UDP Medicare Rule Last October a constituent brought to my attention that Medicare Part B premiums were included as a source of income towards qualification to the Utility Discount Program (UDP).  The UDP, if you’re not familiar with it is City program for lower-income customers and offers about 60% on your Seattle City Light bill […]

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 […]

NCIS Update Over the weekend Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and Seattle City Light (SCL) worked overtime to roll out the New Customer Information System (NCIS). I have written previously about this program which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. I also held a joint special committee with Councilmember Sawant, who chairs the Energy […]

Revised ST3 Plan: Light Rail to West Seattle Three Years Sooner! The Sound Transit Board has announced a revised ST3 plan that reduces, by three years, the projected timeline to bring light rail to West Seattle. The revised plan also accelerates light rail to Ballard by three years, adds a new station to the existing […]

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 […]

Today’s Vote: Update on Preservation, The Missing Piece of our Affordable Housing Strategy. The Council voted this morning in the 2016 Housing Levy Select Committee to pass the amendments supporting the new housing preservation program first proposed by myself and then supported and developed with the help of Councilmember Mike O’Brien and his staff. I […]

Letter to Sound Transit re: ST3 ballot measure The Mayor and Council sent a letter to Sound Transit providing the City’s comments about potential projects for an ST3 ballot measure in November. For District 1, the letter states Seattle’s support for building light rail from Downtown Seattle to West Seattle, and lists West Seattle to […]