Dark money may succeed. Troublingly, Washington voters almost picked Dave Larson – a dark-money-backed conservative opposed to our popular capital gains tax – as our newest state Supreme Court justice. Larson’s opponent, Sal Mungia, won by less than 1%. 

Why? Obvious explanations include candidate quality — first-time candidate Mungia was, understandably, less effective on the stump — lack of media coverage, and Democratic resources being spread thin covering critical local, state, and federal races. But Larson’s near-victory is also a warning sign for Washington’s legal establishment. 

Throughout his campaign, Larson emphasized ordinary Washingtonians’ alienation from our opaque, inefficient, and unjust court system. Larson didn’t campaign as a conservative: he presented himself, inaccurately, as an independent, experienced, and moderate populist outsider. Larson proposed specific, common-sense solutions to long-festering problems, from drug treatment access to jury diversity. He effectively presented his opponent as the hand-picked ally of complacent legal elites.

Washington’s justices will probably try to hand-pick another colleague when Justice Charles Johnson retires in 2027 — giving Full Court Press’ wealthy backers another chance to install a compliant justice like Larson.

Larson ran as a reformist outsider 

An experienced candidate running his third state-level campaign, Larson skillfully combined reformist policies with subtle conservative dog whistles. His Soundside interview was the perfect distillation of his superficially progressive messaging: he spoke passionately about increasing jury diversity (without endorsing increased juror pay), endorsed increased drug treatment (but wanted the State to prosecute drug possession), called public defense “one of the most noble things a lawyer can do” (but didn’t support reducing brutal defender workloads), and urged the Court to defer to legislators (unless the Legislature taxes the rich). 

Larson capped his interview with effective political jujitsu: turning Mungia’s overwhelming endorsement advantage into a weakness. Larson described Mungia, endorsed by eight of the nine serving justices, as “someone the justices want,” before describing himself as “someone the people need.” Larson finished his interview by arguing that Washington’s current legal system makes people feel powerless and disenfranchised, and that courts needed to emphasize treating people with dignity and respect.

Larson’s right. Washington’s civil and criminal legal systems are opaque, inaccessible, and unjust. A 2015 Washington Supreme Court study found that 70% of low-income households experienced a serious civil legal problem in the last year; three quarters of these households never received the legal help they needed. Nearly 10 years later, the Court has made little, if any, progress addressing this problem. Even middle-class Americans can’t afford an attorney. There aren’t any free attorneys available either. The Court allowed Washington’s public defense system, in crisis since at least 2004, to finally collapse — delaying justice for everyone. 

Larson also benefited from limited media scrutiny. The few news outlets who covered the Supreme Court race–from KUOW to local newspapers–never asked probing questions about his contradictory messages or the rich extremists running his campaign. The decline in local media means fewer resources to cover the courts, ensuring few reporters understand the legal system well enough to question judicial candidates and inform voters. Unsurprisingly, many voters knew almost nothing about Larson or Mungia.

Washington’s highest court needs genuinely independent outsiders 

Washington’s Democratic establishment, stung by Mungia’s narrow victory, may be tempted to handpick a more traditional candidate — like a corporate-lawyer-turned-judge with some pro bono experience — to fill retiring Justice Johnson’s seat in 2027 or retiring Justice Madsen’s seat in 2029. Mungia, unlike Larson, had never been a judge and had not run for office before. And perhaps voters punished Mungia for the Court’s perceived progressive excesses, like the Blake decision declaring Washington’s unusually harsh drug laws unconstitutional. 

Handpicking any candidate, let alone one with a corporate background, would be a huge mistake. There’s no evidence that voters almost chose Larson over Mungia because of the Court’s perceived progressivism; Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis, one of the Court’s most consistently egalitarian voices, easily defeated Larson in 2020, and voters convincingly backed the capital gains tax that the Court cautiously upheld. Mungia’s lack of judicial experience also doesn’t explain his narrow win: in 2012, Justice Sheryl Gordon-McCloud easily defeated a conservative opponent — and experienced judge — despite having no judicial experience herself. 

Running a cautious corporate moderate won’t address Larson’s real source of support: his independent, reformist, outsider message. Larson used Washingtonians’ distrust of our state’s inaccessible court system to turn Mungia’s strong institutional backing into a political liability, even though Larson’s wealthy, dark-money backers had no interest in creating just courts. 

The only way to prevent wealthy conservatives from installing their preferred justices in 2027 and 2029 is for Washington Democrats to back outsider candidates committed to Washington’s populist, egalitarian constitution. These candidates will need to energetically campaign and articulate a strong, values-based message. While Larson has argued that judges’ values are irrelevant because they should simply apply the law as written, this is a red herring. Judges resolve disputes, of course, but Washington’s Supreme Court Justices also act as legislators: they make binding legal rules. These rules determine everything from who gets to be a lawyer – and how – to which defendants get released from pre-trial detention. 

Washington needs justices willing to use their rule-making powers to make our courts fairer and more accessible. Thankfully, we have a deep bench, including ACLU-WA Executive Director Michele Storms, Seattle University Dean Anthony Varona, or even former Northwest Immigrant Rights’ Project Director — and current King County Councilmember — Jorge Baron. 

Larson’s near-win proved that Washington’s legal establishment faces a serious legitimacy crisis. Running another hand-picked corporate candidate won’t help, but a genuine reformer can — and will — win.

The post Op-Ed: Mungia’s Narrow Win Shows Washington Voters Want Sweeping Legal Changes first appeared on The Urbanist.

In the weeks after Donald Trump was elected a second time and Republicans secured a majority in both houses of Congress, urbanists and progressives in the Seattle area have watched with trepidation as the incoming president has nominated a motley assortment of celebrities, CEOs, and anti-vaxxers to his cabinet. 

But while most of the country shifted red this election cycle, Washington state bucked that trend, sending 10 Democrats to Congress, retaining control of the legislature and governor’s mansion, and installing a host of left-leaning candidates in state, city and county offices.

In particular, four standout candidates that The Urbanist enthusiastically endorsed because of their commitment to boosting transit, housing, and climate action succeeded in being elected to new positions in November. 

• Alexis Mercedes Rinck will join the Seattle City Council as one of the few progressives counterbalancing a centrist majority. 
• Housing affordability superstar Jessica Bateman, who successfully pushed missing middle housing bills as a state rep from the 22nd Legislative District, won her bid to represent that same Olympia district in the state senate – and will serve as chair of the influential Housing Committee. 
• Current Pierce County Council member Ryan Mello succeeded in his race to become Pierce County Executive, bringing a vision of expanded transit and walkable neighborhoods to the state’s second-most populous county. 
• Shaun Scott, campaigning as a democratic socialist, will represent the 43rd district – situated in the very liberal heart of Seattle – in the state house seat formerly occupied by former speaker Frank Chopp. 

The Urbanist caught up with each of these victorious candidates to hear about their priorities after taking office in 2025.

Alexis Mercedes Rinck heads to Seattle Council

Rinck defeated appointed centrist Councilmember Tanya Woo in the citywide Position 8 seat on the Seattle City Council. As a renter and transit rider who chooses not to own a car, Rinck brings a solidly urbanist viewpoint to a council that has shown more interest in boosting police salaries than dealing with the city’s housing crisis. Her resume includes serving as director of subregional planning and equitable engagement for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), giving her expertise on the issue of homelessness.

Rinck’s election-night party, she said, was jubilant – for a brief moment. “For about 45 minutes, there we were, having a great time. And then we started learning about what was happening in Pennsylvania.”

Trump’s return to the presidency muted that celebratory mood, and Rinck says some of her goals in 2025 will be to prepare the city for what comes next. 

“We have a lot of work to do, not just in areas I campaigned on about affordability, but also trying to mitigate whatever attacks may come for our freedoms – and the loss of federal funding that I think we can anticipate to come in the next year.” 

She noted Seattle’s affordability crisis might deepen as immigrants and transgender people arrive in the city attempting to flee communities that are less welcoming and potentially even ramping up campaigns of persecution.

Pushing her agenda may be a relatively lonely endeavor, however, with Councilmember Tammy Morales the only other staunch progressive on the council. Rinck said she’ll try to convince her colleagues to pass legislation boosting housing production, noting that permitting is starting to decline. 

