“In our administration we are not going play small ball,” Harrell said. “This is not the time for small ball. This is the time to be creative and bold.”

In his speech, Harrell sought to back up that claim with initiatives like a health care for all plan to close the gaps in health care insurance coverage among Seattle residents. He also highlighted mentorship program for kids and increased programming at community centers. Branding his vision as “One Seattle,” Harrell said love, kindness, and collaboration would prevail over fear, mean tweets, and division, allowing the city to accomplish big things.

“In One Seattle, we’ll have affordable housing for all,” Harrell said. “We’ll support our seniors and those on fixed income and vulnerable people. That’s why I’ll be issuing an executive order demanding a full review of the approval process, policies, and implementation to expedite construction of affordable housing.”

Some of this work was already taken up and completed this past spring by the Seattle City Council via Councilmember Andrew Lewis’s legislation which streamlined permitting and code requirements for permanent supportive housing. Harrell’s full review could well find ways to expedite affordable housing production further and perhaps cast a wider net and fast track more types of affordable housing, not just the below 50% area median income projects under the purview of the Council’s ordinance.

The zoning question

Harrell briefly broached on the subject of zoning, although, like on the campaign trail, the specific commitment was fuzzy.

“We’ll fill in the gaps where zoning is already available for housing and construction and density,” Harrell said. “And our chief operating officer Marco Lowe, who not only has deep experience in City Hall but also actual experience in the housing industry, we will lead this critical effort. So as we embark on a citywide master plan update, as many of you are aware about, we’ll look at opportunities to address every neighborhood to address the shortage of quality housing at every income level.”

While still in campaign mode, Harrell attacked his opponent Lorena González to phase out single-family zoning across the city, as other cities like Minneapolis, Portland, Sacramento, Olympia, and other have done. Painting her housing plan as extreme, Harrell said he opposed abolishing all single-family zoning. His campaign surrogate Tim Burgess, a former city councilmember and fill-in mayor who is now Harrell’s Director of Strategic Initiatives went a rhetoric step further and accused González of promising “to abolish all single-family neighborhoods.”

Whether his inaugural speech represents a pivot on zoning policy is hard to parse. I have a question in to his office for details, but “addressing every neighborhood” could end up meaning a wide range of options, including rather incremental changes at the low-end.

Despite delays from the Durkan administration, the Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development did deliver a racial equity analysis of Seattle’s growth strategy to Seattle City Council as requested by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda. That analysis found single-family zoning was at odds with racial equity and housing choice and affordability, and Mosqueda has suggested it should guide the City’s approach to the Comprehensive Plan update, which is due in 2024.

Whether his inaugural speech represents a pivot on zoning policy is hard to parse, since “addressing every neighborhood” could end up meaning a wide range of options, including rather incremental changes at the low-end. For now, Harrell’s office declined to reveal any more details about his every neighborhood strategy. “[Harrell] remains committed to ensuring the City is rapidly growing housing supply, thoughtfully increasing density, and identifying and filling the gaps in areas zoned for higher density that are underutilized,” spokesperson Jamie Housen said.

Mayor Harrell mentioned grappling with the legacy of redlining and racial exclusion in his remarks, but it’s not clear if he’ll make the same connections to zoning policy carrying forward the legacy that Mosqueda and González have made, nor to climate action.

Aspiring climate leader

“We will be a national leader in coordinating citywide climate policies towards net zero emissions,” Harrell said in his speech. But with an early focus on electric cars rather than more fundamental changes to streets and land use, the climate math may not add up — at least without bolder initiatives not yet laid out. On the other hand, Harrell did extend an olive branch to progressive advocates, such as those working on issues like climate and housing justice.

“My plea to people who self-proclaim to be the progressives: Give me a chance,” Harrell said. “I’ll work with you.”

Transportation emissions make up nearly two-thirds of Seattle’s climate inventory, so tackling that problem will be paramount to the mayor’s net-zero aspirations. The city’s climate action or lack thereof will go hinge on what happens at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Mayor Harrell fired SDOT Director Sam Zimbabwe, suggesting the department needs a new direction and a vision that “recognizes the role of cars” in addition to “increasing safety and decreasing travel times by bolstering transit, improving sidewalks, [and] protecting bike lanes.”

