City Council Audio Recordings

Series — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 4601-03

Scope and Contents Note

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Audio tapes of City Council committee and full council meetings, and public hearings before Council, dating from 1955 to 2015 with the bulk of the recordings dating from 1969 to 2015. Recordings consist primarily of 8-inch and 12-inch reel-to-reel tapes, but also include cassettes and born digital recordings. Tapes are divided into three sub-series: 1) full Council and Council Committee meetings (reel-to-reel), 2) miscellaneous tapes, primarily of various public hearings (reel-to-reel), and 3) cassettes of meetings and hearings, including off-site hearings. Audio holdings provide a different perspective on the legislative process than can be gained from textual documents alone, bringing to life voices not documented elsewhere in the Archives.

Although recordings date from 1955 to the present, not all are cataloged and described in the online index. Transfer of analog audio to digital copies continues on an ongoing basis; digital copies are available online.

Selected audio recordings, primarily from 1977 and 2002 to the present, are available and searchable through the Washington State Digital Archives using audio Search, an innovative speech-to-text indexing and search capability. The Washington State Digital Archives is partnering with Microsoft Research to provide this innovative search technology. From the search screen http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Search choose “Audio Recordings” for the record series and “Seattle City Council Audio Recordings” for the title. You will be able to search by key word or committee name.

A few of the topics addressed in the recordings include: Pike Place Market, Westlake Plaza, Open Housing, the Comprehensive Plan, transportation planning, including the R. H. Thomson Expressway, the budget, utility rates and wire undergrounding, and many other topics. Also included are recordings of interviews conducted by the City Council's WTO Accountability Review Committee in 2000-2001.

Selected audio recordings are available in the exhibit space “Seattle Voices.” http://www.seattle.gov/CityArchives/Exhibits/voices.htm

Please contact the Archives to request copies of audio content for meetings not yet available online.

Dates

Creation: 1955-2015
Creation: 1969-2015 (bulk 1982-1991)

Historical Note

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The Legislative Department is comprised of the City Council, Office of the City Clerk, and Central Staff (policy analysts and budget support). The City Council is responsible for setting City-wide policy through the adoption of ordinances and resolutions, overseeing the Executive's implementation of policies and programs, and passing the City budget. The first City Charter, in 1869, established a seven-member Common Council. In 1890, the new City Charter created a bicameral legislative branch with a nine-member Board of Aldermen and 16-member House of Delegates. The 1896 Charter returned to a single body of 13 members elected from 11 wards and two at-large. As the number of wards increased, the number of Council members grew to 18 in 1907. A City Charter Amendment in 1910 reduced the number to nine, all elected at large, and made elections non-partisan. In 1946 Councilmember terms were increased from two years to four years. The Office of the City Clerk and the Office of the City Auditor became part of the Legislative Department in 1993. In 1999 the Office of the City Auditor became an independent department.