“I want to do the work with our housing developers across the board to bring back our housing pipeline,” Rinck said. “And that will be around streamlining permitting.”

Rinck said this could include legislation targeted not just at speeding up permitting at the Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) but also in SDOT, City Light and Seattle Public Utilities. 

“I’m really interested in doing the kind of wonky problem solving work internally to ensure that the city has a streamlined process,” she said.

She said she’s watching how the recently passed exemptions for design review in the greater downtown region work out. “Eliminating design review is something I’m interested in,” she notes, “while also looking at the current parking requirements around development.”

Funding for affordable housing is also a top priority, and after the current council agreed to shift the JumpStart corporate payroll tax revenue from being dedicated to housing and the Green New Deal to addressing the general budget shortfall, Rinck is interested in pursuing other revenue options, including Councilmember Cathy Moore’s proposed capital gains tax, which narrowly failed to pass.

“We need to be picking up that conversation,” Rinck said. “And working with our partners around what if we were to implement a local capital gains, what do we want to use those funds for?”

Jessica Bateman to lead housing push in state senate

Bateman, probably the most influential urbanist in the Washington State Legislature, was the primary sponsor of House Bill 1110, which passed into law in the 2023 session and mandates sixplex zoning in areas near transit and fourplexes in residential zones citywide in Washington’s large cities. Bateman now moves on from the House, where she’s served since 2021, to the Senate, where Democratic leadership plans to select her to chair the Senate’s Housing Committee – a platform she says she intends to use to push an agenda focused on creating more housing options statewide.

“I’m really interested in doing a lot of the work that we did in the House, making sure that we’re aligning ourselves around housing and setting ourselves up for success,” Bateman said. “So that we’re looking at symptoms and solutions. I have a whole list of ideas for next year, all centered around the same topic: increasing supply, increasing our support for affordable housing, and then stabilizing people in their homes.”

Bateman notes that a third of the Democratic caucus in the legislature will be new members. “My experience tells me that new members are closer to issues of housing – the deficit of housing and the need for housing abundance. And they’re going to be younger and more diverse.”

A top priority next year, Bateman says, will be re-introducing a version of House Bill 2113, which would require cities to abide by the rezoning requirements in her missing middle bill passed last year, and providing remedies in cities that fail to comply. 

“It’s really important for us to be able to hold cities accountable and have a system of oversight to ensure that all of these land use change requirements that we’re telling the 260 cities in Washington that they have to adhere by now, for the first time ever – that we actually have a way to demonstrate that they’re doing that,” Bateman said.

“That bill includes the builders remedy, which would allow for the construction of affordable housing regardless of the underlying zoning,” Bateman said, and noted that this could also include withholding of state grants to cities – including Seattle – that fail to reform their zoning laws to meet state requirements.

Bateman also plans to use her platform to push for parking reform, including putting a cap on minimum parking requirements for affordable housing, childcare facilities, senior housing, assisted living, and nursing homes. “These are all types of housing that are desperately needed,” she said.

She’ll also be co-sponsoring another rent stabilization bill aimed at limiting rent increases, observing that “a lot of folks that are living month to month, paying a third to half of their income on their housing costs, and they’re scared. They need stability, and they need predictability.”

Bateman says she’ll also push for a bill requiring local jurisdictions to zone for permanent supportive housing, a bill to allow for splitting of lots, and another bill that she refers to as a residential and commercial corridors bill. “We want to make sure that we’re allowing housing for people to be in areas that are near transit, and also that are areas that have a lot of amenities and are livable, walkable communities.”

Ryan Mello to lead Pierce County

“Election night really was filled with mixed emotions,” says Ryan Mello, the new Pierce County Executive, who’s a vocal advocate for transit, walkable communities, and concrete action on climate. “So, while there was some real celebration and jubilation, it was really measured with strong concern about what’s going to happen federally.”

Mello, who’s currently chair of the Pierce County Council and represents District 4, will replace Republican Bruce Dammeier, who often squabbled with the current council. Mello hopes to change the executive office’s direction by being both more committed to environmentally conscious policies while taking a more collaborative approach to the council.

“We have really strong relationships with most of the council, even Republicans,” Mello said. “I’ve demonstrated that I’ve been able to work with my Republican counterparts to move an agenda.”

In just one example, Mello’s past agenda included passage in 2023 of the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act, which adds one tenth of a percent to the county sales tax to help address the homelessness crisis with dedicated funds for housing and services – a bill that passed with bipartisan support. Mello says that thanks to that bill, which generates about $20 million annually, there are currently over three thousand units of new affordable housing units in the pipeline in the county. He says he’ll look to keep expanding that figure during his tenure. 

As county executive, Mello says he’ll also be a strong advocate for moving transit projects forward, both as a member of the Sound Transit board and, he hopes, serving on the Puget Sound Regional Council and the Pierce Transit Board. “I’m going to be a really vocal advocate for express bus service, and meeting the promises made about extending Sounder commuter rail to DuPont” – which, according to Sound Transit’s current timeline, isn’t scheduled to be operational until 2045. 

Increasing revenue to boost transit service will be a big priority for his incoming administration, Mello says. He noted that Pierce County has only narrowly rejected ballot measures to increase transit-dedicated sales tax revenue from the current six-tenths of a percent to the state maximum threshold of nine-tenths of a percent. 

“We’ve come really, really close – within just a few 100 votes in the last 15 years – asking voters to invest more in mobility options,” he said. “So we’ve got to try again in order to increase the really vital services that Pierce Transit offers.”

Preventing sprawl by limiting growth in rural areas is also on the agenda – something Mello worked on as a county councilmember to include in the county’s comprehensive plan, which will be finalized by the end of this year. 

“Rural growth is very expensive to serve, spreading people farther and farther out into the rural areas,” Mello said. “They rightfully expect sheriff deputies to come when they call and water and sewer and roads and sidewalks and schools and parks.” Mello hopes to eliminate the county’s rural density bonus, which currently doubles the existing allowance of one dwelling per ten acres.

Mello, the first openly gay man to serve on the Tacoma city council, is extremely concerned about a second Trump administration – both because of potential cuts to critical anti-poverty programs like Community Development Block Grants and federal dollars for Sound Transit projects – as well as impacts on vulnerable communities. 

“There are a lot of things on my mind,” he said. “About how we’re treating immigrants and refugees. Reproductive freedom and our standing on the world stage. And our ability to really get at the climate crisis.”

Mello said he’s committed to pushing policies that reduce greenhouse gases, even as other issues threaten to distract people’s attention. “Our strategy has always been to show best practices here locally on things like climate,” he said, “and how we can bring climate solutions to scale.”

Shaun Scott takes baton from former House Speaker Frank Chopp

Shaun Scott has some big shoes to fill. The 43rd district House seat he won in November was previously held by former speaker Frank Chopp for three decades. Scott’s district, which encompasses parts of downtown, Capitol Hill, Fremont and the U District, is probably the most dependably progressive district in the state – and as a result, Scott will likely bring a very left-leaning, transit-forward, renter-oriented vision to the legislature.

“Trump’s election is going to direct a lot of people’s eyes towards the state legislature,” Scott said of the challenges facing Democrats holding a trifecta in Olympia. “Hopefully that’s going to be a spur to my fellow colleagues to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to Trump-proof our state.”

As a declared socialist, it’s no surprise that Scott says he’ll focus on passing additional tax revenue to create a stronger social safety net, build more affordable housing, and boost transit service statewide. He said one of his top priorities will be to increase the real estate excise tax on properties valued at over $3 million.

“Right now, most of the investments we make as a state for affordable housing, $1.5 billion or so, mostly come from the Housing Trust Fund,” Scott said. “The real estate excise tax [increase] would add close to another billion – that’s with a B, as in Bill Gates – to that total.”

In a district where nearly three quarters of residents are renters, Scott is a big proponent of rent stabilization and he says he’ll work with colleagues to ensure another bill that limits rent increases will be introduced in the next session.

Scott will also focus on seeking new funds to ensure projects like Sound Transit don’t fall behind in the face of cuts to federal funds. “We have a good number of light rail street improvement projects, and transit projects that are contingent on federal funds that might dry up.”

He’s also interested in doing more to tax polluters, investigating a statewide universal health care system, and doing more to ensure that people in affordable housing can access physical and mental health care services. 

