When I moved to Seattle in my early 20s, my husband and I were able to find an affordable home to rent while we built a life here, even though we didn’t have high-paying jobs lined up or savings in the bank. Today, it would be nearly impossible for another young couple to follow in our footsteps.

 

We need bold action to build more homes faster and rein in escalating housing costs so that the people who work in Seattle can also afford to live here. King County is currently studying the feasibility of a $1 billion bond for workforce and social housing; Seattle should do the same.

 

Twice now, and most recently with the landslide victory of Prop 1A, Seattle voters have voted overwhelmingly for social housing: publicly owned, permanently affordable housing for people at a range of incomes. Unfortunately, the incumbent chose to be the face of the opposition campaign funded by Amazon and the Chamber of Commerce. I promise I will work to make sure that Seattle’s new Social Housing Developer succeeds.

 

If our current mayor cared about social housing, he could be working to make sure the Comprehensive Plan gives the same density bonuses to the social housing developer as it’s currently granting only to conventional affordable housing. 

 

A growing majority of Seattle households are renters, and we deserve stable and affordable housing. I’ve led a coalition of over 50 organizations to pass strong renter protection laws in Seattle and other cities across King County, but there’s more to be done. Too many corporate landlords are exploiting a tight housing market to impose unfair costs. In my first term, I will work to pass legislation cracking down on rental “junk fees”, deceptive landlord practices, and algorithmic price-fixing.

 

We must also remove the barriers to housing production that lock most of us out of Seattle’s most desirable neighborhoods, with access to great public transit, parks, schools, grocery stores, and small businesses. I will work to make sure we can build new homes across our city that people can afford to rent and to buy — and cut the red tape that makes it so expensive and difficult to build right now. Let’s make sure that our parents, our neighbors, and our children can afford to continue calling Seattle home.

 

Some neighborhoods, including the historically Black Central District and the racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods of South Seattle, have already absorbed a significant amount of development in a way that has often proved harmful. I will work with communities at risk of displacement on policies and programs to ensure that our legacy communities stay anchored and stable.