Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw says a town-hall meeting hosted by Councilmember Kshama Sawant at City Hall last week was really a “political rally designed to inflame emotions and get one council member re-elected.”
Um, with all due respect, Sally, that is total bullshit. And it is also a truly unfortunate and unnecessary distraction from the growing crisis over Seattle’s lack of affordable housing.
To be clear, I was at that town-hall meeting. I was the second public speaker on the agenda. And I spoke totally about policy. Not politics, policy. There wasn’t anything political in anything I said. Pure policy wonkery. Period.
Councilmember Sawant had invited me to speak so that I could present my proposal to tap into city and county bonding capacity to build affordable housing. In fact, she did more than just invite me. She and her staff twisted my arm to take an hour out from a really crushing schedule last week—to speak about policy! And a policy that has nothing directly to do with Sawant’s pet project of pushing for some sort of legal rent control.
It was, by the way, the exact same policy pitch that I personally made to Bagshaw just two days earlier at the 43rd LD Democrats’ straw poll. Was our one-on-one conversation a “political rally” too, Sally?
Sawant’s council colleagues would do better for themselves and their city by directly addressing housing affordability rather than attempting to distract from the issue by launching bullshit ethics complaints.
Don’t worry, Goldy, even if there’s no rent control or public housing, the “free market” will solve the problem: People who can’t afford to live here won’t, and if Seattle employers don’t pay enough for workers to afford housing, they won’t have workers until they do. Or so the free marketers will argue. For job seekers, the interview should go something like this: “Seattle rents start at about $1,500 and a good Seattle apartment goes for at least $2,300. Accordingly, I need a salary of at least $6,000 a month to accept a position from you. Are you willing to pay that much?”
Of course, I don’t have that problem, because I dug my burrow 25 years ago and it’s now paid for, so I can live down here in this hole for $700 a month (taxes, utilities, and insurance).
Nor do I have to endure the bullshit required to get and keep a job, because I have multiple sources of independent income, so employers have no power over me anymore.
I recognize the problem, though. People are flocking to this city for high-paying tech jobs. I read that King County received over 65,000 out-of-state migrants last year. I’ve also read that Seattle’s real estate market suffers from an inventory shortage, especially in the “affordable” price ranges; a burrow next to mine went on the market 2 weeks ago for $495,000 and sold the same day.
Another $500,000 property next door to me just sold to a developer and will be torn down to make way for three new 3,200-square foot burrows. The one behind me is a rental that goes for $2,800 a month and is never vacant.
Plenty of the people coming here can throw gobs of money at housing, so if you have a job that makes paying $2,000-a-month rent problematical, well, you need a better job.
I don’t know how to accommodate ordinary wage-earners in a place like this, let alone $15/hr. minimum wagers; I don’t have a good answer for that. Maybe Sawant’s and Goldy’s ideas are the best we can do for them.
Or maybe Seattle’s employers will have to learn how to make do without workers.
I think a Venn diagram would be interesting, using these two groups:
• 43rd LD straw poll Sawant supporters
• “Policy” town hall attendees
Think there’s enough 28th floor computing power to put that up, Goldy?
Kshama Sawant @VoteSawant
Tonight! #housing #affordability town hall w/councilmembers Sawant & Licata. 6pm city Hall. Share your stories and solutions.
Retweeted by Goldy
Kinda inconvenient that the word ‘Vote’ is in her Twitter handle.
While I agree the councilwoman Sally is exaggerating when your talking about policy you are talking and participating in politics. There is a reason political scientists call it a policy cycle. Your proposed solution at the town hall involves who gets what when and where. I probably agree with what you proposed Goldy.
Still anyone who is a realtor or developer is gong to gun for you as your position affects their politics and bottom line. Of course they will eventually use it’s a socialist or even try to call it communist. I’m not entirely sure that socialist is such a dirty word anymore at least here in the Pacific North West. (Bring back the Wobblies)
Seriously take a look at Wikipedia and the 22,000 unit public housing in Hong Kong. If they have included schools, some public green space, some commercial space and/or industry then it may be a very solid community. Totally doable in Seattle, but doing it will cause a lot of grumbling in Seattle even if built on what some would call waste land rather than put it somewhere more useful like right off downtown or right outside Boeing or those high tech places. Probably would be hard to fly in Bellingham or Mt. Vernon, but maybe Sedro Woolley and a super fast train to downtown Seattle and it might fly. Then put one in Tacoma!
@2 Rather pricey burrows. Just watch out for farmer McGregor!
I was at the housing affordability event last Thursday and Council member Licata actually asked Council member Sally Bagshaw to come up to where he and Council member Sawant were – she made an “oh gosh no” gesture with her hand and facial expression and continued to stand to the far left/front of the council chamber area with her notebook writing things and seemingly interested and nodding when Licata and Sawant spoke…
@ 7
One cannot help but wonder if Bagshaw was asked to participate while the meeting was being organized. Her name isn’t @ 4 included.
Title of this thread notwithstanding, three is the number of times Sawant is quoted
http://www.thestranger.com/blo.....ama-sawant
referring to the town hall event she hosted as political in nature.
Hopefully this will help Goldy overcome the uncomfortable feeling that Bagshaw slandered him
Goldy @GoldyHA
Seriously… I kinda feel like @sallybagshaw slandered me by dismissing housing town hall as “political rally” http://horsesass.org/affordabl.....-politics/ …
when it turns out the author of the book he helped write, Sawant herself, called it a political rally as well.
I’m sure Bagshaw is breathing much more easily. Although she might appreciate an apology from Goldy.