Harrell still weighing eviction moratorium extension

Harrell made affordable housing, reducing homelessness, and clearing parks of encampments a focal point. But he also declined to promise an extension of the city’s eviction moratorium, which expires on January 15th, despite the cresting omicron wave showing the Covid pandemic is hardly in the rearview mirror. Failing to extend that moratorium could lead to spike in homelessness and exacerbate suffering from the pandemic. To explain his hesitancy for an extension, Harrell expressed worries about vulnerable landlords who might lose their home with rental income and said he’d announce a decision in the next week.

Police Chief Diaz to remain — for now

In a media availability following his speech, Mayor Harrell left open the possibility that Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz could become his pick to lead Seattle Police Department (SDP) long-term. He suggested he’d have the job on a trial basis, but may launch a national search if it doesn’t work out.

During his speech, Harrell stressed gun violence prevention and more resources for SPD while also eliminating racial bias, which has been persistent issue for the department for a long time. Harrell has been highly critical of efforts to defund SPD and made it a major campaign issue.

This week Harrell said he would double down on recruitment and retainment efforts at SPD to increase the ranks. Former Mayor Jenny Durkan set a goal of hiring 125 officers in 2022 and slowing separations to 90 for a net gain of 35 officers, a plan which was funded by Council.

The post Harrell Pledges Bold Agenda in Inaugural Speech first appeared on The Urbanist.

The Urbanist Elections Board evaluated eight eligible candidates for endorsement for Port of Seattle, Seattle City Council, and Mayor of Seattle. We also considered the King County Veterans and Human Services Levy. From this pool, we have endorsed five leaders who both share our urbanist values and have presented clear plans to enact those values into tangible policies. We are proud to present our 2017 general election endorsements.

Mayor of Seattle: Cary Moon

We endorsed Cary Moon in the primary, and we couldn’t be more excited to carry that over to the general and see her in office.

As a urban planner with decades of experience, she understands urbanist concerns far better than her opponent, Jenny Durkan. At the Growing Seattle Forum, Moon expertly answered the Vision Zero and mode hierarchy questions, putting people walking and biking at the top of her list, whereas Durkan put pedestrians last on her list. While this may seem academic, the rankings are a solid indication if increasing safety for the most vulnerable street users will be a priority for a candidate. Durkan seemed more interested in the car-centric status quo.

Moon would go to bat for municipal broadband while all indications are that Durkan would not. Moon has been adamant about using legal tools at the city’s disposal to curb the increase in housing speculation that is contributing to higher prices in Seattle. Durkan has made attempts to smear those ideas before eventually coming around on them. Moon champions missing middle housing types in single-family zones while Durkan has signaled that she is much more hesitant to touch sanctified bungalow-land, as we pointed out earlier in the election season.

Moon has a strong platform on public transit. While every candidate promised to speed up the delivery of Seattle’s Sound Transit 3 projects, Moon uniquely came forward with a funding source, pledging to look into using municipal bonding to start construction faster, as Seattle Subway has proposed. Streamlining process and permitting can only go so far if Sound Transit doesn’t have enough money in the bank to bid out the contracts and begin building the lines.

We trust Moon to get busses moving by fighting to add dedicated lanes, queue jumps, and signal priority. We also trust her to take on safe infrastructure for pedestrians and people on bikes as a major priority. 

Rather than strengthen her own transit plans, Durkan has sought to draw attention to Moon’s husband as a potential source of conflict of interest in serving on the Sound Transit Board. Moon’s husband is an architect at a firm with a few Sound Transit contracts. We don’t buy Durkan’s scare tactic. Moon may have to recuse herself on issues that directly pertain to her husband’s work, but we’d rather have Moon representing Seattle’s light rail interests knowing she may have recuse herself once in a blue moon rather than a full-time Durkan.

Moon will bring a collaborative style to bear on the many problems facing Seattle. While some have criticized Moon for calling for more community outreach as we carry HALA forward, we believe Moon would be much better at listening to legitimate concerns and selling the much-needed zoning changes than either Mayor Ed Murray was or Durkan would be.

Don’t miss this golden opportunity to put an inspiring urbanist in office. Vote Moon. Scream it from the mountaintops.

Read Cary Moon’s questionnaire.

Seattle City Council, Position 8: Teresa Mosqueda

The Urbanist is retaining our primary endorsement of Teresa Mosqueda and asking you to give her your vote again in the general election. In our primary endorsement we emphasized many of her strengths. Mosqueda’s professional background is in social justice, labor, and public health, and she’s quickly adopted detailed urbanist positions such as expediting Sound Transit 3 and unequivocally supporting dense housing types in single-family zones. She also easily drops urbanist catnip on the campaign trail, highlighting the value of things like Barcelona’s superblocks. Further, Mosqueda’s lived experience as a woman of color and a renter would add critical perspectives to the council. While 42% of Seattleites rent, the council currently has no renters.

