2019 Seattle City Council Housing and Homelessness Voters Guide
To help Seattle voters understand their choices in the upcoming City Council election, Tech 4 Housing has partnered with Resolution to End Homelessness, Seattle University’s Project on Family Homelessness, Housing Development Consortium and Solid Ground on a 2019 voter education project.
This online Voters Guide on Housing and Homelessness is based on responses to a candidate questionnaire sent to all 14 candidates. We’re pleased that 13 of 14 candidates are expected to participate in this Voters Guide. See more of our methodology here.
Many thanks to the candidates who participated, and to the voters who consider housing and homelessness a primary issue in this campaign.
Note: Because we are 501(c)(3) organizations, we are providing this information for educational purposes only and are not making endorsements. We do not endorse nor oppose any candidate.
King County Elections will mail ballots to everyone mid-October. You can return your ballot by mail (no stamp required) or at a drop box, by Tuesday, Nov. 5.
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District 1 | District 2 | District 3 | District 4 | District 5 | District 6 | District 7
District 7
Jim Pugel
Download complete candidate response as submitted. Some answers truncated here for being over 150 word limit.
Question 1. Beyond making current programs more efficient, do you think we need to increase funding for housing for people experiencing homelessness? If so, where would you raise the revenue?
I believe the best way to solve homelessness in our city is for city government to take aggressive, proactive action in supplying people with affordable housing and permanent supportive and low barrier housing for those needing treatment, mental health care, job training, etc. However, our current funding goals fall short of accomplishing this task. I agree with increasing funding for affordable housing units and feel the best way to raise the funds is to look at excess funding from existing programs. The revenue is already being collected, and simply needs to be reallocated to this effort through a council vote—this is truly an emergency, yet despite declaring it as such our government does not make it a priority. It’s also important to recognize that homelessness is not just a Seattle issue. We must work collaboratively with homeless Seattleites, providers, neighborhoods, and the business community across the city, county…
Question 2. What are your thoughts on the City's current implementation of encampment removals? In what ways would you improve the policies?
I support our Navigation Teams and believe that kind of partnership between law enforcement and social services is exactly the type of program we need to effectively better manage the homeless crisis.
The response to homelessness has so far fallen primarily to police officers, and that has led to ‘mixed’ results. Police represent a specific aim—public safety, which is critical to our response to this crisis, but homelessness is also a wage disparity crisis, a human crisis, a public health crisis, and a mental health crisis. And that means we need a more holistic approach to removals and more shared responsibility. We need to clarify and streamline the expectations for law enforcement officers and ensure that they continue to receive the best training possible, including de-escalation and crisis intervention training, so our officers can keep us safe and respond in a constitutional manner.
As a city, we must…
Question 3. The City and State have introduced several new tenant protections in recent years. Do you think more work is needed to protect tenants and combat displacement? If so, what changes would you like to see?
I wholeheartedly believe that there is more to be done to protect tenants and their right to live in Seattle. Our city is strengthened by our diversity, whether it be race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or profession. This dynamic must be fostered through policies such as converting city, county, ‘regional’ and state land to below median and moderate income housing while also fostering public/private collaborative partnerships.
While at King County Sheriff’s office I oversaw the ‘Civil Unit’, which performed all evictions. We need to increase the resources to that unit so they can help those who are about to be evicted find alternative sources of rent subsidy or other financial assistance. They are literally on the front line.
The best way to get a grip on our homelessness crisis is to prevent more people from becoming homeless. That means making it easier for folks to stay in their homes and…
Question 4. Homelessness and housing insecurity disproportionately affect people of color, LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities and other marginalized communities. What would you do to address these disparities?
It is important for the city of Seattle to take a leading role in addressing housing disparities between different communities, as harmful policies of the past still have lingering consequences. The legacies of red-lining, restrictive racial covenants, and many other discriminatory practices affect marginalized communities’ access to jobs, schools, and many public amenities. First of all, we must ensure we continue to fight discrimination and racism in direct housing and rental policy by creating a collaborative partnership between the Office of Housing, Civil Rights and the police to conduct joint operations that will stand up in court showing that there is discrimination and hold those people accountable.
I was SPD’s executive sponsor working closely with numerous community groups, non-profit organizations, and government groups in establishing the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program where low level, non-violent drug users, dealers, and sex workers (areas that disproportionately affect poor people and people…
Question 5. How would you adjust Seattle's land use and zoning laws? In particular, what changes, if any, would you want to see in neighborhoods currently zoned exclusively for single-family housing and in multi-family neighborhoods where we're making significant investments in transit?
The key to successful land use and zoning laws is to ensure that any persons or families who move to an area have equal opportunity to utilize public transit, have access to grocery stores and other amenities, and enjoy safe streets with the robust presence of emergency services. Too often Seattle has neglected the details when it comes to neighborhood zoning: they give no thought to income levels and one’s ability to get to work, shop, etc. and do not consult the neighborhoods and communities affected. I fully support extending transit access to all parts of the city, and believe that public transit is a key decision point when changing zoning laws within a neighborhood. It makes no sense to have people move to an area where they are unable to get to what they need. We need to expand public transit access and focus on transit oriented development.
Question 6. We know that it is cheaper to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place than it is to support them to exit homelessness. What is your vision for homelessness prevention initiatives and services in our community?
