King County Councilmember calls for the re-funding of police
Nov 17, 2021, 10:48 AM

Supporters hold signs during a Rally to Support the Seattle Police Department in front of City Hall in July 2020. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Fresh off his reelection to the King County Council, is calling for the re-funding of police. This comes as the King County Executive, also recently reelected, is set to begin his nationwide search for a new King County Sheriff.
King County councilmember calls for task force amid dramatic spike in fatal overdoses
So what does Dunn’s budget package include? What does it mean to “re-fund” the police?
“This re-fund the police initiative that I am launching is going to put about $15 million — a much-needed investment — [toward] about 33 FTEs, employees, in the sheriff’s office; it will re-establish the gang unit; it’s going to put money into recruiting and retaining deputies, including some bonuses when they come onboard; it’s going to put the hate and bias crime unit together as well as the gang unit, and a lot of other things that will help keep our community safe,” Dunn replied.
“Things that have been stripped out or haven’t been funded and have been neglected for a long time,” he added.
Dunn told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH that while there’s one less Republican on the King County Council since Kathy Lambert is out, he believes the council’s Democrats learned an important lesson in the last election. As he put it, a Republican, tough-on-crime candidate won the Seattle City Attorney race, and people like Dunn himself won elections in a swing district against another elected official.
“The four seats that are up, coming up here in just under two years, all are going to have to deal with moderates,” he said. “I think they’re much more likely to provide these kinds of funding solutions than they were even two weeks ago.”
King County councilmember wants notice before changing hotels into shelters
Dunn says the record number of shootings in King County, high murder rates, and record crime numbers will be “wrapped around their shoulders in the next election,” speaking about his fellow councilmembers.
“They are smart enough to realize that the woke left, the defund the police crowd, is losing elections for them, and they better come back to the center. I’m actually forcing the issue by putting this before them,” Dunn said about his re-fund initiative.
Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.