Many urbanists have outright repulsion for Jon Grant, Mosqueda’s opponent. It’s hard not to characterize that repulsion as over-the-top. In some instances, it gives urbanism a bad name. The urbanist political movement needs grassroots tenant advocacy and should be more influenced by renters than developers. However, some aspects of Grant’s platform pose a real risk to urbanism. Grant’s speaking truth-to-power is muted when it comes to wealthy homeowners that continually stand in the way of needed changes, such as single-family rezoning and street improvements. Seattle’s housing, transportation, and safe streets needs all hinge on creating a coalition that overcomes wealthy landowners seeking to maintain the status quo. Urbanism needs candidates that will hold the powerful accountable and that starts with landowners.

Mosqueda’s support is also remarkably broad. She has won endorsements from nearly all Seattle’s labor organizations, most notable elected officials, and a number of urbanist advocacy groups, including Transportation for Washington, Washington Bikes and Seattle Subway. These and other factors have resulted in people lobbing the label establishment at Mosqueda, even though she received the critical non-endorsement from The Seattle Times, whose editorial board likely supported Jon Grant to further its agenda of single-family preservation.

Overall we believe Mosqueda will be able to stand up to backlash on critical urbanist issues because her support is broad and deep. We also believe her lived experience brings the values we need in electeds to push for even more ambitious housing, transportation and land use changes. Mosqueda is an exceptional candidate and The Urbanist strongly encourages you to vote for her. Vote Mosqueda.

Read Teresa Mosqueda’s questionnaire.

Kate Brunette, a member of the Elections Board, recused herself from this race due to her role as campaign manager for Jon Grant, an eligible candidate in this race.

Seattle City Council, Position 9: Lorena González

After endorsing her in 2015 and in this year’s primary, The Urbanist supports incumbent Lorena González for Seattle City Council Position 9 (at-large) in the general election. In her nearly two years in office she’s demonstrated a grasp of major policy issues and has sponsored key pieces of legislation for a more affordable and equitable city.

In her questionnaire, González noted her personal experience is helping her lead: “The city has much more work ahead of it to continue strategically planning our urban footprint and, as the second youngest person on council and one of two who relies on public transportation, my perspective on these issues is necessary to advance the city in its planning goals.”

On transportation, González is willing to use city resources to speed construction of Sound Transit 3 projects and to further incentivize carpooling, ridesharing, and transit use. One nuanced policy position she discussed in the interview is her preference for transportation impact fees rather than a possible congestion fee. She is fully supportive of Vision Zero and building a complete bicycle network.

Having worked as a civil rights attorney and serving as President of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington, she has a strong interest in equity-based solutions to homeless and the housing affordability crisis. “I continue to believe that the city and its housed and unhoused residents remain best served by evidence-based, people-centered strategies that are widely believed to effectively move people from outside to inside,” she said. “I will continue to ask questions about any policy that falls short of that principle.”

She has consistently supported the Mandatory Housing Affordability program. She is a strong supporter of increasing density in transit-served neighborhoods, and is open to revisiting the opportunity for missing middle housing in single-family residential zones. She has sponsored council legislation that will invest in new housing on publicly-owned land and has directed city staff to refine strategies for creating housing welcoming and affordable to the LGBTQ community. During her short time in office she has taken the lead on moving towards real police reform.

Her challenger, Pat Murakami, has not matched González’s civic experience nor made a convincing case to unseat her after less than two years in office. By the way, Murakami proposes to raise Seattle’s inclusionary requirement to 30%, seemingly in a bid to stifle growth. We are proud to continue supporting Lorena González in Position 9 and look forward to seeing her make strides on important urbanist policies. Vote González.

Read Lorena González’s questionnaire.

Port of Seattle Commission, Position 1: Ryan Calkins

Port commissioners might not sound like exciting races, but they exercise considerable power and influence both directly–overseeing the ninth busiest airport and the fourth busiest seaport in the country–and indirectly with their influence on transportation policy. The Port of Seattle has an annual budget of $650 million and is one of the largest landowners in the region. The leadership of the port has enormous impacts for the entire region.

In the primary, The Urbanist endorsed Ryan Calkins for Port Commissioner Position 1, and, fortunately, he made it through the primary. We’re proudly maintaining that endorsement. Calkins has appropriate business experience (he works at a nonprofit that supports low-income entrepreneurs as they start and grow their businesses) and shows a real willingness to make the Port of Seattle an organization that advances the public’s values, rather than narrowly advancing business interests.

