The City of Seattle is paying $150,000 for a long term contract with an agitator, I mean activist, named Andre Taylor. He’s also known as a ‘Street Czar,’ the first-ever, as a matter of fact. Oh, and he’s an ex-pimp and felon.
The City will pay Taylor and his group — called Not This Time — $150,000 to provide “expertise and support services in de-escalation, community engagement, and alternatives to policing.” The city’s contract was first reported by Publicola.
“A street czar is a person who has a particular genius in a particular area,” Taylor told KOMO News on Tuesday. “I know the term ‘street czar’ is quite provocative.”
Taylor said he devised the title by following a practice by former President Barack Obama of designating “czars” to handle a variety of areas of interest while he was in the White House.
“This should be a prominent position because it could help quell some of the incidents that are going on between community and cities,” said Taylor, who came to prominence after his brother, Che Taylor, was shot and killed by Seattle Police Department officers in Wedgewood in 2016.
In 2019, the city agreed to pay Not This Time $100,000 to sponsor a speaker series that was called “Conversations with the Streets.” The new contract is a continuation of that one.
We have yet to see results. Perhaps the police would be better advisers?
Seattle, meet your new Street Czar Andre Taylor. Bow to your king.
Thank you. @MayorJenny @cmkshama @TeresaCMosqueda @CMLGonzalez
Link to FB (music) video: https://t.co/X5fLGmkCXf
(thread) pic.twitter.com/4vKtuTjLwP— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) September 16, 2020
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