Too often we’re sold a bill of goods. It’s an increasingly undemocratic time as the nation lurches toward the false allure of the strongman and authoritarianism. Charlatans promise what they cannot deliver. Despots undermine institutions, consolidate their power, and line their pockets. Refreshingly, real leaders who still believe in democracy and American progress are still stepping forward and fighting back to better the lives of the many instead of enriching the lucky few.

The candidates we have endorsed believe in getting the details right and making government work for everybody, not just the rich and well-connected. Achieving better results at the federal level starts with modeling excellence at the local level. It’s a way to fight back with a federal government that is shut down and careening toward self-destruction.

Urbanists are winning the housing debate and laying the groundwork for a policy shift that will bring about more abundant and affordable housing. In Seattle’s primary election, Urbanist-endorsed challenger Katie Wilson upset a heavily-favored incumbent with a message that was carefully focused on cost of living issues, including housing abundance. Urbanist-endorsed City Council candidates had a similar message and swept the primary.

Similar debates are playing out in cities all over the region, and momentum is building on the urbanist side. Burien is at a tipping point, with a progressive slate looking to increase housing opportunities and invest in affordable housing opening up leads in the primary. Eastside cities are seeing more urbanist contenders than ever.

Nothing is guaranteed, of course. Victory still depends on you voting and telling your friends not to sit this one out, either. Let’s take a stride as a region and make this a place with more access and opportunities for all.

Ballots will soon be arriving in your mail boxes. Washington voters have until 8pm Tuesday, November 4 to return a ballot at a drop box or get it postmarked. Visit the Vote WA portal to register or check your voter information.

The Urbanist Elections Committee consists of Forrest Baum, Emma Biscocho Pelletier, Angela Compton, Caitlin Hepworth, Kacie Masten, Jason Merges, Oliver Moffat, Ryan Packer, Aparna Rae, Maya Ramakrishnan, Hannah Sabio-Howell, Jazmine Smith, Doug Trumm, and Kelsey Vanhee.

Endorsement Cheat Sheet

Seattle/King County (Click to skip ahead) 

• King County Executive: Claudia Balducci
• Seattle Mayor: Katie Wilson
• Seattle City Attorney: Erika Evans 
• Seattle City Council District 2: Eddie Lin
• Seattle City Council District 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck
• Seattle City Council District 9: Dionne Foster
• Seattle Proposition 1: Vote Yes on FEPP Levy 
• Seattle Proposition 2: Vote Yes on Seattle Shield Initiative
• King County Council, District 5: No Endorsement 

South Sound (Click to skip ahead)

• Tacoma Mayor: Anders Ibsen 
• Tacoma City Council, Position 4: Silong Chhun 
• Tacoma City Council, Position 5: Zev Rose Cook
• Tacoma City Council, Position 6: Latasha Palmer 
• Tukwila City Council, Position 1: Verna Seal
• Kent City Council, Position 6: Andy Song
• Renton City Council, Position 1: Mike Westgaard
• Renton City Council, Position 2:  No Endorsement
• Burien City Council Position 1: Hugo Garcia (Skip to Burien)
• Burien City Council Position 3: Sam Méndez
• Burien City Council Position 5: Sarah Moore 
• Burien City Council Position 7: Rocco DeVito

Eastside (Click to skip ahead)

• Bellevue City Council Position 1: Vishal Bhargava
• Bellevue City Council, Position 5: Claire Sumadiwirya
• Bellevue City Council, Position 6: No endorsement
• Newcastle City Council, Position 6: Paul Charbonneau
• Issaquah Mayor: Lindsey Walsh (Skip to Issaquah)
• Issaquah City Council, Position 1: Kelly Jiang
• Issaquah City Council, Position 3: Barbara de Michele
• Issaquah City Council, Position 6: Kevin Nichols
• Kirkland City Council, Position 1: Jay Arnold (Skip to Kirkland)
• Kirkland City Council, Position 3: Shilpa Prem
• Kirkland City Council, Position 5: Neal Black
• Kirkland City Council, Position 7: Kurt Dresner
• Redmond City Council, Position 6: Menka Soni
• Bothell Proposition No. 1 – Vote Yes on Renewal of Safe Streets and Sidewalks Levy Lid (Skip to Bothell)
• Bothell City Council, Position 3: Jenne Alderks
• Bothell City Council, Position 5: Brittany Miles
• Legislative District 5, Senate: Victoria Hunt
• Legislative District 33, Position No. 1: Edwin Obras
• Legislative District 41, Position No. 1: Janice Zahn
• Legislative District 48, State Senate: Vandana Slatter

North End (Click to skip ahead) 

• Everett Mayor: Cassie Franklin
• Everett City Council, District 1: Sam Hem
• Shoreline City Council, Position 1: No Endorsement
• Shoreline City Council, Position 7: Christopher Roberts
• Edmonds City Council, Position 1: Chris Eck
• Kenmore City Council, Position 2: No endorsement.
• Kenmore City Council, Position 4: Nigel Herbig
• Lake Forest Park City Council, Position 1: Semra Riddle
• Lake Forest Park City Council, Position 3: Josh Rosenau
• Lynnwood City Council, Position 1: Derica Escamilla (Skip to Lynnwood)
• Lynnwood City Council, Position 2: Isabel Mata
• Lynnwood City Council, Position 3: Josh Binda
• Lynnwood City Council, Position 5: Mpiima M. Mugambe
• Woodinville Council Position 1: Michelle Evans 
• Woodinville City Council, Position 5: Sarah Arndt
• North Shore (Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville) Proposition 1

King County Executive: Claudia Balducci

Help Wanted: Adept leader with the ability to manage Washington’s largest county. Must bring experience to handle structural budget issues, deal with impending federal cuts to public health, handle a countywide housing crisis, and avert a looming fiscal cliff at King County Metro. Another prerequisite: the ability to accelerate King County’s work to stand up and operate voter-approved crisis care centers in the face of community opposition. And then there’s a full-time side hustle: steering the entire Sound Transit board toward a stable ST3 delivery plan.

More than just about every other local elected official we can name, Claudia Balducci has been in the policy trenches, playing a long game and pushing for reforms that often don’t bear fruit until years down the line. Balducci has helped lead a wave of progressive urbanist leaders on the Eastside, helping the region break out of a suburban mindset and embrace rapid transit and urbanization.

When she was Bellevue’s Mayor, she committed to bringing more homelessness services to an area of the county that only had a single men’s shelter. She was able to fulfill that promise on the County Council, leading on a property sale that paved the way for the Porchlight shelter – a significant achievement on its own, but one that opened the door to more tools to help people exit homelessness on the Eastside.

From bringing the K Line rapid bus back from the dead, to bringing regional attention to the issue of traffic safety as president of the Puget Sound Regional Council, to championing arts funding via the Doors Open levy and ensuring those dollars actually reach arts organizations, Balducci has had a hand in so many regional wins over the past decade.

Of course, we’re also impressed with Balducci’s work on the Sound Transit board. She’s one of the main reasons that the agency is still considering ways to make a promised Jackson Street transit hub work as a part of Ballard Link right now. We’d love to see what Baducci can do with more staff and the ability to directly pick who she serves with on the board.

Balducci has pledged to make housing her top priority as County Executive, and setting a tangible but ambitious goal of delivering 44,000 affordable homes in her first five years is refreshing and much needed to galvanize action.

We’ve been impressed with what Girmay Zahilay, Balducci’s primary challenger, has done during his time on the County Council. He’s brought renewed focus to improving road safety in the Rainier Valley by improving the most dangerous set of light rail tracks in the region. Zahilay is charismatic, and elevating the needs of disadvantaged and often overlooked residents of South King County has in turn elevated the political debate.

On the other hand, Zahilay plans for the office have remained high-level, and he hasn’t demonstrated the same knack for navigating the nitty gritty of advancing new policy, as Balducci has. Zahilay boldly pledged to use a billion dollars in county bonding capacity to fund badly needed workforce housing, only to quietly shelve the idea when the idea didn’t prove as viable and easy as he led on. Ahead of the County’s study, Balducci correctly predicted that solving the county’s housing woes would require a new dedicated revenue source to fund housing, not one simple bonding trick.  

Zahilay’s similarly detail-light pledge to use performance metrics and ratchet up government efficiency doesn’t tell us much on its own, without more concretely defining the goals toward which they’d serve. 

Zahilay is clearly a rising star in local politics, while Balducci is a steady hand who has quietly put her stamp on many of the county’s biggest urbanist wins of the last decade. Both have the makings of a deft and capable executive for the county and its 14,000 employees and 2.4 million constituents. Both candidates are inspiring leaders we are very thankful to have in public service. 

When it comes down to it, we have more confidence in Balducci’s ability to execute ambitious plans and navigate the choppy waters of federal chaos on the horizon, sure to strain budgets and put many people at risk. Vote Balducci.

Seattle Mayor: Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson shocked Seattle’s political establishment when she finished the August primary with a large lead bordering on 10 points. We endorsed Wilson in the primary, and we’re thrilled to see that outcome. But the job isn’t done. We must turn out the vote in the general election to secure this victory and make progress toward a more affordable Seattle. 

Wilson has been in the middle of numerous progressive victories over the last decade as head of the Transit Riders Union. It is precisely this kind of coalition building and vision that is needed at city hall after four years of ineffective leadership.

Seattle’s sitting mayor, Bruce Harrell, stands in sharp contrast with Wilson. While visionary coalition builders lay the groundwork, slick politicians like Harrell swoop in last-minute with the ceremonial shears to cut a ribbon to claim credit for a project.

Despite ample opportunity to work with centrist allies on Council, Harrell did not deliver on his big campaign promises from four years ago, which swept him into office. For example, Harrell promised 2,000 additional units of emergency housing for homeless people in his first year, but fell well short. Instead, the number of shelter beds have shrunk under his watch, even as destabilizing sweeps of homeless people have reached a new record high. Without beds for unhoused people to go, sweeps are largely spreading the problem around, rather than providing a durable solution, as Wilson has underscored.

The Harrell Administration has squandered opportunities, with its signature pettiness sometimes getting in the way. For example, Harrell signed a $2.7 million lease on Civic Hotel to provide shelter beds, but his administration refused to fill those beds because his office was feuding with CoLEAD director Lisa Daugaard, whose nonprofit was tasked with handling referrals. People slept on the street while beds sat empty for Harrell’s team to prove their point.

Since the primary, Harrell has been in attack mode, hoping to claw back into the race. He has desperately sought to portray Wilson as inexperienced and radical — not executive material. To spread his message, Harrell has ignored campaign finance laws and ethical scruples. Harrell’s Senior Deputy Mayor Tim Burgess, returned to his role as political action committee (PAC) leader, the same role he played in Harrell’s last election, and has raised $1.5 million for his boss, largely from big business and real estate moguls. In September, Harrell spoke at a PAC fundraiser, in what seemed to be a clear violation of campaign finance regulations.

But all the effort to deflect and tear down his opponent has failed to answer the key question of why Harrell deserves another four years, and why he could not get more done in his disappointing first mayoral term. If Harrell was as innovative solving Seattle’s problems as he is getting around campaign regulations, he would have much bigger accomplishments over the last four years.

Wilson’s top two campaign priorities are “affordable and abundant housing” and “a real reduction in homelessness.” Unlike Harrell, we would expect Wilson to make real headway in her first term, rather than waiting around and blaming others for not clearing hurdles, as Harrell has done.

Harrell campaigned to block a grassroots social housing ballot initiative, rather than simply endorsing it or getting out of the way. Seattle voters passed the social housing measure by a 26-point margin anyway, despite the mayor’s face being plastered on opposition mailers, which shows how out of step he was. In contrast, Wilson and the Transit Riders Union threw their weight behind the initiative.

While Harrell was part of a City Council that abandoned a corporate head tax before it ever went into effect out of fear of backlash from business leaders, Wilson shepherded a much larger “JumpStart” payroll tax into law. The payroll tax has survived numerous legal challenges and political assaults and become an indispensable part of the City budget, saving the city from massive cuts and providing a durable source of revenue to invest in Seattle’s future. Most payroll tax revenue was set aside to fund affordable housing before Harrell overrode the spending plan to fund his own budget priorities. In other words, without Wilson, Harrell’s mayoral term would have been even more lackluster — it may have crashed and burned from sheer lack of resources and ideas.

Harrell pledged to speed up light rail delivery, but instead has helped delay it with his indecisiveness about route decisions. His move to abandon a hub station in the Chinatown-International District planned as part of Ballard Link could be a generational mistake. We have much more faith in Wilson’s ability to improve outcomes for transit riders and communities as a Sound Transit board member.

Wilson has led successful campaigns to win reduced-fare programs for transit riders and expand services and protections for tenants. She’s written articles at The Urbanist and other local publications, advancing additional policies to aid tenants, including the recently passed ban on rent-setting software that had previously allowed corporate landlords to collude to drive up rent. While the Harrell Administration ruled out key Route 8 bus lanes, Wilson participated in the grassroots Race the L8 event seeking to draw attention and support for them.

Wilson is stridently pro-housing and has pledged to cut red tape and barriers to homebuilding. She told us Harrell should have gone farther in his One Seattle housing plan. While Harrell watered down the growth plan that his city planners developed, Wilson has vowed to zone for more housing citywide and streamline permitting to help theoretical housing capacity to become reality. Harrell also pledged big permitting reforms but dragged his feet throughout his first term and ended up needing to use a temporary ordinance to meet the state deadline to curb design review process delays.

Harrell’s personnel decisions often leave much to be desired. While Harrell has sneered at debates about how few people his opponent has hired or fired, it’s hard to turn having to fire his own top hires into a positive for Harrell. Late in 2024, he belatedly ousted the police chief he selected amid multiple scandals; perhaps most damaging is what appears to be a pervasive pattern of sexual harassment and covering for abusers. The City will spend millions litigating the fallout. 

Failing to take on the cultural problem at the Seattle Police Department (SPD) like Harrell promised in 2021 has kept the department far away from its stated “30 by 30” (30% by 2030) goal of recruiting more women and meeting recruitment and efficiency goals in general. So while Harrell is eager to throw money at SPD, police accountability has continued to suffer. Harrell’s disastrous pick to lead the department is a big reason why progress stalled out. 

The career paths of the two leading mayoral candidates couldn’t be more different. Harrell earned millions in corporate law before serving 12 years on City Council and now another four years as mayor. Meanwhile, Wilson spent 15 years as an organizer fighting to improve transit service and tax the region’s wealthiest companies. Wilson rents her home and rides the bus to get around with her young daughter. Harrell owns a mansion just off Lake Washington and sees Seattle through a windshield perspective. His administration blocked safety improvements on Lake Washington Boulevard through a ridiculously drawn out and secretive process.

As Seattle grapples with an affordability crisis, we need a leader who has lived those issues and walked a mile in our shoes — not a corporate lawyer cosplaying as a progressive for campaign season. Katie Wilson is the leader for this moment. Vote Wilson.

• Katie Wilson’s questionnaire responses
• Bruce Harrell questionnaire responses

Disclosure: Katie Wilson was a freelance writer for The Urbanist in 2024, contributing a dozen paid articles and earning $4,050 in total. All articles contributed after she launched her mayoral campaign have been on a volunteer basis.

Seattle City Attorney: Erika Evans 

When it comes to the City Attorney race, we were thrilled to have three wonderful contenders in the primary that will be a marked upgrade from the incumbent city attorney, who we have no confidence will stand up to protect Seattle from the federal chaos and harm ensuing, nor prioritize truly important public safety issues like drunk driving and domestic violence. We are thrilled that Erika Evans, one of our endorsed candidates, has prevailed to the general with resounding support from voters. 

Evans brings forth experience prosecuting cops to hold them accountable, and is making the switch from federal to local after the civil rights work started falling apart under the Trump Administration. She appears laser-focused on bringing evidence-based public safety and harm reduction strategies in the City Attorney’s Office, which has drifted from those moorings under Davison. As a former assistant US Attorney, she has a wide body of experience taking on big cases, ranging from prosecuting January 6 usurpers to wage-thieving companies.

Evans will take a tougher line with the Trump Administration than Davison, who was a Republican convert during Trump’s first term. Evans wants a more holistic approach to justice than Davison and pledges to bring back the community court that Davison unilaterally killed. She’s skeptical of Davison’s move to bring back banishment zones in a blunt and futile effort to target sex work and public drug use.

Evans expressed interest in ending cash bail for non-violent offenses since it makes it harder for folks to avoid a cycle of poverty and recidivism. In contrast, Davison has sought to supercharge the cycle of poverty with her moves to end community court and add banishment zones.

We like what Evans brings in terms of experience and tenacity. We look forward to her beating Davison to restore some sanity and compassion to the City Attorney’s Office. Vote Evans.

• Erika Evans questionnaire
• Ann Davision did not return a questionnaire

Seattle City Council District 2: Eddie Lin

Eddie Lin stands out for District 2 as an urbanist wonk ready to hop right in as soon as ballots are certified. Both Lin and his opponent, Adonis Ducksworth, bring unique and valuable attributes to the table, but Lin is most ready to dive into the role.

With the D2 position up for grabs after Tammy Morales’ resignation in early 2025, the race was crowded with challengers looking to carry the progressive baton forward to represent one of Seattle’s most diverse — and under-resourced — districts. Eddie Lin’s candidacy has risen above the rest, with priorities around housing, transit, and public safety aligning nearly lock step with The Urbanist’s own views.

Lin enters the race with experience in Seattle’s housing sector, having worked in real estate law and, more recently, with nonprofit homebuilders as a city attorney supporting the City’s Office of Housing. He’s also been careful to lobby against provisions that would kneecap homebuilders.

Like his opponent, Lin is calling for a growth plan that goes far beyond the Mayor’s One Seattle plan, pushing to maximize housing density through zoning code updates, and reducing barriers like design review, parking requirements, and other restrictions. As the zoning gets pushed further and further down the timeline, it’s clear that this issue will go in front of new councilmembers. On homelessness, he supports housing first approaches and increasing services to unsheltered Seattleites. 

On transit, Lin advocates for safety improvements by working in coalition with Amalgamated Transit Union 587 and the Transit Riders Union to make public transit safer for passengers and operators. Unlike Ducksworth, Lin supports finishing the long-delayed Center City Streetcar project, likely necessary to prevent Seattle’s entire streetcar program from being mothballed. He’s also called out the need for safety improvements along MLK Jr. Way S and Rainier Avenue S, proposing road diets to calm traffic and create safer space for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit.

Ducksworth is Mayor Bruce Harrell’s transportation policy manager, and the elections committee found aspects to like in his platform. With his unique background as a skateboarder and outreach specialist at the Seattle Department of Transportation, Ducksworth brings depth on mobility issues and road safety interventions. He was born and raised in Seattle’s South End and exhibited a passion for gun violence prevention and youth services.

Progressive tax reform is one area of distinction between the candidates. While Ducksworth has sought to distance himself from the mayor and other centrists by supporting a capital gains tax, Lin clearly has more ideas and convictions about rebalancing the tax code so it does not fall so hard on poor and working class residents. Lin not only supports defending and expanding progressive revenue sources like the JumpStart payroll tax, but also exploring a wealth tax and a vacancy tax on landlords. 

