Though a chair was within reach, Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss stood at the dais for basically all of Tuesday’s 80-minute budget committee hearing, as aggrieved public commenters begged for a slice of the city’s proposed 2026 budget.

What Strauss was standing for—physically or ideologically—I had no idea. This meeting was to hear from the public, so he only talked about baseball, save for the occasional “thank you” and amicable nod after a speaker left the mic. His fellow councilmembers said absolutely nothing. But advocates and community members were very clear: if the city wanted to solve the problems it says it’s trying to solve, they needed money for social services. Some organizations pleaded for increased funding; others implored the city to protect them.

The budget, propo

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