The Seattle City Council last week unanimously approved an agreement to use the King County Jail as the primary provider of bed space for the city's misdemeanor inmates over the next two decades.
City leaders decided against building a new $200 million jail after a coalition of community groups, including Real Change, rallied against the plan and launched an initiative campaign (I-100) to reject it.
The ensuing discussion of race, class and incarceration became a key issue in the 2009 campaign, with winning candidates Mike McGinn, Pete Holmes and Dow Constantine taking strong positions against the new jail.
In a statement, McGinn said the agreement will help focus scarce public funds "on priorities higher than incarceration -- creating jobs, supporting our kids and maintaining the human services that people rely on more than ever during these tough economic times."