Lin is not without his missteps. He voted for Proposition 1B in the February 2025 special election to fund Seattle’s new Social Housing Developer. Proposition 1A, which ultimately won with 63% of the vote, proposed a high earners tax on payroll expenses for employees compensated over $1 million. Prop 1B, backed by centrist councilmembers and Harrell, would have reallocated existing JumpStart funds and ultimately left social housing underfunded. As a councilmember, Lin said he would use his position to support the work of the Seattle Social Housing Developer, and we were impressed with how he owned his misstep.

Voting records show Ducksworth didn’t vote on the social housing measure, despite him implying he supported 1A on the campaign trail. Ducksworth’s spotty voting record goes beyond just that special election, and includes the last D2 election. When Ducksworth did vote, like in 2021, he backed Harrell, which hasn’t worked out particularly well for the city. Not following issues enough to vote consistently could make the challenges of being a full-time councilmember particularly steep.

In the end, we determined Lin was the stronger candidate across a broader set of issues, especially housing and homelessness. Eddie Lin is invested in the health, safety, and quality of life of South Seattle communities and will not shy away from ambitious goals and real plans to address the issues Seattle faces. Vote Eddie Lin.

• Eddie Lin questionnaire
• Adonis Ducksworth questionnaire

Seattle City Council District 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck

We’ve liked the leadership we’ve seen from Alexis Mercedes Rinck in her first year so much that we endorsed her early — a honor we bestow very seldom. She certainly deserves a full term after winning resoundingly last year to serve out the remainder of Tersea Mosqueda’s term. In the short time that she’s been in office, she’s already proven to be a massively impactful legislator. She shepherded the Seattle Shield Initiative to shift business tax burden away from small business and toward big business. She has saved bus lanes. She has proven to be the most positively effective councilmember of all of her colleagues over the less than a year since she’s been here.

Since we wrote our early endorsement this spring, Rinck has continued to impress. She was a strident voice for more housing and for parking reform during Comprehensive Plan deliberations. Rinck also took up a density-bonus program for affordable housing that her colleagues had stonewalled because it came from Tammy Morales, retooled it, and won unanimous passage.

Rinck faces Rachael Savage, an actual Republican. Vote Rinck.

• Alexis Mercedes Rinck questionnaire

Seattle City Council District 9: Dionne Foster

The Urbanist endorses Dionne Foster for Seattle City Council Position 9, because we need smart people who are also strong leaders to reset this council as one that will fight for the future of our people, and that’s who Foster is. She is a policy expert with experience working at the table with the region’s biggest power players and a deep history of working with the communities who are most impacted when the city fails to get policy right. 

Foster has made it clear what her priorities are: improving traffic safety, stabilizing the city budget with progressive revenue, and expanding the city’s housing options. With Foster on the council, the city will have another voice in favor of expanding the size and scope of planned neighborhood centers, and creating more housing capacity around transit – not just in high-traffic, high-pollution areas. 

Investing in Seattle and building community is a natural fit for Foster, someone who has spent years collaborating with some of the most impactful organizations shaping and defending the programs like Democracy Vouchers, housing strategies and investments, childcare, and so many more of the investments that support livability and equity in Seattle.  

We appreciate that Sara Nelson vowed to improve the city’s housing growth plan and take the lead on improvements, using a market urbanism lens. Several critical amendments to the Comprehensive Plan introduced by Nelson will provide much needed added capacity and flexibility as adopted by the Select Committee, and we hope to see it adopted soon, however it has yet to be scheduled for a final vote. We wish the plan wasn’t mired in delays and under threat from backsliding councilmembers — several of whom Nelson endorsed and helped elect. Giving with one hand, while stalling with the other isn’t enough to earn our endorsement.

Nelson bowed to pressure from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to delay the grassroots measure to fund social housing and instead put a confusing alternative on the ballot that would not have raised new funds. Rather than throwing up obstacles, Foster backed the grassroots funding measured and is excited to implement social housing. 

We’ve also been troubled by Nelson’s leadership style. She has called the cops on public commenters and oversaw what former colleagues Tammy Morales and Cathy Moore seem to agree is a toxic work environment. Morales left in January, saying she was unable to represent her district after being bullied and mistreated by her colleagues. Moore departed in early July, agreeing the job wasn’t what it was cracked up to be (despite being in the centrist majority), albeit citing generic reasons for leaving. 

Nelson seems much more of an advocate for the powerful than for the little guy. She has proposed ideas that seem geared to coddle big business and reward big donors that poured millions into centrist campaigns. Workers rights, minimum wage standards, and tenant protections all appear under threat under her watch, as rollback proposals circulate. 

Luckily, we have a wonderful leader in Dionne Foster looking to step up, protecting workers, renters, and working families rather than the elite few. Dionne’s experience in City Hall ensures that as a first-time candidate she will be ready on day one to take the lead. She’s helped pass and defend the capital gains tax, supported ranked choice voting, defended gig workers, and fought for rent stabilization. She fought to tackle issues that will alleviate the cost of living that so many Seattleites are feeling. Vote Dionne Foster.

• Dionne Foster questionnaire
• Sara Nelson questionnaire

Seattle Proposition 1: Vote Yes on the FEPP Levy 

The inaccessibility of early childhood learning in Seattle is an outrage, but the Families, Education Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy is one of the critical tools we’ve had to invest in the critical need to close opportunity gaps, support kids, and provide post secondary education  access. It’s imperative that we renew it.

The Seattle Promise Program is a landmark higher education access program that has served as a model for other cities and the state to ensure educational equity to Seattle students through universal access to two year college programs and expanded pathways to the trades.

The School Based Health Centers at Seattle Public Schools are funded through this levy and the 2025 renewal will add five more to the already well-used program, which provides physical and mental health care to K-12 students. 

Early learning, which is quickly becoming more expensive than rent and college, sees the largest and most crucial investment from this levy, and we will see an expansion of affordable childcare slots to more than twice what’s already available and 600 more slots added to the Seattle Preschool Program.

Vote yes for our families, our futures and community. Vote Yes for Prop 1. 

Seattle Proposition 2: Vote Yes on Seattle Shield Initiative

Now more than ever, we need to shore up our investments in the services that support our city and all the people in it. Our tax system is broken, and there are a lot of challenges and imbalances that can arise from relying on Business and Occupation (B&O) taxes, but Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck has brilliantly offered an adjustment to the city’s B&O tax that will provide real relief for small businesses, ask a little bit more of the biggest businesses that are invested in the wellbeing of our community, and shield us from an austerity budget under a turbulent, dangerous, and retaliatory federal environment. Rinck’s plan was so good, Mayor Bruce Harrell got on board. 

With the Seattle Shield Initiative, we’ll see $80 million raised for investments by the city in social and human services and in emergency housing vouchers and food assistance put at risk by federal cuts. We’ll also establish dedicated funding for the city’s labor enforcement agency, the Office of Labor Standards, which puts millions of dollars back into working people’s pockets every year. The Seattle Shield Initiative does all this while giving our city a more just tax structure. 

Vote Yes for a Seattle Shield. Vote Yes for Prop 2. 

King County Council, District 5: No Endorsement 

The race to become the next King County Councilmember in District 5 is undoubtedly this year’s sleeper race, and is getting significantly overshadowed by more high-profile contests around the region. But it’s a big deal. The person that voters pick to fill the seat vacated by Dave Upthegrove after he was elected to statewide office could end up serving a long time. They will play a key role in advancing transit and housing policy for the entire county, potentially for a generation. 

Peter Kwon and Steffanie Fain advanced through the primary, providing voters with a narrow range of options due to their similar positions.

In the primary, The Urbanist endorsed Renton Councilmember Ryan McIrvin; he finished fourth.  Kim-Khánh Van, McIrvin’s colleague on the Renton Council finished a close third behind Fain. With Van and McIrvin out, the race is left with no standard bearer for more progressive voters. 

The Urbanist elections committee was not impressed with Fain, a Normandy Park lawyer, and her vague promise for a “new direction” for King County. We’re concerned with her long learning curve in elected office, and her close ties to business elites.

Both Kwon and Fain were very skeptical of increasing revenue options – an essential move given the county’s pressing budget issues.

Peter Kwon did not participate in our endorsement process, and we have major concerns about electing him as well. Kwon didn’t seem to have a full grasp on the systemic budget constraints that King County faces, as a jurisdiction locked out of the type of revenue options available to cities like SeaTac, where he’s currently a councilmember.

In the end, we can’t give either candidate our endorsement.

• Steffanie Fain questionnaire
• Peter Kwon did not return a questionnaire, but you can read his interview with our news team.

SOUTH SOUND

Tacoma Mayor: Anders Ibsen 

In this mayoral race, Tacomans have two candidates who each bring strengths to the table. After our interviews, it became clear that Anders Ibsen is the candidate who best embodies the values and expertise to lead Tacoma toward a more sustainable, equitable future. 

Anders Ibsen is no stranger to advancing livable density, 15-minute communities, and thoughtful urban design policies that prioritize people over cars. He supports expanding affordable, transit-oriented housing and is committed to streamlining development processes to ensure Tacoma families can access homes near where they live and work. His time on the Tacoma City Council demonstrated not only principled leadership during challenging times but also the courage and policy expertise needed to tackle Tacoma’s biggest urban challenges head-on.

Addressing Tacoma’s urgent public safety challenges, especially rising gun violence affecting youth, Ibsen promotes holistic solutions, supporting programs that engage students and community members through after-school and summer initiatives in partnership with schools, nonprofits, and businesses to create safer neighborhoods. 

Ibsen also supports street designs that improve safety and mobility by calming traffic through narrower, more pedestrian-friendly corridors and encouraging future transit expansions. As Tacoma moves forward with these major transportation investments and leadership transitions, Anders Ibsen’s experience, vision, and collaborative approach position him as the urbanist leader who can deliver meaningful progress for all Tacomans.

Ibsen faces off with Tacoma Councilmember John Hines. We found Hines a thoughtful candidate on issues of housing production and traffic safety. Arguably, there are two urbanists in this race. However, some of Hines’ votes on Council have concerned us, particularly on homelessness and economic justice issues. 

Hines spearheaded Tacoma’s camping ban, which targets people camping near homeless shelters, and recently proposed to greatly expand the ban to a 10-block radius of schools, parks, and libraries, a huge swath of the city. The move seems an election season gimmick, and it is not likely to address the root problem of homelessness — the need for more housing and services. Sweeping homeless people from public view is not a solution.

When the grassroots Tacoma For All campaign won enough signatures to run a tenant bill of rights ballot measure, Hines backed a watered-down City version that sought to siphon support. That effort failed when voters backed the stronger grassroots version.

Overall, Ibsen is the most complete package and earns our endorsement. Vote Ibsen.

• Anders Ibsen questionnaire
• John Hines questionnaire

Tacoma City Council, Position 4: Silong Chhun 

The Urbanist endorses Silong Chhun for Tacoma City Council. Chhun came to the Eastside Tacoma with his family from Cambodia as a youth under the Refugee Resettlement Act. He grew up in the Salishan neighborhood and continues to call Eastside home. His communications work with both the Office of the Attorney General and former Governor Jay Inslee has helped him amplify voices and build community. Chhun worked along the Khmer Advocacy and Advancement Group, as well as founding the Red Scarf Revolution, an organization engaging the community through shared culture to advance needed policies.

We were impressed with Chhun’s commitment to protecting families within his community. He supports a Worker’s Bill of Rights, expanding tenant protections, and defending immigrant and refugee communities within the city. Chhun divulged a multi-step plan to expand affordable housing in Tacoma, including incentivizing mixed-income developments and fast-track accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Chhun also expressed the need for community engagement in this process, even naming “housing huddles” as an opportunity for neighborhoods to create plans for shelters, emergency housing, and other needs that best fit the communities people work and live in.

Chhun faces incumbent Sandesh Sadalge, who finished a few points ahead in the primary in a close race. We have some concerns about Sadalge’s voting record, and he did not complete a questionnaire or participate in our process to defend his record.

We do believe Chhun is a bit green, as this is his first time running for office and some of his questionnaire responses needed stronger detail. However, he is the candidate in the race that best aligns with The Urbanist, and we believe that his passion for Tacoma’s Eastside is what the district needs. 

• Silong Chhun questionnaire
• Sandesh Sadalge did not submit a questionnaire.

Tacoma City Council, Position 5: Zev Rose Cook

The Urbanist endorses Zev Rose Cook for Tacoma City Council. With a successful career in community organizing, Cook has proven her urbanist mettle. She co-founded Tacoma For All, a grassroots organization working to fight for rights of working Tacomans. As a part of this work, Cook helped manage the successful tenant’s bill of rights campaign in 2023.

Cook helped organize her workplace, partnering with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199. A former member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, she conducted organizer trainings as a volunteer. Her top priorities include raising the minimum wage, tax increases on the wealthy, and building permanent affordable social housing.

We were especially impressed by Cook’s tenacity and straightforward responses in her interview with the elections committee. A recurring theme in her answers was protecting working people. Cook believes in building trust between city leaders and its voters, including fully funding the city’s crisis response team and creating a road development plan that doesn’t increase the cost of living. Cook highlighted the missing organizer voice on the city council and is committed to being this advocate for working people in the city. She is endorsed by the Washington Education Association PAC, Fair Vote Washington, Indivisible Tacoma, and several Urbanist-endorsed elected officials.

If elected, Cook will take a more progressive approach to policy than her opponent, incumbent Joe Bushnell, who led in primary results. Bushnell, who was elected in 2021, sponsored the city’s camping ban which passed the city council in 2022. While we appreciated Bushnell’s interview, his framework for supporting working families is lackluster compared to Cook’s direct approach.

Based on primary results, Cook has ground to make up, but Tacoma organizers have pulled off upsets before. She clearly has the more far-reaching vision for the future.

We want to see more Tacoma officials willing to reach for progress rather than for excuses for why it’s not possible, and that is attainable with a vote for Zev Rose Cook.  

• Zev Rose Cook questionnaire
• Joe Bushnell questionnaire

Tacoma City Council, Position 6: Latasha Palmer 

While The Urbanist elections committee initially endorsed Krista Perez in the August primary, Latasha Palmer is the clear choice for Tacoma’s open at-large council seat in November. 

While both Palmer and her opponent, business leader Jessica Johnston, say they’ll work to implement the Home in Tacoma plan to increase housing availability and choice across the city, we trust Palmer to center the voices of working Tacomans in that conversation.

Johnston has been oppositional toward Measure 1, the Renter’s Bill of Rights passed by Tacoma voters in 2023. She also opposes social housing, another strong contrast with Palmer. We’re also skeptical that Johnston will actually support the progressive revenue sources that Tacoma will need to implement to maintain city services during the Trump administration, given her strong stance around protecting businesses.

Palmer, who co-founded the Aya Community Land Trust, seems miles ahead of Johnston in terms of trying to diversify Tacoma’s affordable housing options. We’re also impressed with Palmer’s positions around increasing multimodal transportation options in Tacoma, while Johnston’s answers on that topic seemed surface-level.

Vote Palmer.

• Latasha Palmer questionnaire
• Jessica Johnston questionnaire

Tukwila City Council, Position 1: Verna Seal

Verna Seal is the clear choice for Tukwila. With a strong emphasis on equity, she’s a champion for housing, progressive revenue, and safer, more walkable streets. Seal has experience, having served on the council from 2006 to 2021 and she was re-appointed to Position 7 in January after De’Sean Quinn was appointed to the King County Council. 

Seal has a pragmatic approach to homelessness, supporting more shelters as well as safe parking and camping areas to address immediate needs while also supporting longer term solutions to increase housing supply. We appreciated her emphasis on community engagement and building trust with underserved groups. 

Seal’s opponent is Peggy McCarthy, Tukwila’s former finance director, who did not participate in our process. Her campaign page does not include concrete policy proposals. 

Seal has the right experience, a proven record, and shares our values. We’re proud to endorse Seal for re-election. 

• Verna Seal questionnaire

Kent City Council, Position 6: Andy Song

Andy Song is the best choice for Kent City Council Position 6. He faces off with Sharn Shoker, who led in primary results.

A former outreach worker and current director for Kent School Board, Song brought an emphasis on affordable housing, inclusionary zoning, and equity. Song’s Questionnaire responses were particularly strong, including support for a Vision Zero for Kent. 

Song’s desire to improve traffic safety (a critical issue for Kent) and to treat traffic deaths as a public health crisis illustrated his desire to work on root causes while taking immediate steps to reduce harm. He likewise reflected this approach in his ideas for housing and public safety, emphasizing the interconnectedness of these issues and the need to engage communities who often feel left out of city decision-making. Song demonstrated a desire to explore progressive revenue options and to protect the people of Kent from ICE raids, both timely and critical needs in the current federal context. 

Shoker did not participate in the Urbanist endorsement process. Of the candidates we spoke to, Song showed an enthusiasm for policies that will make Kent less car-dependent, with safer streets and an abundant supply of affordable housing. We encourage voters of Kent to pick Song. 

• Andy Song questionnaire 
• Sharn Shoker did not return a questionnaire.

Renton City Council, Position 1: Mike Westgaard

Michael Westgaard has a bold vision for the future of transit in Renton. His experience as an organizer with Raise the Wage Renton, his commitment to social options for affordable housing, and his desire to see transit access that works across the city make him our clear choice for Renton City Council. 

In an era of broad slogans and buzzwords, Westgaard’s campaign page has refreshingly detailed and specific policy proposals. His public safety platform is rooted in evidence-based, holistic approaches including a crisis care center, re-imagined safety professionals within schools, and accountability for police. His housing proposal includes a variety of strategies to prevent homelessness and keep housing affordable as the city grows. In his response to our questionnaire, he outlines several specific ideas for traffic calming measures to improve pedestrian safety. 

It’s clear he’s done the work to understand Renton and the interconnected issues faced by the community. We are impressed at how has translated that understanding into actionable proposals. If elected, we hope he’ll also have the political capital to make his proposals a reality.

Westgaard’s opponent is incumbent James Alberson, the current council President. Alberson did not participate in our endorsement process. His campaign messaging focuses on public safety without much in the way of specific policy proposals. More concerning are large donations from businesses and pro-business political action committees. But Alberson’s name recognition gave him a commanding lead in the August primary, where he finished with 56% of the vote. Westgaard has his work cut out for him to raise his profile with voters. 

Westgaard is the clear Urbanist choice in this race. He’s made a compelling case and given voters plenty of details about what he’ll do if elected. We look forward to seeing what his bold vision for transit access, community safety, and affordability in Renton could bring to the city. 

• Mike Westgaard questionnaire
• James Alberson did not return a questionnaire.

Renton City Council, Position 2:  No Endorsement. 

The elections committee could not make an endorsement for Renton’s Council Position 2. Both candidates participated in our process (Mary Clymer in the primary, the incumbent Carmen Rivera in the general.) While Rivera has been a champion for urbanist policies on council, allegations of abusive behavior have raised concerns. When asked about these allegations during our interview, Rivera deflected blame onto her accusers, suggesting they were motivated by racism or sexism. 

In our primary interview, Clymer stressed the importance of working together across differences of opinion, access to green space and public art. She did not demonstrate enough of a commitment to urbanist values for us to endorse.

Renton voters will be faced with the choice between the experienced, if controversial Rivera or the untested possibilities from Clymer.

• Carmen Rivera questionnaire
• Mary Clymer questionnaire

Renton City Council, Position 6: Paul Dutton

Paul Dutton will bring a fresh perspective and needed expertise to the Renton City Council, which is why we’re excited to endorse him. Dutton sees infrastructure and transit as the keys to public safety, inclusion, and accessibility, and connects every issue back to these core needs. Demonstrating a fluent understanding of the interconnectedness of policy, revenue resources, and community engagement, he made it clear that he will be ready to hit the ground running if elected to council. 

