So, how did the Seattle City Council respond to this blatant crisis?
On Monday, June 25, Council Member Richard Conlin ushered through a proposal that would further jeopardize Seattle's low-income housing stock. Acting at the behest of downtown developers and Mayor Paul Schell, Conlin amended guidelines, in place since 1985, that had forced developers to provide public benefits like money for low-income housing in exchange for permission to put up bigger buildings.
Instead of prioritizing low-income housing, Conlin tweaked the program to direct more money into moderate-income housing for folks making up to 80 percent of the median income. That's $33,450 for one person.
The fact that Conlin and the mayor got away with such election-year chicanery (both men are up for reelection and both are netting lots of cash from downtown developers) highlights a serious problem. The council's lefty contingent--which should have the collective power to torpedo such lousy legislation--is a disorganized wreck.
Case in point: Judy Nicastro, Peter Steinbrueck, and Heidi Wills all had their own amendments to correct Conlin's resolution, but failed to coordinate their efforts and wound up losing every time.
Surely, one of the council's conservatives owes a vote to Nicastro, Steinbrueck, Wills, or comrade Licata. If the lefty cellblock could get its act together and pool its council IOUs, it could get something done.
The council's progressives certainly went into the vote on a righteous note. "I think [the Seattle Displacement Coalition's numbers] deserve a response," said Steinbrueck, the council's low-income housing champion.
Unfortunately, Steinbrueck wasn't even in the fricking room when Wills offered up her wise amendment (co-written with the Low Income Housing Institute), which would have extracted more money from developers. Meanwhile, Wills didn't support Nicastro's excellent amendment to focus the program on low-income housing. Nor did Wills (nor Licata nor Nicastro!) support Steinbrueck's smart amendment to curb frivolous square-footage extensions.
Luckily, this hapless bunch has a chance to make good. Conlin's resolution is going back to full council on July 9 for final amendments. Wills has a proposal that would prioritize low-income housing--mandating that somewhere between 75 and 87.5 percent of units built under the program qualify as low-income. Surely, if Wills works with Licata, Nicastro, and Steinbrueck, they can collectively scare up an extra vote and get the crucial five to four majority.
