At 5:30, me and my kids joined a group of homeless people and advocates at Bread and Roses on 4th Ave for dinner before the council meeting. The B& R staff and interns were staying late, keeping the center open so that the homeless who wanted to speak at the council meeting would have a dry place to wait until 7pm. Someone who opposed the ordinances sent Bread and Roses a $60 donation for dinner. The advocates were harried (though cheerful) after an already intense ten hour day, and scrambled to find something that could feed this many people on only $60. Like the loaves and fishes, nine fresh, New York style pizzas arrived.

Every corner of the little office was packed with people. A few homeless people who are leaders in the community practised their speeches, and everyone listened attentively. They were captivating. They outlined how the ordinances would affect the poor, talked about the hardships of street life, cited laws already on the books that address problem behaviors, and made a plea for comprehensive solutions to the problems of poverty, such low-income and transitional housing, and the much-needed day center in Olympia. Then the leaders reminded everyone to be respectful of all the speakers at the meeting.

At 6:30, the band left to walk through the downpour to city hall. I took a van to drop off the two older kids, and then transport myself, the baby, and a disabled man who couldn't make the walk. I couldn't help but feel that we were a part of something great. An estimated 200 people attended. By seven, there was no room in the council chambers, but many people (including many homeless people) felt strongly enough about the issue that they stood for hours in the cold rain waiting to speak, or to listen in.

120 of those in attendance signed up to speak, for and against. The mayor started with asking that no one use personal attacks during their testimony. He went on with an introduction to the background of the ordinance, which included some disturbing stories like that of a woman living with MS who called to city to complain she was allegedly not allowed to pass some people who were blocking a sidewalk, and that the people jeered at her and made fun of her disability. None of those who's stories were cited were in attendance at the meeting.

The mayor then introduced the three council members who have expressed avid support of the ordinances (Jeff, Joe, and Doug) and made a big show of talking about how much those people care about the homeless, and what just and wonderful individuals they are. He went so far as to call Jeff Kingsbury, "one of the greatest leaders for civil rights in our community". As a longstanding member of the civil rights movement in Olympia, and someone who's known Kingsbury personally for over 15 years, I couldn't help but think that was laughable.

Then he talked about how the ordinances have nothing whatsoever to do with homelessness or poverty, but are concerned with downtown being accessible to all.

The mayor's introduction annoyed me, especially since I have heard from reliable inside sources that the ordinance had its start with Jeff Kingsbury and Joe Hyer (Joe denies this), and preceded any of the incidents that the mayor claimed were the impetus. I felt like the target of a dishonest PR campaign for the ordinances.

According to my own estimation based on those who spoke, the opposition to the ordinance seemed to outnumber those in favor by about 2-3 to 1. Though one speaker in favor claimed that he represented "the silent majority" and that those in support of the ordinance are "not the type to come to a city council meeting".

The hearing lasted for 4 hours. 64 speakers who signed up were unable to speak due to time constraints. Monica Peabody, of the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition asked Mayor Mark Foutch how many were signed up to speak in favor of, and how many to speak in opposition to the ordinances, but the mayor refused to share this information on record.

One of the most telling moments of the council meeting was when Mayor Foutch himself refered to the ordinances as ordinances addressing homelessness issues. I could just imagine the elbows he was getting under the table.(Oops, that wasn't supposed to be the spin, remember, Mark?)

The speakers for the opposition to the ordinance included homeless people, advocates, activists, downtown business owners, former council member Matthew Green, and many who love downtown.

People's responses ranged from legal, to sensible, to technical, to impassioned, to humorous, to heart-wrenching, to sarcastic. I signed up to speak, but ended up taking the baby home early, because I couldn't think of a single thing to add to the testimony I had heard.

Speakers in favor included downtown business owners, and Olympia residents who don't go downtown, as well as a few downtown users. (Both Jeff Kingsbury's former employer, and an employee of his spoke in favor.) Most of them said things that were vague, or sounded ignorant. Afew had some compelling stories about bad things that have happened in downtown, but none managed to logically bring their testimony around to how the ordinances will address the problems cited. (Almost all of the behaviors people complained about are already illegal, but not addressed under the new ordinances.) By halfway through, several who had signed up to speak in favor of the ordinances said they were now on the fence, and several said they felt the ordinances may not be the right solution but that they were still in favor of them because "something should be done".

Basically it was looking pretty bad for the city and the so-called "unanimous" vote.

The issue was tabled.