Quote:SEATTLE — The city of Seattle has entered into a contract with Andre Taylor, a high-profile civic activist who will become the city’s first “Street Czar,” a role that has come under fire from some in the community.

Under the terms of the year-long contract, the city will pay Taylor and his group, called Not This Time, $150,000 to provide "expertise and support services in de-escalation, community engagement, and alternatives to policing.” The city's contract was first reported by Publicola.

Taylor said the role will benefit the city and its outreach efforts to the community.

“A street czar is a person who has a particular genius in a particular area," Taylor told KOMO News on Tuesday. “I know the term 'street czar' is quite provocative.”

Taylor said he devised the title by following a practice by former President Barack Obama of designating "czars" to handle a variety of areas of interest while he was in the White House.

“This should be a prominent position because it could help quell some of the incidents that are going on between community and cities,” said Taylor, who came to prominence after his brother, Che Taylor, was shot and killed by Seattle Police Department officers in Wedgewood in 2016.

Two years later, Andre Taylor made a name for himself in Seattle by advocating for I-940, a police reform initiative that was ultimately approved by state voters in 2018. That measure was designed to provide more accountability for law enforcement officers accused of fatal officer-involved shootings.,

During the summer's Capitol Hill Occupied Protest demonstrations, Taylor drew fire from many protesters, who accused him of being an agent for city leaders and police. Many of the CHOP protesters said Taylor did not speak for them.

He said he was at the scene to de-escalate the violence after Lorenzo Anderson was killed nearby.

The contract was signed by a representative from the city's Department of Neighborhoods on June 22, as the CHOP demonstrations were still unfolding. Taylor didn’t sign the contract, however, until July 27.

Taylor says his skill is comes from knowing the streets, who to talk to when tensions are rising and how to de-escalate those raw emotions.

“Somebody can't put a price tag on going into community meetings and having sit downs with gang members, (who) won't sit down with anybody else," he said, saying the same about pimps and prostitutes who aren't likely to go to Seattle City Hall for a meeting the police brass.

Taylor's group has had previous contracts with the city.

In 2019, the city agreed to pay Not This Time $100,000 to sponsor a speaker series that was called “Conversations with the Streets.”

“No one raised any questions about the $100,000 that the city gave us for Conversations with the Streets,” he said. “And we are kind of bewildered that people are now raising an issue about $150,000 for our de-escalation that we've been doing since my brother Che Taylor was killed. It's amazing to me (and) this is a non-starter and non-issue."

Questions to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan about the contract were directed to Department of Neighborhoods. A spokesman for the office, however, did not immediately respond to questions about the contract, including the timing of the hire and if other providers were considered.

Sam Read says the contract represents a continuation of the previous contract with Taylor.

“This new contract represents an opportunity for the city to continue building partnership with and directly supporting community organizations working to serve Seattle’s Black communities,” says Read.

Taylor believes people questioning the contract represents a double standard.

“Black people are not normally paid for positions nor their organizations but white people with the same positions are paid and this is an ongoing problem not only here but all over this country” Taylor said. “White people have been paid for some of the same stuff and nobody has ever said anything about it. But the moment a black man demands respect and you value the work and you want to use my credibility, that should have some value to it."

Taylor says he’s currently working on a project with the Union Gospel Mission in his role as street czar and hopes critics will see his experience as a positive for the city.

“Me, as a black man has the right to be paid for my genius or for whatever my organization can provide,” Taylor said. “Black people as a whole have not been in a place to be compensated for their genius or their work for a very very long time.”