As an engineer, he brought a direct communication style and fluency with data and evidence to our questionnaire and interview that will serve him well as a council member. But Dutton also approaches issues with an important equity lens, emphasizing the need to bring sidewalks to underserved neighborhoods, and to help communities feel engaged in the decision making process by council. 

Dutton’s opponent, the incumbent Ruth Pérez, has served on Renton City Council since 2014. While Pérez also did well in our interview, we felt Dutton’s perspective would bring bolder thinking on transit, zoning, and public safety. As these two did not have a primary, it isn’t clear which way voters are leaning. 

We think Dutton is bringing the right experience and the commitment to transit access that will serve Renton’s future. Vote Dutton. 

• Paul Dutton questionnaire
• Ruth Pérez questionnaire

Seatac City Council, Position 2: Caitlin Konya

The Urbanist is proud to endorse Caitlin Konya for SeaTac City Council. Konya, a social worker, union member, and Community Services Advisory Board member, brought these experiences to inform her emphasis on inclusive and effective human services, strong labor standards, and a connected community. 

Konya articulated a deep understanding of the diverse needs of the SeaTac Community and emphasized the need to mitigate the impact of the airport on the health and wellbeing of vulnerable residents. We appreciated her clear familiarity with the Housing Action Plan, and her expressed goal of avoiding displacement while ensuring growth and maintaining affordability. Konya has a clear commitment to serving all of Seatac through more robust community engagement, and balancing the interests of an international airport with pedestrian safety and environmental stewardship.

Konya’s opponent, Takele Gobena, has historically been a champion for urbanist values. Elected in 2019, he resigned in 2023 and though he has filed for position 2, he did not choose to participate in our endorsement process and does not have a campaign page or any significant reported fundraising. 

Konya deserves a chance to lead, and we’re excited to see what she does on the council. Vote Konya.

• Caitlin Konya questionnaire 

Seatac City Council, Position 4: Mohamed Egal

Mohamed Egal has been a reliable champion for housing, pedestrian safety, and preserving parks and greenspace in SeaTac. We enthusiastically endorse him for re-election to the SeaTac City Council. His first term has seen progress in transit-oriented development, the preservation of North SeaTac Park, and a sizable reserve fund, increasing the city’s resilience in the face of federal funding cuts and an economic downturn.  

Egal proudly touts the 60 miles of sidewalks constructed in response to community outcry about road safety, an important step for walkability and safety. He also balances the economic benefits of the airport with an emphasis on protecting air quality and securing federal resources for noise mitigation. 

Egal’s opponent (who did not participate in the Urbanist endorsement process) is self-described “media personality” Isabelle Kerner, who formerly ran for Seattle City Council, District 7. At the time, the 2023 Urbanist Elections committee called Kerner “beyond unserious”. Kerner has no current campaign presence to convince us that assessment was incorrect.

Egal’s reputation for bringing people together and putting people first, his proven record as Mayor, and his commitment to furthering urbanist values make him the obvious choice in this race. Vote Egal. 

• Mohamed Egal questionnaire

Burien City Council Position 1: Hugo Garcia

The Urbanist endorses Hugo Garcia for re-election to Burien City Council.  One of two progressive voices on Burien’s current council, Garcia has been a consistent champion for protecting immigrant communities in Burien, re-invigorating the affordable housing demonstration program, and the recent Raise the Wage initiative to remove the tip penalty from the municipal minimum wage. 

Garcia grounds his policy positions in his lived experience as an immigrant, which has also informed his council votes and his service on the planning commission. He credits affordable, multifamily housing options with his own ability to avoid displacement after his neighborhood was annexed into Burien. During his opposition to the tip penalty passed by the council majority, Garcia cited his own upbringing with a father who relied on tips to pay the bills. In this way, Garcia makes the link between abstract policy and the people impacted impossible to ignore. 

Garcia (and the other progressive incumbent, Sarah Moore) were unsuccessful in their votes against Burien’s “camping ban” which makes unsheltered homelessness a misdemeanor. Garcia has said he’ll support repealing the ban if the progressive slate is able to re-take the majority. 

His opponent is Jessica Ivey, who did not participate in our endorsement process. Ivey, a planning commissioner appointed by the council after the last commission resigned in protest, espouses broadly urbanist rhetoric but she’s stated her support for the camping ban and joined conservatives in demonizing the permanent supportive housing complex built by DESC. 

With his solid voting record and commitment to reverse the current council’s regressive policies, Garcia is the obvious choice in this election. Re-elect Hugo Garcia for Position 1.

• Hugo Garcia questionnaire

Burien City Council, Position 3: Sam Méndez

Sam Méndez is our clear choice in the race for the open Position 3 seat, created by Councilmember Jimmy Matta not seeking re-election. Méndez, a privacy attorney with the Washington State Health Care Authority, wants to see increased housing density, safer streets, and a more transparent city council. 

Méndez calls Burien’s loss of $1 million in county funds over the council’s inability to agree on a site for a tiny home village “inexcusable”, particularly in the face of federal funding cuts and a public safety levy on this year’s ballot. He’s been an outspoken critic of Mayor Kevin Schilling’s vote to block that tiny home village from disrupting the lease of a car dealership owned by a major campaign donor. Like Garcia and Moore, Méndez also hopes to repeal the city’s camping ban, citing both the cruelty of the policy as well as the costly legal battles the city has taken on as a result. 

His opponent, Marie Barbon, did not complete our process but per her campaign website, opposes taxes for affordable housing and wants zoning that “maintains the character of our neighborhoods.” Given recent anti-density campaigns in Burien, this suggests she does not hold urbanist values. 

Méndez finished well ahead of his primary opponents, with 48% of the vote in a 3-way race. We hope to see his campaign proposals put to action if he’s elected in November, and are excited to see what a possible progressive majority could mean for Burien’s city council. 

• Sam Méndez questionnaire
• Marie Barbon did not return a response.

Burien City Council, Position 5: Sarah Moore 

Sarah Moore is the exact kind of smart and thoughtful individual we need more of when making important decisions. Moore strongly supports housing and transit, and obviously closely follows their progress and roadblocks, identifying clear steps that can be taken to move forward. Amidst a split council and in her first term on council, she has been chosen as Deputy Mayor of Burien, showing the council’s trust in her careful decision-making, and evenhanded approach. 

Moore lives near a park, so her introduction to Burien politics was in joining the Parks Commission, though she took that as an opportunity to work on making parks across Burien more equitable. She also co-founded ACLU Burien People Power and the Burien White Center ICE Rapid Response Team, both of which have newfound importance. She also speaks with a solid understanding of larger budgets and choices to be made. If the Burien Public Safety Levy passes, it will continue funding desirable positions and initiatives that would be likely potential cuts if the levy were to fail. 

During our interview, she methodically talked through a tough question about opposition to urbanization by residents who fear for the “character” of Burien as a small town, and really did a nice job of explaining the nuance in her approach to direct outreach and decision-making. Regarding Tiny Home Villages, Moore described “spending a lot of time speaking to folks who knew more about it than I did” in order to inform her decision. She also meets and listens to constituents, openly discussing her approach and position from the start. A self-described policy nerd, Moore confronts the nitty gritty and uncomfortable details, and that work pays off in her favor. 

While now in the progressive minority, Moore sees the possibility of a progressive wave election buoying a new progressive majority into office so they can make more headway on issues such as road safety, walkability, and tenant protections in Burien. So far, she has only been able to push these forward with baby steps. Let’s see what happens when Burien progressives can get some momentum and can take big strides! Vote Sarah Moore. 

Kelsey Vanhee recused in this race.

• Sarah Moore questionnaire

Burien City Council, Position 7: Rocco DeVito

Roco DeVito is the clear choice in the Burien City Council Position 7 race. The Urbanist elections committee doesn’t choose our endorsement based on lifestyle, but it’s hard to find a candidate who lives urbanist values more than DeVito. He doesn’t own a car, commuting entirely by e-bike and transit. He’s a King County Metro employee and a former vice chair of the Burien Planning Commission.

Rounding out the four-person progressive slate, DeVito shares the slate’s emphasis on affordable housing, pedestrian safety, and a more effective approach to address homelessness in Burien. As a former planning commissioner, DeVito understands the links between affordability and density, and has practical proposals to reduce obstacles to development and speed up badly needed new housing. He also considers the role city council members play in encouraging volunteerism and advocating for more participation by community and nonprofits in filling the gaps left by federal funding cuts. 

DeVito’s opponent, incumbent city council member Stephanie Mora, led the recent charge to roll back modest upzones in wealthy neighborhoods near Burien’s shorelines. Mora, who did not participate in our endorsement process, is a regular guest on conservative talk radio and proud leader of the effort to ban sleeping outdoors, despite Burien having no year-round shelters that accept single men. She previously floated a proposal to cut Burien’s human service budget by 50%. Regressive policies like these should be disqualifying.

The contrast could not be more clear. While Mora would continue to lead the charge to slow Burien’s growth and cut critical services, DeVito will work to expand housing, eliminate parking mandates, and address homelessness with services and supportive housing. DeVito’s will take Burien in the right direction, while Mora would take the city backward. Vote Rocco DeVito. 

• Rocco DeVito questionnaire

EASTSIDE

Bellevue City Council, Position 1: Vishal Bhargava

After advancing through the primary is incumbent Vishal Bhargava challenging Paul Clark to retain his seat. The Urbanist endorsed Nicholas Ton in the primary, preferring his approach on traffic safety. We did not get a chance to interview Bhargava, but he submitted a compelling questionnaire. Bhargava is very well informed on Bellevue’s planning and urban development needs – he has served on the the City’s Planning Commission for seven years and has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.

Bhargava started on the Bellevue Planning Commission in 2018 and was appointed to a vacated City Council seat in May 2025. Bhargava has been entrenched in work surrounding the Comprehensive Plan and is familiar with state mandated requirements in housing, multimodal transportation, climate resiliency, and accommodating growth. Bhargava left his mark on the planning commission as someone that actively supported a significant increase in housing capacity to 152,000 units. Bhargava sees the greater future for Bellevue – strength in an innovation-focused economy, diversity of neighborhoods, and wealth of resources can further transform Bellevue from tech-suburb of Seattle into a powerhouse city worthy of national recognition as a gold standard of sustainable living. 

His work on the Comprehensive Plan has well informed his priority platforms in this City Council race which are housing affordability, sustainable growth, and community safety. Bhargava supports a plethora of policies meant to achieve these primary goals – zoning reform to increase density and housing options, supporting transit-oriented developments, reducing community reliance on cars through investments in multimodal transportation, preserving green space, expansion of mental health crisis centers, climate resiliency, and many more. 

Bhargava is a candidate that the community needs and deserves: a councilmember that represents Bellevue’s modernity and diversity, and will champion access, opportunity, and sustainability. Bhargava is the most likely candidate to advocate for Bellevue’s residents, current and future. 

Bhargava’s opponent, Paul Clark, did not participate in The Urbanist endorsement process and appears less aligned with our values. Clark believes in focusing new housing units only in areas of high volume transit which inspires only seeing more large-scale apartments near arterials rather than incorporating middle housing throughout Bellevue’s affluent single-family neighborhoods. He is a firm believer that existing single-family neighborhoods need to be preserved – which further locks out households and families that cannot afford the average single-family home price (which is $1.5 million according to Redfin). 

Middle housing deserves space in Bellevue, and Clark is not someone who is willing to vouch for it. Clark is a candidate that is more appropriate for an economically segregated community like Medina or Clyde Hill when it comes to his housing perspective – continuing to protect single-family, affluent homeowners that fear change and scoff at the idea that growth is necessary for city-wide economic stability.

Bhargava’s platform supports a diversity of progressive policies that The Urbanist supports and is excited about. Ultimately, his priorities around housing are the most important to pay attention to. Housing affordability and diversity sets Bhargava miles apart from his primary opponent and if anything, should be the reason why he deserves Bellevue’s vote. Bellevue’s future relies on enough housing options to support a growing economy and the frontline jobs needed to support it. 

Jazmine Smith recused in this race.

• Vishal Bhargava questionnaire 

Bellevue City Council, Position 5: Claire Sumadiwirya

Claire Sumadiwirya was appointed to the Bellevue City Council in April to fill a vacancy created by Janice Zahn’s appointment to the Washington State House of Representatives. She is a small business owner and a single mom, active in several social causes. In her first months on council, it has not always been smooth sailing, with Sumadiwirya helping water down the city’s middle housing plan in June, and making some concerning comments about housing coded around neighborhood “unity” and property values in the process. Partially, we chalk that up to a learning curve. We see leadership potential and alignment to values to recommend voters give Sumadiwirya a chance in a full term.

When we asked Sumadiwirya about that June, she painted her incremental approach as coming from a desire to bring neighbors along and win them over, rather than refusing to ever open neighborhoods up to more housing. She said housing is the foundation of a strong community, and that adding more types of housing across Bellevue is the end goal.

On transportation, Sumadiwirya gets it. She serves on the advisory committee for Eastrail, the 42-mile rail-to-trail corridor connecting the entire Eastside. She experienced traffic violence firsthand and once almost died in a bike crash. We trust her to advocate for increasing road safety. Sumadiwirya disagreed with Council’s decision to walk away from the Bike Bellevue plan, which would have created a basic bike network in the core of the city. She said expanding bike lanes and increasing pedestrian safety would be a priority.

The other candidate in this race, Matthew Rish, is not running a serious campaign. He does not have a website, and has not reported any campaign fundraising activity. From what we can gather, his platform, such as it is, has focused on scare-mongering on public safety issues.

Luckily, we have a candidate who is ready to lead on road safety and mobility justice, recognizes that working people are being priced out of Bellevue and need more help, and is coming along on housing issues, despite a bad vote this summer. Vote Sumadiwirya.

Jazmine Smith recused in this race.

• Claire Sumadiwirya
• Matthew Rish did not return a questionnaire.

Bellevue City Council, Position 6: No endorsement

Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson wants to be the type of city leader that brings all sides together to a consensus everyone can agree on – it’s the Bellevue Way. But time and time again, Robinson has sided with the city’s conservative factions to keep Bellevue’s thinking small: from watering down the city’s middle housing ordinance to failing to stand up for the Bike Bellevue plan, we can’t trust Robinson to follow through.

Robinson has also become a vocal opponent of progressive revenue options at the state level, thinking myopically about the second most upside-down tax system in the country at a time of unprecedented need for increased state services.  

Robinson’s opponent, Nicole Myers, would not be an upgrade. Myers has called the idea of allowing nine apartments or townhomes on lots even close to transit “too many for Bellevue” and suggested this month at a forum that the city should encourage the retention of surface parking lots near transit-oriented development to buffer pedestrians from noisy roads. When asked about creating more east-west bike connections in the city, Myers told cyclists they should just take their bike on a 2 Line train. 

We do appreciate that Robinson has been a supporter of light rail and a defender of increasing shelter and permanent supportive housing in the city, in the face of considerable opposition. But with her fence-straddling, we simply can’t endorse her reelection bid.

Jazmine Smith recused in this race.

• Lynne Robinson questionnaire
• Nicole Myers did not return a questionnaire.

Newcastle City Council, Position 6: Paul Charbonneau

Paul Charbonneau, the youngest councilmember ever elected to the Newcastle City Council in the city’s history when he was first elected at 25 in 2021, is a housing affordability champion through and through. He led the work to introduce a suite of tenant protection proposals that would have placed limits on security deposits and late fees, and prohibited the requirement of social security numbers in the renter application process. He also supported legislation to lift restrictions on townhomes and accessory dwelling units along with comprehensive protections for fixed-income elders who rent. While these measures have narrowly failed to secure more than 3 of the 7 votes on this conservative-leaning council, Charbonneau continues to be a tireless voice in the fight for affordable housing.

On top of his demonstrable commitment to housing access, Charbonneau has been a committed leader in the work to expand public transit infrastructure, bikeability, and walkability on the Eastside. The bright, urbanist future we dream of and deserve is possible with people like Charbonneau at the decision-making table. Vote Charbonneau. 

• Paul Charbonneau questionnaire

Issaquah Mayor: Lindsey Walsh

Lindsey Walsh is unequivocally the best candidate in the Issaquah Mayor race. Walsh is currently the Mayor Pro Tem and has been on the City Council 2019. During her time on the Council, Walsh has led on housing. She has been a member of the King County Affordable Housing Committee, as well as the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Growth Management Policy Board. Walsh is deeply entrenched in tackling the challenges facing Issaquah.

Walsh has been at the forefront of advocating for better housing policies in Issaquah. Walsh played a key role in the adoption of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan and overwhelmingly supports increasing housing options to meet more diverse income-level needs. Walsh supports diversifying the city’s housing stock with more middle housing and increasing multifamily housing, and also wants to address the “red tape” homebuilders experience in permitting and costs. Walsh has been working closely with city staff to help rewrite some portions of the zoning code that have been confusing or restrictive to the development of smaller housing units, and helping legalize middle housing. 

Walsh recognized that bringing more affordable housing options to Issaquah has been a trial and error effort. The failure of the Central Issaquah Pioneer Program (a program adopted in 2024 intended to encourage more 60% and 80% median-income level multifamily housing within the Central Issaquah subarea) was called out in The Urbanist’s interview with Walsh, and she recognized that overly-restrictive design standards as well as expanding the eligibility area need to be addressed to bring greater access to more affordable housing opportunities. Walsh is willing to revisit Issaquah’s stringent zoning standards surrounding housing to find thoughtful concessions that will help bring more housing options at a greater affordability level. 

Beyond her advocacy towards housing, Walsh is equally invested in seeing the long-term plan for Issaquah’s transportation struggles. Walsh wants to see complete streets incorporated into all new transportation projects, fighting for more sidewalks and separated bike pathways as well as seeing a greater investment into bus rapid transit and preparing Issaquah for its future light rail station. Walsh sees the value in investments towards complete streets — it addresses climate resiliency, improves community health and wellbeing, and helps make a community a more vibrant and exciting place to be. Rather than doubling down on car dependency like her opponent, Walsh will advocate for more multimodal investments as Mayor. 

Do not be fooled by the friendly handwritten notes left on doors and the many signs scattered around town – Mark Mullet is not the right candidate for Issaquah. A business owner, Mullet previously served on the Issaquah City Council for a single term from 2009 to 2013 and as a member of the State Senate for 12 years, where he earned a conservative, anti-worker reputation for blocking progressive priorities like rent stabilization and the Climate Commitment Act. He ran for governor unsuccessfully in 2024. It could be that an Issaquah mayoral term would just a stepping stone to his further statewide political ambitions 

Equally confusing in this race is the slate of endorsements Mullet has received ranging from the King County Republican Party to current Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly to former Seattle councilmember Sara Nelson to Governor Bob Ferguson. Mullet did not participate in The Urbanist’s endorsement process and Mullet’s website gives very brief descriptions on his priorities, let alone how he wants to address them. 

This is a race in which corporate money and name recognition could carry Mullet over the finish line. While Mullet is running a details-light campaign buoyed by corporate backing, Republican support, and big-name endorsements, Walsh clearly has the better vision for Issaquah. She would stand up for all Issaquah residents, not just the rich and powerful. Walsh has done her homework and the legwork to truly earn the Mayoral position and rightfully earned endorsements from King County Democrats, Sarah Perry, Victoria Hunt, the late Bill Ramos, and numerous labor organizations. Vote Walsh.