The case for voting Calkins has grown even stronger since the primary. His list of endorsements is powerful. It includes The Stranger, Seattlish, The Seattle Weekly, the Seattle Sierra Club chapter, many local unions, Seattle Councilmembers Mike O’Brien, Debora Juarez, and Lorena González, and he received the key non-endorsement from The Seattle Times.

Calkins endorsement from the Sierra Club is especially important because he’s running as an environmentalists against a candidate that has been rightly criticized for supporting the Shell arctic oil rig. Calkins has called on the port to strengthen ties to LGBTQ businesses, an effort that would promote our ideals of inclusion and reinforces his previous claims that the Port of Seattle should be a public servant.

Calkins would be a breath of fresh air since his opponent, John Creighton, that has held his seat for over 10 years. During his opponent’s tenure, the Port of Seattle has not only had scandals but also promoted many anti-urban solutions, such as the Puget Sound Gateway Project and the Alaska Way Viaduct replacement tunnel. Calkins understands the power the port can leverage for the public benefit and sees the connections between its interest and a more prosperous and sustainable region. Vote Calkins.

Read Ryan Calkins’ questionnaire.

Port of Seattle Commission, Position 4: Preeti Shridhar

The Urbanist is excited to endorse Preeti Shridhar for Port Commissioner Position 4. Shridhar brings a strong commitment to equity and sustainability at the Port of Seattle.

It is clear that Shridhar would focus on equity as Port Commissioner. In her interview, she repeatedly highlighted the growing immigrant communities in South King County and discussed job programs and small business incubation in South King. She also spoke at the protests at Sea-Tac following Trump’s Muslim ban. As Port Commissioner, she would ensure that freedom of expression is protected and provide oversight of the Port of Seattle Police Department.

Shridhar’s opponent is Peter Steinbrueck, a former Seattle city councilmember. Steinbrueck has lobbied against upzones and other proposals in HALA. In contrast, Shridhar wants to ensure that port workers can live close to where they work. Shridhar brings the right experience in regional partnerships and working with local governments to increase affordable housing options for port workers.

Additionally, while both Shridhar and Steinbrueck want to focus on environmental sustainability, Shridhar’s positions stand out. She wants to reduce the carbon footprint of the port by investing in biofuels for airplanes and converting cargo drayage trucks to natural gas. Shridhar is open to tolling Sea-Tac’s airport drive to reduce congestion and fund alternatives and also is willing to go on the record to oppose Port of Seattle funding for car-only transportation investments.

We feel that Shridhar’s environmental background combined with her commitment to bringing jobs and small business opportunities to the South King County community make her uniquely qualified to serve as Port Commissioner. Vote Shridhar.

Read Preeti Shridhar’s questionnaire.

King County Proposition 1 (Veterans and Human Services Levy): Approve

It’s shameful that anyone in our wealthy county is unsheltered. It’s doubly shameful that anyone who sacrificed to serve our country goes unsheltered. This is a solvable problem and the Veterans and Human Services Levy is a step in the right direction. The Urbanist strongly recommends a ‘yes’ vote on the ballot measure.

The tax is a small increase falling mostly on wealthier folks. The levy will add an additional five cents for every $1,000 of property value compared to the current levy, which expires in December, and will generate up to $51 million per year. For families that have around $650,000 of wealth in their homes, they will be asked to pay about about $65 a year. The current much smaller levy only raises about $18 million a year but has been documented as saving the county money over $7 million on emergency medical and criminal justice costs.

The money has also been well managed. There are regular oversight committee meetings and the county has extensive documentation on the impacts and who the money services. For example, in 2015 it helped over 1,000 people access or remain in stable housing. If this levy isn’t passed, all families that are served will have those services cutoff.

Passing the levy will directly impact many lives in a dramatically positive way. The Urbanist implores you to vote ‘yes’ on the Veterans and Human Services Levy.

Voting members of the Elections Board consisted of Scott Bonjukian, Kate Brunette, Ben Crowther, Aleksandra Culver, Alex Hudson, Ryan Packer, Owen Pickford, and Doug Trumm. 

The post 2017 General Election Endorsements first appeared on The Urbanist.

How Can I Register?

Glad you asked! You can register online or by mail (print-outs available in 19 languages) by October 9th.

Miss that deadline? Have no fear. You can register in-person at your county elections department by October 30th.