“When we make that push to make sure we’re building enough social housing – and that includes housing for people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities – we should be using that housing to connect people to services, and scaling up organizations like CoLead and the Pacific Hotel,” Scott said.

“Those are going to be the measures that will show everybody that Washington has enough resources to address some of our biggest challenges, regardless of what happens in the other Washington.”

The post Four Successful Urbanist-Backed Candidates Pledge Housing, Transit, and Climate Action  first appeared on The Urbanist.

Washingtonians also locked Republicans out of all statewide offices, and prevented them from gaining any ground in the state legislature. In fact, Democrats could cross the 60% threshold in both chambers, clearing the way to passing bonding without Republican votes.

Urbanist-backed candidates did extraordinarily well. Urbanist-endorsed Shaun Scott and Alexis Mercedes Rinck defeated more conservative opponents by decisive margins. Urbanist Ryan Mello has held on to his lead in the race for Pierce County Executive. Plus, Pierce County Councilmember Jani Hitchen successfully defended her seat, maintaining Democrats’ control of the body, giving Mello’s agenda a legislative path.

Washington state votes by mail, so usually somewhere between half and 60% of total expected ballots are counted on election night. The remainder filter in over the next week or so as counties work through late returns placed in drop boxes or mailboxes in the last days of the election.

The Urbanist Elections Committee made endorsements in a long list of races and measures.

Republicans flailing statewide

• Initiative Measure No. 2066 appears to have passed narrowly: 51% to 48%. The initiative will prevent programs discouraging installation of natural (fracked) gas heating and cooking systems and limiting program incentivizing greener alternatives.
• Initiative Measure No. 2109 has failed and increased its margin slightly from election night: 64% “No” to 36% for “yes.” If passed, it would have repealed Washington’s capital gains tax, forcing a massive financial crisis on public schools across the state that relied on that funding.
• Initiative Measure No. 2117 has failed by essentially the same margin as election night: 62% “No” to 38% for “yes.” This would have repealed the Climate Commitment Act, the cap and trade system it set up, and the infrastructure investments it funded.
• Initiative Measure No. 2124 has failed: 55% “No” to 44% for “yes.” Washington Cares, a long-term care insurance program, will continue to be fully funded.
• Governor: Democrat Bob Ferguson trounced Republican Dave Reichert 56% to 44%.
• Attorney General: Democrat Nick Brown (endorsed) defeated Republican Pete Serrano by nearly the same margin: 56% to 44%
• Lands Commissioner: Dave Upthegrove (endorsed) edged out Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler 53% to 47%, completing the Democratic sweep of statewide offices.

Prop 1 and Rinck coast in Seattle

• Seattle Proposition No. 1 (endorsed) passed easily: The Urbanist-backed transportation levy passed by a two-to-one margin: 66.5% to just 33.5% no. Seattle’s $1.55 billion transportation levy should help offset a tougher federal transportation funding environment under the Trump administration, which has frequently held up transit grants in the past. Read Ryan Packer’s article on the levy’s passage for more.
• Seattle City Council 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck (endorsed) won, thoroughly dispatching centrist appointee Tanya Woo. On election night, Rinck was up 57% to 42%, with 56% turnout so far. That lead grew in later returns, reaching 58% to 41% by Monday’s drop with nearly 80% turnout.

Democrats grow state legislature majority to 60%

• LD10 Senate: Republican incumbent Ron Muzzall has again survived reelection thanks to a surge in late returns. Democratic challenger Janet St Clair jumped out to a lead on election night: 56% to 44%. On Wednesday, the margin had narrowed to just a 61-vote lead for St Clair. By Monday, Muzzall was up by two points: 50.9% to 48.9%.
• LD14: Republicans are up big in all races, dashing hopes of a Democratic foothold in the Yakima Valley.
• LD17-2: Democrat Terri Niles lost. He was close behind Republican David Stuebe (49.8% to 50%) on election night, but has failed to make up the ground since. Niles now trails by a full point.
• LD18 Senate: Democrat Adrian Cortes is clinging to a lead. He was leading Republican Brad Benton by 1.8 points on election night: 50.8% to 49%. The lead has shrunk, but Cortes had a 232-vote edge on Monday. This would be a senate pickup for Democrats if it holds. We could be headed to a recount on this one, given the razor-thin margin.
• LD18-2: Democrat John Zingale lost to Republican John Fey but it was close and under a two-point margin. This district appears to be getting more favorable for Democrats.
• LD22 Senate: Urbanist-endorsed Jessica Bateman won easily, adding another progressive urbanist leader in the senate, where several housing reforms went to die. As a member of the state house, Bateman was a clear housing leader. Bateman grabbed more than 70% of the vote, giving her a solid mandate.
• LD26-1: Democrat Adison Richards won. He was leading Republican Jesse Young 52% to 47% on election night. The race narrowed a little, but not much. Richards is up 51.6% to 48.3%, as of Monday. This looks to be the one pickup for Democrats in the House.
• LD26-2: Democrat Tiffany Mitchell lost to Republican incumbent Michelle Caldier: 45% to 55%. The other LD26 house seat was clearly less favorable to Democrats.
• LD-27-2: Devin Rydel Kelly (endorsed) lost to incumbent Jake Fey, who chairs the house transportation committee, by a margin of 22% to 76%.
• LD43-2: Shaun Scott (endorsed) was up 67% to 31% over conservative Andrea Suarez on election night. Scott’s share grew in late returns, reaching 68.6% of the vote by Monday. Suarez, a Republican who claimed to convert to being a Democrat just before ballots arrived, was thoroughly rejected.
• LD45-2: Progressive challenger Melissa Demyan (endorsed) lost to incumbent Democrat Larry Springer: 42% to 56%.

Mello leads Democrat takeover in Pierce County

• Pierce County Executive: Urbanist-endorsed Democrat Ryan Mello has won. Mello was up 51% to 48% over Republican Kelly Chambers on election night and maintained that margin.
• Pierce County Council D2: Democrat Davida Haygood (endorsed) lost to incumbent Paul Herrera 43% to 57%
• Pierce County Council D3: Democrat John Linboe (endorsed) lost to incumbent Amy Cruver 36% to 63%.
• Pierce County Council D6: Democrat incumbent Jani Hitchen (endorsed) won. She is leading 52% to 47% over Republican Loujanna “LJ” Rohrer, same as election night.

State Supreme Court: Democrats hold off conservative assault

• Democrat-backed Justice Sal Mungia has won. On election night, Mungia was up over conservative-backed Dave Larsen by a razor-thin 49.84% to 49.66% margin in the State Supreme Court, Position 2. The margin has grown since then to a 0.8% lead for Mungia, as of Monday.

The post Election Update: Urbanists Mello, Rinck, Scott, and Bateman Coast to Victory first appeared on The Urbanist.

With 66.8% of voters giving the go-ahead as of election night, Prop 1’s passage is all but assured. Budget writers can now get to work preparing the City budget for an additional $371 million in transportation spending over the next two years, funded via property tax revenues. SDOT said that 71 positions that it was holding vacant can now be filled, in addition to 72 new positions in 2025 and another 44 in 2026.

Prop 1’s wide margin on election night bolsters the arguments made by transportation advocates that a larger, more ambitious levy would have also had success at the ballot box. Polling commissioned by the Northwest Progressive Institute this spring showed majority support for a $1.9 billion levy that included more projects.

However, the City Council rejected a push by Councilmember Tammy Morales to increase the levy’s amount modestly to $1.7 billion, which was in large part due to opposition from the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

As national election results continued to point to an overall rightward shift in the electorate, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell took a victory lap in a statement released Tuesday evening.

“Tonight’s results demonstrate that Seattle voters are committed to advancing a safer transportation system that benefits all,” Harrell’s said. “The Transportation Levy represents our steadfast dedication to a One Seattle vision, prioritizing the creation of a safer, more reliable, and better connected transportation network.”

Harrell hinted that the levy would work hand-in-hand with his comprehensive plan update. The transportation element for that update was approved earlier this year, but the housing and land use element remain in process after numerous delays and second guessing.

“We worked diligently with community members and the City Council to develop a comprehensive plan that emphasizes safer streets, dependable transit and freight movement, and improved connections across Seattle’s neighborhoods to schools and light rail,” Harrell added. “This levy will facilitate bridge upgrades, smoother roads, additional sidewalks, enhanced transit connections, and much more, all designed to support those who live, work, and play in Seattle.”

