Columbia Metropolis resident and lawyer Rory O’Sullivan, who has spent his profession preventing landlords, bankers, and the pesky bureaucrats standing between you and your unemployment advantages, introduced his candidacy for Seattle Metropolis Lawyer on Wednesday. O’Sullivan’s the primary candidate to throw his hat within the ring for the place at present held by Republican Metropolis Lawyer Ann Davison.
O’Sullivan’s labored in a number of authorized support companies in Seattle, together with The Northwest Justice Undertaking, Housing Justice Undertaking, and he now runs his personal legislation agency, Washington Employment Advantages Advocates, which helps folks navigate unemployment insurance coverage points. In 2003, he based Washington Public Campaigns, which turned Repair Democracy First, a corporation that helped overturn the state legislation stopping public funding for elections and paved the way in which for Seattle’s democracy voucher program. The frequent theme in O’Sullivan’s life appears to be night the taking part in discipline between individuals who have every part and individuals who don’t have anything. He desires to carry that philosophy to the Metropolis Lawyer’s Workplace.
He’s Coming for Ann Davison’s Job
O’Sullivan’s marketing campaign stands as a direct problem to Davison, who he believes has barreled the Metropolis down the incorrect path. As Metropolis Lawyer, O’Sullivan mentioned he would current a brand new imaginative and prescient of what the workplace could possibly be: Creating and growing funding for proof primarily based felony diversion applications, decreasing how a lot cash tax payers need to spend paying off civil settlements for the unhealthy habits of the Seattle Police Division, and standing up for Metropolis labor requirements and tenants.
O’Sullivan argued that the duties of the Metropolis Lawyer’s Workplace (CAO) prolong far past the felony authorized system, and will weigh in on points resembling wage theft, eviction insurance policies, and the Seattle Police union contract. And when it got here to the felony authorized system, he would concentrate on ensuring the Metropolis offered the companies folks wanted to maintain them from biking via jail.
O’Sullivan says he’s discovered it “irritating” to observe Davison execute applications such because the Excessive Utilizer Initiative, which merely cycles folks via the jails. Slightly, O’Sullivan would reorient this system to concentrate on discovering out what the folks interacting with the felony authorized system wanted, and join them with companies. He made clear that he dislikes how Davison has handled Seattle Municipal Court docket Decide Pooja Vaddadi—diverting all felony instances away from her docket—and vowed to free her from her exile in infraction courtroom. He additionally believes the Metropolis Lawyer by no means ought to have ended neighborhood courtroom; if elected, he would attempt to carry that again, whereas increasing different therapeutic courtroom choices.
He’s additionally positioned himself in opposition to among the current actions of the conservative metropolis council. Particularly, he known as council’s Keep Out of Drug Space (SODA) zone and Keep Out Space Prostitution (SOAP) zones a means of the Metropolis Lawyer and Metropolis Council “making it seem like they’re doing one thing with out really bettering public security.” It’s no marvel he’s already earned the endorsement of Metropolis Council Member Tammy Morales.
A Housing Advocate
O’Sullivan bounced round as a toddler. Born in San Francisco, his household moved to England when he was about 6 years outdated, and he lived there for about two years earlier than his household moved to Bellevue. (In an try to slot in, he mentioned he labored to realize a British accent when he arrived within the UK, and simply as rapidly labored to drop it when he moved again to the US.) He attended the College of Washington for his undergraduate diploma, and after school he went to work for Congressman Jim McDermott. He labored for McDermott via 9/11, in addition to the Iraq Conflict. (O’Sullivan can rightly say he was on the correct facet of historical past when it got here to calling bullshit on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, since McDermott mentioned it means again in 2002.)
O’Sullivan went on to work for The Northwest Justice Undertaking (NJP). There, he helped arrange the statewide response to the foreclosures disaster in Klem v. Washington Mutual Financial institution. In that case, he fought for the rights of an aged girl on Whidbey Island who fell behind on her mortgage funds and had her home bought out from beneath her—regardless of having a purchaser that may have made her entire with some revenue. O’Sullivan and the NJP took the case all the way in which to the Washington Supreme Court docket and managed to safe a landmark choice that helps maintain trustees in control of foreclosed housing extra accountable, O’Sullivan says.
After that, O’Sullivan moved on to the Housing Justice Undertaking, a nonprofit that gives free authorized help to renters dealing with eviction in King County. On the time, Washington had no right-to-counsel legislation, so most of their attorneys labored as volunteers. O’Sullivan shared one particularly that left an enduring impression on him. It occurred one Christmas Eve. His job entailed discovering individuals who may step in and present up for courtroom in eviction instances, and he noticed one scheduled for the vacation. He hesitated to ask considered one of his attorneys to point out up, so he known as the owner’s lawyer to see if they may postpone the listening to. The lawyer mentioned no. So, O’Sullivan confirmed up for courtroom. He talked to the consumer, however rapidly realized the person had some type of cognitive incapacity. The person lived together with his mother, however she was within the hospital. So once more, O’Sullivan proposed suspending the listening to, arguing that this case appeared sophisticated and he needed a while to untangle it. Once more, the owner’s lawyer mentioned no.
Fortunately, the choose caught on fairly rapidly that the man dealing with eviction couldn’t advocate for himself, he assigned a guardian advert litem to the case, and postponed the listening to. But it surely illustrated for O’Sullivan how simply folks can fall via the cracks of our system. He retains that case in thoughts when he sees the present Metropolis Council contemplating cuts to tenant help and eviction moratoriums. He’s seen the position Davison has taken to form coverage for the Metropolis, and if he turned Metropolis Lawyer, he’d need to work arduous to advocate for tenant protections and funding for the organizations who advocate for folks struggling to keep up housing.
A Champion of the Unemployed
O’Sullivan began his personal follow, Washington Employment Advantages Advocates, which helps to make sure that folks entitled to employment advantages obtain these funds from the federal government. His work touches all components of the authorized system, together with the jails. He lately had a consumer housed on the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines and talked about how he’s struggled to make sure his consumer may make their employment profit hearings by phone. He known as the jail a poorly run facility, and he disagreed with the Metropolis’s choice to contract with them.
His work continues to tell his perspective on how simple it’s to search out your self homeless or coping with dependancy points. One among his current purchasers, a lady identified with ADHD, misplaced the physician who prescribed her Adderall. The lady used Apple Care and had restricted choices for a brand new physician. The one she ended up seeing refused to fill her Adderall prescription. So, she turned to methamphetamine, O’Sullivan says.
The lady knew her behavior wasn’t sustainable. She got here clear along with her employer and went on depart to attempt to entry therapy. The primary place she tried wouldn’t settle for her referral as a result of the one that despatched her really didn’t have the facility to refer her there. The following place that accepted her turned out to be a therapy facility for males. By the point she managed to discover a facility, her depart from work had run out and he or she was nonetheless utilizing medication. They gave her a drug check, she failed, and the corporate fired her for trigger and identical to that, she couldn’t even entry unemployment advantages. That’s how folks find yourself homeless, O’Sullivan says.
Folks resembling his consumer don’t want 45 days in jail solely to come back out and battle to rebuild their lives, he argued. They want actual companies, and not using a ton of strings connected, to verify they will really escape the felony authorized system and in the end succeed.
O’Sullivan desires of operating a Metropolis Lawyer’s workplace that helps greater than it hurts and affords a serving to hand to probably the most underserved folks within the Metropolis.