Miss even that deadline? That’s some serious procrastination. Contact your county elections department and see what they can do.

Have any questions? Contact the Secretary of State’s office using the information below:

Phone: 1.800.448.4881
Email: elections@sos.wa.gov

Am I Registered To Vote?

If you’ve moved since the last time you voted, you are not registered to vote. You must register every time your address changes. 

Take 30 seconds to check online.

Can I Vote?

Check out the Washington State voter requirements:

• Be a US citizen
• Be 18 years old by Election Day (November 7th)
• Live at a Washington address 30 days before election day
• If convicted of a felony, not be in jail or community custody
• Not currently judged incompetent by a court
• Not claim the right to vote in another state

When Does Voting Start?

The 18-day voting period begins Friday, October 20th when ballots are mailed out. You’ll have until Tuesday, November 7th to get your ballot postmarked or in a drop box to be counted.

Why Should I Vote?

Questioning whether you should even vote? Stop that. Races are often determined by close margins. Every vote matters.

Put your vision for our City, region, state, and country into action by voting. But first, get yourself registered!

Keep an eye out for our general endorsements piece, being released soon. (Hint: As luck would have it, all five of our endorsed candidates made it through the primary, so the endorsements will be pretty similar to the primary ones!)

2017 Primary Endorsements

The post Register to Vote by October 9th first appeared on The Urbanist.

Our monthly meetup is free and open to everyone. Come by to meet fellow housing and transportation advocates and hear from an inspirational speaker. We’ll be at the Elephant & Castle Pub on Wednesday, October 11, 5:30-7:30 PM (please note this is different than our usual Tuesday). You can find us in the billiards room on the lower level, and our guest speaker starts at 6:00 PM.

We hope to see you there! You can optionally RSVP on Facebook to help us get a headcount.

Moon holds a master’s degree in urban planning and is best known for her work leading the People’s Waterfront Coalition, which helped shape downtown’s upcoming waterfront park. Moon has dedicated her career to the improvement of Seattle’s urban fabric and will be a progressive mayor that leads the city toward a more affordable, mobile, and sustainable future.

Moon has solid, progressive ideas around transportation, affordable housing, and land use. She is distinguishing herself in this race by proposing innovative policies that get at the root of Seattle’s affordability crisis, such as taxes on speculation and corporate investment. Seattle needs a mayor who is on board with the policies outlined in HALA and who realizes the need to go further. She has set an ambitious goal of expanding Seattle’s affordable housing using tools like community land trusts, and she supports studying the opportunity to lid Interstate 5 to increase the supply of public land.

She has proven herself capable of working effectively with a range of stakeholders, from government leaders to neighborhood groups. She has also shown a commitment to ensuring that the Seattle of the future is open to all residents regardless of income, race, or background.

Join us on October 11 to hear Cary Moon’s plan for an equitable, innovative, and inclusive Seattle for all.

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Cary Moon

The post October 11: Meet Mayoral Candidate Cary Moon at The Urbanist Meetup first appeared on The Urbanist.

Our monthly meetup is free and open to everyone. Come by to meet fellow housing and transportation advocates and hear from an inspirational speaker. We’ll be at the Elephant & Castle Pub on Wednesday, October 11, 5:30-7:30 PM (please note this is different than our usual Tuesday). You can find us in the billiards room on the lower level, and our guest speaker starts at 6:30 PM.

We hope to see you there! You can optionally RSVP on Facebook to help us get a headcount.

Moon holds a master’s degree in urban planning and is best known for her work leading the People’s Waterfront Coalition, which helped shape downtown’s upcoming waterfront park. Moon has dedicated her career to the improvement of Seattle’s urban fabric and will be a progressive mayor that leads the city toward a more affordable, mobile, and sustainable future.

Moon has solid, progressive ideas around transportation, affordable housing, and land use. She is distinguishing herself in this race by proposing innovative policies that get at the root of Seattle’s affordability crisis, such as taxes on speculation and corporate investment. Seattle needs a mayor who is on board with the policies outlined in HALA and who realizes the need to go further. She has set an ambitious goal of expanding Seattle’s affordable housing using tools like community land trusts, and she supports studying the opportunity to lid Interstate 5 to increase the supply of public land.

She has proven herself capable of working effectively with a range of stakeholders, from government leaders to neighborhood groups. She has also shown a commitment to ensuring that the Seattle of the future is open to all residents regardless of income, race, or background.

