Seattle (December 9, 2019) –Smart Cities Dive named Mayor Jenny A. Durkan ‘City Leader of the Year’ for her leadership on the Fare Share plan, combating climate change, increasing investments in transit and transportation, and advancing affordable housing for working people and families in Seattle.
“I’m grateful to Smart Cities Dive for this recognition, and for their work to amplify progressive policies that help our communities and working people thrive,” said Mayor Durkan. “Over the past year, we’ve put forward landmark achievements like our legislation to convert homes to clean electric heating, our Fare Share plan to invest in workers, transit, and housing, and our Housing Seattle Now initiative to make unprecedented investments in affordable housing for our working families. As we act on bold issues, our neighborhoods and communities are partnering with us to make our City more inclusive and affordable. I appreciate our partnership with the City Council to make all of these progressive actions a reality and the more than 12,000 public servants at the City of Seattle who come to work every day to make a difference here in Seattle.”
“The people and organizations that win the Dive Awards are trailblazers and leaders in their markets,” said Davide Savenije, editor-in-chief of Smart Cities Dive’s publisher Industry Dive. “Their achievements in 2019 are shaping the future of where the latest strategies and trends are going.”
Key accomplishments from the last year include:
- Navigating the historic challenges of the beginning of the Seattle Squeeze and the February 2019 snowstorms;
- A new law to convert thousands of oil-heated homes to cleaner, lower carbon electric heat;
- The first decline in people experiencing homelessness in Seattle since 2012;
- A 55 percent increase in City of Seattle-funded King County Metro bus service;
- Unprecedented investments in housing through her “Housing Seattle Now” plan;
- Proposing and passing her “Fare Share” plan to invest in workers, transit, and affordable housing near transit.
The 2019 Dive Awards recognize the industry’s top disruptors and innovators. These executives, companies, trends and breakthroughs are transforming the industry. Winners were chosen by the editors of Smart Cities Dive based on thorough and independent research, reporting, and analysis.