Council Embraces Harrell's Huge Cuts To Affordable Housing

While working class voters flee from the Democratic party

In a month where I’m sure my readers are grieving the fact that Donald Trump is back in office, in part propelled by even more working class Americans walking away from the Democratic party, I don’t like to deliver more bad news.

Alas, friends, this important enough that it must be shared.

I previously wrote that Harrell’s budget massively defunded affordable housing. More than 2/3 of voters passed a big housing levy last year, and Harrell has used that as an opportunity to cut affordable housing funds from elsewhere—undoing about 2/3 of the increase the voters demanded.

This when the Washington State Department of Commerce says the affordable housing shortage is reaching critical levels in much of the state.

Unfortunately, the council looks like it may join Harrell in flouting voters and deprioritizing affordable housing

While this council has veered right on too many issues, I had hoped that they would take heed of Alexis Mercedes’ Rinck landslide victory over Tanya Woo and moderate some of their more Reaganite instincts and hew closer to mainstream Democratic party policy.

Alas, huge cuts to affordable housing when the rich pay comparatively low taxes here are not encouraging.

Budget geeks will quibble about what counts as a cut.

Compared to current law, Harrell’s plan will cut over $80 million from one funding source, and has cut nearly $20M from another over two years. The cuts are much larger if you think the original law that funds the housing should be the standard for what we spend next year. Spending is quite flat if you just consider spending relative to last year’s allocation from JumpStart funds, which is I’m sure what Harrell and the council’s apologists would prefer you do.

One thing is for certain: given the increases in funding for other programs, and these huge hits, it is clear that affordable housing is not a priority for the Harrell administration and a significant set of our councilmembers.

Please let your councilmembers know how you feel before they make final decisions.