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Jason Seth
From:Raman Kaur <ramanseattle@outlook.com>
Sent:Wednesday, December 2, 2020 7:04 PM
To:CityClerk
Follow Up Flag:Follow up
Flag Status:Flagged
Hi Raman,
I need your support again. My family owns the Red Lion Hotel in Renton and has been in
partnership with King County to house close to 200 homeless people during the Covid crisis. It
has been an ongoing battle with the city to have these people stay.
Below is a letter I request you forward to the Renton City Council Members and City Clerks
office. Please create a new email and forward this letter to the addresses listed below. Please
send this email in support of rejecting AB-2766. Send this email by Tuesday 3:00pm
Please forward this letter to your friends and family to help protect the vulnerable homeless
community.
The Subject line should be: "Reject AB-2766"
cityclerk@rentonwa.gov
jmedzegian@rentonwa.gov
With much gratitude,
Manvir Dhaliwal
_____________________________________________________________________
Councilmembers,
I am writing in opposition to the proposed legislation AB-2766. This proposed legislation specifically
targets a minority small business owner who is simply helping out King County and the most vulnerable
CAUTION: This email originated from outside the City of Renton. Do not click links, reply or open attachments unless
you know the content is safe.
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homeless population. Mr. Bath has been discriminated against and made to feel like the enemy by local
community leaders and business leaders.
Mr. Bath is a leader in Renton’s local Sikh community and mentors young people and other
entrepreneurs. Mr. Bath’s faith instructs him to constantly give to others in need, regardless of their
financial or other circumstance. This is the reason he has organized weekly food drives in local Sikh
temples during this COVID-19 crisis. See https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-area-sikh-
community-leans-on-core-values-to-help-those-in-need-during-coronavirus-pandemic/
Mr. Bath’s faith, duty, and commitment to his community drove him to agree to help the homeless
during this unprecedented time. The hotel had empty rooms; King County needed those rooms; and, he
could work with the County and his new guests to create a safe environment for them to survive the
COVID-19 crisis.
As a result of providing service to his community according to his faith, he has faced unbelievable
discrimination and harassment. Mr. Bath has been made to feel like he did not belong in the Renton
community, even though he has been a member of this community for nearly thirty years.
Local government agencies have made Mr. Bath and his employees feel like we are the other, and
“enemies,” simply because he agreed to help his community as a tenet of his own faith. Recently,
there was a fire at the hotel which requires intervention from the Renton Police Department. One of the
Renton Police Officers audibly stated that he wished the hotel would burn down to the ground or
flood so that Mr. bath and his partners would no longer assist the homeless population.
The Renton City Council is now trying to severely impact Mr. Bath’s business by singling out the hotel
and restricting its use. It is apparent that the City of Renton is targeting Mr. Bath and is intent on
dramatically diminishing the value of his property (while, in the process, putting perhaps hundreds of ill
men and women on the street).
Mr. Bath is being punished for simply doing what his faith and his character instruct him to do. And the
bottom line is: Where will the 100+ homeless people go if the City passes this ordinance and forces
them from Red Lion Inn in Renton? They will venture into the local community and risk increasing the
spread of COVID-19 – at a time when the rates of transmission are at an all-time high. The City’s action
will result in certain death of the most vulnerable people under its charge
Thank you for your consideration and I hope you will not pass AB-2766.
_____________________
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