After a significant period of lag between the passage of the 2015’s transportation levy and SDOT becoming fully staffed to handle delivery of its expanded portfolio of promised projects, the department seems to be on much firmer footing now. The project delivery machine focused on finishing strong with those prior promises can now turn its attention to what comes next.

However, the same problem of multimodal federal grants evaporating under a Trump Administration, which dogged Move Seattle projects, has also emerged for its successor due to Trump’s apparent victory, though perhaps to a lesser degree. This time around, levy backers promised fewer specific deliverables (especially around transit and bike upgrades) and counted less on federal grants to meet pledges. Still, a dearth of federal grants could limit how far SDOT is able to stretch and leverage levy investments.

Initial repaving projects that SDOT has in the pipeline include East Marginal Way S in Georgetown, Roosevelt Way NE in Pinehurst, Elliott and Western Avenues in Belltown. A rebuild of Rainier Avenue between S Jackson Street and S Walden Street in Mount Baker is also on the initial project list, as is a major segment of Beacon Avenue S through Beacon Hill. Those two projects will be major undertakings, with the full scope of Vision Zero and transit improvements planned as a part of the maintenance work still unknown.

With a federal funding landscape that’s set to see seismic shifts in the coming years, bundling improvements for projects like RapidRide R along Rainier Avenue becomes even more important.

As for the 250 blocks of new sidewalks, the City is focusing on areas around transit like Mount Baker, Rainier Beach, Northgate, Bitter Lake, and around the planned Graham Street light rail station. But SDOT has planned community walks continuing through early 2025 before it will finalize full project lists.

The levy’s passage will also resurrect a long-dormant plan to create a “curbless” street along Occidental Avenue S in South Pioneer Square near Lumen Field, set to be one of the city’s signature projects around the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Funding will also be earmarked for upgrades to Third Avenue, a priority of the Downtown Seattle Association.

Even after a slew of amendments to Prop 1 by the Seattle City Council, the levy’s eight-year spend plan primarily reflects the priorities of the Harrell Administration. But amendments poised for adoption later this month seek to impose a level of control over spending plans that is fairly unprecedented when it comes to transportation levies in Seattle.

One amendment, jointly sponsored by transportation chair Rob Saka and budget chair Dan Strauss, would impose a proviso, or hold, on $89 million in levy dollars until a future council action releases them. “The intent of this proviso is to have SDOT proactively engage the Council in the development of detailed spending plans for Transportation Levy programs,” budget documents note.

Another amendment, also put forward by Saka and Strauss, would resurrect a program initially proposed by Mayor Harrell that allows Councilmembers to select transportation projects to fund within their own districts. During levy negotiations this summer, the Council actually voted to remove this program in favor of other spending priorities. Over a two-year period, $1 million per year would be earmarked for the seven district Councilmembers to distribute as they see fit, but how involved the SDOT would be in vetting these projects is not clear. The two at-large Councilmembers who do not represent districts would not be able to participate in this program under the proposal.

Separate from that program, Saka has also proposed to earmark $2 million in spending — diverting money away from other projects — to modify a stretch of Delridge Way SW to allow drivers to turn left across a protected bike lane into a preschool parking lot used by himself and his family.

Council is set to discuss additional amendments to the budget next week. So far, it’s clear that this Council wants to be very hands-on when it comes to shaping the spending that Prop 1’s passage will enable.

With a wide array of takeaways from other election results Tuesday, Prop 1’s passage seems to show that transportation spending in Seattle is a consensus position. Next will be the hard part of actually implementing the projects that will keep Seattle residents safe and the city moving.

The post Seattle Voters Approve $1.55 Billion Transportation Levy first appeared on The Urbanist.

Counting will continue over the coming weeks, usually with daily counts being released after 4pm. The Urbanist Elections Committee made endorsements in a long list of races and measures.

Republicans flailing statewide

• Initiative Measure No. 2066 is passing by a thin margin so far in early results. (Be advised: Some counties may be lagging in reporting initial returns.)
• Initiative Measure No. 2109 is trailing so far in early results. “No” has 63% to 36% for “yes.”
• Initiative Measure No. 2117 is trailing so far in early results. “No” has 62% to 37% for “yes.”
• Initiative Measure No. 2124 is trailing so far in early results. “No” has 55% to 44% for “yes.”
• Governor: Democrat Bob Ferguson is well ahead of Republican Dave Reichert 57% to 43%.
• Attorney General: Democrat Nick Brown (endorsed) is up 56% to 43% over Republican Pete Serrano.
• Lands Commissioner: Dave Upthegrove (endorsed) is up 53% to 46% over Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler.

Prop 1 and Rinck coast in Seattle

• Seattle Proposition No. 1: Yes (endorsed) is up big 66.8% to just 33.2% no. Seattle’s $1.55 billion transportation levy is on course to pass.
• Seattle City Council 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck (endorsed) is up over Tanya Woo 57% to 42%, with 56% turnout so far.

LD10, LD18, and LD26 could give Democrats supermajorities

• LD10 senate: Democrat Janet St Clair is leading Republican incumbent Ron Muzzall 56% to 44%. This will be a state senate seat pickup for Democrats, barring a reversal. (Update: On Wednesday, this narrowed to just a 61-vote lead for St Clair.)
• LD14: Republicans are up big in all races, dashing hopes of a Democrat foothold in the Yakima Valley.
• LD17-2: Democrat Terri Niles is trailing but very close behind Republican David Stuebe — 49.8% to 50%. This would be a pickup for Democrats is Niles goes ahead in late returns.
• LD18 Senate: Democrat Adrian Cortes is leading Republican Brad Benton by 1.8 points: 50.8% to 49%. This would be a pickup for Democrats.
• LD18-2: Democrat John Zingale is trailing by a razor-thin margin against Republican John Fey — 49.75% to 50.1%.
• LD26-1: Democrat Adison Richards is leading Republican Jesse Young 52% to 47%. This looks like a state house pickup for Democrats.
• LD26-2: Democrat Tiffany Mitchell is trailing Republican incumbent Michelle Caldier 45% to 54%.
• LD-27-2: Devin Rydel Kelly (endorsed) is trailing incumbent Jake Fey 21% to 77%.
• LD43-2: Shaun Scott (endorsed) is up 67% to 31% over Andrea Suarez.
• LD45-2: Melissa Demyan (endorsed) is at 41%, trailing incumbent Democrat Larry Springer 56%.

Mello leads in Pierce County

• Pierce County Executive: Urbanist-endorsed Democrat Ryan Mello is up 51% to 48% over Republican Kelly Chambers.
• Pierce County Council D2: Democrat Davida Haygood (endorsed) is trailing incumbent Paul Herrera 42% to 57%
• Pierce County Council D3: Democrat John Linboe (endorsed) is trailing incument Amy Cruver 36% to 63%.
• Pierce County Council D6: Democrat incumbent Jani Hitchen (endorsed) is leading 52% to 47% over Republican Loujanna “LJ” Rohrer.

Tight race for state supreme court

• Democrat-backed Sal Mungia is up over conservative-backed Dave Larsen by a razor-thin 49.84% to 49.66% margin in the State Supreme Court, Position 2.

This is a developing story and we will update if we missed any relevant races.

The post Early Washington State Election Results Are Favorable for Progressives first appeared on The Urbanist.

Prop 1 aims to “Keep Seattle Moving”

Seattle Proposition 1, meanwhile, holds the potential to expand Seattle’s sidewalk network, ramp up street and bridge maintenance, and improve bike and bus networks. Failure to pass Prop 1 would force big cuts at the Seattle Department of Transportation, which about one-third of its budget is derived from the existing Seattle transportation levy that it would be renewing. The Urbanist endorsed a yes vote, as did most other transportation-focused organizations.

Seattle’s last transportation levy, the 2015 Levy to Move Seattle, won by a comfortable 58-41 margin. How close the margin is this year will be something to watch. A loss for the levy would send a city council still trying to figure out how to govern back to the drawing board.

Opposition to the transportation levy has been spearheaded by former councilmember Alex Pedersen and the Seattle Times Editorial Board. The Seattle Times has opposed every transportation levy in history, though, which decreases their credibility on the matter, as does their convoluted arguments in their “no” endorsement.

