Dolores Sibonga Subject Files, 1979-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Sibonga, Dolores
Title
Dolores Sibonga Subject Files
Dates
1979-1990 (inclusive)
Quantity
4.4 cubic ft., (11 boxes)
Collection Number
4681-02
Summary
Correspondence, memoranda, draft legislation, reports, testimony, and notes regarding important issues in the City Council work of Dolores Sibonga, 1979-1990.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Born in 1931, Dolores Sibonga grew up in Seattle's International District. She received her B.A. in journalism in 1952 and a law degree in 1973, both from the University of Washington. She was the first Filipina-American admitted to the Bar Association in Washington State. Prior to attending law school, Sibonga worked in radio and television in Spokane and Seattle, including producing documentaries, and publishing a community newspaper. After receiving her law degree, Sibonga served as a public defender and later was Deputy Director of the Washington State Human Rights Commission.

Sibonga was appointed in 1978 to fill Phyllis Lamphere's seat until a special election was held. She did not run in the special election, but was subsequently elected to Council for the term beginning in 1980. She chose not to stand for reelection in 1992. While on Council she chaired four committees: Personnel and Property Management (1978, 1980-1981), Parks and Community Resources (1982-1983, 1988-1989), Finance (1984-1987, 1990-1991), and Labor (1986-1987). During her tenure on the City Council, Sibonga championed minority hiring by the City, increased expenditures for parks, Japanese-American reparations, and maintaining the local character of Seattle Center during a proposed redesign of the facility by the Disney Corporation.

After her Council term expired, Sibonga resumed her law practice and served on the Horse Racing Commission and Human Rights Commission.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Correspondence, memoranda, draft legislation, reports, testimony, and notes concerning issues before City Council while Sibonga was a council member. The collection contains a significant volume of materials relating to the Pro Parks levy. This $188 million bond issue would have financed park improvements and acquisitions of land for new parks. The levy appeared on the ballot in 1982 and was defeated. Also documented in Sibonga's files are discussions about the site of the Martha Washington School. When the school closed, the city purchased the property and eventually turned it into a park. Other materials in the collection cover the planning for the new downtown Seattle Art Museum, which opened in 1991, funded by a 1986 levy.

Additionally, the materials document Sibonga's work on issues relating to Seattle Center, including redevelopment of the Fun Forest amusement area, as well as the Walt Disney Company's 1988 proposal to revitalize the Center, which was rejected after citizens protested Disney's plans to commercialize the campus and demolish the International Fountain, Center House, and other structures. Other topics covered in the collection include the Seattle Mariners, Japanese-American reparations, the proposed Ackerley Arena, and the Nuclear Freeze Resolution.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Dolores Sibonga Subject Files, Record Series 4681-02. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