My vision is to have a city government that goes out of its way to engage with those who are in danger of losing their housing or have recently lost housing. We must provide a clear and simple path for folks to either move into affordable housing units or the care and support they need. The big picture is that our city must organize our services and programs in a way that is accessible both before one becomes homeless and for those who are currently homeless. It is incumbent on the government to proactively reach these individuals and offer them existing benefits rather than presuming they are effectively utilizing existing services and benefits—especially for immigrant communities navigating our overly convoluted system. And everything discussed in Question 3 goes for this question as well!
Andrew lewis
https://www.lewisforseattle.com
Download complete candidate response as submitted. Some answers truncated here for being over 150 word limit.
Question 1. Beyond making current programs more efficient, do you think we need to increase funding for housing for people experiencing homelessness? If so, where would you raise the revenue?
We know from multiple studies and reports that we need at least $200 million more as a region to adequately responding to the crises of so many of our neighbors living without permanent shelter. First, I have put forward a plan to rigorously performance audit the entire City government to see what kind of savings can be realized. A similar program at King County has saved $127 million over 3 years. But, I have no delusion that performance auditing alone will find the necessary resources to respond to the crisis. I support the income tax on high earners that was passed by the City Council several years ago and is currently working through the courts. The expectation is that we will get a favourable ruling on that case, and it will likely raise significant revenue.
However, I strongly favor using the bulk of that revenue to pay down regressive…
Question 2. What are your thoughts on the City's current implementation of encampment removals? In what ways would you improve the policies?
I understand the need to remove encampments that present public safety and health hazards to the people in them and the community around them. Encampments near freeway onramps, fragile ledges, greenbelts frequently mowed by industrial mowers, and other hazards cannot be permitted to continue for the safety of the people inside them.
However, I do believe some encampments should be permitted to remain until adequate enhanced shelters and permanent supportive facilities are built up. Having grown up in Seattle, I can attest that there have always been homeless encampments, and that some degree of camping is inevitable in any major city. I can even point to specific encampments in my neighborhood who I have found to be good neighbors who keep their camp in an orderly and clean state.
Question 3. The City and State have introduced several new tenant protections in recent years. Do you think more work is needed to protect tenants and combat displacement? If so, what changes would you like to see?
We need to make a much bigger commitment to rent stabilization funds to keep people in their apartments when facing eviction for marginal amounts. We also need to make sure we are investing enough money in diversion to help families mitigate the cost of one large expense, typically rent or medical related, that is keeping them out of housing and forcing them onto the street.
We also need to strengthen enforcement of rights around ban the box and housing discrimination. New protections are nothing without adequate enforcement.
Question 4. Homelessness and housing insecurity disproportionately affect people of color, LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities and other marginalized communities. What would you do to address these disparities?
First, we need to broaden the eligibility for people with disabilities to include intellectual disabilities as well as physical disabilities. Under current laws and standards people with intellectual disabilities do not get the same urgency or consideration as other groups experiencing homelessness, and an exceptionally large number of people experiencing homelessness have some form of intellectual disability. We need to make sure everyone has the opportunity to get in side, and people with intellectual disabilities deserve urgent attention for rapid rehousing.
Additionally, we need to take opportunities to build housing in areas with high concentrations of homeless populations with specific needs and backgrounds, even if it is more expensive than building units elsewhere. For example, the Enterprise Foundation’s Home and Hope plan wants to acquire a building on Capitol Hill to specifically offer shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth, but the location of the building will make the project more expensive…
Question 5. How would you adjust Seattle's land use and zoning laws? In particular, what changes, if any, would you want to see in neighborhoods currently zoned exclusively for single-family housing and in multi-family neighborhoods where we're making significant investments in transit?
I grew up in a single family neighborhood, and I believe single family zoning has a place in Seattle. Certain neighborhoods by virtue of their location and infrastructure simply cannot absorb a large number of new residents without adverse impacts on transit and public amenities. However, I believe the number of those particular neighborhoods to be small relative to the number of places more housing density can be approved. Duplexes and triplexes can be incorporated into many of our neighborhoods without significantly impacting public amenities, and can provide much needed diversity of background and access to new customers for struggling business districts. We need to make room for more neighbors.
Finally, we need to pass a renewed and expanded transportation benefit district to get transit coming every 10 minutes and faster to that last third of Seattle households. Until we have transportation that can reach a given neighborhood quickly, reliably…
Question 6. We know that it is cheaper to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place than it is to support them to exit homelessness. What is your vision for homelessness prevention initiatives and services in our community?
I recently met with Mary’s Place, and their number one reported need was more funding for diversion payments. One-off expenses to help a family get through an unforeseen expense, typically medical, rent-based, or lack of income from a sudden lay off. The average diversion expense at Mary’s Place is $1,900, and the success rate is huge. Once people are back on their feet, and the emergency is dealt with, the family is no longer at risk of long term dependence on the services of a shelter or further subsidy. They are squarely back in the workforce.
I support significant investment in diversion to reduce caseload and get people back on their feet. These programs work and save millions. The crushing need for diversion also shines a light on the true nature of our homelessness problem, which is the massive instability and insecurity that is the obvious conclusion of absurd and…