Councilmember proposes changes to city ethics code; colleagues express concern about timing

Councilmember Andrew Moore said at the May 5 briefing that he plans to bring legislation to the Governance Committee proposing changes to Seattle's code of ethics at the request of the city's Director of Ethics and Elections.

"The intent of this legislation is for greater transparency and sunshine," Moore said, describing the proposal as designed to address issues the director identified that the council could fix to avoid disenfranchising voters, particularly those in district seats.

Several colleagues publicly questioned whether the council should change its own ethics rules without broader public input. Councilmember Alex Pedersen (transcript: Strauss and others) said he was "skeptical of any legislation that would loosen restrictions in our ethics code" and argued that such changes should be put to voters rather than adopted by the council during a politically fraught period.

Why it matters: changes to the city's ethics code would influence disclosures, lobbying rules, and public trust. Councilmembers said they want to balance correcting identified problems with preserving public confidence.

Discussion vs. decision: Moore announced his intention to introduce the ethics-code legislation to the Governance Committee; the briefing recorded discussion and stated concerns but no committee vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the session.