Rinck could swing momentum back to progressives at Seattle City Council

Electing progressive Alexis Mercedes Rinck would chip away at the centrist stranglehold on Seattle City Council. While all of her centrist colleagues have endorsed Tanya Woo, who they appointed as a fill-in councilmember in January at the bidding of conservative donors, voters have preferred Rinck, who has The Urbanist’s endorsement. Rinck handily won the primary, and a recent Change Research poll commissioned by the Northwest Progressive Institute showed Rinck with a massive 24-point lead over centrist appointee Woo.

Rinck has kept pace in the fundraising battle with the help of a new progressive political action committee (PAC) called Progressive People Power. That development, paired with a Rinck win, could give progressives added momentum headed into a mayoral election next year.

Ryan Mello’s bid to lead Pierce County

Progressive momentum is not limited to Seattle, though. Ryan Mello is mounting a strong campaign for Pierce County Executive, and he’d mark the first progressive urbanist to ever hold that seat, which is why he earned our endorsement. As a County councilmember, he has distinguished himself on transit, safe streets, homelessness, housing, and more. It’s an opportune time for that kind of leadership at the County, as crises worsen around street safety, housing, and homelessness.

The Pierce County Executive also has a big say at the Sound Transit Board of Directors since county executives automatically get a seat. They also make the appointments for the rest of their county delegation, which is four total seats in Pierce County’s case. While termed-out Republican Bruce Dammeier has taken some bad votes, Mello could help get Sound Transit back on track as it grapples with huge routing decisions and operational issues. Mello’s time at the Puget Sound Regional Council has shown a willingness to put in the work on transportation policy.

A Democratic supermajority in the state legislature?

Today’s election will also welcome new faces to the Washington State Legislature, and the shakeup does hold the possibility of giving Democrats a supermajority in both chambers. A 60% supermajority would open the door to passing bonding measures without needing Republican votes, which rarely come easily. It would take a two-thirds supermajority to pass constitutional amendments without Republican votes, which is are far more unlikely bar.

Currently, Democrats control 58 of 98 seats in the State House and 29 of 49 seats in the State Senate, which puts them just shy of the 60% threshold in each chamber. One pickup in the house and one in the senate would put them over the supermajority threshold, and they have a reasonable case to do it.

A senate pickup for Democrats appear likely in Legislative District 10. Republican incumbent Ron Muzzall was below 50% in the primary and is facing Democrat Janet St Clair. The two Democratic candidates had more votes than Muzzall in the primary. Muzzall won by less than two points in 2020, so expect another close race, but the district continues to drift to the left. The unpopularity of Trump in Washington state could make it hard to be a Republican down ticket this cycle.

In the house, the path to Democratic pickups is likely through Legislative District 26 or 14 — Democrats already flipped the 10th in the lower chamber. State Senator Emily Randall proved that a Democrat could win in the 26th, but Democrats have been unable to repeat her success in the house, as of yet. Expect razor-close races here, but the Democrats have a good shot.

Legislative District 14 is a true wildcard this election after the borders were redrawn to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, which a lawsuit was able to show the previous map violated by diluting the electoral power of Latino voters. The new majority-Latino district in the Yakima Valley typically has very low voter turnout and the region has elected Republicans traditionally, but the new map and high turnout in a presidential year could put it in play, as Washington Community Alliance pointed out.

Progressive legislation will also benefit from the departure of conservative Democrat Kevin Van De Wege from his Legislative District 24 senate seat. A frequent name in my annual Heroes and Zeroes post for thwarting progressive bills, Van De Wege resigned his seat to run for public lands commissioner, but lost the primary. Rep. Mike Chapman is running for the promotion to the senate, and had the decided advantage in the primary over Republican Marcia Kelbon. It will be interesting to see if Chapman continues in Van De Wege’s vein or stakes out a more mainstream and collaborative course.

Big turnout for @Alexis4Seattle and LD43 candidate Shaun Scott (@eyesonthestorm) mega-canvass. Both Urbanist-endorsed. Make sure to get your ballot in! pic.twitter.com/fP0SsnPHlq

— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) November 3, 2024

Shaun Scott is another progressive who appears headed into office — this time taking the baton from a long-time left-leaning powerbroker in former House Speaker Frank Chopp, who is retiring. Scott grabbed 53% of the primary vote and has the edge of Andrea Suarez, who, despite recent history of aligning and campaigning with Republicans, is also running as a Democrat. An occasional author for The Urbanist, Scott has our endorsement.

Scott’s campaign is centered on economic justice, which could portend more energy behind Democrats’ push for progressive tax reform. Washington’s tax code ranks 49th in the nation, indicating an upside tax code that falls hardest on the poor and working class while letting the wealthy off the hook.

Statewide initiatives could erase progress – Vote no!

The four statewide initiatives were funded by a multimillionaire hedge fund manager named Brian Heywood, who pumped millions in the signature gathering effort that placed them on the ballot. Heywood moved to Washington state from California partially as a tax dodge, so it seems he and his friends want to drive taxes on the rich even lower.

• Initiative 2117 would devastate transportation department and transit agencies across the state. Many cities across the state have come out against the measure for the hit to funding for roads, bridges, and transit, with the latest to join them Seattle on Friday.
• Initiative 2109 would repeal Washington’s capital gains tax and force a massive financial crisis on public schools across the state.
• Initiative 2124 would allow workers to opt out of the WA Cares Program, which guarantees long-term care for age-related health needs. While the veil of choice may seem like a good idea, I-2124 would deplete the program of resources, jeopardizing care.
• Initiative 2066 seeks to force fracked gas on Washington residents, limiting Washington’s ability to incentivize the construction of energy-efficient homes, set emissions standards, and promote alternatives to gas.

Passing these measures doesn’t just erase a lot of legislative work and policy innovation, it also sets a dangerous precedent of the rich buying initiatives and writing their own laws.

We’re not going back, weirdos take note

But the outcome hanging heaviest is obviously the presidential race, given the fact somebody who tried to steal the last election (and is threatening to steal this one) is on the ballot. The fate of democracy is at stake. Donald Trump appears increasingly unhinged at his rallies. Given his mental state and what his campaign promises, electing him would risk a slip into fascism. He’s openly promising the mass deportation of millions of immigrants he deems undesirable. This would be a hugely costly undertaking that would devastate the economy and likely kick off a deep recession.

The agricultural and construction sectors would be particularly hard hit, given their reliance on migrant labor. A labor shortage will make it hard to build housing and infrastructure, further weakening the economy and pushing America farther behind peers that are adding 21st century infrastructure and striving for housing abundance, rather than mass eviction. That Trump’s policy doesn’t add up is not shocking since last time he ran on walling off the suburbs from growth, and who delayed numerous transit projects by withholding federal grants.

The right to be who you want to be, love who you want to love, and control the fate of your own body, sadly, is at stake. Republicans continue to rally against reproductive rights and trans rights in a desperate bid to win a culture war, if not a war of economic policy.

Kamala Harris offers the hope of a brighter future where we invest in each other, rather than tear each other apart. A president with a real plan around infrastructure, housing, health care, and defending your rights even if you’re not rich or privileged… now there’s an idea.

Vote: Voters have until 8pm Tuesday to get their ballots into a drop box or postmarked.

Clarification: This piece was updated on November 12 to clarify that the constitutional amendment threshold is higher than the bonding threshold.

The post What’s at Stake in Seattle and Washington State Elections first appeared on The Urbanist.

In this sequel, Stew analyzes top speeds and the trip times that would be possible based on the geometry of I-5. High speed trains need very straight tracks to operate at top speeds — 186 miles per hour (or 300 kilometers per hour) for the purpose this analysis — and I-5 isn’t always straight enough to accommodate. Curvy sections would operate at slower speeds.

Nonetheless, a high speed rail line using I-5 freeway right-of-way could still greatly improve travel times along the corridor. Lucid Stew highlights sections where the train can max out its speed, and some segments that are slower and problematic due to the curvy geometry or relatively close stop spacing. In addition to take straight track, it takes some distance to open up to full speed. End to end, the trip would take just over five hours to go from Eugene to downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Here’s what Stew found for travel times per major segment.