• Lindsey Walsh questionnaire
• Mark Mullet did not return a questionnaire.

Issaquah City Council, Position 1: 

The Urbanist endorses Kelly Jiang for Issaquah City Council Position 1. Jiang was appointed to the Council in February 2025 and is seeking to remain in the position. During her short tenure on the council, Jiang has voted in support of preserving 20-acres of open space, preserve affordable homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities, and supported density increases in residential neighborhoods. Jiang is a self-identified environmental advocate serving as Board President on Issaquah Alps Trail Club, a board member on the Mountains to Sound Greenway, and Board Chair on the Leafline Trails Coalition. 

Jiang is entrenched in the challenges Issaquah faces when it comes to housing development and is prepared to offer grounded solutions to alleviate the challenges households face in affording to live in Issaquah as well as barriers developers face in choosing to build in town. One of Jiang’s top priorities to bring more housing affordability include streamlining the permit process and making it more predictable, pre-approved floor plans for specific types of housing, incentives for middle housing, and updating antiquated portions of the zoning code. 

Jiang is unafraid to call out the failure of the 2011 Central Issaquah subarea plan – which anticipated adding 7,000 new housing units by 2035. As of today, there have only been 1,000 units developed as a result of the plan. She is someone who recognizes that historically performative actions the City has taken are not going to bring the real results that are and she is willing to do the work it will take to bring more units to Issaquah and it’s bustling downtown core. 

Jiang wants to see Issaquah become a more walkable community and have greater multimodal accessibility. She supports more sidewalks and bike lanes for more complete streets and addressing last mile connections, and wants to see more local bus routes. The Urbanist is excited to see that she supports seeing corner stores and neighborhood businesses in residential areas to help curve the number of trips residents take out of their neighborhoods. 

Jiang’s opponent in this race is Chris Reichley, who is a first-time candidate for the council. Reichley did not participate in The Urbanist’s endorsement process, but has been an active member of the community serving on the Issaquah Economic Vitality Commission and Strategic Plan Task Force, and was a Board Member of the Kiwanis Club of Issaquah. His website cites a number of policy priorities he has that do align with The Urbanist’s values, including promoting zoning updates that allow for diverse housing, expanding mental health and crisis centers, creating community neighborhood hubs, multimodal investments, and transit-oriented development. Reichley does not seem like a bad candidate for the position; however, since we did not have an opportunity to hear directly from him, we give the edge to Jiang. 

The Urbanist recommends Jiang for her forward-thinking considerations on climate change and the environment, her stewardship towards trails and multimodal development, and her vocalized solutions on local housing affordability. Vote Jiang.

• Kelly Jiang questionnaire
• Chris Reichley questionnaire

Issaquah City Council, Position 3: Barbara de Michele

The Urbanist endorses Barbara de Michele for Issaquah City Council Position 3. While de Michele is running unopposed for the position, The Urbanist still felt she was well worth an endorsement. She has been on the City Council since 2019 and is currently the Deputy President. De Michele has been a resident of Issaquah for more than 40 years and is very active in the community. She is board president of the Kiwanis Club, founding member of The Garage teen cafe, and vice chair of the King County Regional Transit Committee.

De Michele received the Elected Official of the Year award in 2020 from the Alliance of Eastside Agencies. Prior to serving on the City Council, she was a community relations planner for King County Department of Transportation, Director of Public Relations for the Issaquah School District, and executive director of Issaquah Community Network and Issaquah Schools Foundation Healthy Youth Initiative.

Beyond her wealth of experience and dedication to the community at large, Michele is a progressive candidate that embodies the values of The Urbanist. Her top priorities are affordable housing, transportation, and expansion of human services. With regards to housing, de Michele supports a Multifamily Tax Exemption to spur workforce housing creation, reducing parking requirements, middle housing, and also proposes an advisory committee to reduce zoning code barriers to develop housing. She also recognizes that the zoning code is not the only challenge for new development and that the city’s permit process needs reform. She wants to work with City Hall to better support the permit team, streamline the process, and ultimately reduce the currently unpredictable permit timelines. 

De Michele also has unique ideas on addressing transportation in the city. In addition to supporting expanding sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus service, de Michele wants to improve signage to give further protections to nonmotorized transportation users, encourage greater enforcement of traffic laws, and upgrade the city’s traffic signals to an Intelligent Traffic Signal program. She additionally supports creating more community spaces that are walkable from homes and reduce the need for cars. 

De Michele is a unique candidate in her continued advocacy to support human services. Issaquah is one of a small handful of cities with a Human Services element of the Comprehensive Plan, which she helped develop and advocate for. While the Issaquah budget remains strained, she seeks to continue to work with community partners and nonprofits to ensure consistent service and support during an unprecedented economic landscape. 

De Michele is an all-star candidate worthy of The Urbanist’s endorsement. Throughout her career, she has been a dedicated public servant, a longtime resident who can recognize the city’s past and see its future, and a consistent advocate for marginalized community members. The Urbanist election committee is excited to see her continue her tenure with the Council and knows that she will be coming to the table with ideas and an open mind. Vote de Michele.

• Barbara de Michele questionnaire

Issaquah City Council, Position 6: Kevin Nichols

The Urbanist proudly endorses Kevin Nichols for Issaquah City Council. While both candidates in this race would be first-time council members, Nichols’ vision and disposition represent what it means to be an urbanist. His platform is grounded in finding more creative and impactful solutions to housing affordability, transportation, and growing neighborhood centers. His unique background as a PHD scientist makes Nichols well-equipped to handle Issaquah’s unique challenges through a data-driven, problem-solving approach.

Nichols is a knowledgeable and prepared candidate who is entrenched in the details of Issaquah’s current key issues. Issaquah is at a pivotal point in time: the light rail expansion will dramatically change the community and there is significant lag in developing affordable housing units in the Central Issaquah subarea. Issaquah needs a progressive candidate who is prepared to lead the community from the moment they are sworn in. 

A believer in the power of coalition-building, Nichols wants to use public-private partnerships to address the significant gap in homes affordable to households earning less than 60% of the area median income, leaning into the city’s partnership with A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH). 

Nichols also wants to work in partnership with the Issaquah School District (ISD) to help re-site the anticipated new high school and elementary school. After the ISD school bond vote failed twice (November 2024 and February 2025) as a result of vocal homeowner opposition, the ISD must find a new location for the proposed schools. Nichols’ vision is to place the new schools in walkable, centrally located areas near parks, services, and homes that help generate greater vitality in existing neighborhoods. 

His opponent, Katia Zacharoff, participated in The Urbanist’s endorsement process but did not garner an endorsement. Ultimately, the election committee felt that Zacharoff did have some urbanist qualities with regard to housing and progressive taxation but fell short on transportation policy. 

Nichols aims to proactively prepare the community for the impacts the future Sound Transit light rail expansion will have on Issaquah. His vision includes further development of multimodal connections and developing dedicated transit-only lanes along arterials that would be used by either transit or emergency services: improving both transit reliability and emergency response wait times. The Urbanist is keenly interested in what Nichols will accomplish if elected to the City Council, especially in urbanizing and investing in central Issaquah. Vote Nichols.

• Kevin Nichols questionnaire
• Katia Zakharoff did not return a questionnaire.

Kirkland City Council, Position 1: Jay Arnold

Kirkland needs a leader who is ready to implement the city’s growth vision, rather than retreat from it. The Urbanist endorses Jay Arnold for Kirkland City Council Position 1 because Arnold is ready to deliver on the Kirkland 2044 comprehensive plan — focusing growth in transit-rich areas, transforming strip malls into mixed-use neighborhood hubs, and enabling middle housing where it makes sense.

Arnold understands that housing availability at all price points is how we make the region affordable. While others might cave to housing opponents, Arnold commits to meeting housing affordability targets while listening to community concerns. Thus far, he has refused to re-litigate the location of permanent supportive housing and instead focuses on making it successful when it opens, with 65% of residents coming from local referrals.

On transportation, Arnold is committed to the Vision Zero campaign to end traffic deaths and the Safe System Approach — not just in rhetoric, but backed with real infrastructure investments. Arnold wants to accelerate sidewalk completion, create a network of protected bike lanes, and build a paved trail on the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Arnold also recognizes that Kirkland should not have to wait until 2044 for light rail and is ready to advocate for transit expansion and acceleration.

He actively supports progressive revenue sources and isn’t afraid to think regionally, proposing coordination on utility costs and advocating for real estate taxes scaled to home values rather than flat fees. Arnold’s leadership on the Regional Crisis Response agency shows smart public safety investment—getting people in crisis the help they need while freeing police for appropriate calls.

He is the only candidate to reject sweeps and camping bans as solutions, instead focusing on actual housing alternatives and proactive outreach through Kirkland’s Homeless Action Response Team.

Kirkland has a solid comprehensive plan. What it needs now is someone with the backbone to implement it. We believe that’s Jay Arnold. 

• Jay Arnold questionnaire
• Ken Oberman did not return a questionnaire.

Kirkland City Council, Position 3: Shilpa Prem

Shilpa Prem is a qualified candidate with emerging urbanist values for Kirkland City Council Position 3. As an attorney, Prem brings a different perspective to the table that could persuasively shift hesitant resident’s perspective on middle housing, affordable housing, and crisis centers, which have all received significant pushback in certain neighborhoods. 

Prem supports building both higher density housing, middle housing, and inclusionary zoning by expanding allowed uses throughout Kirkland. During Prem’s endorsement interview, she emphasized that changing the conversation around high density residential developments through education, data, and studies is critical to bringing everyone to the table in support of bringing more affordable housing to Kirkland. 

Prem stated her approach best in her questionnaire, “I will prioritize early outreach through town halls, pop-ups, and online forums to build trust and share clear, transparent information. Highlighting local success stories and partnering with experienced nonprofits will help show how supportive housing reduces homelessness and improves neighborhood stability. My approach balances empathy with action.”

Prem additionally supports 10-minute walkable neighborhoods with services and improvements to multi-modal transportation options. She is endorsed by long-time Councilmember Penny Sweet, who is vacating the seat.

Prem’s activism in gun safety and legal advising around technology is where Prem hits her stride. Prem sits on the board of WA Ceasefire and Emerge WA, which are organizations that aim to reduce gun violence through education programs, community engagement, and state policy advocacy. One of her top priorities is safety, and she recognizes that there is a significant image problem involving the police force. Her plan to address the police image problem is to advocate for greater data transparency and performance tracking to ensure public safety policies are equitable and effective, and that officers are held accountable. She additionally wants to work with the police force to have greater positive community interactions and engage proactively to rebuild trust. 

Catie Malik is challenging Prem for the seat, but she chose to not participate in The Urbanist’s endorsement process. The reason seems obvious enough: Malik does not appear to be an urbanist and instead the choice for Kirkland’s housing opponents, who seek to preserve neighborhoods in amber. Malik couches her opposition in support for tree protections, preserving neighborhood character, and needing multimillion dollar infrastructure investments before the city can approve larger developments. It is clear that Malik does not understand the role developers play in creating those infrastructure investments – as developers pay impact fees and complete public improvements that help integrate high-density developments into the city. 

While Prem’s interview and questionnaire indicate she shares our values, Prem is also a first-time candidate, and we are interested to see how she follows through on her aforementioned goals and policies. For example, Prem did not support using the term “NIMBY” (or “not in my backyard” activism) and believes education is the mechanism to eliminate community fears around density. While it may be idealistic to believe that education alone can shift conservative opinion, at least she is pushing in the right direction. Prem supports the state legislature’s requirements to provide for housing units affordable at all income levels, but many cities including Kirkland face pushback on the changing residential landscape to accommodate a diversity of income levels. 

We are keenly interested in seeing how she navigates the challenge of public scrutiny surrounding density, affordable housing, and addressing homelessness. We are excited to see her take action on shifting community perspectives on addressing the housing crisis on a local level. Vote Prem.

• Shilpa Prem questionnaire

Kirkland City Council, Position 5: Neal Black

Neal Black is an experienced City Council veteran who is ready to turn Kirkland’s ambitious 2044 Comprehensive Plan from vision into reality. In endorsing Black, we see a candidate who is aligned with progressive values and is ready to get to work developing ordinances promoting middle housing, creating the station area plan around 85th Street/I-405 bus rapid transit, and building the policy framework that is finally getting duplexes, triplexes, and backyard cottages, built in Kirkland.

Black understands housing as a complete system, having championed some of the Eastside’s deepest inclusionary zoning requirements while balancing them with smart incentive zoning and phased implementation. He gets that today’s new construction becomes tomorrow’s naturally occurring affordable housing, and he’s working to eliminate requirements that make affordable housing unnecessarily expensive to build.

On mobility, Black is focused on creating bicycle facilities where riders of all ages and abilities feel safe, including building trail networks, bicycle greenways, and protected intersections where collision risks are highest. He has actively pushed for walkable neighborhood centers where people can live, work, shop, and play without needing a car. 

Black is a champion of progressive public safety reform. He helped launch the Regional Community Response Agency, hired Kirkland’s first Homeless Outreach Coordinator, and opened the region’s first 24/7 Crisis Care Clinic. Black’s sees a two-pronged approach that has earned community and officer trust; a) recruiting great behavioral health professionals, and b) retaining excellent officers while increasing the role of trained behavioral health professionals.

Black supports progressive revenue, advocating for property tax authority increases tied to inflation and population growth while protecting low-income seniors and families through Kirkland’s universal discount program he helped develop.

Unlike his opponent, Ken MacKenzie, Black rejects camping bans and sweeps, instead building a complete continuum of care from outreach to permanent supportive housing. He treats homelessness as a system requiring attention at every point to help vulnerable neighbors navigate to stability.

The Urbanist endorses Neal Black given his alignment with transformational comprehensive planning, transit-oriented development, and holistic public safety approaches in our agenda.

• Neal Black questionnaire

Kirkland City Council, Position 7: Kurt Dresner

The Urbanist endorses Kurt Dresner for Kirkland City Council. Dresner has a history of advocacy within the Kirkland community and has demonstrated both through his priorities and past actions that he is a vetted Urbanist worthy of our endorsement.  Dresner is a long-time community advocate who co-founded Livable Kirkland in 2017, played a key role in starting up Kirkland’s volunteer bike valet program, helped lobby for the Kirkland tool library program, and has been an advocate on housing and transportation frequently at city council meetings. 

Throughout the endorsement process, Dresner has emphasized his continued commitment to urbanist values in his proposed priorities and policy approaches. Dresner’s own words capture his perspective on multimodal transportation the best – “housing and transportation are two sides of the same coin and approaches for one that do not consider the other are unlikely to succeed”.

Like his primary opponent, Jon Pascal, Dresner has priorities on bringing greater housing equity and affordability to Kirkland, however what makes Dresner unique is his belief that the most vulnerable groups need to have the most immediate relief. Dresner seeks to work with the city on streamlining projects that meet the community’s unmet needs for young professionals, elders looking to age in place, and small families looking for starter homes. Dresner believes in the “Supply, Stability, and Subsidy” policy coined by Shane Phillips in his book The Affordable City.

Where Dresner hits his stride is on his transportation policies. Dresner has actionable ideas on improving transportation options by re-prioritizing how the city addresses transportation infrastructure improvements. He believes that a larger proportion of improvement funds need to be dedicated to bike and pedestrian projects. He also discourages road widening projects, and would prefer an emphasis on maintenance and repairs of existing roadways. Ultimately, Dresner wants to see a healthy community with more transportation options and lower household transportation costs by offering a wider variety of options throughout Kirkland.

Dresner has proven himself to be a true urbanist time and time again, and we look forward to seeing the impact he has on Kirkland’s future during his tenure, if elected.

• Kurt Dresner questionnaire
• Jon Pascal did not return a questionnaire.

Redmond City Council, Position 6: Menka Soni

Menka Soni for Redmond City Council offers grounded leadership and an inclusive vision to a rapidly changing city. With a background spanning corporate leadership, nonprofit service, real estate, and small business ownership, Soni embodies the kind of multidimensional perspective Redmond needs as it faces pressing challenges around housing, affordability, and growth. 

Notably, Soni’s housing platform stands out for its compassion and practicality. She supports missing middle housing, zoning reforms, and a collaborative approach to working with developers, nonprofits, and faith-based groups to expand affordable options. As a board member of South King Housing and Homelessness Partners and a founder of AmPowering, she’s already doing this work on the ground — building trust with communities, helping vulnerable residents, and ensuring solutions are people-first. 

An urbanist in both outlook and experience, Soni supports building complete communities with mixed-income housing, walkable neighborhoods, and better transit access. Her public safety vision is forward-looking: she advocates for crisis response teams, culturally competent policing, and youth engagement programs that address root causes and build long-term community trust. She’s also committed to safer streets, backing Vision Zero strategies like protected bike lanes, lower speed limits, and better lighting, especially near schools and transit.

The incumbent in this race, Jeralee Anderson, built her career on environmental work, as co-founder of Greenroads Foundation, which provides independent third-party sustainability certification of transportation projects. Some of that work appears to border on greenwashing highway projects, sprinkling in stormwater features and greener materials, rather than fundamentally shifting our transportation network away from car hegemony. Climate is clearly a priority for Anderson, but it’s less clear her priorities extend to housing growth and mode shift. 

Soni’s vision is broader. A small business owner herself, Soni envisions an inclusive local economy that supports minority- and women-owned businesses and helps entrepreneurs thrive through education, visibility, and access to grants. Her economic platform also calls for progressive revenue sources like real estate excise taxes, employer head taxes, and vacancy fees to fund community priorities without deepening inequality.

Soni opposes criminalizing poverty and supports humane, housing-first approaches to homelessness. She also brings a unique regional lens to Redmond’s planning challenges, calling for bold, equity-driven updates to the city’s comprehensive plan — from climate resilience to anti-displacement protections to transit-oriented zoning near the incoming light rail.

Menka Soni isn’t just prepared to lead — she already is. Her track record across sectors, coupled with a fierce commitment to community well-being, makes her the strongest choice for Redmond’s future. Vote Soni.

• Menka Soni questionnaire
• Jeralee Anderson did not return a questionnaire.

Bothell Proposition No. 1 – Vote Yes on Renewal of Safe Streets and Sidewalks Levy Lid

Bothell voters should approve Proposition No. 1, to renew the Safe Streets and Sidewalks Levy. 

The original levy was approved by voters in 2016 and expires at the end of 2025. If passed, the renewal would continue funding for street maintenance, pedestrian safety, and related infrastructure for another nine years (2026–2034).

This measure was placed on the ballot by the Bothell City Council. Although most of the revenue will be spent on Street Maintenance & Operations and Pavement Preservation, the city plans to spend some of the funds on Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety, Safe Routes to Schools, and other traffic safety projects.

The levy would renew a $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value property tax. For a median-valued home in Bothell, this is about $450–$500 annually. As with other property taxes, many seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities can qualify for an exemption. 

Bothell City Council, Position 3: Jenne Alderks

The Urbanist endorses Bothell City Councilmember Jenne Alderks for reelection to Position No. 3 due to her strong track record and future priorities.

Alderks is an advocate for increased housing types that are appropriate for young adults (cottage housing, condominiums, small single-family homes).  She voted for abolishing “outdated, unscientific… parking minimums” entirely from the Bothell land use code to reduce costs for homebuilding. 

