with people who are for it. I've met with people who are for the head tax.”

Mayor Burgess sees a disturbing parallel to national politics.

“Kind of what we see on the far right nationally, we see on the far left in Seattle. And it's not helpful and it's not the way to govern a city.”

The new budget contains a record $67 million to address the homeless crisis. Burgess warns that the council has used one-time sources of money to pay for some ongoing programs.

“That's a dangerous road to start down, because you create expectations, but then don't have the resources to fulfill those expectations.”