• Eugene to Portland: 1 hour, 7 minutes. 93 mph average, with stops in Albany and Salem.
• Portland to Seattle: 1 hour, 58 minutes, 87 mph average, with stops in Olympia and Tacoma.
• Seattle to Vancouver, BC: 2 hours, 71 mph average, with stops in Everett, Bellingham, and Surrey.

Some tunneling could improve track straightness and thus travel times, but it would also balloon project costs, which are already likely to be considerable. On the other hand, the benefits are also significant as Stew founded tunneling through the problematic sections and dropping a few stops could drop the end-to-end time to three hours and 20 minutes, significantly faster than the five hour time possible with I-5 right of way exclusively and more stops.

The Washington State Department of Transportation continues to study high speed rail with a small planning grant from the Federal Railroad Administration, and hopes of securing a larger grant to advance planning much farther along. Washington State has already been discussing with British Columbia and Oregon how to route the line and structure the cross-jurisdictional entity to make Cascadia high speed rail a reality. Nonetheless, the dream remains many years away.

Polls have found strong public support for high speed rail in the region. The alternative of widening I-5 freeway could be even more costly, while being a less effective transportation solution that is less popular with the public.

The post Sunday Video: Replacing I-5 Lanes with Cascadia High Speed Rail first appeared on The Urbanist.

“Seattle needs more housing that fits the varied needs of our community,” Woo wrote on her campaign priorities page. “I know firsthand what this looks like. My family transformed the historical Louisa Hotel in the Chinatown-International District into apartments that serve Seattle’s workforce. Here, residents pay only what they can afford. We need more housing like the one my family built, housing that is more affordable and geared towards those that need it most.”

However, current and former tenants of the Louisa Hotel dispute that characterization and claim the building has been mismanaged and failed to meet their needs.

“Like many folks who are houseless, slumlords like Tanya Woo are why we become homeless,” tenant Dean Kubota said. “She is actively creating the problem she claims to solve.”

The Woo Family’s Real Estate Empire

Woo’s family has longstanding ties to Chinatown and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. Tanya’s grandfather Yuen G. Woo immigrated from China as a teenager and later ran a successful Chinese restaurant in Wallingford. Yuen used the proceeds from his restaurant to purchase an 18-unit apartment building in the nearby neighborhood of Beacon Hill. Yuen fathered two sons: Paul and Jack Woo. Tanya’s father Paul became a lawyer and hosted his law office out of the Louisa Hotel building, a property he purchased in 1963.

Paul Woo also incorporated a company known as the Transpacific Corporation within the same building. His brother Jack and his wife Anita worked as employees of the enterprise to build the business. The company primarily existed to manage properties, and to invest within commercial and multifamily real estate. 

Paul died in 1997, and Tanya and her uncle Jack later inherited the Transpacific Corporation. 

The corporation wasn’t the only way the Woo family held real estate. Tanya’s mother Anita Woo owns or co-owns at least 10 different rental investment properties, excluding The Louisa Hotel. Anita Woo primarily acquired these properties (mainly single-family homes located in the Seattle suburbs) through purchasing them following foreclosure auctions. The rest of Anita Woo’s portfolio includes two duplexes based in Renton and a small apartment building located in Beacon Hill. All told, the Woo family owns 21 different residential properties with an estimated value of $33,425,000.

Jack and Tanya Woo likely used the inherited real estate holdings to help finance the redevelopment of the Louisa Hotel into “workforce housing,” primarily for single adults and couples with low to average incomes. They partnered with a local nonprofit known as the Seattle Chinatown International District Public Development Authority (SCIDpda) for financial and logistical assistance repairing the property, which suffered severe damage due to a fire in 2013. 

The Woo family partnered with Valerie and Greg Gorder of Gaard Development and with the firm Impact Capital, a nonprofit private equity company based in downtown Seattle. These business relationships enabled the Woo family to secure over $17 million of financing from the First Federal Savings and Loan Association, as well as financing from a subsidiary of JP Morgan Chase bank.

Woo’s Political Rise

Beyond funding the restoration of the aging historic property, the workforce housing move also provided Woo with a selling point for her personal political narrative, not to mention more clout in political circles. Woo leveraged her family’s experience with financing “workforce housing” to ingratiate herself to Seattle City Councilmember Sara Nelson, who endorsed a slate of centrists hoping to wrestle control of council from progressives. Tanya also won the backing of lobbyist and local political powerbroker Tim Ceis, whose clients include Amazon and some of the biggest developers in the region.

In 2023, Woo was running in Council District 2, which covers Southeast Seattle and much of the International District, against incumbent Tammy Morales. Despite the whole slate of business-backed centrists otherwise winning, Woo came up short against Morales. Not to be deterred, the new Nelson-led centrist majority on council appointed Woo to a vacant citywide seat created when Teresa Mosqueda won her election to the King County Council in 2023.

Ceis lobbied hard for Woo, and newly-christened Council President Nelson backed Woo’s appointment to replace Mosqueda until the next election. For her part, Councilmember Morales cried foul.

“I am disappointed in how this process turned out,” Morales said in remarks ahead of the vote. “This appointment process should have been set up to give all candidates a fair shake. It should have been about identifying someone who can hit the ground running, someone who can deliver for the entire city. But instead it did become about big business telling donors that they earned the right to tell this council who to choose — and that is deeply problematic and it is anti-democratic.”

During a September 17th Seattle City Council Meeting, Woo expressed concern about “our unhoused neighbors.” She furthermore appealed to her authority as a housing developer. “As an affordable housing provider, we do workforce housing, we charge rent based on people’s income.”

A group of tenants who live within, or recently departed the Louisa Hotel, have come forward to disclose their experiences as beneficiaries of Woo’s “affordable housing.”

Dean’s Story: Respiratory Shock

Dean Kubota moved into the Louisa Hotel in 2019, when the building offered “affordable housing” marketed to working adults with incomes between $35,000 to $80,000 annually. Kubota played the trumpet in jazz bands and sang at various gigs, but they primarily worked as a preschool teacher and nanny to pay the bills. 

Kubota initially felt lucky to secure a below-market rate studio thanks to Seattle’s MFTE (Multi-Family Tax Exemption) program, but then they gradually started to feel sick. Brown mold spores proliferated on the walls of their apartment, Kubota said. 

SCIDpda contracted with the Louisa Hotel to provide property management services for the building. Kubota said SCIDpda’s effort to abate the mold exacerbated their respiratory distress.

Editor’s Note: A spokesperson for SCIDpda provided the following statement after we went to post: “SCIDpda was invited to comment on this article; however, due to our strict privacy policies, SCIDpda does not disclose any personally identifiable information about past or current tenants. This policy reflects SCIDpda’s commitment to resident confidentiality and ensures the protection of privacy for all individuals within properties we manage.“

Exterminators hired by SCIDpda also visited Kubota’s apartment to eliminate a cockroach infestation. The exterminators wore triple-layered face masks as they allegedly sprayed the aerosolized insecticide known as Nyguard, an acutely toxic respiratory irritant. Kubota said they were not given any kind of personal protective equipment and were not granted sufficient notice from SCIDpda regarding upcoming visits planned by the exterminator.

By 2021, Kubota temporarily moved to another below-market rate studio within the Louisa Hotel to escape the severe allergic reactions and respiratory illness they encountered while living in their first apartment. However, a neighbor with paranoid delusions threatened to kill them and other tenants, Kubota said, and property managers refused to intervene or evict this person. 

Kubota had to move apartments again, and finally resided in a studio which overlooked Safeco Field, and featured a small patio suitable for a rooftop garden. Visits from the exterminator to eliminate cockroaches continued, at least within the hallways and adjacent units which Kubota said shared a ventilation system with their apartment. Kubota eventually developed stage-four esophageal cancer and could no longer speak or work. Their disability check from the Social Security Administration barely covers their rent ($1,375 per month) and they have visited the emergency room at least 10 times due to anaphylactic shock.

A new property management company called United Marketing Incorporated took over the Louisa Hotel during the summer of 2024, and they continued to dispatch the same pest elimination company used by SCIDpda. Exterminators most recently applied insecticide to an apartment adjacent to Kubota’s unit at the end of the first week of September, they said. A week later, Kubota reported breaking out in hives and had to visit the emergency room due to anaphylaxis. That left Kubota effectively houseless and living elsewhere temporarily while their respiratory issues have flared up.

