We are in a housing crisis and renters and homeowners are getting squeezed out of Seattle by massive rent increases and escalating property taxes. We must change course to ensure that future generations of working Seattleites can thrive in our city. Across the country, cities with the worst housing affordability crises have already mandated 25% of each new development to be affordable to working and low income people. Seattle must do the same. We must also require big corporations to pay their fair share in taxes so we can relieve the property tax burden on Seattleites.
I have over ten years of experience as an advocate for housing affordability. While Executive Director of the Tenants Union, I doubled its operating budget, opened offices across Washington, tripled the people served, and advanced state and local legislation to expand tenants’ rights. These legislative efforts included passing stronger protections for domestic violence survivors, increasing affordable housing subsidies, fighting economic evictions, and expanding tenant protections in state and local law. Last year I worked as the Outreach Director for Raise Up Washington, the labor, faith, and community coalition that organized to pass I-1433 to raise the minimum wage and establish paid sick & safe leave statewide. Prior to the Tenants Union, I was a housing advocate at non-profit Solid Ground.
Our campaign is accountable to regular people, not big money. I am the only candidate in our race who pledged not to accept contributions from corporations, developers, or CEOs. Instead, 90% of my campaign funding comes through the historic Democracy Voucher program and my average real dollar donation is just $19 dollars. The community, and not big business, owns our campaign. How we win matters: it shows we put community interests first.
I will be a strong champion on the council for more civilian oversight of the Seattle Police Department, leading on climate justice by divesting from fossil fuel companies, passing paid family leave, protecting immigrant rights, and prioritizing hiring city contractors who commit to gender pay equity. If you believe we need to take bold action on these issues to do more to improve policing, make housing affordable, get big money out of politics, ensure equal pay for women and make city government more responsive, I ask for your vote.
Selected endorsements: City Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Kshama Sawant, former City Councilmember Nick Licata, SEIU 6 and Real Change Founding Director Timothy Harris
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