Join us on October 11 to hear Cary Moon’s plan for an equitable, innovative, and inclusive Seattle for all.

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Cary Moon

The post October 11: Meet Mayoral Candidate Cary Moon at The Urbanist Meetup first appeared on The Urbanist.

With regards to Mercer Street, Moon said she’d rethink the car-focused “signal prioritization” that has increased wait times for people walking, biking, or riding transit. In her transportation plan, Moon highlighted a need to accelerate culture change at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to achieve the mode rebalancing she imagines.

“Frankly, our city spends too much on car convenience–that’s why there are too many cars on the road,” Moon said. “We need to keep shifting the culture of SDOT towards expanding choices for people and goods, and safety for all users–and away from ‘level of service’ targets for cars. And unlike my opponent, I will always put the safety and needs of pedestrians before drivers.”

Jemae Hoffman (currently a director at Via Architecture and also an honorary founding member of Transportation Choices Coalition) complimented Cary Moon’s collaborative style, which Hoffman saw first hand as Lead for Sustainable Transportation at SDOT while working on alternatives to the Alaskan Way Viaduct with Moon.

“Cary, representing for the People’s Waterfront Coalition, was one of the most constructive stakeholders involved,” Hoffman said. “Cary articulated a clear vision for the future. She diplomatically questioned the best use of billions of public dollars, and she was always collaborative.”

Even before the new plan, the vision outlined on Moon’s website included some promising ideas.

• “Add more bus transit and protected bus lanes because when transit is fast, convenient and reliable, people use it.”
• “Make walking and biking a more viable form of transportation with a complete network of protected bike lanes and safe sidewalks.”
• “Be ready with bold solutions to keep downtown flowing when the tunnel buses come to the surface in 2019. The One Center City plan must focus on equity, on protecting the Chinatown/ID neighborhoods and on improving transit service broadly throughout the city.”

At the press conference, Moon expanded on those points.

She pledged to increase transit access not just expediting Sound Transit 3 projects in Seattle, but also expanding funding for ORCA LIFT to increase transit access for low-income adults and providing ORCA cards to “all Seattle Public School students under the age of 18 to make sure they can get to school, as suggested by Nikkita Oliver during the primary campaign.”

Moon’s transportation policies have earned endorsements from powerhouse transit advocacy organizations like Seattle Subway and the Seattle Transit Riders Union. At the press conference, Seattle Subway Boardmember Kjersti Egerdahl said Moon was best prepared to accelerate ST3 projects.

“It’s easy for a candidate to say they are pro-transit,” Egerdahl said. “Cary Moon has shown through her lifetime of advocacy that she has a deep understanding of the issues that face people walking, biking and using transit. Seattle Subway supports Cary Moon as the candidate most qualified to execute on transit that is fast, reliable, and equitable.”

Board member Kjersti Egerdahl spoke on behalf of @SeattleSubway saying Moon has best plan to speed #ST3 projects. #SEAmayor pic.twitter.com/3gdJhxvzQb

— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) September 27, 2017

“I am proud to be endorsed by leading transportation leaders and experts including The Urbanist, Transit Riders Union, Washington Bikes, Seattle Subway, Sierra Club, and Washington Conservation Voters,” Moon said in her press release.

Moon made a strong case she lives her values on transportation.

“I have lived mostly car-free since 1994 when I made a conscious choice to do so,” Moon said. “I use Zipcar when needed, but more often take transit and walk. (And I have a city bike that is equipped to carry groceries and can handle the Seattle terrain and weather.)”

Democracy for America’s Robert Cruickshank said his organization had made Cary Moon one of their top priority national candidates.

“It’s clear that she’s listened to the community,” Cruickshank said. “Accelerating the timeline on light rail, expanding the ORCA LIFT program, bringing a race and social justice lens to transit planning, taking a page from Nikkita Oliver, and giving ORCA cards to SPS kids–these are all commonsense things that City hasn’t done a great job with before.”

Seattle Subway is planning a get-out-the-vote event for Moon and Teresa Mosqueda on Wednesday, October 4th at 5:30pm for those interested.

Cary Moon Heads to Election Showdown with Jenny Durkan

The post Cary Moon’s Transit Plan: Bus Lanes, Bike Lanes, and Safer Sidewalks first appeared on The Urbanist.

Our monthly meetup is free and open to everyone and each month features an opportunity to meet urbanists and hear from a speaker making an impact on Seattle. We’ll be at the Elephant & Castle Pub on Tuesday, September 12th, 5:30-7:30 PM. You can find us in the billiards room on the lower level.