“I had to leave with the clothes on my back and very little else,” Kubota said. “Even returning once made me have anaphylactic shock.”

Skye’s Story: Evicted without a Working Elevator

Skye is a trans woman who moved from Spokane to Seattle during 2020. She survived an abusive relationship and nearly faced homelessness. Skye thankfully found a loving romantic partner and managed to secure a studio apartment located within the Louisa Hotel. She and her partner moved into the unit during June 2023, and Skye described the apartment as one of the nicest places where she had ever lived. 

One of the property managers working for SCIDpda went out of her way to cultivate a welcoming environment for tenants through organizing social events, and she ensured that disabled tenants like Skye had the accommodations they needed. However, SCIDpda had a high turnover rate for property management staff, and soon that particular property manager left for another job.

Severe pain typified daily life for Skye. By her late twenties, Skye developed a debilitating disease called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), and consequently could not move without the assistance of a wheelchair. She also had fibromyalgia and post-traumatic stress disorder; a mental health condition she said was exacerbated by her neighbor shouting slurs across the hall. He allegedly threatened to kill various neighbors on his floor, and he delighted in clanging cymbals together at all hours of the day.

Skye could not work, and she did not meet the arcane criteria required to receive full disability benefits, so she could not provide much financial assistance to her household. Her partner struggled to work a low-wage job, and had a condition that limited their mobility. The Louisa Hotel’s elevator also sporadically broke down, and Skye was often left stranded in her third-floor apartment. She said they both did their best to pay rent on time, despite SCIDpda staff requiring tenants to pay via check or money order, and not offering an online payment option. 

Skye and her partner documented every time they left their money orders for paying the rent with the property management office. The office allegedly lost track of two money orders, and Skye and her partner consequently owed two months’ worth of rent. They started falling further behind on rent, particularly when one of the SCIDpda property managers negotiated a rent repayment plan with monthly payments 50% higher than their typical rent of $1,215, Skye said. The couple’s monthly rent thus increased to $1,800, which she said amounted to almost their entire household income. 

Apparently, management did not keep track of their payment schedule, and their remaining rent balance ballooned despite their effort to pay the balance in full.

Shortly thereafter, their neighbor from across the hall hammered several holes into Skye’s door and started screaming slurs specific enough to apply to Skye and her partner. Property managers from SCIDpda helped Skye and her partner move to another studio located on the 4th floor. Skye said she felt much safer, although the windows in her new apartment overlooked a dark alleyway instead of the sunshine from the street. 

Skye and her partner continued to pay the fee of $1,800 a month as stipulated in the payment plan offered by SCIDpda management. However, the property management changed, which led to yet more trials and tribulations. A company called United Marketing Incorporated now oversaw the building.

14-Day Notices for Everybody

United Marketing took over managing the Louisa Hotel in the summer of 2024. Tenants said the new property manager, Kelly Brown, aggressively tried to collect any outstanding rent owed by the tenants. This task proved difficult since SCIDpda purportedly did not maintain accurate accounting records for rental payments owed and did not transfer payment plans (offered to tenants like Skye) to the new property management company. When in doubt, United Marketing appeared to opt for the eviction route.

Skye felt shocked when she noticed a 14-day pay or vacate notice taped to her door. She said they had paid the full $1,800 as stipulated by SCIDpda’s payment plan for the last 2-3 months, and she thought that good faith effort protected them from eviction.

Most of Skye’s neighbors had 14-day notices as well, even neighbors like Kubota, who had bank statements proving that they consistently paid rent.

“It seemed like they [United Marketing management] wanted to throw one on the whole building, just to be threatening,” Skye said. 

She and her partner resolved to move out of the building as soon as possible.

United Marketing did not respond to a request for comment.

The Elevator Saga

That summer, the elevator to the Louisa Hotel broke, and remained out of commission for six to seven weeks, according to Skye’s estimate. Skye and her partner were preparing to move to a cheaper unit down the hill, but the broken elevator forestalled their plans for about a month. Skye remained enclosed in her room and felt more socially isolated than usual. 

Moving apartments proved an excruciating process since Skye could not use her wheelchair without a working elevator. She had to painfully and slowly ascend and descend the four flights of stairs leading to the ground floor, aware that any sudden movement could dislocate her joints. Her partner and friend had to lift Skye’s wheelchair and various other heavy objects during the move-in process, but they struggled with their own physical disabilities.

Skye said management did not help Skye and her friends when they tried to move from the apartment, and did not arrange any external help when Skye could not afford to maintain cell service.

Seth Olsen, a neighbor of Kubota, confirmed that the elevator for the Louisa Hotel was broken when he attempted to move into the building during that summer. Olsen is a young able-bodied, White man, and could manage moving into his upper-floor apartment without much assistance. Management from United Marketing still offered to compensate Olsen $250 for his trouble, though reportedly paid him months after his initial move-in date. Skye and her partner received nothing.

David’s Story: Harassment and Toilet Backflow

David Davis is a Black man in his 50s who lived in his pick-up truck for about two years after he moved from Portland to Seattle, days before the start of the pandemic. Prior to his move, Davis spent time as a child in foster care and then spent a stint in prison as a young man. The violence he witnessed or experienced in prison traumatized Davis decades later. A journeyman roofer, Davis did repairs for a local mosque to earn extra income. 

Davis heard that below-market rentals were available in the Louisa Hotel. Davis felt overjoyed to move out of his truck and into his own apartment, which he described as “really nice”.

Unfortunately, troubles soon arose between Davis and SCIDpda, the property management company hired to oversee the Louisa Hotel. Davis suffered from alcoholism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and a gastrointestinal disease which rendered working on jobsites difficult, if not impossible. Davis also described “antebellum” treatment he received on job sites as a Black man, and he refused to tolerate such disrespect. Davis consequently fell behind on paying rent. 

During 2023, his toilet malfunctioned, and he said the smell of sewage diffused throughout his apartment, and management from both SCIDpda and United Marketing refused to install a new toilet. Sometimes Davis avoided the smell by sleeping in the hallway outside his unit.

Management from SCIDpda then started posting “unofficial” pay or vacate notices on his door daily. One manager threatened to tow his pickup truck parked in the garage underneath the Louisa Hotel and made evicting Davis and four other tenants “his personal project,” Davis said.

Davis reported that a stranger assaulted him outside the Louisa Hotel during the winter of 2023. Davis was doing artwork outside his building with his scooter parked beside him. Then, a much younger White man tried to take his scooter. The younger man pummeled him repeatedly, Davis said, but he was able to deter him enough to force a retreat to a waiting red getaway SUV. Allegedly, property management at SCIDpda refused to gather footage from security cameras situated in view of the assault and refused to help Davis file a police report.

Reflecting upon his experience at the Louisa Hotel, Davis remarked, “I’m pretty determined to make this a victory story. I want to win.”

Winning entailed not only justice for him and the other tenants, but also adopting more effective coping strategies to heal from the hardship he endured throughout his life. Although Davis characterized the quality and quantity of alcohol rehabilitation services available to the poor as “horrible,” he remained optimistic about his future.

“For me, in my mind, winning is going to treatment, and becoming sober, and non-using, with the application of Zen Buddhism and nonviolent communication,” Davis said.

Woo’s Apparent Conflicts of Interest

Beyond undermining her personal narrative as a virtuous provider of affordable workforce housing, the unfortunate experiences of Louisa Hotel tenants also suggests Woo views housing policy through the lens of a landlord, and likely faces conflicts of interest on legislation relating to tenant rights and housing abundance. Nonetheless, Woo has voted on key housing legislation, including joining the centrist majority in an attempt to block a citizen-led initiative to raise new funds for Seattle’s new public developer of social housing. (Full disclosure: I have volunteered for House Our Neighbors, the group that gathered signatures to put Prop 1A on the ballot).

In fact, Woo even co-sponsored Seattle Proposition 1B, an initiative backed by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce as an alternative to the grassroots social housing measure. Proposal 1B exists to oppose the aims of Proposition 1A, which was crafted with the aim of raising $52 million annually to finance affordable housing via a high earners tax upon Seattle’s wealthiest corporations. Proposition 1A garnered the support of the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, the Seattle Education Association, and The Urbanist Elections Committee. 