Alderks supports re-engineering roads for pedestrian safety through road diets, expanding the city’s sidewalk network, reducing speeds in neighborhoods and at intersections with roundabouts. In her next term, she told The Urbanist she will seek opportunities to fund the city’s Vision Zero traffic safety strategy.

She is a strong opponent of camping bans or sweeps, and instead supports housing first strategies in partnership with community organizations and case managers to secure stable housing. In her first term, she prioritized divesting social services from policing and advanced the crisis continuum of care, including mobile crisis responders, and helped establish Bothell’s therapeutic courts.

Alderks championed the activation of downtown Bothell with local markets and a walkable Main Street. She also worked to preserve the Shelton View Forest and supported salmon habitat restoration at the Wayne Golf Course.

Little is known about Alderks’ opponent, Shirley Mittelman, whose campaign lacks substance and offers no specific policies on affordable housing, zoning reform, climate action, transportation, or equity.

In contrast, Councilmember Jenne Alderks is a strong champion for urbanist policies in Bothell with a track record of delivering results. Vote Alderks.

• Jenne Alderks questionnaire
• Shirley Mittelman did not return a questionnaire.

Bothell City Council, Position 5: Brittany Miles

The Urbanist endorses Brittany Miles for Bothell City Council, Position 5.

Miles is a strong advocate for mental health, served on the board of the Regional Crisis Response (RCR) Agency, and contributed to the Washington State Legislature’s work on the 988 suicide prevention hotline. She supports the development of crisis care centers and wants to improve public safety by expanding mental health crisis response teams.

Miles supports more diverse housing options so young adults can afford to live in Bothell. In her questionnaire, she specifically named streamlining zoning regulations, offering incentives for developers to include affordable units in new projects, and utilizing state and federal funding for housing as strategies to achieve those goals. 

Miles wants the city to increase public transit, improve walkability, and advocates for dedicated bike lanes to reduce car dependency. She does not support camping bans or sweeps because they fail to address the underlying causes of homelessness and advocates for increasing access to emergency shelters and affordable housing.

Miles is running unopposed and is going to be an excellent addition to the Bothell City Council. 

• Brittany Miles questionnaire

Washington State Legislature 

Legislative District 5, Senate – Victoria Hunt

There’s plenty The Urbanist elections committee doesn’t agree with Victoria Hunt on. We were annoyed when she amended this year’s major parking reform bill, adding long implementation timelines. We don’t love her support for the questionable widening of SR 18 through southeast King County.

Does that mean we’re going to endorse Republican Chad Magendanz, and give more power to Senate Republicans to block progressive legislation? Heck no. Hunt supported a raft of positive changes in Olympia this session, from rent stabilization to transit-oriented development. She’s the best choice to represent the 5th District for the next four years. 

Vote Hunt.

• Victoria Hunt questionnaire
• Chad Magendanz did not return a questionnaire.

Legislative District 33, Position No. 1: Edwin Obras

Edwin Obras is running to retain his House seat to which he was appointed last year, and is facing off against Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling. The stakes of this election could not be higher for those who value fair wages, compassionate and solutions-oriented approaches to homelessness, and building affordable communities. 

Schilling, who did not participate in our endorsement process, has made a name for himself as a fierce opponent to the voter-approved Burien minimum wage increase, and has been the leader of a protracted fight to establish a cruel camping ban that prohibits tents on public property (effectively criminalizing people experiencing homelessness). If Schilling were to become a state legislator, Washington should expect more of the same – rash, untested policies that harm poor and working class families.

Obras meanwhile spent his first legislative session as an appointed state rep fighting for (and winning) investments in behavioral health services, housing, and the development of new public parks and play areas for families. He has been a supportive part of the work to address Washington’s housing affordability crisis, and has been a champion of priorities led by workers and renters. After being a human services professional for over 25 years, Obras brings that professional lens to his work as a state lawmaker and should retain his seat. Vote Edwin Obras (and if you can, join him for a canvass!).

•  Edwin Obras questionnaire

Legislative District 41, Position No. 1: Janice Zahn

The Urbanist endorses Janice Zahn for Washington State House of Representatives Legislative District 41 because of her advocacy for abundant housing, safe streets, ubiquitous rapid transit, and a just, decarbonized economy. Her professional experience as the Chief Engineer at the Port of Seattle, coupled with her seven years on the Bellevue City Council, makes her an exceptional advocate in Olympia. 

In her first term as a state representative, her policy positions have been urbanist-aligned. She introduced a bill to improve data collection on homelessness to better allocate resources, and she introduced a bill to start a low-interest loan program for affordable homeownership. She supported funding for behavioral health co-responders and voted for the transit-oriented development (TOD) bill. Although she supported the parking reform bill, she introduced a disappointing amendment to placate local opposition by raising the ceiling for all commercial spaces from one stall per every 1,000 square feet to two. 

Zahn told The Urbanist she supports increased accountability to ensure that cities’ comprehensive plans actually comply with state housing mandates such as those found in the 2023 middle housing law. She acknowledges that smaller cities struggle to comply with the number of bills coming from the state, and cited state-level pre-approved plans for accessory dwelling units as an example of how the state could make it easier for smaller cities to say “yes.”

Her background as the Chief Engineer at the Port of Seattle, overseeing major public works projects, makes her a valuable advocate for urbanist infrastructure and transportation goals. She says her background brings a “practical, equity-driven, solution-focused approach to infrastructure investments and capital budgets.” She told us, as a chief engineer, she will make sure the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is equipped with the best tools to deliver results. She introduced the safe systems approach bill, requiring WSDOT and local jurisdictions to make roads safer for vulnerable users, especially pedestrians and cyclists. 

Zahn supports progressive revenue sources instead of Washington’s regressive system that disproportionately taxes the poor. She supported closing tax loopholes and voted yes on the B&O tax bill. She told us she would have supported the wealth tax proposal if it had come before her and supported the capital gains tax bill that added a higher tier tax for the wealthiest. 

She supports a highway user fee and a surcharge on higher-cost vehicles and luxury boats to fund transportation for the benefit of all road users and speed the transition away from car-dependence. She believes our future depends on “investing in alternatives to driving—especially as we work to reduce emissions and create safer, healthier communities.”

The Urbanist previously endorsed Zahn for Bellevue City Council, where she served two terms before her appointment earlier this year to the legislature, and we are proud to endorse her again: vote Janice Zahn for Washington State House of Representatives Legislative District 41, Position No. 1.

• Janice Zahn questionnaire

Legislative District 48, State Senate: Vandana Slatter

Senator Vandana Slatter brings a rare and vital blend of experience to the Washington State Senate: healthcare professional, scientist, former state representative, and now a leading voice for equitable growth in the 48th Legislative District. Appointed to the Senate in 2024 after four impactful terms in the House, and having won the primary with nearly 60% of the vote, Slatter is proving herself as a principled, pragmatic leader who listens deeply and legislates with data, compassion, and courage.

As a self-described “baby urbanist,” Slatter is eager to grow her urbanist lens — and she already has the track record to back it up. She has fought for affordable housing near transit, rental protections, and wraparound services for those experiencing homelessness. Her work helped preserve housing in Highland Village and secured funding for permanent supportive housing. She also sponsored legislation (SB 5725) to turn underused college land into affordable workforce housing, reflecting her creative, community-rooted approach.

On transportation, Slatter is a strong advocate for multimodal infrastructure, bus rapid transit, finishing the Eastrail multi-use trail, and complete streets that prioritize safety. She understands that equitable mobility is central to climate action and livability — and she’s helped secure funding to make it real. Her defense of non-driver transportation budgets shows her commitment to equity over false bipartisanship.

Slatter also brings a nuanced and empathetic approach to community resistance, especially in wealthy cities hesitant to embrace the Growth Management Act. She emphasizes education, transparent engagement, and storytelling—including her own family’s housing journey — to shift the narrative toward shared responsibility and inclusive growth.

While some legislators avoid hard conversations about race, displacement, or progressive revenue, Slatter leans in. She supports a wealth tax, champions community roundtables, and works to ensure people of color and working families are included in policymaking — not just as stakeholders, but as co-creators of Washington’s future.

Senator Slatter is the thoughtful, equity-focused, urbanist-minded leader LD 48 needs. 

• Vandana Slatter questionnaire

NORTH END

Everett Mayor: Cassie Franklin

The Urbanist endorsed Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin in the primary and she finished a close second behind conservative Scott Murphy. Franklin’s administration has made strides on abundant housing, safe streets, and rapid transit. Our endorsement comes with caveats — especially over her position on Sound Transit 3 expansion and the Everett Link alignment. But clearly she is a better choice than Murphy.

Franklin supports increasing the overall housing supply at all price points and told The Urbanist her goal is to make the city a very development-friendly city. Increasing the housing supply, especially affordable and workforce housing, is the “most important strategy” to limit cost increases and make the region affordable, she said. Under Franklin’s administration, Everett increased residential densities in the downtown core, allowing high-rise development up to 25 stories, streamlined permitting, and reduced parking mandates to increase the overall housing supply. To encourage more affordable housing production, her administration implemented fee waivers and expanded tax breaks for affordable housing developments. 

The homelessness crisis is especially acute in Everett. Mayor Franklin has supported adding pallet shelters in two locations with plans for a third — despite a lawsuit from not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) activists — and has supported permanent supportive housing projects like Claire’s Place. Drawing on her background as the former CEO of Cocoon House, a nonprofit serving homeless youth, Mayor Franklin distinguishes behavioral health conditions as separate from homelessness, requiring different solutions, even though they often coexist. The root cause of homelessness is ultimately caused by the housing supply crisis, but housing production is still lagging. To meet its planning target, Everett needs to add more than 1,500 new homes per year over the next 20 years, and Franklin has committed to building more homes. 

However, The Urbanist elections committee strongly disagrees with Franklin’s work on the Sound Transit board, where she fought to detour the Everett Link extension off of the I-5 corridor to the Boeing factory and Paine Field Airport. That detour will not only increase the time and cost of the light rail expansion but also threaten to displace residents and businesses of the Casino Road neighborhood, a predominantly Latino community, home to a significant portion of Everett’s communities of color and low-income households. To address these concerns, Franklin’s administration has initiated an “Equitable Business Strategy” to preserve local businesses and address impacts from light rail takings.

Franklin has also played parochial politics, saying she’d gladly cut or delay Seattle light rail projects to speed up Everett Link timelines. It’s an easy way to score political points at home, but we are looking for Sound Transit Board members looking to collaborate, constructively problem solve, and think regionally, rather than tear down each other’s projects in a knee jerk fashion. Hopefully, she is ready to do that work outside of a tight election fight.

Scott Murphy is a retired corporate executive who is focused on sweeping homeless encampments and throwing money at the police department without a clear plan to improve outcomes. He’s running a campaign based on scare-mongering and hollow promises, like the idea that ramping up emphasis patrols and installing more cops in schools will end youth violence. It’s a standard conservative/centrist formula around the region, with little track record to commend it. Vote Franklin.

• Cassie Franklin questionnaire
• Scott Murphy did not return a questionnaire

Everett City Council, District 1: Sam Hem

The Urbanist endorses Sam Hem for the Everett City Council District 1 position. Hem’s support for zoning reform, public investment in housing, as well as his advocacy for public transportation and traffic safety for all road users, make him the standout candidate in the crowded primary. 

A longtime labor leader with the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 66 and an Executive Board member of the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council, Hem will ensure workers’ voices are heard when decisions are made at City Hall. 

When we asked about displacement and gentrification on Casino Road caused by Sound Transit’s detour to Paine Field, Hem said he’s not yet a subject matter expert, but he told us where his “feelings and heart” are. He supports zoning reforms and public investments to increase multi-family and missing-middle housing. Citing the recent legalization of housing in Seattle’s so-called Maker’s District as inspiration, he supports union-built affordable housing and mandatory inclusion of affordable units. He believes labor-backed developments can succeed with a “shared commitment to community and economic justice.” 

He says his experience as a labor leader in the building and construction trades has shown him “firsthand how labor-backed developments can succeed when there’s a shared commitment to community and economic justice.” He believes housing development should “meet the needs of the people that are in the community and not just for the rich.” His labor-alignment and support for mandatory Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) could set him at odds with the developer-friendly policies of Mayor Cassie Franklin’s administration.

Hem told The Urbanist he supports increased investment in traffic safety, particularly in underserved neighborhoods. He will collaborate with transit, public works, and community groups to identify high-risk corridors to find solutions to protect pedestrians and cyclists. He supports the “Vision Zero” goal to make streets safer for all users; prioritizing walkable, transit-oriented development, expanding sidewalks, building ADA-compliant infrastructure, improving crosswalks, calming traffic, and adding protected bike lanes. 

Hem says the Everett Link Extension “can’t get here soon enough” and backs investments in public transit to improve major bus route service frequency. When pushed for details on how to fund increased services, he said he will listen to Everett Transit workers. Their voices “need to be heard and… advocated for” because “they know the solutions” as “they’re in the trenches day in and day out,” he said.

• Sam Hem questionnaire
• Erica Weir did not return a questionnaire

Shoreline City Council, Position 1: No Endorsement

The Urbanist is not endorsing either candidate for City of Shoreline, Council Position No. 1. Both candidates, Valerie Snider and Jack Malek, completed our questionnaire and sat down for interviews, and both have their positive attributes. But neither is a complete candidate and we saw too many red flags to endorse either. 

Malek is a local realtor who served on the Planning Commission and is a strong advocate for increasing housing production by removing regulatory burdens. But Malek lacks commitment and new ideas for improving transportation options for Shoreline’s non-drivers.
In contrast, Snider is backed by local not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) activists from Save Shoreline Trees and the Shoreline Preservation Society who recruited her to run for city council. Snider has publicly criticized new homes near the light rail as “overpriced, ugly apartment buildings and townhomes” and “eyesores” that do nothing to help with housing. She says her top priority is the preservation of “old-growth” trees and says the city’s tree canopy expansion goal is too modest and should be more aggressive.

• Jack Malek questionnaire
• Valerie Snider questionnaire

Shoreline City Council, Position 7: Christopher Roberts

The Urbanist endorses Christopher Roberts for re-election to Shoreline City Council because of his track record promoting abundant housing and sustainable transportation. First elected to the Shoreline City Council in 2009, Roberts has accomplished a lot for urbanists in Seattle’s neighbor to the north. 

As mayor, he led Shoreline’s Comprehensive Plan update, which increased middle-housing density beyond the state’s minimum requirements. Roberts was a key leader in the Shoreline City Council’s decision to fully abolish mandates for off-street parking citywide in new development. Under Roberts’ leadership, the city recently legalized neighborhood commercial businesses, allowing corner cafes and walkable convenience stores.

Roberts supported the donation of surplus property for the construction of a 100-unit permanent supportive housing development and has said he is proud of the city’s support of an enhanced shelter in Shoreline. And Shoreline adopted stronger-than-average tenant protections under his tenure, a move Roberts supported, to help keep people housed.

More than a decade ago, Roberts helped lead Shoreline in upzoning the areas near the city’s two new Link light rail stations (148th Street and 185th Street). Looking forward, Roberts says he wants the city to adopt pre-approved accessory dwelling unit designs to expedite permitting and undertake a wider streamlining of the city’s entire development code.

Roberts supports building complete streets and told us, “We need to make sure our streets are safe for all users, especially since there are large percentages of people who do not own a car or do not drive.” He supported the N 175th Street safety project, despite backlash from tree preservationists, which includes expanded sidewalks and protected bike facilities. He even suggested reducing vehicle travel lanes in future phases to slow speeds on the dangerous road, a move that would save lives, save money, and even save trees.

Roberts is running un-opposed for re-election, but there is a good chance he won’t serve a full four-year term on the council. Earlier this year, he launched a campaign to unseat scandal-plagued John Wilson as King County Assessor. 

•  Christopher Roberts questionnaire

Edmonds City Council, Position 1: Chris Eck

The Urbanist endorses Chris Eck for reelection to Edmonds City Council because she supports housing abundance, economic development, public transportation, and walkability. 

Eck is a proponent of increasing housing supply and variety, and says, “Everyone who lives and works in Edmonds deserves to be able to afford a place to rent or own here… even soundly middle-income families like those with parents who are teachers and firefighters can’t afford to live here now.” To avoid sprawl, she supports adding housing near public transportation and businesses to create walkable centers.

Eck supports multi-modal transportation and commits to improving walkability, bike safety, and transit access. She will advocate for better bus connections to light rail and promised to prioritize traffic calming measures and sidewalks projects. She supported the use of red light cameras at dangerous intersections to improve safety for pedestrians and drivers.

Eck has not been on the council long; she was elected in 2023, but has been a Lynnwood and Snohomish County Planning Commissioner and Edmonds Tree Board Member. 

We are optimistic Eck will be an ally for urbanist voters in Edmonds on the council. Vote Eck.

• Chris Eck questionnaire

Kenmore City Council, Position 2: No Endorsement

The Urbanist is not endorsing either candidate for Kenmore city council Position 2. We endorsed Caitlin Sullivan in the primary, but she did not advance to the general election. Neither Tracy Banaszynski nor incumbent Joe Marshall returned their questionnaires from the endorsement committee.

Incumbent city councilmember Joe Marshall is about as bad on housing policy as they come. He opposed the Plymouth permanent affordable housing project and he opposes state mandates preempting exclusionary housing policies, saying earlier this year, “I staunchly remain in favor of local control.”

Running to unseat Marshall is the Chair of the Kenmore Planning Commission, Tracy Banaszynski, who supported an inclusionary zoning plan that would have essentially taxed middle housing developments and discouraged the kind of affordable in-fill development Kenmore needs more of while favoring giant, expensive McMansions the city already has too many of. 

Kenmore City Council, Position 4: Nigel Herbig

The Urbanist is endorsing Nigel Herbig for Kenmore City Council because of his track record of advancing abundant housing policies and transportation safety improvements. 

Herbig is an outspoken proponent of affordable housing policy and renter protections and works in the area of homelessness for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) and serves on the King County Affordable Housing Committee.

Herbig worked to pass the city’s renter protection ordinance requiring landlords to give tenants 90 days’ notice for rent increases. He supported an inclusionary zoning (IZ) policy that incentivizes smaller, more affordable units while taxing the construction of large single-family homes (McMansions).

Herbig was one of the few council members to support the Plymouth permanent supportive housing (PSH) proposal, a fully funded 100-unit building for extremely low-income individuals exiting homelessness. After angry NIMBY backlash from some local residents, the Kenmore City Council voted to reject the project in January 2024. Following the rejection, he helped relocate the project (and its funding) to Redmond, where it recently broke ground.

Herbig has made transit, walkability, and bike safety a top priority. Since joining the council, Kenmore passed the Walkways and Waterways bond measure to build new sidewalks and bike lanes throughout the city. Herbig worked to pass Kenmore’s Target Zero resolution, which changed how city engineers approach transportation projects, prioritizing safety above speed for drivers, reducing pedestrian or bicyclist deaths and serious injuries.

Since he was first elected to the council in 2014, Herbig has been an ally of urbanists and should be re-elected. Vote Herbig.

• Nigel Herbig questionnaire

Lake Forest Park City Council, Position 1: Semra Riddle

The Urbanist endorses Semra Riddle for Lake Forest Park City Council Position 1 because of her commitment to safer, active transportation, and expanded housing options supported by economic development in the city. Semra’s experience with city council for nine years shows in how she speaks specifically about policy backed by funding plans to move things forward. 