We hope to see you there! You can optionally RSVP on Facebook.

We’re looking forward to hear Mosqueda’s pitch less than two months ahead of Election Day. If you doubted Mosqueda’s dedication to urbanism, go back and watch Growing Seattle forum in which she gave a shout out to Barcelona’s pedestrian superblocks. She will expand on the finer points of her campaign platform and take questions from the audience. Mosqueda, if elected, would be the only renter on the Council–renters’ rights just might come up.

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Teresa Mosqueda

The post Urbanist Meetup on Tuesday Will Feature Teresa Mosqueda first appeared on The Urbanist.

Welcoming Wallingford–of which I’m a founding member–is a group launched early this year to proactively engage in the planning around the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) within the leafy confines of Wallingford. As anti-HALA  lawn sign emblazoned with bulldozers went up around neighborhood, some Wallingford residents felt their views were not being represented. To get our views out there, we’ve written articles and letters, hosted meetups and showed up at public hearings. Though a fledgling effort, it’s inspired similar collaboratives to form in neighborhoods across Seattle.

You can expect the forum to tackle the nitty gritty of implementing HALA policy from the Grand Bargain (the compromise pairing upzones with inclusionary zoning) to some more forgotten recommendations that could also have a big impact on affordability.

The forum will take place 7:30pm to 9:30pm on Thursday, September 14th at Wallingford Presbyterian Church (1414 N 42nd St). While this forum is hosted in and focused on Wallingford, people from across the city are welcome to attend. Please RSVP on Facebook if you’re able to attend. The event is free, but we encourage attendees to donate to Family Works, our local food bank and family support center. They tell us the need is particularly great for hygiene products.

Mosqueda is also the guest speaker at The Urbanist meetup on September 12th if you’d like an even bigger political fix. For those interested in brushing up for the forum, read Mosqueda’s responses here and Grant’s responses here to The Urbanist’s questionnaire.

Join Us In Creating A Welcoming Wallingford

The post September 14: Mosqueda and Grant Square Off at Wallingford Forum first appeared on The Urbanist.

Seattle Peoples Party candidate Nikkita Oliver finished third with 16.99% of the vote, close behind Moon but outside the margin for a recount. Oliver conceded at a Tuesday press conference and later revealed she would personally vote for Moon. Oliver said the Seattle Peoples Party would not endorse in the mayoral race, but would host a debate between Moon and Durkan. Moon has accepted the invitation, while Durkan is still considering it.

Former 46th District State Rep. Jessyn Farrell finished fourth with 12.53% of the vote. Farrell has not yet endorsed but may after Labor Day, apparently. Closing out the top six, State Sen. Bob Hasegawa took 8.39% of the vote and former mayor Mike McGinn took 6.5%–neither of whom have yet endorsed in the mayoral race.

Path To Victory

Since the top two candidates accounted for just 45.5% of primary votes, where the other candidates’ votes end up is anybody’s guess. That said, it does seem Moon would benefit from the General Election’s larger, younger, and more progressive electorate. Additionally, Ben Anderstone highlighted what could be a crucial factor helping Moon in his Crosscut election analysis: Durkan has already come close to maxing out her potential in her strongest neighborhoods, but Moon has more room to grow.

Durkan did better in her top neighborhoods than Cary Moon did in hers. Durkan, after all, shared the primary’s center lane with only minor candidates. Moon, on the other hand, heavily split the left lane, especially with the apparent third-place finisher Nikkita Oliver. But what’s notable is how little head room Durkan has for improving in her strongest neighborhoods come November. In the primary, she received 65 percent in Broadmoor, 64 percent in Washington Park, and 57 percent in Madison Park. With those 21 candidates on the ballot, that’s impressive. It’s also bad news for the leader: It means Durkan won an impressive share of her “gimme” general election voters in the primary. Cary Moon, by contrast, maxed out at only 28 percent in her top neighborhood (Fremont).

Anderstone also noted that Durkan’s top-performing neighborhoods are Seattle’s three wealthiest: Broadmoor, Washington Park, and Madison Park. Beyond these elite mansion enclaves, Durkan tended to do better with wealthy homeowners citywide.

