Amid metropolis’s sweeps and a seamless disaster, Seattle mayoral candidates on homelessness: Assured primary earnings, extra public housing, ’emergency’ rental help, and ‘Compassion Seattle’

Guaranteed Basic Income for 16,000 Seattle families. A new income tax to fund a new housing authority. An extension of the emergency rental assistance. Juicing federal dollars for all their worth.

These were just some of the solutions Seattle’s top mayoral candidates came up with last week at a forum on the homelessness crisis hosted by We Are In, a local advocacy group.

“Compassion Seattle”
One of the central questions of this race is where the candidates stand for a proposed new amendment to the city charter to spend more money on housing and public services and to demand that public spaces such as parks be kept free of homeless camps.

Former Seattle City Council president Bruce Harrell said he supported it but admits it is not perfect. SEED Seattle’s Lance Randall said there are “a lot of things that need to be worked out,” but notes that it puts pressure on city guides to act.

On the flip side, Capitol Hill Architect Andrew Grant Houston said he was “vehemently” against the change, saying “I’m not interested in trying to legalize sweeps” and that the Compassion Seattle campaign did so do not consult the Lived Experience Coalition, which is made up of the homeless and ex-homeless.

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Colleen Echohawk, who recently resigned from her position as executive director of the Chief Seattle Club to focus on the campaign, argued that the change had many problems. She also noted the lack of contributions from people who have lived homelessness and that the measures she calls for, such as spending on housing and behavioral health, are not being funded. She also said that changing the city charter just wasn’t the right way to deal with the homelessness crisis.

“It’s a very bad way of setting guidelines,” said Echohawk. “We need a regional approach. I wish Compassion Seattle had waited and implemented the regional approach. The system is broken. We need change. We need more money and we need real, proven solutions. “

Jessyn Farrell, a former state lawmaker who ran for mayor’s office in 2017, said the change was a “symptom of the failure of the past six years,” adding it was “only as good as the next mayor.” She agrees with some of her goals, including more permanent supportive housing and money for behavioral health services, but also notes that no sources of funding are identified for expanding these plans.

In previous forums, current Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller has barely tried to distance himself from the Durkan government. For example, Sixkiller was the only candidate on a forum last week who said he would allow searches of homeless camps, one of the most controversial aspects of Durkan’s tenure. He said the proposed amendment to the Charter “underscores that a cross-section of our city wants to see more progress”.

The amendment to the statutes begins on Thursday with the collection of signatures to go to the vote in November. By June 25, over 33,000 are required to qualify.

Main political priorities in case of homelessness
Sixkiller reiterated its plan to provide 16,000 Seattle families with a basic income of $ 500 a month as a pillar of its campaign to reduce housing instability several times. (500 x 16,000 x 12 = $ 96 million per year)

He also urged a greater focus on commercial affordability to keep small businesses afloat.

Harrell called for the expansion of several existing programs to fund homelessness solutions, including quick relocation funds and emergency rent, as well as his own new plan for a “Seattle Jobs Center” to connect people with jobs to keep them off the streets.

“Honestly, sometimes it’s just money to keep people in their house,” said Harrell. “It could be something to fix your car, it could be a plane ticket to reunite the family.”

Houston, donning an Elizabeth Warren sweatshirt, called for 2,500 small houses and a new 1% income tax to fund a public housing agency focused on building public housing, new green apprenticeships and investments from the Equitable Development Initiative. He also called for an end to exclusive zoning and said he wanted to overthrow the I-200, which banned positive action in the state.

Echohawk said she would want to extend the city’s eviction moratorium and that the city’s zoning needs to be changed to allow for more housing.

Randall called for an end to the divide between the business community and City Hall, saying he would try to subsidize fair landlords to stop evictions.

Farrell said she wanted a regional Sound Transit 3-style program to finance housing construction, referring to the $ 54 billion transit package passed in 2016.

“Every single community in our city and in our region has to create living space,” she said. “In my administration, we will definitely develop solutions that are scaled to the size of the problem.”

Has the city pushed enough for federal funding?
Perhaps the only moments of real conflict between the candidates were when some asked why the Durkan government wasn’t pushing FEMA funding for hotel beds more than some sort of resort. Defending Durkan, Sixkiller said, “There has been no time since the pandemic began that the city of Seattle has left money on the sidelines. We have followed and used every single opportunity available to us … Frankly, the false story that got around that we somehow did not pursue FEMA funding is absolutely and categorically wrong. “

PubliCola reported in February that the mayor’s office is rejecting FEMA funds for hotel accommodation, raising a number of concerns about the use of federal dollars for this purpose.

Houston replied, “I’m not going to sit here and listen to another candidate lie about what the funding might and can’t do.”

“What I will bring with me as a candidate is transparency, honesty, accountability, and trust because those are four things our current leader is currently lacking,” added Houston.

Echohawk said, “It seems like the city left money on the table.” Farrell said it would be helpful to post the mayor’s text messages on the matter. Harrell said his administration would have a cabinet position devoted to federal dollar rescue and said much of the funding for the new America Rescue Plan Act should go to homelessness.

Current Council President Lorena González had to miss the forum after a fire this month killed her mother-in-law and placed her in an unstable housing situation. State representative Nicole Macri read in her place a statement in which González was described as a “leader in the fight against homelessness”.

“She’s seen firsthand how hard it is to find affordable housing in Seattle for all the perks that it brings,” said Macri.

Tuesday’s forum can be viewed in full here.

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