Backers say Proposition 1A would constitute the first example of social housing on the West Coast, or a mixed-income model of housing funded through a combination of taxes and higher rents charged to renters with higher incomes. Households with 0 to 120% of the area median income (Seattle‘s median annual income surpassed $120,000 in 2024) would qualify for social housing under the proposal, and residents would have more democratic control over the management of social housing properties.

Proposal 1B would not raise any additional revenue for funding affordable housing through taxing wealthy individuals or corporations. Proposal 1B would instead divert $10 million annually from the existing payroll expense tax fund (also known as JumpStart) for a period of five years to finance social housing and the staff needed to sustain the social housing development. This is on top of about $300 million the centrist majority is seeking to divert from JumpStart to plug a $250 million budget deficit in 2025, while still finding money for a big increase in Seattle Police Department funding. 

In addition to offering far less money to the social housing developer, Proposal 1B would also force it to compete with cash-strapped nonprofit developers for an already limited source of financing for low-income housing. 

Despite Woo’s espoused concern for her “homeless neighbors,” she led the campaign against the expansion of a homeless shelter in SoDo, an industrial neighborhood adjacent to the International District, before she assumed office. In Kubota’s eyes, efforts by “slumlords” to squeeze low-income tenants for more money while providing substandard conditions is a major contributor to rising homelessness, as tenants get trapped in cycles of poverty and housing instability.

Tanya Woo did not reply to a request for comment.

Wayne Barnett, who is the executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, did recommend that Woo recuse herself on legislation pertaining to delivery app drivers, since her family owns a restaurant that uses delivery app services, after Woo reached out for advice. The ethics commission has not interpreted legislation pertaining to landlord-tenant law as strictly, apparently.

“I have not received complaints that [Councilmember] Woo has violated the Ethics Code,” Barnett told The Urbanist. “I received a request for advice from her office earlier this year, and to the best of my knowledge she has complied with that advice.”

While her tenants are not very happy with Woo, the real estate lobby is. The Seattle King County Association of Realtors endorsed Woo for Seattle City Council, and the Washington Realtors political action committee donated $60,000 to back her 2024 campaign. The National Association of Realtors put more than $61,000 behind her 2023 campaign.

In the November 5th general election, Woo faces off with progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who has The Urbanist’s endorsement. Rinck garnered more than 50% of the vote in the primary, suggesting a swell of support for progressives. However, Woo’s wealthy backers are likely hoping to narrow the gap with a campaign spending spree down the stretch to keep a landlord-aligned legislator in power.

Vote: Voters must turn in their ballots at a drop box by 8pm Tuesday, November 5 or ensure they are postmarked by then for their vote to count in this election.

The post Louisa Hotel Tenants Speak Out, Calling Councilmember Woo ‘Slumlord’ first appeared on The Urbanist.

Larson’s campaign is supported by a dark money network managed by wealthy, out-of-state extremists. The network centers on Project 42, an umbrella group created by California oligarch Brian Heywood to funnel corporate dark money to seemingly independent extremist organizations like the Washington Policy Center. 

Project 42 has cultivated ties with extremists both in and outside of Washington, including disgraced Wisconsinite Scott Walker and Trump-supporting internet pundit Brandi Kruse. Also under Project 42’s umbrella: Let’s Go Washington, the campaign-finance-law-violating political action committee backing Urbanist-opposed initiatives that would reduce billionaires’ taxes, cut billions in school funding, and promote climate change.

Larson’s campaign is controlled by another Project 42 organization: the Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF). CADF has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Project 42 to advocate for the wealthy, in part by fighting public investments like transit expansion, ferry construction, and bridge repair. 

Project 42’s CADF is also running Larson’s campaign. Larson’s campaign manager, Paige Jaramillo, is a CADF employee. CADF’s executive director, Jackson Maynard, is one of Larson’s biggest donors. Another major Larson donor: Project 42’s chair, Steve Gordon, who retired after selling his grandpa’s business. He spends much of his time calling people ‘soyboy’ online — and underwriting Larson’s Supreme Court campaign. 

Larson’s campaign is the latest step in billionaires’ multi-decade plan to rig the legal system. Buying state courts is a facet of the oligarchic legal crusade launched by Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, who advised the rich to roll back workers’ protections and civil rights laws by creating networks of foundations and legal non-profits like CADF. These networks have systematically elevated corporate advocates to state supreme courts. They control 60% of state Supreme Court justices. Now, they’re trying to put Dave Larson on Washington’s Supreme Court. 

Larson hasn’t been shy about his sympathy for his wealthy supporters. He told The Stranger that he would have ruled against the capital gains tax, taking billions from schools and sending the money right back to his patron Brian Heywood. 

Larson hasn’t openly acknowledged his ties to Heywood; instead, he presents himself as an experienced moderate. That framing rings hollow. Larson has emphasized his judicial experience, but his current Federal Way municipal court work bears no resemblance to the responsibilities of a state Supreme Court justice. Municipal judges referee misdemeanor trials and adjudicate traffic tickets. Supreme Court justices review completed trials and other lower court orders for legal error. 

Larson’s attempts to portray himself as a moderate, which rely mainly on his professed support for ‘therapeutic’ courts, are also unconvincing. Unfortunately, any court can be called therapeutic. Many therapeutic courts fail to offer meaningful help. Federal Way Municipal Court doesn’t appear to have ever commissioned an independent evaluation of its therapeutic courts — unlike other jurisdictions. We know very little about Larson’s therapeutic court. 

Larson’s opponent, Sal Mungia, is an experienced attorney and former Washington State Bar Association President backed by racial justice groups, unions, and other organizations fighting for a more just economy. Despite strong progressive backing, he’s also far more committed to judicial neutrality than Larson. He’s refused to take positions on future hypothetical cases and has avoided campaigning. His campaign was not involved with, or aware of, this op-ed. 

Most critically, Sal Mungia isn’t backed by Project 42 or any other billionaire cabal. If Larson does well — or wins outright — Washingtonians can expect a wave of pro-corporate judicial candidates backed by Brian Heywood’s dark money network. Don’t let the rich buy our courts. Vote Mungia.

The post Op-Ed: Don’t Let Billionaires Buy Washington’s Supreme Court: Vote Mungia first appeared on The Urbanist.

Like a lot of Washingtonians, I took my kid on vacation to the Olympic Peninsula this summer. We rode Mason and Jefferson transit buses to connect from my folks’ home in Olympia up to Port Townsend, and then the next morning rode Jefferson and Clallam transit buses to get to the bike trail near Crescent Lake. Both my kid and I were thrilled to be able to make this — a trip that wouldn’t have been possible without rural transit service. 

I grew up in Olympia and was born with a neurological condition that makes my eyes shake and means I can’t see well enough to get a driver’s license. For many years, I lived in New York City because I loved having transit access, but I wanted to raise my kid close to his grandparents, and so I moved back to Washington in 2018. 

One of the first things I noticed was how difficult it was to get around Washington. Between regional rail and intercity buses, I felt like I could get to almost any town on the East Coast from NYC. It wasn’t like that in Washington: few inter-city bus options existed, and local transit agency routes were so limited that planning a trip to visit a different part of the state outside the I-5 corridor felt insurmountable.

That has changed in the last six years, but I worry that with the threat of Initiative 2117, critical funding to support transit service across our state will be lost. I-2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, which is a significant funding source for transit agencies across Washington state, currently funding $1.27 billion in transit service support grants.

Without Climate Commitment Act revenue, critical funding for more frequent and reliable bus and paratransit service, for rural and tribal transposition, for much needed transit upgrades, and for free youth fares will be lost.

And I guarantee I’m not the only person who would lose access. On the 6am bus from Sequim to Port Angeles, my kid and I were joined by more than a dozen other passengers. Roughly 30% of our state population are nondrivers, either because of age, disability, income or choice to prioritize other expenses above car ownership. Nondrivers in Washington are more likely to be low-income, female, younger and disabled. 

Just because we can’t drive doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be able to participate in our communities. Reliable transit service makes that possible. It’s important we invest in access and vote no on Initiative 2117 this November. 

The Urbanist Elections Committee also endorsed a “No” vote on Initiative 2117. Read the endorsement writeup for more.

The post Op-Ed: Vote No on Initiative 2117 to Ensure Mobility for Washingtonians first appeared on The Urbanist.