MHA – Citywide Proposal and Future Legislative Process The broad public conversation of the Executive’s initial (my emphasis added) proposal to implement the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program approved by the Council in last year’s MHA framework legislation  began in Fall 2016. Last year’s framework legislation laid out how all developers would have to contribute […]

Anti-Hate Resolution As chair of the Committee that oversees Civil Rights, I am charged with providing policy direction and oversight, and making recommendations on legislative matters related to civil rights issues.  In response to Donald Trump becoming the President-elect, there has been an increase in hate speech and acts of violence targeted at Muslims, Sikhs, […]

THIS WEEK IN THE BUDGET On Wednesday the Budget Committee met to vote and discuss changes to the proposed budget. My big news is that the Council supported the passage of my proposal to create a $29M housing bond intended to expand financing for affordable housing in Seattle for 2017.  I wrote about this proposal […]

Housing Bond Proposal Last Friday, Councilmembers Bagshaw, González, Johnson, O’Brien, Sawant, and I signed on to a proposal to fund additional affordable housing for Seattle residents. The proposal is a measured approach that adds $29 million in bond financing for housing which, if leveraged with other resources, could support additional affordable housing. The housing production […]

Comprehensive Plan 2035 Community Involvement On Monday the Council approved the 2035 Comprehensive Plan update. In committee, the Council approved amendments I sponsored relating to Seattle Public Utilities, Arts, Economic Development and Growth, and then this week in Full Council amendments I sponsored to the Community Involvement element were also approved. I worked with neighborhood […]

2017-2018 BUDGET PROCESS On Monday, September 26 Mayor Murray will release his proposed 2017-2018 city budget, marking the beginning of the Council’s budget process. Budget Committee Chair Burgess has announced a revised process and schedule, which will provide for enhanced public consideration of the Chair’s proposed balancing package during November. Some of the work preceding […]

Observers’ Bill of Rights Across the country, recordings of police activity by the public have increased the public’s ability to witness police behavior and hold police accountable. However, the act of recording, observing, or verbally criticizing police has also at times led to arrests and legal challenges to those arrests on First Amendment grounds. Our […]

On June 1st our City proclaimed June LGBTQ Pride Month. The Council and Mayor recognized that the fight for equality is not over and we must continue to lead the nation in establishing policies to prevent discrimination. We raised the LGBTQ flag and promised to continue to speak out against injustice and stand with those […]

Perennial Issues of Housing Discrimination and Fair Housing are Ripe for Reform Race and socio-economic factors must not be used to prevent people from securing safe, healthy affordable housing. Yet, that is exactly what is happening. On Monday, May 2, 2016, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) filed 23 director’s charges of illegal discrimination […]