Stark Differences On Urbanist Issues

On the issues some sharp divides are already apparent. We’ll dive into those more as the election progresses, but already the list includes:

• Cary Moon supports municipal broadband. Durkan does not.
• Cary Moon put pedestrians first in her mode hierarchy for prioritizing street space. Durkan put them last.
• Cary Moon led the charge against spending $4 billion on the risky Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project commonly known as Bertha. Jenny Durkan is endorsed by Mayor Ed Murray, who was the lead sponsor on the Senate bill funding Bertha, and most of the people in this who to blame for Bertha article.
• Cary Moon is an ardent supporter of missing middle housing in single-family zones. Durkan is “exploring” the option. Maybe she’d form a task force to think about it?
• Cary Moon supports Seattle’s tax on incomes above than $250,000, and her platform includes capital gains tax and a luxury real estate tax. Durkan is a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Cary Moon

The post Cary Moon Heads to Election Showdown with Jenny Durkan first appeared on The Urbanist.

Measures

King County

Proposition 1 (Access for All): Yes (e) 44.98%, No 55.02%

Candidates

State

45th Legislative District (State Senator): Manka Dhingra (D): 50.51%, Jinyoung Lee Englund (R): 42.57%

King County

Executive: Dow Constantine: (D, Incumbent) 74.45%, Bill Hirt: 14.06%, Stan Lippman: 4.18%

Snohomish County

County Council District 5: Sam Low (R, Incumbent): 55.72%, Kristin Kelly (D): 32.23%, Tara Schumacher (D): 11.83%

City of Seattle

Mayor: Cary Moon (e): 15.56%, Jessyn Farrell: 11.81%, Nikkita Oliver: 13.9%, Mike McGinn: 7.16%, Bob Hasegawa: 8.62%, Jenny Durkan: 31.60%

City Council Position 8: Teresa Mosqueda (e): 30.80%, Jon Grant: 24.29%, Sara Nelson: 23.13%, Hisam Goueli: 3.15%, Charlene Strong: 5.18%, Mac McGregor: 2.56%, Sheley Secrest: 4.78%

City Council Position 9: Lorena González (Incumbent) (e): 61.39%, Pat Murakami: 19.83%, Ty Pethe: 1.78%

Port of Seattle Commission

Position 1: Ryan Calkins (e): 28.07%, John Creighton (incumbent): 34.99%, Claudia Kauffman: 15.56%, Bea Querido-Rico: 20.84%

Position 3: Lisa Espinosa: 16.04%, Ahmed Abdi: 27.76%, Stephanie Bowman (Incumbent): 55.10%

Position 4: Preeti Shridhar (e): 20.85%, John Persak: 13.26%, Peter Steinbrueck: 25.14%, Fernando Martinez: 2.48%, Ken Rogers: 15.64%

Seattle Public Schools

Director District 4: Herbert J. Camet, Jr. 8.29%, Lisa Melenyzer: 6.47%, Darrell Toland: 5.54%, Megan Locatelli Hyska: 3.47%, Jennifer Crow: 5.80%, Eden Mack: 67.46%, Sean Champagne: 2.51%

Director District 5: Omar Vasquez: 18.18%%, Andre Helmstetter: 16.46%, Candace Vaivadas: 6.4%, Zachary Pullin DeWolf: 43.19%, Alec Cooper: 15.32%

Director District 7: Chelsea Byers: 22.76%, Betty Patu (Incumbent): 65.52%, Tony Hemphill: 11.05%

City of Bremerton

Mayor: Cary Bozeman: 27.5%, Patty Lent (Incumbent): 34.2%, Greg Wheeler: 38.1%

City of Everett

Mayor: Cassie Franklin: 30.30%, Shean Nasin: 8.85%, Judy Tuohy: 30.91%, Brian Sullivan: 29.64%

City Council Position 1: Lee Dart: 24.41%, Justin Murta: 17.79%, Paul Roberts (Incumbent): 57.29%

City Council Position 2: Alex Lark: 38.59%, Jeff Moore: 51.29%, Jordan Marsh: 9.60%

City Council Position 3: Jonathan Peebles: 13.57%, Jennifer Hesse: 23.96%, Scott Murphy (Incumbent): 61.86%

City of Issaquah

Mayor: Claude Blumenzweig: 16.76%, Mary Lou Pauly: 48.04%, Paul Winterstein: 34.88%

City of Kirkland

City Council Position 7: Uzma Butte: 20.07%, Jon Pascal (Incumbent): 69.33%; Imran Peerbhai: 10.18%

City of Tacoma

Mayor: Victoria Woodards: 35.79%, Evelyn Lopez: 22.60%, Jim Merritt: 41.61%

Image courtesy of Washington Secretary of State’s office

The post 2017 Primary Election Results first appeared on The Urbanist.