SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane City Councilmember Jonathan Bingle presented a resolution in front of the city's Public Safety Committee that would see the City of Spokane essentially block vaccine mandates in the future.
According to the wording of the resolution, it would prevent people in Spokane - including city employees - from being subjected to vaccine mandates from any level of government.
This comes a week after the council voted 5-2 to formally censure Bingle for refusing to wear a mask inside city hall. Fellow District 1 councilmember Michael Cathcart joined Bingle in voting against the censure. The censure doesn't take away any of Bingle's power, it instead acts as a formal denouncement of his actions.
Bingle said the goal of the resolution is to prevent more job losses at the city.
"We could lose a lot of people at a time that the city and certain departments specifically are incredibly understaffed," Bingle said. "I would hate to see more committed and dedicated civil servants losing their job for any number of reasonable objections. And so, for that reason, I bring this forward."
Bingle said the Spokane Fire Department department recorded 509 overtime shifts last month, which is about double the number of overtime shifts from the previous January.
He also said he was proposing this resolution in light of the United States Supreme Court decision to block President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for large private businesses.
Bingle said he had a sponsor and co-sponsor for the proposed resolution. Cathcart said it likely wouldn't go before a council vote until Feb. 28.