Riddle is clearly supportive of mixed-use, affordable housing to expand to make significantly more multi-family, dense housing available as spaces like the Town Center are developed and built out. She wants to go beyond state minimums for middle housing and redevelop the Lake Forest Park (LFP) town center with at least 10% affordable housing, hoping developers can get on board with the plan. Riddle is motivated to get the city moving to also finally respond to the state mandates for affordable housing that have been pushed to the side since 2021. While she wants the city to exceed the state minimums, they need to get started first on at least meeting them. 

On transit policy, Riddle recognizes the impact that the bus rapid transit line along SR 522 can bring to the area, when it opens in 2028-ish. She has good awareness of the challenges that Sound Transit is facing due to local opposition to the bus lane, and some challenges to reach the line from Lake Forest Park. Riddle is eager to support the infrastructure needed to build over the Besche’tla and McAleer creeks and maintain safe pedestrian areas near the Town Center. She wants things to keep moving and get done as soon as possible: last year, she was the only councilmember to not sign a letter to Sound Transit opposing business access transit (BAT) lanes in the city. 

Riddle told The Urbanist she supports traffic calming on Perkins Way to make it safe for pedestrians and cyclists. The narrow road alongside McAleer Creek is the bike route connecting the Burke Gilman Trail to the Shoreline North light rail station and the Interurban Trail. But the twisting ravine has a dangerous problem with speeding drivers and no sidewalks. LFP needs more public parks, and turning Perkins into Safe Street could make it a recreational space for the locals while supporting the city’s climate goals.

Riddle identifies the way that the city is growing and changing, and has the awareness and expertise to balance growth with sustainability and other goals. Her support for increased housing with new developments and mindfulness around the progression for new and improved transit and pedestrian options is comforting. Vote Semra Riddle. 

• Semra Riddle questionnaire

Lake Forest Park City Council, Position 3: Josh Rosenau

The Urbanist endorses Josh Rosenau for Lake Forest Park City Council, Position 3. Rosenau is an urbanist pushing hard for walkable neighborhood retail, parks, and transit. He highlights his support for a “quick completion of the Stride S3” bus rapid transit (BRT) project, a welcome shift from Lake Forest Park Council’s previous slow-walking of this important connection. 

Rosenau is a conservation biologist who has served on the LFP Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and has a great comprehensive view of how to move Lake Forest Park forward. He has a solid understanding of urbanism, from housing to transportation, and in diving into the details necessary to gain partners and momentum for urbanist aspects to be included in decisions. 

Rosenau is challenging Jon Lebo, whose work at Sound Transit necessitates his recusal in related council votes. With other council members actively pushing back on the BRT plan, Rosenau is keen on ensuring there’s enough support to move the bus forward and pave the way for transit improvements in other areas. 

Rosenau is a sharp urbanist, with great political acumen regarding making essential headway in Lake Forest Park. Vote Rosenau. 

• Josh Rosenau questionnaire

Lynnwood City Council, Position 1: Derica Escamilla

Vote for Derica Escamilla as an urbanist voice moving Lynnwood’s issues and discussion forward. Escamilla is an environmental scientist with years of experience serving on Lynnwood’s Boards and Committees. Escamilla was appointed to the council last year and her values align with The Urbanist’s positions. 

Escamilla told The Urbanist she welcomes middle housing zoning reforms and supports tax incentives to increase affordable housing. She wants to make public transit the safest, easiest, and most affordable option, advocating for lower fares and expanded routes. She is a champion for a more walkable and safely bikeable Lynnwood.

She’s pushed to continue funding for LEAD, Lynnwood’s diversion program that connects people with behavioral health issues with treatment to keep them from cycling through the criminal justice system. In contrast to her “tough on crime” opponents, she supports community-based programs to increase access to mental health services.

Escamilla is a youth basketball coach and advocate for increased recreational and participation opportunities for young people. Along with Council Vice President Josh Binda, she led the creation of a youth board to increase public engagement and ensure young voices are heard in local government. 

In our interview, Escamilla acknowledged she is still new to answering questions about housing policy issues and she was unfamiliar with parking reform. She made some car-oriented comments that don’t align with The Urbanist’s positions. However, Escamilla is, by a wide margin, the best candidate for urbanists to support in this primary; neither of her opponents applied for an endorsement from The Urbanist. 

Challenging her is Republican Diodato (Dio) Boucsieguez, who led the Binda recall campaign that failed to gather enough signatures. The Snohomish County Auditor and Snohomish County Hearing Examiner dismissed Boucsieguez’s most recent accusations against Binda as lacking merit. Boucsieguez has cited high taxes and the “urban problems” from the “Seattlelization” of Lynnwood as motivations for seeking office. Clearly not a fit for urbanists, let alone Democratic voters in general.

Escamilla will continue to be a strong voice for groups that have long been left out of decision-making in Lynnwood. She listens to the needs of workers, families, immigrants, and youth. Vote Escamilla.

• Derica Escamilla questionnaire

Lynnwood City Council, Position 2: Isabel Mata

The Urbanist endorses Isabel Mata for Lynnwood City Council Position 2. Mata aims to take all viewpoints into consideration with her “No one left behind” campaign pushing to do more to live up to Lynnwood’s “All are welcome” slogan. This ideal has garnered criticism in practice, and Mata speaks of welcoming new members to the community while engaging with and preventing displacement of long-time residents. 

Mata’s background in mindfulness shows as she looks into taking a comprehensive look at a wide variety of issues. She supports affordable housing along with affordable childcare, and sees transportation, parks, and health resources as important aspects of affordability and supporting working people and seniors. 

Mata is facing Ki Seung Cho in this Lynnwood City Council race, owner of “Master Cho’s Taekwondo” and teacher of current conservative councilmember, Patrick Decker, who is running for a County Charter Commission seat, leaving this seat open. Cho holds a ninth-degree black belt, while Decker only holds one. Mata takes a different approach as a writer and mindfulness coach, and her views on urbanism are clear. 

Mata believes in housing-first solutions, addressing root causes to solve problems, and coordinating for meaningful progress. As such, Mata is the urbanist choice for Position 2. Vote Isabel Mata. 

• Isabel Mata questionnaire

Lynnwood City Council, Position 3: Josh Binda

The Urbanist endorses Lynnwood City Council Vice President Josh Binda for reelection because he supports expanded transit and policy reforms that will increase affordable housing. He is more competent and experienced on the tough policy issues facing Lynnwood than his challenger. 

Binda says his top priority is increasing the supply of affordable housing in Lynnwood. In our interview, he told us that, as a renter, he will represent the growing population of people in Lynnwood who have been priced out of Seattle. He’s an advocate for mixed-income developments and policy reforms to increase availability. Binda supports eliminating parking mandates citywide and he supports affordable housing mandates and subsidized housing. 

Binda told us outright, “I do not support camping bans or sweeps”. He wants more supportive housing, mental health services, job training, designated safe camping areas, and comprehensive outreach services to connect individuals with resources. He is a “huge proponent” of non-policing behavioral health co-responders, particularly for issues related to mental health, drug abuse, and homelessness. 

As Council Vice President, he championed new boardwalks, trails, and parks, and says his council is now “very pro-transit.” Binda told us he wants to make the Lynnwood city center very transit-oriented and walkable so people don’t have to drive. He will advocate for expanded bus routes, increased funding for light rail, and supports creating safe, well-lit pedestrian pathways and dedicated bike lanes. 

Binda said he’s excited to continue working with the city council on the Poplar Way Extension Bridge that would close a gap in the Interurban Trail, making biking and walking to the transit center safer. He also led the effort to secure $2 million for upgrades at Scriber Lake Park and was proud to tell us about the recent Boardwalk Trail grand opening. 

He told The Urbanist he “wholeheartedly” supports progressive revenue sources and would advocate for raising Lynnwood’s minimum wage, saying the current wage is “completely unaffordable for working-class people.” 

In our interview, Binda touted the Zip Shuttle, which provides an “on-demand shared ride” service to the Alderwood district. Though operated by Community Transit, these services are expensive per ride and don’t scale. The Urbanist loves last-mile solutions, though we’d like to see this money funding more efficient ways of getting people where they need to go. 

There’s a lot at stake in this election. When he was first elected, he made history as the youngest African American elected official in Washington state history. An investigation by the Snohomish County NAACP found that starting before even taking office, Binda had been unfairly targeted by the media and city officials based on his race and age. 

The mud-slinging has continued. Last year a recall campaign led by his opponents failed to gather enough signatures, and the Snohomish County Auditor and Snohomish County Hearing Examiner dismissed the most recent accusations against Binda as lacking merit. The head of the failed recall, Dio Boucsieguez, chose not to challenge Binda, and is running against CM Escamilla. 

Binda’s opponent, Bryce Owings, did not respond to our questionnaire and has vaguely discussed his views on important urbanist issues, notably stating he’d leave parts of Lynnwood unchanged accessibility-wise because he personally can get around there. Owings endorsements have been strained by revelations of a history of arrests for drug use, dealing, and domestic violence, some of which occurred during the time he had claimed to be sober. This has caused backlash, but endorsements are mainly unchanged. Owings received the endorsement of Burien Councilmember Jimmy Matta, who voted for that city’s infamous criminalization of homelessness and camping ban. Owings also received the endorsement of former Lynnwood city council member, Ted Hikel, who fought increased density in Lynnwood’s comprehensive plan because “proposed changes denigrate the value of my property and impact the rights of all single-family homes throughout the city,” according to Hikel. 

Binda is the right candidate for urbanist voters – supporting affordable housing, walkability, and transit. He’s the most experienced candidate in the primary and has more depth on the important issues facing the city than his opponents. He will be a voice for young renters, immigrants, and African Americans in a rapidly changing city. His reelection will send a strong message that the days of a regressive, small-minded Lynnwood City Hall are over. Vote Binda.

• Josh Binda questionnaire
• Bryce Owings did not return a questionnaire

Lynnwood City Council, Position 5: Mpiima M. Mugambe

Lynnwood voters have two good urbanist candidates to choose from for Council Position 5: incumbent Robert Leutwyler and Mpiima M. Mugambe. Either of the candidates would be strong advocates for urbanism in Lynnwood, but The Urbanist has decided to endorse Mugambe because of his support for the minimum wage and advocacy for non-policing public safety.

Both candidates support increasing housing density and supply in Lynnwood. Both candidates support eliminating or reducing parking minimums. Both are committed to investing in infrastructure for biking, walking, and transit. In that regard, Lynnwood will be a better, more livable city with either candidate on the council. 

The Urbanist is backing Mugambe because of how the candidates differ. 

Mugambe told The Urbanist he is running because it’s time for social workers to step into leadership. As a social worker, lecturer at the UW School of Social Work, and clinical supervisor on a Crisis Team for the Downtown Emergency Services Center (DESC) in Seattle, Mugambe has firsthand experience working with people facing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges, often alongside first responders. This background informs his advocacy for officer de-escalation training, community-focused law enforcement, and his support for increased mental health professional staffing. 

In contrast, Leutwyler has been endorsed by the Lynnwood Police Officers Guild and said he “proudly supported increased funding to restore our police staffing levels.” But with the city facing a budget deficit (projected at $10.7 million by the end of 2026 due to lower-than-expected revenues), he was noncommittal about where the revenue to pay for increased PD staffing would come from and whether he would make cuts elsewhere in the budget to fund the police staffing increases. 

Mugambe is the co-chair and treasurer of Fair Pay Lynnwood, a campaign to raise Lynnwood’s local minimum wage from the current state-level of $16.66 to $20.24 per hour, an effort supported by the Transit Riders Union. A single adult needs about $30.25 per hour to afford the cost of living in Snohomish County, and minimum wage increases have proven popular with voters, often passing by wide margins in nearby Tukwila, Burien, Renton, and Everett.

When we asked Leutwyler if he supported raising the city’s minimum wage, he was noncommittal and said he wants more time to conduct due diligence on the specific proposal.

Similarly, Mugambe has been a vocal and strong supporter of rent stabilization and tenant protections, while Leutwyler has expressed empathy for renters, but is cautious about specific implementations.

Mugambe, an immigrant and asylee from Uganda, has pledged to stand up for the safety of immigrant and LGBTQIA+ neighbors who are threatened. His background demonstrates a deep commitment to serving and protecting marginalized communities, and he believes local governments have a duty to protect all residents.

In his short tenure on the Lynnwood City Council, Leutwyler has distinguished himself as one of the most passionate and effective urbanists in Lynnwood. He holds an MBA, has served on the Planning Commission, and earned a Certificate in Municipal Leadership. His passion for delving into wonky and technical details, including traffic engineering, place making, and infrastructure innovation, is allowing the city government to get more things done. 

But while both candidates are strong advocates for urbanist housing and transport policies, ultimately Mugambe will be a stronger voice for the core urbanist values of a just economy, inclusion, and justice for all. 

Vote Mugambe.

• Robert Leutwyler questionnaire
• Mpiima M. Mugambe questionnaire

Woodinville Council Position 1: Michelle Evans 

The Urbanist endorses Michelle Evans for Woodinville City Council because of her demonstrated record advancing abundant housing, multimodal transportation, and holistic public safety. Her opponent, Jeff Lyon, has used massive spending and questionable campaign tactics to advance an anti-growth agenda. 

She told The Urbanist, “We can’t solve a housing crisis with outdated zoning or fear-based politics. We need proactive, proven tools, and I’m committed to delivering them.”

Under Evans’ tenure, the city of Woodinville delivered the first workforce-affordable housing development in over 20 years at Eastrail Flats. She helped implement Woodinville’s first-ever Multi-Family Tax Exemption (MFTE) program to encourage below-market rents in new developments. She supports increased zoning density, including middle-housing, family-sized rentals, townhomes, and duplexes—especially near transit and services.

Evans advocated for expanded transit and supported the introduction of scooter and e-bike sharing to improve last-mile connections and reduce reliance on cars. She supports expanding the city’s sidewalk network, filling gaps in trails, upgrading bike infrastructure, and more traffic calming. And she has been an advocate for the Eastrail project, a multi-use trail connecting Woodinville to neighboring cities.

Evans supports the Eastside Fire & Rescue’s CORE Connect and the King County Sheriff’s Therapeutic Response Unit that send trained professionals — not just law enforcement — to respond to behavioral health crises. And she supports state-level progressive revenue sources and told us she supports a capital gains tax at the state level, as well as an income tax on the top 1% earners.

Evans is opposed by Jeff Lyon, a cryptocurrency executive who has poured more than $175,000 into his campaign. Lyon is running to block housing density and impede growth.

Urbanists in Woodinville have a clear choice in this race: vote for Michelle Evans.

• Michelle Evans questionnaire
• Jeff Lyon questionnaire

Woodinville City Council, Position 5: Sarah Arndt

The Urbanist endorses Sarah Arndt for Woodinville City Council Position #5. Arndt is a current city councilmember running for re-election, and over her first three years on the council she has had an positive and impactful influence on a number of local issues – including the climate action plan, supporting housing projects, improving access to parks and open spaces, and guiding more investments toward multimodal transportation projects. Her re-election priorities seek to build upon the work she has started on the council. 

In her re-election campaign, one of Arndt’s top priorities is addressing the housing crisis. Arndt is progressive in her housing approach by supporting inclusionary zoning, bringing more shelter, transitional housing, emergency housing, and permanent supportive housing (a.k.a. STEP housing) options into the fold, and removing housing barriers in the city’s code and permitting processes. 

Arndt believes that while engagement is key to advancing STEP housing, “it is crucial that public engagement doesn’t become a veto process on good projects”. The Urbanist commends Arndt for recognizing the current climate around housing opponents abusing public engagement as a mechanism to block projects that have an overwhelmingly positive impact. Additionally, Arndt is anti-camping sweeps and believes in a housing first approach to supporting the unhoused community. 

Another area that Arndt shines in advocating for trail and recreational public spaces in Woodinville. During her time on the council, she has helped open Wood Trails, the city’s largest and biggest park, secured funding for planning the Eastrail trail and linear park, and advocated for the city to be the preferred location for a new aquatic and recreation center. In a world of privatization of public amenity’s, Arndt has demonstrated a continued commitment to maintaining vital public spaces that enhance Woodinville’s quality of life. 

While the Urbanist is giving Arndt our endorsement, it comes with a caveat surrounding parking requirements in the downtown core. Arndt is pro-parking and does not support reduced parking mandates. During her interview, she indicated she will prioritize access improvements for cars to better support Woodinville’s downtown core businesses. Woodinville once had transit services prior to the pandemic, however King County has been glacially slow mobilizing on providing a greater service area and re-establishing exurban routes. Woodinville has a tourism-based economy focused around wine and spirits, and the Urbanist strongly supports safer, alternative modes of transportation for Woodinville’s tourists. 

That being said, Arndt does support investing in more multi-modal transportation options. We are interested to see how Arndt collaborates with King County Metro and its neighbors to develop a future with more transportation options. Arndt’s transportation goals also include filling sidewalk gaps, building protected bike lanes, improving street lighting, and ensuring curbs and crosswalks meet accessible design standards. 

While Arndt is the only candidate in this city council race that applied for the Urbanist endorsement, she has rightfully earned her endorsement and aligns with the Urbanist on a majority of the issues we at the Urbanist advocate for. 

• Sarah Arndt questionnaire

North Shore (Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville) Proposition 1

A Northshore Park and Recreation Service Area ballot measure for Kenmore, Bothell, and Woodinville voters would renew a six-year levy to fund maintenance and operations at the Northshore Senior Center and Health & Wellness and Adult Day Health Center. The levy would support healthy aging with meals, health and fitness classes, and support for caregiver. It would also provide important building repairs and upgrades. Approve this levy renewal to support seniors in our community.

The Urbanist Elections Committee consists of Forrest Baum, Emma Biscocho Pelletier, Angela Compton, Caitlin Hepworth, Kacie Masten, Jason Merges, Oliver Moffat, Ryan Packer, Aparna Rae, Maya Ramakrishnan, Hannah Sabio-Howell, Jazmine Smith, Doug Trumm, and Kelsey Vanhee.

The post 2025 General Election Endorsements first appeared on The Urbanist.

Seattle’s long saga of passing its state-required, once-per-decade major update to its Comprehensive Plan is nearing its end. But first, one more public hearing will be held this Friday for residents to air their grievances or do their cheerleading.

The Seattle City Council has put forward a total of 106 amendments. As past Urbanist coverage noted, these amendments run the gambit from pro-housing and helpful to obstructionist and clunky.

For those that just want to cut to the case, here is a cheat seat for amendments to support and to oppose:

SUPPORT AMENDMENTS

• RINCK – 1, 2, 7, 17, 34, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 66, 69, 72, 76, 84, 95, 98
• STRAUSS – 5, 6, 8, 25, 29, 30, 33, 42-C, 43, 46-A, 47, 48-C, 49-C, 64, 73, 92
• SAKA – 11, 13, 23, 36, 77
• HOLLINGSWORTH – 19, 68, 78, 79, 80, 107, 108, 109
• NELSON – 52, 60, 63, 65, 74, 86, 89, 91
• KETTLE – 50, 61, 70, 90, 94, 96
• SOLOMON – 83

OPPOSE AMENDMENTS

• SAKA – 35, 37,
• HOLLINGSWORTH – 38
• RIVERA – 39, 40, 41, 81 93, 102
• KETTLE – 51, 97

As a member of Complete Communities Coalition on the advocacy side of our organization, The Urbanist is supporting a package of coalition-backed amendments promoting additional housing opportunities.