4681-02-02:  Dolores Sibonga Subject Files, 1979-1990Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Ackerley Arena
1990
1/2
Ackerley Arena: Ackerley Communications of the Northwest, Inc.
1990
1/3
Ackerley Arena: Central Staff
1990
1/4
Ackerley Arena: Correspondence, Middle of the Road
1990
1/5
Ackerley Arena: Correspondence, Opposition
1990
1/6
Ackerley Arena: Correspondence, Opposition
1990
1/7
Ackerley Arena: Correspondence, Positive
1990
1/8
Ackerley Arena: Correspondence, Positive
1990
1/9
Ackerley Arena: Executive Proposal
1990
1/10
Ackerley Arena: Initiative CF-297827
1990
1/11
Ackerley Arena: Mailing List
1990
1/12
Ackerley Arena: New Seattle Arena Presentation
1990
1/13
Ackerley Arena: News Clippings
1990
1/14
Ackerley Arena: News Releases
1990
2/1
Ackerley Arena: Ordinance and Agreement
1990
2/2
Ackerley Arena: Public Hearing, April 24
1990
2/3
Ackerley Arena: Resolution
1990
2/4
Ackerley Arena: Save Seattle Center Downsizing Coliseum Petitions
1990
2/5
Ackerley Arena: Sibonga Form Letters
1990
2/6
Ackerley Arena: Tobacco/Liquor Advertising in Ackerley Dome
1990
2/7
Japanese-American Reparations: Japanese-American Community
1983-1984
2/8
Japanese-American Reparations: News Clippings
1982-1984
2/9
Japanese-American Reparations: Redress for City
1983-1984
2/10
Japanese-American Reparations: Redress for City
1983-1984
2/11
Mariners
1985
2/12
Mariners
1985
2/13
Mariners
1985
3/1
Mariners: Chamber Promo Material
1981-1985
3/2
Mariners: Chronological Note File
1985
3/3
Mariners: Conlon Study (Masters Thesis)
1982
3/4
Mariners: County/Mariner Original Agreement
1976-1985
3/5
Mariners: Financial Statement
1983-1985
3/6
Mariners: Issues Analysis, Major League Baseball Commission
1985
3/7
Mariners: Kingdome Impact Study
1979
3/8
Mariners: Major League Baseball Commission, Report
1985
3/9
Mariners: News Clippings
1985
3/10
Mariners: Original Material
1985
3/11
Mariners: Outline of Questions
1985
4/1
Mariners: Proposal Working Papers
1985
4/2
Mariners: Special Review Panel Mailing List
1979-1990
4/3
Mariners: Support of ML Baseball in Seattle, Summary Report
1985
4/4
Mariners: Testimony
1985
4/5
Martha Washington Site
1978-1986
4/6
Martha Washington Site
1978-1988
4/7
Martha Washington Site
1978-1989
4/8
Martha Washington Site
1980-1984
4/9
Martha Washington Site
1982-1988
4/10
Martha Washington Site
1982-1988
5/1
Martha Washington Site
1983
5/2
Martha Washington Site
1983-1984
5/3
Martha Washington Site
1984
5/4
Martha Washington Site
1984-1987
5/5
Martha Washington Site
1984-1987
5/6
Martha Washington Site
1988
5/7
Martha Washington Site: Adaptive Reuse Project
1983-1984
5/8
Martha Washington Site: City Attorney Opinions
1984-1987
6/1
Martha Washington Site: Demolish Buildings Support
1988
6/2
Martha Washington Site: Kubota Gardens, Correspondence Between Parties
1986-1987
6/3
Martha Washington Site: Kubota Gardens, Exchange Agreement
1986
6/4
Martha Washington Site: Kubota Gardens, Legislation
1982-1987
6/5
Martha Washington Site: Kubota Gardens, Staff Memos
1986-1987
6/6
Martha Washington Site: Lorig Proposal, Support Letters
1988
6/7
Martha Washington Site: Newspaper Clippings
1982-1987
6/8
Martha Washington Site: Proposed Park, PPG Com Meeting & Site Study Final Report
1980-1988
6/9
Martha Washington Site: Public Comments/Hearings/Articles
1985-1987
6/10
Nuclear Freeze
1981-1982
7/1
Nuclear Freeze: Issue Binder
1980-1982
7/2
Nuclear Freeze: News Clippings
1981-1982
7/3
Nuclear Freeze: Nuclear Arms Control Material
1982
7/4
Nuclear Freeze: Nuclear Technology
1979-1982
7/5
Nuclear Freeze: Nuclear Weapons Issues Handbook
1982
7/6
Nuclear Freeze: Physicians for Social Responsibility
1980-1982
7/7
Nuclear Freeze: Resolution
1982-1983
7/8
Nuclear Freeze: Resolutions
1982
7/9
Nuclear Freeze: Roundtable Discussion Materials
1982
8/1
Nuclear Freeze: Roundtable Project
1982
8/2
Pro Parks Levy: Capital Improvement Program Environmental Impact Statement
1982
8/3
Pro Parks Levy: City Council Memoranda
1982
8/4
Pro Parks Levy: Correspondence
1982
8/5
Pro Parks Levy: Correspondence, King County Council
1982
8/6
Pro Parks Levy: Correspondence, Parks Board
1982
8/7
Pro Parks Levy: Correspondence, Public
1982
8/8
Pro Parks Levy: Correspondence, Walter Hundley
1982
8/9
Pro Parks Levy: Issue Binder
1981-1982
8/10
Pro Parks Levy: King County Legislation
1982
8/11
Pro Parks Levy: News Clippings
1979-1982
8/12
Pro Parks Levy: Notes, Alan Osaki
1982
8/13
Pro Parks Levy: Notes, Dolores Sibonga
1982
9/1
Pro Parks Levy: Notes, Memoranda, Reports
1981-1982
9/2
Pro Parks Levy: Official File
1982
9/3
Pro Parks Levy: Ordinance Drafts
1982
9/4
Pro Parks Levy: Parks and Community Resources Committee Meetings
1982
9/5
Pro Parks Levy: Preliminary Report (July)
1981
9/6
Pro Parks Levy: Public Hearing (May)
1982
9/7
Pro Parks Levy: Public Hearing, Sign-up Sheets (May)
1982
9/8
Pro Parks Levy: Reference File
1981-1982
10/1
Pro Parks Levy: Working File
1979-1982
10/2
Seattle Art Museum: Chamber of Commerce
1986
10/3
Seattle Art Museum: Debt Financing
1986
10/4
Seattle Art Museum: Executive Branch Correspondence
1986
10/5
Seattle Art Museum: Kreielsheimer Foundation
1986
10/6
Seattle Art Museum: Law
1986
10/7
Seattle Art Museum: Mayor's Proposal
1986
10/8
Seattle Art Museum: Museum Development Authority
1986
10/9
Seattle Art Museum: Museum Development Authority, Museum Cooperation Agreement
1986
10/10
Seattle Art Museum: News Clippings
1986
10/11
Seattle Art Museum: News Releases
1986
10/12
Seattle Art Museum: Public Hearing Sign-Ups
1986
10/13
Seattle Art Museum: Sam Smith Proposal
1986
10/14
Seattle Art Museum: Seattle Times Poll
1986
10/15
Seattle Center: Disney Plan
1988
10/16
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Citizen Correspondence
1988
10/17
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Correspondence
1988
10/18
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Council Decision Schedule
1988
10/19
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Disney Study Advisory Group
1979-1990
11/1
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Mailing List Advisory
1988
11/2
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Memoranda
1988
11/3
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Newspaper Articles
1988
11/4
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Public Hearings
1988
11/5
Seattle Center: Disney Plan, Seattle Center Coalition
1985-1988
11/6
Seattle Center: Fun Forest, Lawsuit
1982-1983
11/7
Seattle Center: Fun Forest, Request for Proposal
1983
11/8
Seattle Center: Fun Forest, Request for Proposal
1983
11/9
Seattle Center: Fun Forest, Request for Proposal
1983
11/10
Seattle Center: Long Range Master Plan Approaches, Phase II Report
1988
11/11
Seattle Center: Northwest Plan
1988

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Antinuclear movement--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Japanese Americans--Washington (State)--Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
  • Parks--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Fun Forest (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Martha Washington School for Girls (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Seattle Art Museum
  • Seattle Center (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Seattle Mariners (Baseball team)

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government

Occupations

  • Women city council members--Washington (State)--Seattle

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names
    • Seattle (Wash.)--City Council (creator)