2024 – News about Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda

Press releases 

December 10, 2024
Mosqueda celebrates key boosts to housing, childcare, and equitable communities in updated Comprehensive Plan
“Over the last year, I have heard from unincorporated King County communities about what they need most—affordable housing, childcare, access to health services, support for small businesses, and livable, resilient neighborhoods—and have worked to translate that into detailed planning policy. I’m thrilled that this plan reflects those priorities and sets King County on a path towards more sustainable, equitable growth over the next 20 years with support for housing, health, and childcare. It will have a positive impact for generations to come.”

October 17, 2024
Mosqueda announces new permitting priority to fast-track childcare, affordable housing projects
“Access to affordable housing and childcare are the building blocks of healthy development for our kiddos, economic stability for families, and long-term resilience of our local economy. We need to use every tool at our disposal to bring more affordable housing and childcare online as quickly as possible to meet the needs of our community — and this includes removing barriers that add time and cost within our own County code and processes."

October 17, 2024
2024 Flood Reduction Grant Program: Honoring Steve Bleifuhs and Advancing Flood Protection
“The innovative projects funded through the 2024 Flood Reduction Grant Program are a testament to the power of community collaboration and environmental stewardship. From greening the Duwamish Valley to addressing stormwater infrastructure in South Seattle, these initiatives will not only reduce flood risks but also uplift historically underserved areas by building resilience and improving environmental health. I’m proud to support these efforts, which are crucial in our fight for equity and sustainability in District 8.”

October 16, 2024
School-based health center retreat spotlights community partnership to support student well-being
“We all know that a health insurance card – that plastic piece that is in your wallet hopefully if you are lucky enough in this country to have health insurance – that card only determines 5, maybe 10 percent of your health outcomes. And the rest is all of the work that you do and that we should be doing in public policy to improve access to social determinants of health: Healthy, stable, affordable housing; healthy, accessible, nutritious food; making sure people have access to transportation that doesn’t require a car.”

October 3, 2024
Exploring the King County Flood Control District’s Subregional Opportunity Fund Grant Program
“By providing targeted funding to local jurisdictions, this program ensures that communities with the greatest needs—many of which are historically underserved—can access the resources to protect homes, improve infrastructure, and enhance environmental health. It’s a critical step toward building a safer, more equitable future for all residents across King County.”

September 19, 2024
Popular food safety rating system expanding to additional food businesses, including mobile food vendors
"Expanding this system to mobile vendors helps protect our community's health while also giving folks the confidence they need to patronize these small businesses helping to support our local economy. This is a win-win and we know more needs to be done and will be done to set up entrepreneurs getting started on their mobile food vendor journeys for success."

September 14, 2022
King County and State acquire behavioral health treatment center in North Seattle, preserving sixty-four treatment beds
"This type of housing and partnership is exactly what we need to create more housing solutions immediately, and to quickly scale it up to meet the growing needs of our region. I am proud to be part of the coalition effort to bring more multi-layered approaches like this online soon by protecting existing housing capacity, growing new capacity, and addressing critical wage and workforce issues for housing and human service workers."

September 4, 2024
More young people will have access to outdoor recreation, refurbished aquatic centers, and enhanced sports fields with $5 million in King County Parks funding
"The Parks Levy grants announced today will support incredible work in our King County communities to provide life-saving swimming lessons, increase access to nature for underserved youth, support opportunities for movement and social connection for our elders, and more. Being outside and active has all sorts of positive benefits for our health, happiness, and community cohesion, and these grants are a powerful step towards greater equity in King County’s beautiful outdoor spaces."

July 16, 2024
Council approves $178 million supplemental budget, with funding to address housing, gun violence, traffic patrols, more
“This supplemental budget makes a down payment on strategies to support health, housing stability, and workforce in King County. It tees us up for future conversations about how we can best support our communities in the fall budget and beyond. I’m thrilled about the inclusion of priorities I sponsored, including funding for a labor-led worker dispatch program that will position our region to produce a legacy of long-term economic benefits from hosting the World Cup with living-wage jobs; and investments in rent assistance to help keep vulnerable households stably housed as continued pandemic impacts and rising costs make it harder to make ends meet."

June 11, 2024
Mosqueda awards Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Distinguished Service to Roxana Pardo Garcia
“It would be easy to call Alimentando al Pueblo a food bank that provides culturally appropriate food in the Burien area that helps people meet their needs while feeling included. Which they do as the only Latinx food system in the nation. But what Roxana and her team does is so much more than just meet those pressing needs. They do the hard work of empowering those they serve, helping to build not just community but also capacity for folks to decide what it is that they need and how they are going to achieve it.”

June 5, 2024
Comp plan update clears key vote, enters housing-focused phase ahead of final vote late this year
“Today’s committee passage of the King County Comprehensive Plan is the culmination of months of hearing from community about what is needed to support equity, affordability, and resilience as our region grows, and working to translate that into detailed planning policy. I look forward to continuing to dig into this policy in the coming months as we work to address some of the most pressing issues facing our communities: housing availability and affordability, access to healthcare services of all types, accessible and affordable childcare, and environmental and climate equity."

May 14, 2024
$20/hour minimum wage approved by Council
“Raising the minimum wage is a proven strategy to put more money in our local economies. Our working families are struggling to afford housing, placing food on their tables, and having anything left at the end of the month to save for a rainy day. I’m proud to help workers get closer to a living wage and happy that we are giving our small businesses more time to make this adjustment.”

January 2024
Climate-resilient infrastructure: King County’s new treatment station in Georgetown has already protected the Duwamish River and Puget Sound from 32 million gallons of pollution
"Our newest treatment facility is already better protecting the Duwamish River from polluted stormwater during severe rainstorms, demonstrating King County's steadfast commitment to protecting our region's water quality and building a more climate-resilient future. I'm grateful for the dedicated frontline employees who operate the station under challenging conditions for the benefit of people, salmon, and orcas."

January 18, 2024
Mosqueda elected Chair of Board of Health
"I’m honored my colleagues on the Board of Health have elected me as chair to drive this work. I can’t wait to collaborate with all of them to make sure we are ready for challenges on the horizon and improve social determinants of health so a kiddo born anywhere in the county has the opportunity to grow up healthy and happy." 

January 12, 2024
Mosqueda announces District 8 Team with labor relations, land use planning, legal and county expertise
“I can’t serve the district all by myself – I'm incredibly excited for my new staff joining me at the County. I’ve got a great team here who are all veterans to working in the political realm, but each bringing a different wealth of knowledge and experience that will benefit everyone in District 8 and across King County.” 

January 9, 2024
Mosqueda to chair Health & Human Services and Regional Transit committees in first year on Council
“I’m thrilled to be chairing the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee. My biggest priority as a King County Councilmember is to improve the health of our residents, and as Chair of HHS we get the chance to focus on those priorities with urgency..."