By Bryan Dominique, Communications Director – Pierce County Council If someone described September as Behavioral Health Month in Pierce County, they wouldn’t be wrong, exactly. Since September 1, the Council or its committees have had a substantive behavioral health agenda item each week. The throughline is funding: where behavioral health funding comes from, how much …

By Bryan Dominique, Communications Manager Office of the Pierce County Council On March 25, I sat down with Pierce County Council Chair Jani Hitchen (District 6) for her video series, Zooming into Pierce, to discuss proclamations—what they are, what they aren’t, and why we do them. It’s a conversation I won’t soon forget, mostly because …

By Bryan Dominique, Communications ManagerOffice of the Pierce County Council   If legislation were sentient, it would be friends with Sasquatch—rumored to exist, blurry in every photo, and always just out of reach.  Most people don’t go looking for legislation until something weird lands in their lap, like a mobile opioid treatment unit handing out …

By Bryan Dominique, Communications ManagerOffice of the Pierce County Council Behind every decision made by the Pierce County Council lies a deliberate process. It starts long before a final vote is cast. From scheduling legislation on the Consent Agenda to in-depth discussions in committee meetings, much of the Council’s most important work happens through dialogue …

By Bryan DominiqueCommunications ManagerOffice of the Pierce County Council “[On September 2] the Pierce County Council approved $12.2 million to fund four housing projects that will create or preserve 646 units of affordable housing for individuals and families. The funding comes from revenue generated by the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act, which has supported the …

By Bryan DominiqueCommunications Manager – Office of the Pierce County Council  It’s a little-known fact, but most of the Pierce County Council staff is nonpartisan. The only partisan positions in the Office of the Pierce County Council are within the individual offices that form the legislative body. The nonpartisan staff support the Council as a …

By Bryan DominiqueCommunications Manager – Office of the Pierce County Council  The Council Chambers were quiet in that heavy way it gets before a big vote; not silent, but filled with the rustle of paper, the shuffle of feet, the faint buzz of laptops warming under fluorescent lights. The agenda was short, but the numbers …

By Bryan DominiqueCommunications Manager – Office of the Pierce County Council  When I’m out and about with councilmembers, I often get asked what I do for Pierce County. It’s a tricky question to answer. I could say I help the Office of the Pierce County Council share its story and encourage civic engagement in government, …

By Bryan DominiqueCommunications Manager – Office of the Pierce County Council  I had some thoughts about this summer’s committee reduction, and it starts with a talking piece of paper; and no, I haven’t lost my mind yet. “I’m just a bill. Yes, I’m only a bill, and I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.” When I …

Growing up, many of us learned about the three branches of our federal government: the Executive (President), the Legislative (Congress), and the Judiciary (Courts). As adults, we tend to pay closer attention to the other Washington come the mid-terms and presidential election years. Otherwise, our day-to-day focus remains on the issues that directly impact our …