As coalition partner Futurewise (a nonprofit dedicated to land use advocacy) put it, the coalition wants “More homes, of more types, in more places, for more people!”

Jazmine Smith, Director of Local Advocacy at Futurewise and Co-Chair of Complete Communities Coalition, outlined six amendments that the pro-housing coalition is focusing on. (Smith serves on The Urbanist’s board and also co-chairs The Urbanist Elections Committee.) Council President Sara Nelson and Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck are carrying the legislation:

• Amendment 34: Eight new neighborhood centers in Broadview, South Wedgwood, Loyal Heights, Gasworks, Nickerson, Roanoke, Dawson, and Alki. 
• Amendments 60 & 63: Affordable housing density bonuses (citywide and in low rise zones). 
• Amendment 86: Eliminating parking mandates near frequent transit.
• Amendment 89: Allowing all residential lots to use the stacked flat bonus, and increasing the bonus.
• Amendment 91: Establishing a trees and density stacked flat bonus that would boost height limits on stacked-flat style homes to retain trees or have a higher Green Factor.

Complete Communities Coalition leaders partnered with Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck to lead a tour of the eight proposed neighborhood center additions to the plan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alexis Mercedes Rinck (@councilmember.amr)

“Speaking of Amendment 34… we had a wonderful opportunity on a sunny weekend to bike 62 miles crisscrossing Seattle to tour our eight new neighborhood centers we’re proposing with Councilmember Rinck,” Smith wrote in a coalition update. “We had a blast talking to neighbors like Michael in Loyal Heights and business owners like Robert from Third Place Books in Dawson about what they love about their neighborhood and the opportunities they see once we can unlock more options and more homes. It was such a fun time and really connected the need with the vision!”

In a similar vein, Councilmember Dan Strauss (District 6) proposed Amendment 42, adding East Ballard as a neighborhood center centered around 8th Avenue NW and NW 65th Street. The corridor is served by King County Metro’s Route 28 bus and already has a commercial hub centered around the Goodwill thrift shop on the corner, making it a logical place to locate a neighborhood center.

Strauss has proposed three versions for the East Ballard center. Version A is the smallest, and Version C would appear to be the largest, though Version B stretches farther north.

Ditching parking mandates

In addition to the main coalition package, most urbanists would support Rinck’s Amendment 7, which abolishes parking requirements citywide. If Spokane, Bremerton, Bothell and Shoreline can eliminate parking mandates citywide, Seattle should be no sweat. After all, Seattle leads the region in ditching cars and forming carfree households. 

Rinck laid out why parking reform is important: “Our parking mandates just make it more expensive to build housing. And if we really are building towards a green energy future, we need to be encouraging more folks into taking transit, increasing pedestrianization, and improving our transit connections. [I’m] hoping that we can make some progress in alleviating some of the requirements around parking when it comes to development.”

Meanwhile, Strauss’s Amendment 8 would promote parking limits in “regional centers that are served by light rail.” In part, this policy is already in force, with the City already using maximum parking requirements in Downtown Seattle, South Lake Union, Uptown and the University District.

However, Capitol Hill/First Hill and Northgate are also regional centers served by light rail, and Ballard is a regional center that would meet the definition once light rail reaches it — whenever that is. Conceivably, the City could seek to designate more regional centers at a later date. Strauss’s amendment would grease the skids for parking caps in the most transit-rich neighborhoods.

Stretching the borders of proposed Neighborhood Centers

Councilmembers have proposed a slew of amendments altering the border of neighborhood centers in their districts. These are a mixed bag, with Councilmember Maritza Rivera (District 4), focused on shrinking centers in her district. 

On the other hand, Strauss has proposed a huge array of boundary adjustments in his district, with the net effect of expanding borders and housing capacity — albeit with some localized cuts along the way. Showing his wonkish eye for detail, Strauss has proposed three versions for each center.

Strauss’s Amendment 43 amends the borders of Magnolia peninsula’s two small neighborhood centers into one larger center stretching the length of the 34th Avenue W and W Government Way corridors, both transit arteries for the area. Across the three versions, Strauss cuts a swath of southern and eastern block off the Magnolia Village center, while adding blocks to the north, orienting the center around Blaine Middle School and the adjoining playfield.

The net effect of any version of Amendment 43 is expanding the center, clearing the way for more mixed-use zoning in Magnolia. Any of the three versions seems promising. Version A would do the most to stretch the center toward the east entrance to Discovery Park, which is Seattle’s largest and certainly shouldn’t be cordoned off from renters.

Amendment 46 would stretch the borders of Phinney Ridge, elongating it to track along the Route 5 bus corridor. Version A would stretch the center all the way to NW 75th Street, with Strauss calling for an additional eight blocks beyond Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposal. The southern border would also stretch an extra four blocks south to N 57th Street, while trading away some of the proposed center’s eastern blocks, farther down the ridge. It’s the best version for people wanting additional density along Route 5. 

Phinney Ridge is an interesting case because the northern half of the neighborhood’s main drag was already technically an “urban village,” tacked on as a skinny extension of the Greenwood-Phinney Ridge Urban Village, an odd t-shaped center. The Mayor’s proposal lops the Phinney neck off the center’s Greenwood head, while reanimating a few of leftover parts to form a Phinney neighborhood center to the south. This technically brings the mayor’s total number of proposed neighborhood centers to 30, albeit with an asterisk. 

Strauss’s amendment could see the entire ridgetop corridor in some sort of center, reflecting the reality that already exists, at least north of N 65th Street.

Amendment 47 stretches the borders of the Tangletown Neighborhood Center. Version A stretches south, mostly. Version B stretches east and west in the two or three blocks just north of N 50th Street. Version C stretches Tangletown east to the edge of the I-5 chasm. All three versions would drop the same four blocks western blocks from the center, but more than make up for it by extending south and/or east.

Amendment 48 would expand the boundaries of Upper Fremont, with Version C having the advantage of stretching the center westward to catch the blocks along Route 5’s Greenwood Avenue path. Oddly, the original proposal did not include these blocks despite Greenwood Avenue once hosting the Interurban streetcar line and already including historic apartment buildings and storefronts that have been grandfathered into North Seattle’s generally ubiquitous single family zoning paradigm.

Amendment 49 (also put forward by Strauss) would expand the borders of the West Green Lake Neighborhood Center. The catch is that Strauss drops single family blocks farther from Aurora Avenue to add more blocks along the busy, dangerous highway, in a move that ruffled some feathers among urbanists. That tradeoff seems most worth it in Version C, which adds choice blocks along Green Lake to cancel out the losses farther west in the blocks between Fremont Avenue N and Linden Avenue N.

In contrast, District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka’s Amendment 35, has requested a change that, perplexingly, renames the Endolyne neighborhood center to Fauntleroy while simultaneously pulling back its boundaries from the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal by a couple blocks. Name debate aside, that’s not going to be a popular move with urbanists.

In better news, Saka proposed expanding the High Point center slightly in Amendment 36 and adding a density bonus for cottage housing in Amendment 77.

Weigh in and get involved

Friday, September 12th has two public hearings, where Council will take public comment on the final proposed amendments (more on those later). Here’s what’s going on that day. Make your plans to join in. The future of the city depends on you! 

• 9:30 am – virtual public hearing (Sign-up from 8:30 – 10:00am)
• 1:00 pm – Housing Development Consortium pre-hearing Pizza Party! 
• 2:00 pm – begin to line up to sign in 
• 2:30 pm – Sign-ins open 
• 3:00 pm – in-person public hearing 
• 6:30 pm – sign-ins for public comment close 

Additionally, The Urbanist is hosting a tour of the Madison Valley Neighborhood Center on Wednesday, September 10. Staff from the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) will walk attendees through the changes in Madison Valley and take questions on the Comprehensive Plan in general. The tour will be great preparation for those looking to hone their testimony for Friday.

The post Urbanists Push to Amend Seattle Growth Plan Ahead of Final Vote first appeared on The Urbanist.

Last week, Sound Transit revealed a 20- to 30-billion-dollar shortfall for planned system expansion projects through 2046, an overrun of existing funding sources in the 20% to 25% range systemwide. This budget gap is driven not just by steep jumps in expected costs on capital projects when it comes to materials and labor, but also decreasing revenue.

The busted budget has reopened old wounds over whether the agency’s top priority should be completing the 62-mile light rail “spine” from Tacoma to Everett or adding new urban lines in the denser core in and around Seattle. Tacoma is the county seat of Pierce County and Everett the county seat of Snohomish County which has made the spine the highest priority for board members from those counties.

On Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell inserted himself into that debate in a big way with a Ballard press conference trumpeting Seattle’s light rail projects as priorities in their own right. While the event was billed as unveiling “actions to address increased Sound Transit expansion costs,” Harrell stopped short of proposing any new major cost-saving measures or revenue sources, as Ryan Packer noted.

That press event built on an amendment that Harrell proposed to the agency’s Enterprise Initiative board resolution, which narrowly succeeded in passing last week during Sound Transit Board of Directors meeting. Harrell’s amendment added “support future growth” as a factor to consider in that enterprise framework, which pledges to scour agency plans for savings so as to arrive at a balanced long-range financial plan by the end of 2026 — while still delivering expansion projects as soon as possible.

“Maintaining and growing ridership depends on connecting potential riders to their homes, jobs, schools, special events, and other activities,” Harrell’s added motion item begins, seemingly innocuously. “Aligning our investments with current land use and future growth will accrue benefits to the region’s economic, environmental, and equity goals. The region’s transit riders and voters have entrusted Sound Transit with their ridership and tax dollars and the investments that we prioritize should engender broad future support for the system’s operations, maintenance, and expansion.”

The amendment passed in an 8-6 vote with four members of 18-member board absent. Among those absent was Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, who is likely a vote for putting the suburban spine first, given his geographic loyalties and past statements. Renton City Councilmember Ed Prince, Redmond Mayor Angela Birney, and state Transportation Secretary Julie Meredith were also absent from the vote.

Once Sound Transit has finished its “enterprise” framework and produced its cost-benefit analysis, board members will ultimately be forced to make their ultimate priorities known. The vote likely would be close. Board members are weighted by population and King County members compose a majority of the board due to its population. Of the 18 members, 10 are from King County, four hail from Pierce County, three are from Snohomish, and the final member is the State Secretary of Transportation.

Theoretically, it should be straightforward for King County to get its way on the board, but it’s rarely straightforward in practice. For starters, not all King County members see putting Seattle first as in their interest, even though the spine already will reach end to end in King County after Federal Way Link opens in December. For example, King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer voted with the Pierce County delegation on Harrell’s amendment, and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus expressed that finishing the spine was her top priority even as she voted for Harrell’s amendment.

In fact, Harrell’s showy press conference and amendment might have more to do with his own impulse toward political self preservation, after underperforming in the recent primary election. He faces a strong progressive challenge from Transit Riders Union head Katie Wilson, who surpassed 50% and grabbed a nearly 10-point lead in the primary. (The Urbanist Elections Committee, on which I serve, endorsed Wilson.)

Wilson’s transit bonafides are obvious after more than a decade leading a transit advocacy organization that has scored big wins. Harrell’s are less obvious after projects have slipped increasingly behind schedule under his watch, while he did little — at least until a last-minute election season cram session.

While Harrell’s amendment passed, it clearly ruffled feathers in the process. It’s not clear he would have the votes or the relationships to get them once the agency’s board has to turn the enterprise initiative into a revised plan and schedule of project openings.

Some suburban board members raised concerns that Harrell was weighting the scale in favor of Seattle. Granted, some felt no qualms about weighting the scales in favor of their projects. Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin gladly admitted that she would delay Seattle projects to accelerate completing the spine when KOMO’s Chris Daniels put the question.

The particular project generating the most debate was Ballard Link, which is the agency’s most expensive undertaking since it adds the most stations and is slated to construct a second tunnel in Downtown Seattle. King County Councilmember and Systems Expansion Chair Claudia Balducci proposed that the agency study a redesign of the Ballard line to use the existing tunnel in order to curb costs.

While costly, the agency has projected that second tunnel could also be essential to ensuring smooth operations and meeting future ridership needs since running all three of its primary light rail lines through the same existing transit tunnel could lead to crowding, delays, and the potential for the entire network to become gridlocked during outages or maintenance work in that tunnel — which could constitute a single point of failure for the entire network with no viable alternatives in the “no new tunnel” scenario. That clear systemwide benefit had been the agency’s logic for sharing costs for that tunnel across the agency’s five subareas.

Balducci acknowledged these tradeoffs, but argued it would be a useful option to have on the table should others prove even more unpalatable. Harrell has expressed willingness to at least study the idea.

With the new tunnel, agency projections place Ballard Link as the highest ridership addition to the system, by far. The line would attract between 132,000 and 173,000 daily riders by 2042, according to the agency’s draft Environmental Impact Statement. Even with its high upfront cost, it leads the way in lowest cost per rider gained.

After a series of planning delays, Sound Transit latest timeline, which is likely to change pending the enterprise overhaul, would open West Seattle Link by 2032 and Ballard Link by 2039. Meanwhile, the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, after its own set of delays, is targeted for 2035 and a full opening of Everett Link is tabbed for 2041 — though the agency hoped a phased opening would allow it to reach Paine Field sooner.

At least one board member floated the idea of tabling West Seattle Link due to rising costs at a May board retreat — in hopes of avoiding delays on their own projects. Until Ballard Link is completed, West Seattle Link is set to operate as a truncated stub line with transfers forced in SoDo. The line will be less useful and convenient for riders under that interim service arrangement, but many would likely take it over no train at all.

While Harrell framed his proposal last week as a “very friendly amendment,” Everett Mayor Franklin argued it went beyond a friendly amendment and bordered on favoritism for Seattle.

“As Boardmember Backus said that we have to prioritize the spine that has been our commitment since the very beginning,” Franklin said. “And I think the interpretation of the spine that the majority of the region would see is the spine between Everett and Tacoma from Pierce to Snohomish County all the way to complete the system. I think that this does risk favoring Seattle.”

Franklin granted that Seattle was growing fast, but she argued its faster growth was propped up by being among the first cities to get light rail when Link service first launched in 2009.

“And I will say Seattle is growing. So is Everett,” Franklin said. “But of course, a larger jurisdiction grows much faster, and as you get the transit in that larger jurisdiction first, it also supports that growth. So, for us to serve the populations that desperately rely on public transportation that can’t afford to live in Seattle, we have to complete that spine.”

Everett’s population has been essentially flat over the last two years, according to state estimates, and it’s up about 4,000 residents since 2020.

Breaking from most non-King County boardmembers, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers voted for Harrell’s amendment. Somers chairs the Sound Transit Board, an honor which rotates between the three county executives on the board. Somers said he wasn’t intimidated by factoring in growth and access to job centers because Everett is home to a major Boeing manufacturing plant that rivals other employment centers in economic output.

Serving the massive Boeing factory is also the main reason why Everett Link hooks over to Paine Field before heading to Downtown Everett, adding an extra four minutes to each journey over a more direct route along SR 99, where more residential density exists. If the priority is getting to Everett as quickly as possible, Sound Transit’s spine has an unfortunate case of scoliosis. The Paine Field station would attract fairly anemic ridership, according to agency projections, and it would cost much more than alternatives, due to the added length.

Tastes like SWUGA

Somers also embarked upon a novel defense of his county’s ridership potential based on the unheralded density of Snohomish County’s Southwest Urban Growth Area (or SWUGA in planning shorthand).

Somers portrayed the Southwest Urban Growth Area as rivaling Seattle as a population center, although his cited population statistics were deeply inaccurate. Unincorporated SWUGA fills in the gaps between Everett and its neighboring incorporated cities to the south, up to the urban growth boundary to the east.

“Our Southwest Urban Growth Area in the county is urban,” Somers said. “It has been developed urban, but it’s never been incorporated in a city. And my staff tells me, if it incorporated today, it would be the third largest city in the state and has a higher residential population density than the city of Seattle, which is kind of amazing, because drive by it, you don’t recognize that. But more people per square inch than much of the rest of the state.”

The population of unincorporated Southwest Urban Growth Area is roughly 4,600 per square mile, whereas Seattle’s population density is more than double that. Seattle’s population density surpassed 9,700 with the latest state population estimates, which saw Seattle grow past 800,000 in total population. The Emerald City is quickly approaching 10,000 per square mile

On the other hand, unincorporated SWUGA is denser than Everett, which has fewer than 3,500 residents per square mile.

The Everett Link Extension will add two stations fully within unincorporated SWUGA — at Ash Way and Mariner park and rides. A third SWUGA station at SR 99 and Airport Road is provisional and unlikely to move forward barring finances improving dramatically or the board selecting a new route. Arguably, the provisional Airport Road station is Everett Link’s most promising, since it intercepts the Swift Blue Line bus rapid transit line and serves an area with existing density and high growth potential.

A way forward?

The sparring over the past week illustrates the fact that, despite a pledge to prioritize regionalism, the way forward seems incredibly zero-sum. Effectively, the agency is doing what it usually does, which is forging ahead without any major modifications in effect and hoping that solutions emerge at a later date. The enterprise initiative could succeed in forcing a paradigm shift, but so far the pattern is very familiar.

Sound Transit has not released new cost estimates for Ballard Link after the bout of inflation tied to the pandemic and Trump’s trade war, which are hitting construction projects especially hard. The last publicly available estimate put the 10-station line around $11 billion in 2023 dollars, although that figure is sure to be revised upward significantly.

Quicker permits and more efficient contracting and planning process are unlikely to solve the bulk of agency’s larger $20-to-30 billion hole — though it’s certainty wise to get more efficient where they can. Hiring deputy CEO Terri Mestas specifically to focus on improving capital project delivery was a step in the right direction. But the headwinds Sound Transit are facing are enormous, and include the very real risk that a Republican federal administration would delay or block transit grants altogether.

Skipping Seattle’s second downtown tunnel is the only solution on the table that maybe could be on the scale to solve the budget hole without resorting to massive delays. However, it also may simply be untenable for an operations standpoint, preventing the agency from serving the ridership the network was built to serve — originally the system was projected to reach 600,000 daily riders once ST3 was built out. Not all of them would travel through downtown Seattle, but that is where demand is the highest.

And since all three lines would travel through downtown Seattle, downtown obstructions or delays would ripple across the entire system, delaying trains for nearly everyone.

Another challenge for a ‘use the existing downtown tunnel’ scenario is how to connect the Ballard Line.

One option: a junction to tie in to the existing tunnel near Westlake Station and continue south as originally planned. This could prove incredibly challenging both from an engineering and operational standpoint to drill a new tunnel into an existing tunnel while avoiding disruptions to existing service to the extent possible (read: a lot of disruptions). It also could be quite expensive to build, reducing some of the expected savings.

The other option is make it a stub line forcing a transfer at Westlake Station. Easier from an engineering standpoint, but the flow of riders transferring from the Ballard Line would exacerbate crowding issues at Westlake Station, and trains could already be near crush loads at this point in the system, especially if Sound Transit has to cut frequencies to make the single tunnel plan work. It could be a recipe for an ongoing operations nightmare. Hopefully, Sound Transit’s analysis can shed some light on the probability this becomes a huge issue.

The same fork in the road exists for West Seattle Link without a second downtown tunnel. Tying in the new line to the existing tracks may be easier to engineer in the at-grade section in SoDo, but there’s no guarantees. On the other hand, a West Seattle stub line terminating in SoDo would be much worse for rider convenience than a Ballard stub that at least would make it to Westlake in Downtown, close to many destinations. SoDo Station is next to nary a major destination, meanwhile the county would likely still lose a major bus corridor in the SoDo E3 busway while getting less benefit in the process.

Even if the “complete the spine” crowd were to get their way and delay or cancel Seattle projects to speed up spine delivery, it’s not clear the spine could handle ridership demand without a second tunnel. If capacity did end up being deficient, Pierce and Snohomish counties would end up with shiny new stations, but not enough trains to handle the load — more the appearance of a functioning light rail network than actually having one. Major destinations like Seattle Center, South Lake Union, and Ballard not being tied into the system would be detrimental to riders all over the region, worsening commutes and sapping ridership — though probably not enough to alleviate the capacity issue.

No easy choices exist for ST3 — at least that have been identified so far. Boardmembers naturally want their local projects to happen on schedule and in the full form promised to voters. But short-sighted parochial squabbles do not appear to be getting us any closer to a real solution. Something has to give — barring a king’s ransom parachuting in to paper over the gap.

The post The Sound Transit Board Signals a Return to Parochialism first appeared on The Urbanist.

May 19: Interim Zoning Ordinance Public Comment with the Complete Communities Coalition

An urgent need exists for people to give public comment at Seattle City Hall this coming Monday. Opponents continue to throw up obstacles and city council continues to drag its feet passing interim legislation making us compliant with HB 1110 state middle housing mandates. We must ensure this plan clears the way for more housing. A group of pro-housing architects recently broke down how to get the most out of middle housing changes in an Urbanist op-ed. Housing advocates must raise their voices to ensure the plan is improved rather than watered down.

The Urbanist and other members of the Complete Communities Coalition will be there to help and offer pointers on how to give comment, moral support, and tasty snacks. We know slow-growth advocates will be out in force, and we must consistently and persistently remind council that our voices matter, too.

• What: The Seattle City Council is holding public comment as they prepare to pass an ordinance legalizing housing options like duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes in all residential areas of Seattle to bring us into compliance with HB 1110. We need to keep up the pressure, encourage the council to swiftly implement the zoning changes, and continue to implement the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan.
• Where: City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
• When: May 19th, 9:30am for virtual comment and 4pm for in-person*
• Transit Stops: Near stops for routes 3, 4, 7, 14, 27, 62, the E line, Line 1 (Pioneer Square Station), and any other routes that stop downtown or in Pioneer Square.
• RSVP: RSVP through this helpful link with talking points and other resources.

Housing Development Consortium’s One Seattle Talking Points for Public Comment:

• “Seattle’s Housing Crisis Demands Bold Action. Seattle is becoming increasingly unaffordable for families, seniors, and essential workers. Exclusionary zoning laws have made it difficult to build enough homes, driving up rents and home prices. We must act with urgency to address the shortage and open more neighborhoods to more people.
• Pass the Interim Ordinance Without Delay. The interim zoning ordinance (CB 120969) ensures Seattle complies with the state’s middle housing law, HB 1110, by allowing a more diverse range of housing types, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and townhomes in residential neighborhoods. This is the bare minimum required by law. Council must adopt it without delay.
• Finish the Job: Adopt the Full One Seattle Plan Before Summer Recess. The interim ordinance is only the first step. Council must move swiftly to adopt a bold, Comprehensive Plan that creates more homes of all types in all neighborhoods. We need more than the state minimum to address our deep housing shortage. The full One Seattle Plan makes major steps to increase mixed use, multifamily homes near transit through new neighborhood centers and expanded urban centers. This creates the most opportunity for affordable housing. Waiting until after the fall budget process means delaying urgently needed housing and undermines the inclusive growth we need.”

*NOTE: Anyone who is able is strongly encouraged to arrive/sign up as early as possible, 8:30am for virtual and as early as 2pm for in-person.

May 21: Public Comment Session for Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan

Additionally, Fort Lawton is having a public comment session on Wednesday. The plan to add over 500 units of affordable and supportive housing is under attack by anti-housing advocates and not-in-my-backyard activists (NIMBYs). Public comment is open to all, but we know local NIMBYs will be there in force, so we need voices from elsewhere in to city to chime in. Even if you can only submit an email in support, please take the time to do so. 

• What: Public comment on the plan to add affordable housing on the old Fort Lawton military base. This effort is under threat by housing opponents and not-in-my-backyard activism, despite the affordable housing in question being supportive housing for homeless veterans and seniors. If you cannot attend in person, you can email your comments to Jessica Gomez at OH_Comments@seattle.gov. 
• Where: Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, 5011 Bernie Whitebear Way, Seattle, 98199
• When: May 21st, 6pm – 8pm
• Transit Stops: Near stops for routes 24 and 33, albeit with some walking required.

We hope to see you at these two events! Sending in virtual comments is also a big help. Let’s fight for housing together.

The post Turn Out for Housing at Seattle Hearings This Week first appeared on The Urbanist.

Rinck is clearly an urbanist. She bikes and rides transit to get around Seattle. She knows our biggest issues — housing, transportation, and safe streets — both at first-hand visceral level and an academic level. She doesn’t even own a car. And perhaps most notably, considering the challenges that lie ahead for our city, her questionnaire responses pledged work ahead to fight for housing abundance, safe streets, and high quality green spaces and public third places.

In fact, Rinck said her top priority for the next four years would be “reinvigorating our housing development pipeline to accelerate the creation of desperately needed housing.” This is a housing abundance candidate. She is a strong backer of social housing and, unlike most of her colleagues, endorsed Proposition 1A to fund the new Seattle Social Housing Developer, rather than the unsuccessful big-business-backed effort to derail it.

While the centrist wave of councilmembers elected in 2023 needed months to get up speed, delaying council meetings and major legislation, Rinck hit the ground running after winning a one-year term in a special election to fill out the remainder of Teresa Mosqueda’s term. Mosqueda left early after winning a seat on the King County Council.

From her inauguration, Rinck has stressed the need to fight the rise of authoritarianism and Trump’s attacks on civil rights and social investments. She didn’t just do this from behind a desk; Rinck showed up and gave an impassioned speech at the President’s Day protests in Seattle.

Rinck has followed through on pledges to fight back, pushing her colleagues to set up a committee to deal with federal threats and taking leadership of the group. The first panel gave voice to those most at risk from Trump-style fascism: immigrants, Black folks, the queer community — and especially trans people. Much work is ahead, but the first step is to commit to resistance, rather than capitulation and appeasement.

As the strongest voice for police reform on council, Rinck fought for accountability measures to mitigate its potential harm in recent legislation formally expanding permitted uses of crowd control weapons, partnering with Councilmember Cathy Moore. The rest of the council rejected that push and voted to allow blast balls and other dangerous weapons with little in the way of safeguards or civilian oversight.

Her recent vote against the council majority when it comes to removing a prohibition on housing near major truck streets in the stadium district may have raised some eyebrows among urbanists. We see a vote that shows Rinck is in alignment with our values around prioritizing abundant housing, but in areas of the city that have adequate amenities. While the proposal’s sponsor, Council President Sara Nelson, glossed over real issues with pedestrian safety in SoDo that would need solutions before it could truly be a welcoming neighborhood, Rinck clearly scrutinized the proposal on a deeper level.

We’re excited for what four more years of Rinck on Council could bring. She gets our issues. We see in her the moxie to fight, the savvy to collaborate, and the backbone to stand up to the powerful people getting in the way of progress. Vote Rinck.

Note on our process: The Urbanist Election Committee modified our rules to stipulate that incumbents running for reelection can seek an early endorsement. Our policy is to not consider early endorsements in other circumstances. Our normal endorsement process involves questionnaires in May, candidate interviews in June, and the publication of our Primary Endorsements in July. So non-incumbent candidates watch out for our questionnaire in May and return them to ensure your eligibility. We hope to talk with you soon!

The Urbanist Elections Committee consists of Angela Compton, Kacie Masten, Ryan Packer, Maya Ramakrishnan, Hannah Sabio-Howell, Jazmine Smith, Doug Trumm, and Kelsey Vanhee at time of post.

The post Urbanist Election Committee Endorses Alexis Rinck for Seattle Council first appeared on The Urbanist.

The four members of the Seattle City Council who are set to retire are making some last bids to cement their legacy and pass some major legislation on their way out. For Lisa Herbold and Alex Pedersen, perhaps the biggest white whale they’re after is taxing new housing to fund transportation projects via transportation impact fees. Doing so now would be a terrible mistake: Housing permits are already in sharp decline even before adding another obstacle to the mix.

Better to leave the discussion to a future council not stuffed with four lame-duck members focused on their personal bucket lists and vendettas against homebuilders; these proposals do not serve their constituents’ needs. If the City were to implement impact fees, it certainly would be wiser to apply them amidst a housing boom rather than a housing bust. Seattle needs to build more homes, and kicking builders while they’re down is not the way to do it.

In 2023, housing permit applications reached their lowest level in a decade. With the housing pipeline at risk of drying up, the last thing we should be doing is adding costs and impeding homebuilding. This is housing policy malpractice.

The idea has long been discussed, with Councilmember Mike O’Brien leading a charge, hoping to implement them before he left office at the end of 2019. That charge came up short as the City focused instead on implementing a different developer fee: the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program, and the baton passed from one transportation chair to another in Pedersen.

Four years later, the housing market has cooled off considerably, but Pedersen is forging ahead all the same. Interest rates have spiked, which adds huge borrowing costs for builders. Material and labor costs are higher, and builders have complained of Seattle’s strict new energy code adding costs too. And it being Seattle, builders also have to navigate a labyrinth of design approvals to get permits, sometimes encountering costly surprise fees along the way from departments like Seattle Public Utilities, who aim to get builders to pay for water system upgrades — effectively a hidden impact fee that is arguably illegal and not supported in code.

To this melange of obstacles, Pedersen and Herbold hope to add one more. Will this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?

A council staff analysis found impact fees could bring in between $200 million and $760 million over a decade. The higher rates studied would be like adding another MHA program. Unlike the MHA program, which had years of process and outreach, impact fees are being jammed through with minimal process or public input, as supporters hope they can beat the clock on expiring council terms. There’s been no equity analysis or study of the economic impact on housing production, as there was with MHA.

Impact fees may be less popular among the incoming crop of leaders than the stalwart supporters among the retirees. Candidates like D4’s Ron Davis and D3’s Alex Hudson have come out staunchly against impact fees, and D1’s Maren Costa has expressed reservations. If they win, they’d replace three of the biggest supporters in Pedersen, Kshama Sawant, and Herbold, respectively.

Pedersen stated he liked impact fees because he thought they would offload costs from homeowners to developers. “In the spirit of progressive tax reform — which is long overdue in Seattle — imposing this one-time new fee on just new for-profit real estate development could, in turn, enable City Hall to LOWER an ongoing expense for everyone’s housing: the property taxes charged to everyone for future transportation projects,” Pedersen wrote in a blog post on his council website earlier this year.

This analysis is wrong and it betrays exactly the wrong kind of priority and motivation. Impact fees are even more likely to be passed on tenants than property taxes. Tenants contribute to property taxes just as surely as they’re hit by impact fees by the same mechanism: funding their landlords’ ability to pay said fees or taxes. Impact fees just hit tenants much harder, making them more regressive than property taxes. If landlords are able to pass on costs to tenants in the form of higher rents, they will do so. Tenants also pay more when homebuilding sputters, vacancies tighten, and landlords jack up rents. This is exactly what could happen if impact fees are implemented while heading into a downturn.

Pedersen’s motivation is as misguided as it is cold-hearted. Tenants tend to be lower income and have less wealth, so targeting them seems callous. The idea that tenants live on easy street in Seattle is surely spoken by someone who hasn’t been a tenant in a very long time. This is the type of move that somebody not running for election and looking to go out in a blaze of “get off my lawn” homeowner activist glory would do. Polls show housing affordability is increasingly a concern, and voters want leaders to increase housing, not obstruct it.

Mandatory Housing Affordability is a form of inclusionary zoning, but to homebuilders it functions nearly the same as an impact fee, with the difference of having a performance option to build affordable homes on-site rather than pay into the City’s affordable housing trust fund. Most developers opt to pay the fee, rather than build on-site. Effectively then, a transportation impact fee is a second bite of the same apple.

Supporters argue inclusionary zoning or impact fees act as land value capture: The cost of the requirement lowers the value of development, lowering the value of land. Theoretically, this means homebuilders would pay less for the land than they would without the affordability requirement. The Urbanist editorial board has supported MHA, in part, under the belief that land value capture would offset the hit to housing production. But the key difference was MHA linked the fee to an upzone that increased housing capacity and lessened the blow to homebuilders.

Transportation impact fees do no such thing. They provide no guarantee of direct benefit to the property since there is no limitation on where the funding is spent — it could next door or halfway across the city. In fact, many areas of the city have no projects on the proposed impact fee project list where revenues would be spent. Homebuilders experience them only as another added cost in a long list of hurdles and exactions that the City of Seattle imposes — almost as if it had no care in the world about the housing crisis its residents face.

If we must raise fees on homebuilders, wouldn’t the better use of this revenue be to build more affordable housing like MHA does rather than a pet list of road projects resurrected from 2018? Why create a second fee that competes with MHA for the same land value capture? And precedent would suggest expanding MHA would be paired with upzones that increase housing capacity rather than being solely a burden on builders. 

Furthermore, the proposed list of projects the council looks to advance, which they haven’t bothered to update since 2018, raises considerable questions about the readiness of this particular proposal. Increasing traffic capacity – the only allowable use of impact fees – in many of the areas included on the list looks to fly in the face of many of the city’s own stated goals around both climate and improving traffic safety. The project list has several projects that double down on the idea that one more lane or a quicker signal will solve traffic messes while ignoring the need for safer streets that encourage people to walk, roll, or bike. This project list does not live up to the City’s espoused values around safety and climate action.

Supercharging the interchange at the south end of the Ballard Bridge is one example of a misguided project. Since the list is now five years old, the list also includes projects like the RapidRide G on Madison Street that are already funded and nearing completion.

As Ryan Packer reported for The Urbanist: “The list includes a number of projects designed to improve vehicle throughput, often in the guise of improving freight capacity. A $12 million project along 1st Avenue S in SoDo, for example, promises to ‘improve operating efficiency and safety for all modes by adding extensive intelligent transportation systems including traffic cameras, vehicle detection, and traffic responsive signals,’ according to the project description. A speed study from January on 1st Avenue S, northbound at Spokane Street, found one in four drivers exceeding 35 mph (the signed limit is 30 mph) and one driver, on average, topping 70 mph per day. What exactly the ‘operational’ improvements could be made to the street that are in line with the city’s safety goals are unclear.”

“Some projects seem even more blatantly at odds with the city’s decade-old climate action plan, which called for an overall reduction in the number of miles traveled in the city by 2030,” Packer continued. “A $50 million project to ‘build capacity’ to 6th Avenue at I-5 near Yesler Way doesn’t even seem to have any nexus with active transportation. It’s not clear at all how connected this project list is with the Seattle Transportation Plan, intended to be integrated with the 2024 update to the City’s comprehensive plan, given the fact that most of the projects on this list appear to have been sitting on a shelf for a very long time.”

Overall, the City of Seattle would be better off focusing on crafting a good transportation levy package that convinces voters to support it rather than the shiny object that impact fees represent. Property tax levies are some of the most stable revenue sources around, whereas impact fees are extremely volatile, unreliable, and susceptible to market downturns that they may help precipitate.

Backers can claim this legislation is just a procedural step, but adding a provision into the Comprehensive Plan that states Seattle will “use impact fees” and approving a $1.6 billion project list seems like a very definitive step to take that will tie the hands of the next council.

Seattle has so many real problems to solve. It’s really discouraging that several councilmembers are staking their legacies and wasting time on solving an invented problem. Decades from now, history will remember what Seattle’s leaders did to address the housing crisis. It will not smile so kindly on councilmembers who made the housing crisis worse in the name of saving wealthy homeowners a couple dollars on their property tax bills and sticking it to developers.

The editorial board consists of Rubén Casas, Linda Hanlon, Ryan Packer, and Doug Trumm.

The post Editorial: Seattle Should Not Pass Transportation Impact Fees first appeared on The Urbanist.

Lake Washington Boulevard has proved a popular biking and pedestrian route after ten weeks as an open street, but–despite this success–SDOT is shutting it down and letting cars rule once more. In a tweet, the agency has teased re-opening the street to people walking, rolling, scooting, and biking for one long weekend per month, advocates are asking for more. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways started a petition asking the City to keep the program going every weekend through the winter and spring. It quickly gained more than 300 signatures.

The “Keep It Moving Street,” as SDOT and Seattle Parks branded it, has been in place since July 24th on a three-mile stretch of Lake Washington Boulevard from Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park. Among more than a dozen open streets SDOT initiated across the City in response to Covid, Lake Washington Boulevard stood out as the most popular with Seattleites of all ages and abilities. Kids are learning how to bike on a boulevard otherwise known for burn cruises and rich people revving their oversized sports car engines.

Due to this smashing success, we implore SDOT and the Mayor to make the open street on Lake Washington Boulevard permanent. We count four reasons why.

First off, the open street returns Lake Washington Boulevard to its historic use and designed purpose. The Olmsted brothers designed the boulevard as a linear park for people walking, biking, and picnicking. It wasn’t designed as a motor speedway. It was intended to be one of Seattle’s signature places to relax, bike, and stroll. Car traffic has detracted from that.

Secondly, it’s a key bike route serving underserved Southeast Seattle. Lake Washington Boulevard provides a safe and flat bike route connecting to the rest of the bike network in a quadrant of the city sorely lacking such connections. The Seattle Bike Advisory Board, Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Greenways, Seattle Bike Blog, and just about any other group of advocates out there have identified safe bike routes in Southeast Seattle as their highest priority.

Lake Washington Boulevard helps rectify this, and it connects to the Mountains-to-Sound Greenway, which would provide an all Ages, Languages, Ethnicities, Genders, Races and Abilities (ALEGRA) bike route into the downtown core and Judkins Park Station, Seattle’s new light rail station on the soon to open East Link. Improving bike access and safety in Southeast Seattle will take more than just a car-free Lake Washington Boulevard. But losing this route is going in exactly the wrong direction.

Thirdly, physical distancing is really challenging on this corridor without the open street. Sidewalks are narrow and bike and foot traffic is high along the boulevard. Without the open street, people struggle to keep six feet apart and may not feel safe being there at all.

Finally, cities that are truly walkable and bikeable don’t stop and pack it up in the winter. Seattle’s climate isn’t all that different in Copenhagen–arguably the most bikeable city in the world–and yet Copenhagen doesn’t dismantle its bike facilities in the winter. They stay in place and people keep on biking. If Seattle wants to have a world class transportation system, it’s going to have to follow suit. Making it permanent also allows SDOT to improve traffic diverters and signage and save on the hassle and cost of tearing them down and putting them back up. Simpler to make it a fixture of the boulevard.

Take action: We encourage you to sign the Seattle Greenways petition asking for the open street to stay on weekends and email Mayor Jenny Durkan to make it permanent.

The editorial board consists of Natalie Bicknell, Ryan Packer, and Doug Trumm.

The post Lake Washington Boulevard Should Be Permanently Car-Free first appeared on The Urbanist.